"Jai," I laughed nervously, "what are you doing?"

I gripped his hands which were placed over my eyes, gently.

Jai had taken the day off and taken me out for a movie in the morning, confusing me because he rarely liked to watch movies in the morning.

I didn't question it, mainly because he had been telling me he had a surprise in store for me the whole day.

Even though part of me wanted to know, the other part was content with knowing Jai had things under control.

Still, surprises scared me a little because of the chance that it was bad news, but Jai was smiling like a little boy the entire day.

Just the thought of Jai's grin cleared my worries away instantly.

When we had gotten home, he came running to my side and covered my eyes, guiding me towards the house.

Jai chuckled. "Just walk, you'll see."

"I'm—"

"You're?" he whispered, stopping the both of us from walking any further.

"—Kind of scared," I whispered back, my voice trembling.

Jai sighed.

"You worry too much. Trust me, Karishma, I think you'll like this," he said, placing a soft kiss under my ear.

A pleasurable chill ran down my spine, and I smiled, excited.

He moved one hand away but used the other one to cover both. I could hear the clanging of the house keys and I held my breath as he pushed the door open.

It was silent and when he removed my eyes, it was pitch black.

The lights suddenly turned on and I nearly screamed with shock and happiness at all the people before me.

"Congratulations!" they all yelled.

I scanned the 'Congratulations, you're expecting!' banner hanging down from one of our lights and at the party decorations.

There were people from Jai's work, family friends and family that had come. A large smile appeared as I looked at all the people that made time to arrive just for us.

Someone brought Jai's laptop to us where my parents, together with Jai's, waved at us, wishing us a big congratulations through Skype.

They had already known ages ago, but seeing them wearing party hats made me laugh so loud that it really didn't seem to matter. It was just nice seeing them in the spirit and being happy for us.

My Ma was crying, touching her red eyes occasionally.

"I can't believe my daughter is–" she looked away, covering her face.

"Don't cry, Ma," I whispered, tears gathering in my own eyes. I sniffled even as Jai pulled me to his side, tightly.

"I'm taking great care of her aunty," Jai said with a gentle smile. "There's no need to cry, she and the baby are in amazing hands."

Ma smiled through her tears and Geena aunty scoffed, tears in her own eyes.

"I think that's what we're scared of the most, honey!"

We all shared a laugh and chatted a little more before we said goodbye, promising to go see them after the baby was born.

We mingled with the others who shared their congratulations when all of a sudden, Sanaya came barging in through the front door, pushing past Jai and screaming at me.

"Wow, thanks so much for the congratulations," Jai drawled, sarcastically behind her back. "Oh, and you're late."

Before he could say anything else, Khushi squealed as she appeared behind Mohit and jumped on Jai.

"Joi!!!"

"Khushi!" Jai exclaimed with the same amount of zeal as her.

He then turned to Sanaya again, raising an eyebrow.

"Why were you late? I was expecting you guys to be the first ones here." He shook his head in an over-exaggerated manner. "I'm very disappointed." Jai clicked his tongue.

I snickered at the two of them but it turned into a laugh at the murderous look Sanaya gave him.

"Shut up Jai. I made it now, didn't I? I was in such a rush that I forgot to grab Arian, can you believe that?"

Mohit snorted, holding their newborn, a son.

"Yeah, I'll attest to that," he said nodding, voice laced with disbelief. "She actually forgot her own son."

Jai looked at him with a horrified expression before raising an eyebrow at her.

"Wow," he finally said, dragging out the syllable. He shared a look with Khushi whose eyes were wide with innocence as if she couldn't believe it either.

Jai scoffed, biting back a laugh. "I mean, I knew you were a bad mother but I didn't know you were this bad."

His eyes glinted with amusement, his words laced with good-natured teasing. Sanaya rolled her eyes, ignoring him and turned to me again.

"Anyway, look at you!" she said, grabbing my hands, her mouth wide. "You're practically glowing!"

