Sanjeevni Hospital

Iknoor sighed in relief as the last appointment of the day just got over.She felt extremely tired now but she felt calm,she loved her job.

It was exhausting and very tiring but it was what she liked doing,it was her escape mechanism from the world,from herself,from her own thoughts.

The whole day had passed and she didn't even realise it,she had been working even during lunch hours because there were a lot of appointments she had shifted ahead due to her wedding.

For a moment she felt as if she was the same Iknoor who was carefree,relaxed and focused on her work as she was before her marriage,but as soon as her eyes landed on her chuda clad hands she sighed as reality hit her back.

She was married.

Married to a guy who didn't want her.

Didn't want this marriage.

She came out of her thoughts as her cabin door was knocked.

She said a soft come in and gave a small smile to the intruder,whom she hadn't expected.

"Tum ghar nhi gaye ab tak?"Iknoor asked as he entered inside and sat on the chair across her desk.

"Bas jaane hi wale the,phir humne dekha ki aapke cabin ke bahar patients h,toh pata chala aap bhi abhi tak hospital mein hi h"Hriday said with a kind smile the whole time he spoke to her.

"Mera bht zyada work load h pehle se hi,I didn't want to add up on it,so socha jaldi jaldi iss week mein saare pending appointments complete kr du"Iknoor said.

She had not had very long conversations with her brother in law,they both were acquaintances before she got married to his elder brother,they both worked at the same hospital,Hriday was doing his master's but Iknoor had a full fledged job and at times when he had a posting at the Gynaecology department the two would interact.

"Aap kesi h?"He asked finally and she gave him a smile which surely didn't reached upto her eyes.

"Mein thik hu"She said but he knew she was faking it.

He himself was anyways very angry at his elder brother for being an ass to her,she was a nice girl,even before becoming his bhabhi she has always treated him nicely when he was just a junior to her at this very hospital.

But that was another case,he was even more angrier on his choti nani for speaking such nonsense to her.That lady was a pain in everyone's ass,and Hriday would love to just give her his presence of mind someday.

He had very later on come to know about the nonsense she had spoken to Aayat when they too had visited his Nani's home for dinner.

"Bhabhi,aap choti nani ki baaton ko dil pr mat lagaiye,unhe mumma se related hrr insan se problem hoti h,woh aise hi sabko bura bhala bolti rehti h,unhe seriously lene ki zarurat hi nhi h aapko"Hriday said then,he had left really bad for her after listening to what had happened at his Nani's house,but he was very proud to hearing that she had given it back to her instead of listening to it and crying over it.

"Aur aapne jo kiya sahi kiya,aise logo ko unki bhasha mein hi samjhana padta h"Hriday added.

Iknoor hearing that tried to give him a smile,it was thoughtful of him to come and talk to her and just assure her that whatever she had did was right.

"Iti abhi bhi apni princess wali doll ka wait kr rahi h,I hope aap apna promise bhuli nhi h,wrna hamari beti ka dil toot jayega"Hriday said just to ease her up and it worked because she chuckled hearing that.

"Don't worry usse kehna aaj mein pakka uske liye doll leti aaungi"She said and he nodded at that.

"Aap ghar jaa rahi h abhi?"Hriday asked and she nodded.

"Mujhe bas ek last report check krni h and then I am free"Iknoor said and Hriday nodded not asking her anything.

"Thik h,hum chalte h phir,ghar pr milte h"Hriday said and she nodded at that.

As he left Iknoor sighed.

She got back to work,she hadn't lied when she had said she had a report to check and so she got to it.

Sehgal House

As she stepped inside the house she felt all eyes on her,she gave them all a small smile.

Iti ran towards her as she gave her a bright smile.

"Hamari doll??aapne promise kiya tha badi maa!"Iti demanded cutely and Iknoor chuckled for the first time that day,a real one.

"Iti woh abhi aayi h na??unhe pareshan mat kijiye,woh thaki hui h"Aayat was quick to say that and Iti pouted.

"It's fine Aayat"Iknoor said and then turned to Iti with a smile.

"Mein bhuli nhi thi baba,lekr aayi hu aapki doll"Iknoor said as she removed the doll from her bag and Iti smiled brightly seeing it.

"Thank you so much!!!"Iti said as she was about to hug her but Iknoor stepped a lil back making Iti pout at her actions.

"Mein abhi hospital se aayi hu beta,waha bht germs hote h, pehele mein nahakr aati hu phir aap mujhe hug kr sakte ho"Iknoor said,she always took a bath after coming from the hospital just to not risk any chances of infection because of the germs she might have carried with herself from the hospital.

"Aaja puttar beth jaa hamare paas"Sumitra said.

"Mein freshen up hokr aati hu dadi"Iknoor said and left.

The Sehgal's all sighed,it would take time for her to be okay.And they understood that she just needed some space.

