"What?? No, of course not," I smiled at his thought.

"I am sorry for spoiling your life. It was my fault," he said sincerely.

"No, it was my fault too. I was drunk at that time and you was drunk as well. It is not fair to let you take all the blame to yourself," I said.

"I was not drunk. I was..." he stopped midway. "Anyway, you go sleep now. It's already late," he changed the topic. What's with him, always not telling what he wants to tell. I didn't push him either, understanding that he feels uncomfortable. I said goodnight and left.

The next day, I woke up to some voices from the living room. I felt tired even though I had enough hours of sleep. Is this normal during pregnancy? I wish I had my mother with me. But, if she was still alive, would she have been angry as well? I wanted to throw up immediately. As there was no bathroom in the room, I had to rush to the common bathroom.

"Ananya, are you okay?" Siddharth asked me, worried after I finish vomiting.

"Yeah, this is normal during pregnancy. Nothing to worry," I assured him as if I had a lot of experience. I absolutely had no idea what it is like to be pregnant. I just wanted to ease the situation so I said that. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I came out to find that there was another man other Siddharth in the house.

"You are Ananya? I am Abhi, Abhimanyu. I am Siddharth's best friend. Nice to meet you," the other man introduced himself.

"Hi," I smiled. I wonder if he knew everything happened or not. Did he tell him about my pregnancy? There came an awkward silence. No one spoke a single word.

"I called Harish to accompany me to search for rooms. Sorry for the trouble I caused you," I said looking at Siddharth.

"So, what have you guys decided? With the baby?" so he knew. I wonder what he thinks about me. Like someone who goes around sleeping with other men? I just stay silent. Too embarrassed.

"Look, you guys don't have to blame yourself. It happened and it's both of your fault. Now, you gotta think about the solutions. No use keep on regretting, okay? It's human nature to do mistakes. You gotta handle it maturely," he said and I looked at him in astonishment.

"He is a counsellor by profession," Siddharth said when he noticed my odd looks. My lips lifted upwards ever so lightly, thinking how he understood what I had in my mind.

"So?" he asked again.

"I honestly don't know. It's all up to him. I...will just follow what he says," I took a deep breath and said.

"I...am not sure either," Siddharth said after thinking a while. Again, it was silent. No one spoke anything.

"I have an idea... If you guys want to follow...You know.... Just suggestions, nothing more," Abhi said.

"Go on," Siddharth said with a sigh. But, the face he had was like, 'Whatever you are going to tell will give me a heart attack'.

"Okay, so the latest you can do abortion is 12 weeks time. So, why don't you guys stay together till then. If things works out between you guys, you can get married or if not, you can you know abort the baby," he finished and looked at us.

"Abortion? I never thought about that," I smiled bitterly.

"Look, it's just a suggestion. You guys only have two options. Either get marry and have the child or abort the child. Since, you guys have no idea of what you are going to do, I suggested this. If you feel unsure of abortion, why don't you guys try to live with each other? Obviously, you both are at the correct age to get marry, aren't you?" he said.

"I am 28 and you?" Siddharth asked. That's when I realized I didn't know anything about him except for his name.

"27," I said. "I think that will work. What do you think?" I said again. And he just nodded.

"Okay, I will leave you guys to yourself, for now," Abhi said and left quickly after.

"Why don't you stay here itself?" he asked me after sending his friend off. I stayed silent, not knowing what to tell.

"Listen, I dont have any ulterior motives. I just suggest that since you dont have a place to stay and also we can get to know each other well," he said in one breath.

"Yeah, okay. I think it is a good idea. Thanks....for letting me stay here," I said.

"That's okay. No problem," he said with a breathtaking smile. It could ease anyone with any kind of pain.

"I will call Harish and tell him not to come," I said and called him to inform that I am going to stay with Siddharth after this. He didnt comment on it, but he said he will be with me in any kind of situation.

"I think we need to talk. Like you know, share things about ourself. To get to know each other. I knew the least about you," he said and I smiled because I had the same thought also.

"You want something to drink? Tea?" he asked me.

"I don't like tea. Coffee maybe?" I said. He liked tea and I liked coffee. Great start.

"Sure, I'll do it for you," he offered. "Only today, from tomorrow I can do. Because I like doing my own things," I said.

"Same pinch," he laughed. Then, he went to the kitchen and I look around the house. Last night, I didn't had time to look properly. I saw his childhood photos. Mostly, with the other kids, at the orphanage.

"Life would have been difficult without parents, wasn't it?" I asked him when he offered me the coffee.

"Not exactly, I never had the feeling of being with my parents, at least I didn't remember it. You know, it would be difficult when someone took something you owned. In my case, I never had it to start with. So, it wasn't that difficult," he said and I nodded.

I had my brothers, until my mistake took them away from me.

"How about your childhood?" he suddenly asked me.

"I lost my mother when I was a kid too. And my dad married his mistress as soon as my mother passed away. I have two brothers, an elder brother and a younger one. Both of them love me. Only both of them. I have a younger sister who hates me to the core. My father, my stepmother and my sister made my childhood the worse, while my brothers made it the best. So, with the two things, it became balanced. I know its complicated. Sometimes, I wish I had none," I said.

"I agree. Being alone is better, you can never hurt anyone and no one can hurt you," he said and I smiled.