"Am I?" I asked, smiling. Sanaya raised both her eyebrows up at me, knowingly.

"You are, Karishma and we all know it's not just because you're expecting," she said, grinning.

She cast a glance at Jai who was busy chatting with Mohit and others, holding Khushi. I bit the inside of my cheek, embarrassed.

"You're just like Jai, teasing me all the time," I said still mildly embarrassed, my cheeks pressing with heat.

"Oh, alright," Sanaya rolled her eyes with a smile. "I won't tease you anymore! Anyway, what I really wanna know is how far along you are."

"Four months," I said, and she immediately squealed.

"How amazing is that?!"

"I know," I beamed at her. "It almost feels unreal."

After a few minutes of chatting, Sanaya laughed all of a sudden and I tilted my head.

"What is it?" I asked, worried.

"Oh, just wondering if you knew who set all this up?"

It was when she asked that I froze. I actually didn't know who set it up. I knew Jai had a surprise for me but he couldn't have gone this far to decorate the house and send out invites...

Was it him?

With wide, questioning eyes I gaped at Sanaya and it was as if she knew what I was gonna ask because she immediately nodded with a sly smile.

"Jai did this?" I asked, shocked.

"Yup."

Seeing the look on my face she giggled. "I know right? I couldn't believe it either. Our one and only Jai actually did something nice for someone," she said. "But even I know he'd do anything for you. So go thank him!"

She gently pushed me towards him and I nervously played with my shawl as I walked to him.

When he saw that I was coming, he said something to the others who moved away and then went to put Khushi down.

She refused to let go of him, a frown on her innocent face. Her dark eyes blinked up at him and then at me.

"You have a round belly just like Mommy did! Are you having a mini person, too?!" she exclaimed, the frown suddenly turning into a pout.

She looked down and fumbled with her Elsa doll, genuine hurt in her childish voice.

"Does that mean you and Joi will forget about me?"

At the question filled with genuine sorrow, my heart tightened affectionately and I wanted to reach out and give her a hug.

Before I could do that, Jai shared a knowing smile with me before turning to her with a scoff.

"And why would we ever forget you? You're strong and too special for anyone to replace. Trust me, you'll always be my little monkey."

I nodded and kissed both her cheeks, smiling widely.

"And after the baby comes, you can look forward to playing with him or her as well. So don't worry, okay?"

Khushi groaned, tightening her grip on Jai's neck.

"But I'm going to have to wait so lonnggg! And if it's a boy then he won't wanna play Frozen games with me," she mumbled against Jai's cheek.

"If it's a boy, I'll make him play with you," he said firmly.

"And if not, I'm always here to play with you," I said, with a huge smile.

Her eyes widened and she softly nodded her head after a second of contemplating.

"Okay, but you have to promise," she said holding out her pinky.

I wrapped my pinky around hers and we shook on it. She turned in Jai's hold, doing the same with him.

"Okaay you can both talk now!" she said cutely, rushing away as soon as Jai put her down.

I watched her tenderly, biting my lips.

"I feel so bad for he–"

When I turned to him, he wasn't staring at her anymore; his eyes were on me. Suddenly, I felt self-conscious.

"What?"

He grabbed my hand and went to take me out back when a knock on the door stopped us both.

Looking back at Jai, his face tensed as if he knew who it was. His eyes darkened and he turned to look down at me.

My brows immediately pulled down in worry. I placed a hand against Jai's cheek.

"Are you okay? What is it?"

"Nothing."

I glanced at the door. "Do you know who that is?"

He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my open palm. He nodded, forcing a smile.

"Yeah, I have a feeling I do. Go open it."

I stared at him for a second; he was acting strangely and it was starting to scare me a little. He looked like he was struggling to stop himself from punching the door.

When I went and opened the door reluctantly, my breath caught in my throat as my eyes met with the person standing on the other side.

Gavin stood out the front awkwardly, holding a little present in his hands. He didn't look comfortable at all, mirroring exactly how I felt.

"Uh, hey."

