Sunrays seeped through the curtains, cold and unfeeling. He stirred, his eyes opened slowly. He felt pain- A sharp burning sensation reminding him of knife wound on his stomach.

A faint growl grumbled his stomach as he forced himself to sit. Every moment pulled a wound she had gifted him few days ago.

His gaze shifted to her.

She was still standing.

Exactly where he had left her.

Her body stood still and stiff. Her knees trembling, as if her body was on brink of collapse. Her head was bowed and her face was pale. Her hair were messy as the strands obstructed his view to her face.

"You're still standing." He muttered. His voice hinted a disbelief. "I thought you wouldn't last a night" he sounded almost lazy and annoyed.

"You told me to stay." She breathed in hoarse voice.

"And You did." He said raising to his feet.
He winced in pain as his pain flared as he moved, but he masked it quickly unwilling to show any weakness.

"Do you know why I asked you to stand here all night?" He walked towards her.

She swallowed her throat tight.

"Because.... Because... I slapped you..." She was so scared.

He huffed mockingly. "You slapped me." He repeated... His voice dark. "You slapped me in front of your mother after she had disrespected me. You think you could get away with that?"

His eyes never left hers, as though he could see right through her, through every fragile, broken part of her.

"You think you can slap me, disrespect me and walk away unscathed? You think I'll forgive you just like I used to?" His voice hardened with every word.

Her chest tightened with his words. Everything flashed before her eyes. She had betrayed him. She had stabbed him. She had broken him.

This was a stranger who was in front of her was nothing like the man he knew- He had loved her once. He had loved her blindly, completely. But she had use that against him. But that man was gone.

Her heart beat with pang of guilt cutting through her. How could she forget? He had been everything she needed once. And she had destroyed him.

But now, he was different... He was cold, calculated, cruel! He wasn't going to let her walk over him anymore!

"You are not dealing with the same fool anymore. I am not the man who used to forgive you for anything and everything, who let you broke him over and over." He spat as he grabbed her jaw tightly making her gasp.

His words cut deeper than knife to her already broken heart. She wanted to speak, apologize, beg for forgiveness. But she knew it was useless. The way he looked at her she knew she had no right to say anything anymore.

"You think I'll just take your slap and move on like nothing happened?" He words cold and cutting. "You are wrong, I will never let you disrespect me ever again."

Her body shook in weight on his words. His eyes burning with fury.

Without any warning he shoved her backwards. The sudden impact made her breathless, she stumbled back, hitting the wall hard as he forcefully pinned her with a sickening force. Pain shot through her already exhausted body making her wince.

Her hand flew towards her chest, clutching her clothes. She couldn't breathe. She felt too broken, too guilty. She had broken herself by slapping him, defying him. She had no excuse, no way to make it right.

She wanted to speak but the words were stuck in her throat. Guilt raged inside her. It kept making her keep smaller and smaller.

As if the air wasn't heavy enough, he spoke again... His voice heavy and dangerous, "You think these are the only bad things you did to me??"

Her heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by that...? She didn't know how much worse it could get. But then his eyes darkened... He leaned closer and whispered in her ear.

"I don't think you realise how deep your betrayel goes." He said. His words sounded like threat... "You didn't just slap me, you didn't just disrespect me, you didn't just try to kill me... You had drugged me and raped me, you had cheated on me, you played with my feelings, you killed my child!"

Her world stopped. Her breath caught in her throat and she froze unable to process what he had just said. Her knees almost gave up. And for a moment everything felt like spinning around her.

"You... You... Know..." Her words barely came out. Her mind struggling to comprehend what he had said.

He stepped closer, his presence dominated the room. "You didn't think I would find out, did you? I knew from the moment you ended the pregnancy. You did not tell me let alone give me a choice... But I knew." He said.

Her stomach twisted. She felt nauseated, she would throw up anytime. She hadn't thought he would ever find out. She never thought about the consequences. It's just she couldn't keep the child at that time.

But to hear him say that he knew all this time made her feel so small... So heartless... To hide this from him... To end everything... It was gut wrenching.

