Chapter Eighty-Three: The Weight of Grief
The morning came anyway.
Sunlight streamed through the windows like nothing had changed. Like the world hadn't ended.
Jay lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
She hadn't moved in hours.
Keifer was beside her, awake but silent. He'd held her all night. Hadn't slept either.
"Jay," he whispered. "Can I get you anything?"
No response.
"Water? Tea?"
Nothing.
He reached for her hand. She didn't pull away, but she didn't squeeze back.
He didn't know what to do.
---
Downstairs, the mansion was heavy.
Shreya sat on the couch, staring at nothing.
She hadn't cried since last night. Now she was just... empty.
Mithun sat beside her, holding her hand. He'd tried to talk to her. She'd nodded but hadn't spoken.
Akshi was worse.
She was curled in Chethan's lap, still crying.
Not the loud sobs of yesterday. Quiet tears. Constant. Unstoppable.
"I was going to be an aunt," she whispered for the hundredth time. "I was going to spoil her rotten."
Chethan held her tighter. "I know."
"She was real, Chethan. She was real and now she's gone."
"I know."
"Why? Why did this happen?"
He had no answer.
No one did.
---
Keiran didn't understand.
He knew Mamma was sad. He knew all the aunties and uncles were sad. But he didn't know why.
He sat in the playroom with Rex and Ganesha.
"Rex, why is everyone crying?"
Rex didn't answer. He was a dinosaur.
"Ganesha, do you know?"
Ganesha didn't answer either.
Keiran hugged them both. "I'm sad too. Even if I don't know why."
---
Keigan found him there.
He sat down beside his little brother.
"Hey, buddy."
"Keigan. Why is everyone sad?"
Keigan was quiet for a moment. Then: "Mamma lost the baby. The little one inside her."
"Like... the baby died?"
"Yeah. Like that."
Keiran's eyes filled with tears. "So I don't get a brother or sister?"
"Not right now. Maybe someday. But not now."
Keiran cried. Quietly. Like he didn't want anyone to hear.
Keigan pulled him close. "It's okay to be sad."
"I am sad."
"Me too."
They sat together, holding each other.
Rex and Ganesha watched over them.
---
Percy arrived early.
For once, he wasn't loud.
He walked in, saw Shreya's empty eyes, Akshi's constant tears, and his face crumpled.
Honey held his hand. "Babe—"
"I don't know what to do." His voice broke. "I don't know how to fix this."
"Sometimes you can't fix. You just... stay."
He nodded. Wiped his eyes. Walked to the kitchen.
Started making tea.
Lots of tea.
For everyone.
It was all he could do.
---
Aries and Ella came next.
Aries hugged Jay first—she didn't respond, but she let him.
Ella sat with Shreya, not speaking, just being there.
C.N. and Rakii arrived silently. C.N. had no statistics today. No probabilities. Just grief.
David and Freya brought food no one would eat.
Felix and Bridget sat with Mithun, offering silent support.
Mica and Calix held each other, crying.
Yuri didn't film. Didn't even bring his camera.
---
They gathered in the living room.
All of them.
The whole chaotic family.
Sitting in silence.
Grieving together.
---
Jay finally spoke.
Her voice was hoarse. Broken.
"I keep thinking about what she would have looked like. Would she have had my nose? Keifer's eyes? Would she have been loud like Percy? Quiet like Mithun?"
Shreya squeezed her hand.
"I was going to teach her how to read. How to dance. How to be strong."
Akshi sobbed.
"She was real. She was so real. And now she's just... gone."
Keifer pulled her close. "She's not gone. She's in our hearts. She always will be."
"But I can't hold her. I can't see her. I can't—" Her voice broke.
"I know. I know."
---
Shreya spoke.
"I was going to be the cool aunt. The one who teaches her how to sneak out. The one who—" She stopped. Cried.
Mithun held her.
"She would have loved you," Jay whispered.
"You think?"
"I know."
Akshi looked up. "I was going to spoil her. Buy her everything. Teach her how to be chaotic."
"She would have been the most chaotic kid ever. With you as her aunt."
Akshi laughed weakly. "And Percy."
"And Percy."
Percy, from across the room, cried harder.
---
The day passed in a blur.
No one ate. No one moved much.
They just... existed.
Together.
---
That night, Keiran crawled into bed with Jay and Keifer.
"Can I sleep here?"
Jay pulled him close. "Of course, baby."
"I'm sad too."
"I know."
"But I'm also glad I have you and Pappa."
She held him tighter. "We're glad too."
"Rex and Ganesha are sad. But they're also glad."
"They're good dinosaurs."
"The best."
Keifer wrapped his arms around them both.
They lay there—husband, wife, son.
Grieving together.
Healing together.
One day at a time.
---
End of Chapter Eighty-Three