What they all weren't aware about was that it wasn't just about what chachi had said but it was also about what Nirvair had said to her and what she had heard Nirvair talking to his family about.

It was all honestly a mess for Iknoor right now,she just didn't knew whom she should talk to about all this.

She cannot tell her family about it because they would be worried,her Bhai would be furious and might even beat Nirvair for breaking her heart and unwillingly marrying her and she didn't wanted any of it to happen.

So,right now she was just going with the flow, letting time decide what she would do in the future,she didn't had any thoughts for now.

But one thing she was very clear about, and that was avoiding Nirvair,she didn't knew what she should say to him,how she should behave with him now after knowing that he didn't wanted to marry her.

It all was crashing down on her and she was alone in this.

Iknoor was making the roti's in the kitchen,well that was the one thing she knew perfectly how to do.Every Sunday she visits the Gurudwara and she has been doing this since she was a baby,so she would do seva there and in that she had learnt how to make perfect round roti's,kada Prasad and mix veg,that was her first cooking class in a way.

"Arre tum toh bht fast rotiya bana leti ho"Twinkle chachi said amazed by her skills at it.

Iknoor just gave her a small smile not saying anything,she was still not very comfortable with them all yet,her social radar was just limited to her family,apart from them she was a very quiet girl infront of other's.

"Iti ke liye doll laane ke liye thank you,woh bht khush hui usse dekhkr"Aayat said when only the two were in the kitchen.

"It's no big deal"Iknoor said.

"Aap se kuch kahe hum?"Aayat asked and somewhere Iknoor was kind of aware about what she would want to talk yet she gestured her to go ahead.

"Aap na choti nani ki baaton ka bura mat maniye,woh h hi aisi,unse mumma aur unse related logo ki khushi dekhi nhi jaati h,hamesha sabko neecha hi dikhati rehti h woh"Aayat said and Iknoor smiled hearing that making her confused at her smile.

"Aap smile kr rahi h?"Aayat asked.

"Tumhare husband ne bhi mujhse same cheez kahi thi kyuki aaj"Iknoor said not able to keep it to herself,she had liked the way Hriday and now Aayat both had talked to her about it,just consoling her for it even though it wasn't supposed to be their duty.

"Hriday ko toh woh bilkul nhi pasand,wese iss ghar mein hi unhe koi pasand nhi krta"Aayat said and that was new for Iknoor,she wasn't aware about it.

"Jab hame bhi Hriday ki Nani ne dinner pr bulaya tha na tab unhone hamare aur Hriday ke baare mein bhi bht faltu baatein boli thi,papa ne tab unka muh band krwa diya tha,aur mumma aur papa ko aap sahi lagti h ismein,woh aapke saath h ismein,aapne kuch galat nhi kiya tha bhabhi"Aayat said with a smile and Iknoor couldn't help but reciprocate it.

She smiled for the second time that day,a real one.

"Now I see Iti itni pyaari kyu h"Iknoor said making Aayat smile wider hearing that.

"Chalo dinner table set kr dete h"Iknoor said and Aayat nodded at that.

Till then Bela and the other ladies too arrived and they all set the table together.

The family settled for dinner and Nirvair was also a part of it because he had arrived home earlier than his usual time which was odd but nobody was complaining about it.

Iknoor was a silent suspector just listening to what other's had to say.

Once the dinner was done everyone sat down as usual in the living room having random conversations.

"Buddy,yeh dekho,hamari new doll"Iti said showing her brand new doll which her badi maa had got for her.

"Arre wahh!kitni achi h?kon laaya?mumma?ya papa?"Nirvair asked as he saw the doll.

"Badi maa lekr aayi h hamare liye,woh kitni acchi h!"Iti said gushing over how nice her badi maa was.

Nirvair smiled hearing that,feeling more guilty too from inside because even though he had hurt her so much she was being so nice to his family.

Nirvair then changed the topic and started talking to her about something else to shake away those guilty feelings.

When he entered the room after everyone had left to sleep he saw her fast asleep on the couch.

Why was she sleeping on the couch?

Was she asleep?

"Iknoor"

He called her out but got no response from her.

"Iknoor"

He again called her out but still didn't got any response from her.

He sighed.

Somewhere he knew she wasn't asleep and was just pretending but he didn't wanted to force her.

She could take the bed,he could adjust on the couch,be was already feeling really guilty for his deeds and this action of her's was making him more guilty.

He sighed again and sat on the bed.

He needs to have a clear conversation with her as soon as possible.

They both can't continue to live like this.

It wasn't good for his conscience either!At the back of the mind he always thought about how hurt she was because of his actions and he wanted to do right by her.

She doesn't deserve to be living like thi

s,with a man like him.

He made a mental note to talk to her tomorrow,anyhow!

He would also make it clear to her that she wouldn't be sleeping on the couch in any case!