(Don't forget to read Bonus Chapter-1 before this 😊)

The first thing Tanya did upon entering the house was to dash into her room, without acknowledging anybody.

"What?" The question fell out of everybody's mouth in unison.

"The girl has gone mad. She is saying that she would abort the baby. What do I do with this girl?" Her mother banged her head with her palms in frustration.

Raghav lost his balance upon hearing her words but fortunately Rishi saved both Raghav and Baby Kaira from falling. Rishi handed Kaira back to her mother before sitting beside his broken twin.

"Why?" Raghav asked in a broken whisper.

"Raghav, go and talk to her. The fear she had suppressed is coming out. I am sure everything will be okay once you speak with her", Sia spoke, already having an idea about what her elder sister was going through.

"Fear?" Raghav's head sprang up, after hearing Sia. He had no idea about what was going on.

"The things that caused me constant nightmares and made me fear a man's touch, is the same thing that is scaring Tanya. The root cause is the same. My sister is not left unscathed by our parents deeds", Sia explained, before urging him to go and talk with Tanya.

Raghav nodded and went inside his room, to see Tanya looking out of the window with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Tanya".

Hearing her name, Tanya turned towards him with teary eyes.

"I...I am sorry", she apologized, knowing that she was causing him immense pain.

He made her sit on the bed and clasped her hands.

"Can you please think about this once more? Don't just say no, Please. Let's not make a hurried decision. We can think about it with a clear mind and then––"

Tanya interrupted in between, "––Then what? Do you think this decision came up all of a sudden to me?"

Understanding dawn on Raghav's face as soon as he heard her words. "You always kept stalling, giving one excuse after another to delay pregnancy", he spoke rather mumbled to himself.

Tanya removed her hands from his, before speaking again.

"I don't want to use my child as the only factor to keep our relationship alive", she muttered in a low but audible voice.

"What?!"

"What does that mean?" Raghav asked, not understanding the accusation.

Tanya scoffed bitterly, "You left the house, Raghav. Our fights had taken a bad turn".

"That's true but I went away so that I wouldn't say something drastic to you in the feat of anger. I went away to calm my mind", Raghav tried to explain.

"For two weeks?" Tanya snorted.

"Please, Raghav. I would have understood if it was for one or two days but two weeks- don't make excuses. And not to forget the fact that you came running as soon as you heard about the baby. This is what, I don't want".

"So you think that our relationship is irreparable?" Raghav asked with a tired sigh, making Tanya sigh as well.

She held his hand again, before trying again to explain herself.

"No, I am sure we would be back again but these fights, I don't know when these would escalate again. And that's not all, what if; what if in future, we suffer a financial loss? What if we force our child to marry an old man or a stranger to solve our problems? What if our child goes through the trauma, Sia went through?"

"Tanya", Raghav shouted in disbelief.

"Do you...do you really think I would turn out like this in future? Do you really think that I would do something like this to my daughter?" Raghav questioned in a broken voice.

Tanya gave him a broken smile, before replying, "I never imagined my father doing this to us, either".

That was the moment Raghav understood the pain Sia spoke about. The misdeeds of their father, never left the sisters mind. Even after so many years, both the sisters were still battling with the after effects.

"I promise you that what you are fearing will never happen but I also understand where you are coming from".

Raghav hugged her tightly and stayed with her until she slept, before going out to face his family.

★★★★★

"Raghav, what did Tanya say? Is it because of the same reason, Sia told us about?" Raghav's father inquired.

Raghav nodded silently and sat down on the couch, covering his face. It looked like Raghav aged a lot in a matter of few minutes.

"Don't worry, Raghav. We will do everything for her to get rid of the fear", Sia assured.

Raghav looked up and gave her a sad smile.

"Yeah, we will. And until then we won't have a child. We will only try for children after Tanya is ready", he announced, dropping a bomb on everyone.

"Have you gone crazy? There are still nine months for the baby to come. Tanya will get better by then. Remember, Samar was also scared when Trisha was pregnant but see everything turned out fine", his mother chastised.

"Please don't compare. That was totally different. I still had nine months to come in terms with the fact but it won't be same with Tanya. She would get acquainted with the baby long before. The baby would already be inside her womb", Samar interjected.

"True and Tanya's fear can cause immense stress to her which may lead to miscarriage. Then not only the baby but also Tanya's health would be jeopardized", Trisha said, siding with her cousin and best friend.

"What if Tanya was physically ill? You would have chosen Tanya over the baby right? Then why can't we give the same importance to her mental health?" Raghav questioned everyone, hoping that they would understand.

Rishi and Nikhil were silent but stayed by Raghav's side.

"You youngsters have gone crazy. This is not a small matter. Raghav, frankly speaking even though these points are valid, I don't think there is enough reason to terminate the pregnancy", his mother spoke.

Raghav let out a sardonic chuckle. "If we are speaking frankly, then I don't see the need to give any reason or justification at all. If the one who is pregnant is not ready for the child then that's it. The End. No other reason is required".

"Are you sure you won't regret it in future?" His mother asked a final question, giving up on the topic.

"We might. There's a great chance that we would but we will regret it together. Whatever happens, My wife and I will deal with it together", Raghav responded firmly.

"What if you can't have children in future? You aren't getting any younger. What if you are never able to start a family?" Tanya's mother asked hysterically.

Raghav shook his head, chuckling at the word 'Family'.

"There's no doubt that children are a beautiful addition to the family, but A couple is still a family without them".

Raghav and Tanya were partners, who despite their inner struggles and differences, fought with the difficulties like an united team.

★★★★★

They did abort the fetus. Tanya started going to therapy regularly. Raghav was beside her at every stage. They also started counseling to get over the pain of their first child. Although the decision was hard, Raghav didn't regret supporting his wife.

It took some years but they got rid of Tanya's fears. In all these years, Raghav and Tanya took great care of her body. Not only because she had gone through abortion but also to not have any problems in future. And five years later, Raghav and Tanya gave birth to the cute twin sisters.

The End.