"Don't hey me," I said, coldly. "Please, get off of my property."

He winced at my tone and his face twisted as if I had just punched him in the gut.

"Just please let me explain."

I said nothing. Now I knew why Jai had a sudden change of personality and I wished I had the courage to slam the door in his face.

"Look," he breathed out, "I know I'm not wanted here but for some reason Jai invited me. I know I was a dick but I never thought Rahul an–"

"Don't talk about that," I cut him off, glaring at him with warning.

The last thing I wanted to think about was the memory that haunted me nearly every day. It wasn't nearly as bad with what happened with my uncle and the only reason why I was even sane was that of Jai.

And now that I was happy, I didn't want to think about it.

At all.

Gavin frowned, hurt showing through his dim, dark blue eyes.

"I'm sorry. I truly am. I just—just wanted to give you this."

As I hesitantly took the gift he offered, he smiled at me, a sad, broken smile.

"Congratulations, by the way."

"Thanks," I said, my tone shifting to a more gentle one.

I hesitated before asking him something I really didn't want to ask, "Do you want to come inside?"

A part of me hoped he would say no and the relief I felt when he shook his head, was huge.

"Nah. I should get going. I came because I wanted to explain myself."

There was silence between us as he sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Just know, Karishma," he suddenly said, his voice low, "I never wanted to hurt you as I did. I regret what I did - I fucking hate myself every minute of the day, knowing that I contributed to the pain you go through." His blue eyes darkened and his brow furrowed into an expression of despair. "I am so sorry," he said, his voice breaking.

My eyes built up with tears and I gritted my teeth, trying to stop the tears. I shook my head.

"Sorry can never erase what you did, Gavin," I said, firmly. "You could have helped me."

He shut his eyes as if he saw it coming.

"I know," he said, brokenly.

"But," I found myself saying, "I can forgive you."

The words I thought I would never say to one of the people I hated the most, came tumbling out of my mouth.

Maybe I didn't hate Gavin that much at all.

I didn't forgive him now. I couldn't. But maybe I could in the future. A huge weight lifted off my shoulders and I took it as a sign.

A sign that I was finally starting to move on.

Gavin's eyes lit up and he let out a relieved smile. But, behind that smile, I could see a little bit of sadness. The sorrow.

And...to me, that was punishment enough. He knew of the wrongs he did and he was dealing with the repercussions of it.

"Tell Jai that I said thanks and that he's a good guy, yeah? I was just—and am—fucked up."

I nodded and before he turned to leave, he took one final look at me before he gave me that hollow smile of his. In a quiet whisper, he added, "I did care for you, you know. I may have lied about a lot of things, but the only thing I didn't lie about was how I felt about you."

But before I could say anything in response, he turned and left.

Just like that.

And a large part of me told me that I would never see him again.

I didn't feel as guilty as I wanted to. When he left, I let out a sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding.

Just when I closed the front door, from behind, Jai wrapped his arms around me and I let myself sink into his embrace.

"You alright?" he asked, the familiar bass of his voice floating through my ears. I nodded but stilled in his arms.

"Why did you invite him?" I asked.

Jai gently spun me around, staring at me. Before I could say anything, he dragged me to the patio away from the chattering people.

"Jai?"

He was silent for a few seconds. I waited before he suddenly turned around.

"I know you never want to talk about what happened or see him again. But I invited him because I wanted you to face the past. At least a part of it. I know how much you hurt, Karishma; don't think you can fool me. I would never bring Rahul or Aisha here who are long gone psychotic assholes rotting in jail but Gavin was just misled. He and I talked - civilly, believe it or not."

Jai tilted my head up when I suddenly found an interest in my feet.

"I know he did a shitty thing but he's beating himself up for it. He's punishing himself because he knows. I just don't want you to hold any hate in your heart for people that don't deserve any sort of attention, not even hate."

Bending his head down, he kissed the tears that I didn't even know were running down my face, away, his own voice shaking.

