Chapter 19: Two Pink Lines and a Broken Smile

On one hand, we were struggling to hold onto each other; on the other hand, we were silently slipping apart, with thoughts of separation crossing our minds more often than we admitted.

In the middle of this emotional battle, life decided to intervene in its own mysterious way — I conceived a baby.

We did a pregnancy test on July 15, 2014, and it came out positive.

For the first time in months, my heart filled with hope, happiness, and the dream of a new beginning.

I wanted to share the good news with Raman immediately, but destiny had something else planned.

Before I could tell him, an argument erupted between us — an argument that had no real base.

It all started because my mother had called my mother-in-law to invite our family over for dinner on my father's birthday.

My father-in-law, instead of taking it warmly, found another excuse to plant seeds of misunderstanding.

He said, "Your father should have called me personally to invite the family, not your mother!"

Now just think —

Would it be natural for a man to call his samdhi directly to invite him for a surprise birthday dinner?

I couldn't understand the logic behind it, but this small issue was blown completely out of proportion.

My father-in-law called Raman while he was at work and filled his mind with negativity.

Already upset with my father's distant attitude, Raman didn't pause to think rationally. He called me up, shouted without letting me explain anything, and hung up abruptly.

It felt like a slap I hadn't prepared for.

With trembling fingers and a heavy heart, I sent him a simple message:

"I am pregnant... you are going to be a father soon."

He read the message.

He didn’t reply.

That evening, sadness wrapped itself around me like a cold blanket.

When Raman came home, we quietly got ready and went to my parents’ house for the dinner. Everything looked normal on the surface, but inside me, everything was falling apart.

The next morning, after things had cooled down, he came close, hugged me, and softly congratulated me.

But the moment had passed.

My excitement had died somewhere between his anger and my silent tears.

For a moment, I thought of sharing everything with my family — the arguments, the coldness, the misunderstandings.

But then I remembered my brother’s words from my wedding day:

"You have married her off... let's see how long this relationship survives."

That single sentence was enough to silence me.

I wiped my tears, straightened my back, and made a silent promise to myself:

No matter what happens, I will make this relationship work. I will not let our love story end like this.

Later that month, we planned a short trip to Hyderabad to visit Raman’s uncle.

The change of place brought some much-needed smiles.

For a little while, we found glimpses of the love and companionship we had once dreamed about...