"Please, don't hurt anymore. Please. I fucking hate to see you cry sometimes at night when you think I don't notice and it kills me. It kills knowing I can't do shit."

I shook my head. "I'm so sorry, Jai for hurting you." I embraced him tightly. "That's the last thing I want to do. It's going to take time but I think I can forgive Gavin. I—I think I can start to move on and it's all thanks to you."

"And I'm proud of you," he said, kissing my forehead.

We stood there, holding each other tightly before we pulled away.

Jai then smirked, surprising me at how quickly he was able to change the subject.

But I knew that he was doing it deliberately so that we weren't stuck on that horrible subject of my past.

"Before Gavin arrived, you came to me for a reason, didn't you?" he asked, his lips tilting up into an arrogant smirk.

It was obvious he knew and was just trying to mess with me. I frowned and clasped my hands in front of me, staring at the sleeves of my white salwar.

"No," I mumbled, wanting to confuse him.

"No?" he repeated, mockingly.

He gently grabbed my chin and lifted my head up to meet his playful eyes.

"You don't have a reason to talk to me at all?"

I shook my head but the look on my face must have given it away because he chuckled a little. Leaning down, Jai placed a small kiss on my nose.

"You're an open book, you know that?" he mumbled. I jerked in his hold.

"What?"

"You're easy to read," he clarified and I blinked at him.

"I am?" I frowned.

He pulled me to him, hugging me tight and burying his head in the crook between my neck and shouder.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran a hand through his hair, softly.

"Mhm," he hummed into my neck, his warm breath caressing my skin.

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from letting out a content sigh.

He rubbed my belly gently before resting both his hands on the small of my back.

After a few seconds of silence, I whispered into the chilly air, "Thank you. I never thought you'd go this far and actually hold a baby shower for me."

When I thought he wasn't going to reply, he laughed.

"So you did want to tell me something!"

I laughed and went to push him away jokingly when he tightened his grip on me.

"But seriously, don't be fucking silly. It's a special moment in both of our lives and I wanted to share it with everyone. And if not for you, Karishma, who else would I do it for?"

Before I could stop it, the tears ran endlessly down my face as always.

"Thank you, Jai, for everything," I said with a trembling voice and shaky hands.

My grip on him tightened as I placed my head on his shoulder. He stroked my hair gently, chuckling all the while at me.

"You need to stop thanking me so much."

I shook my head and he sighed.

"You underestimate how I feel about you sometimes, you know that? I would do anything for you."

Seeing the look on my face, his eyes softened. "But if it really means that much to you, then fine, you're welcome."

"Why couldn't you just take the thank you when I first said it?" I asked.

"Damn," he said, smirking, "you're growing a backbone now. I'm proud of you, babe." He leaned down to place a kiss on my nose but I swatted him away.

"You need to stop being mean before I call Sanaya out here," I warned and he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Sanaya doesn't scare me. But if you call her out here, then I won't get you any food when your cravings hit in the middle of the night," he said, holding back a chuckle at my expression.

"But why?" I pouted. "I can't help the cravings that I get."

"Then you don't call Sanaya out here, simple."

"That means you are scared of her, aren't you?!"

Jai narrowed his eyes and scoffed, diverting his gaze away from me.

"Shut up," he mumbled, his ears turning red. "I respect her a lot, that's all. Now if you don't leave it alone, I really will ignore you when you're whining to me about donuts and pickles and shit."

"Stop with the swearing Jai," I mumbled, wincing a little. He sighed and kissed the top of my head.

"Alright. I'll stop fucking swearing."

"Jai!" I whined, slapping him on the chest a little.

"Okay, okay!" A few seconds later he mumbled against my hair, "I've stopped."

He paused but then a second later, spoke again.

"Are you fucking happy?"

I glared at him but it didn't deter him; it only served to widen his grin even further.

"You're a big bully."

"A big bully who's fallen stupidly in love with you."

"You're trying to kiss up to me, aren't you?" I asked, smiling goofily. He leaned down to give my lips a peck, a smile on his face.

"Never."