She couldn't control herself. Her body felt like it wasn't hers anymore. She couldn't feel anything.

He knew? From how long? Why hadn't he confronted her sooner? What did he feel all this time???

"I... I... Didn't..." She stammered. "I didn't know what to do... I couldn't tell you... It wasn't right time..."

"Right time?!" Siddharth mocked. "You didn't care about right time... You only cared about yourself and you made that choice for yourself."

Avneet's mind was racing. She couldn't make sense of anything. She had made that decision out of uncertainty, out of fear. She never thought how it would affect him.

And now hearing the truth... He had known all along... It was suffocating.

She couldn't speak... Her hands were shaking, her entire body trembling... She had no excuse. Nothing she said could ever undo the pain she had caught him.

His voice was hard and unforgiving, "You took the one thing that we could've had together. You took away my chance to be a father, and you did it without a second thought."

Her breath was ragged, and her vision blurred as tears welled up in her eyes. She had no idea how to fix this? How could she? How could she fix so unforgivable? How could she have been so selfish, so careless with the one person who truly cared for her?

"I never wanted to hurt you." Avneet said looking right in his eyes. Her voice barely audible. "I never meant to do this. "I was scared... I was... I didn't know what to do... I didn't think it would hurt you like this."

"Well it does hurt me... And you will have to live with that." He said. His gaze softened for fraction of second. "You think I don't feel it? I carry that pain with me every day, you took something from me that I will never get back!!"

"Do you understand now? Do you understand the depth of your betrayel?"

She nodded. Her face wet with tears. She had been so reckless, so careless about everything she had ever cared about. And now standing before him she realised how much she had lost.

How could she ever explain the things she had done? The pain she had caused? How could she explain how deeply she had taken his love for granted?

"I... I... Never... I... I... Was scared..."

She couldn't she couldn't fight back his words. His words were truth, as harsh as they were. She had betrayed him the way that went beyond anyone's imagination. She had ripped apart everything they had, everything he believed in. Now she had to bear consequences.

And yet, he was there standing in front of her... After everything she had done... She noticed the bloodstained bandage wrapped around his stomach, the evidence of knife she inflicted on him few days ago.

"I am sorry." She said.

"Sorry doesn't fix anything. Sorry doesn't bring back my child, sorry doesn't fix the wound on my stomach, sorry doesn't bring back my lost years... Sorry doesn't erase what you have done."

Her sobs grew louder, her body trembling under the weight of his accusations.

"You are pathetic, standing here and crying like a broken doll... You think this could fix anything?"

Her knees gave out, and sank to the floor, her hand clutched edge of table beside her to steady herself. She looked at him with tear stained eyes.

Her body trembled in his gaze. He looked at her weak body for second, his chest heaved with unrestrained anger. Then with sharp exhale. Her lips trembling as she tried to find the words that would stop him, to make him shee her pain.

But he didn't care. He didn't flinch at all or soften looking at her broken state. Instead he grabbed her arm and pulled her up with sharp tug. He scooped her petite figure in his arms.

She looked at him shocked at his sudden movement. Pain tore through as her weight pressed his wound making him loose balance a little bit she quickly steadied himself. She gasped, her hand clutching his shoulder.

"Siddharth, You are hurt." She whispered.

"And whose fault is that?" He snapped with bitter voice.

She went silent as he carried her to bed. Every step was painful but he refused to show his weakness.

When he reached the bed, he lowered her on the mattress. His movements felt rougher than expected.

"Stay here, princess. Lie here and think about what you have done, lives you have destroyed. Think about man you betrayed."

He turned towards the door turning his back to her.

"Don't mistake this for care." He said without looking back. "I carried you because you're to weak to stand up, not because you deserve it."

"I am sorry." She said one more time.

He sighed. "Sorry won't fix anything... You'll have to live with what you have done and bear the consequences... Just like I have to live with this."

He started to leave but again paused...
"Rest. You will need strength for what's to come. I will ask someone to send you breakfast." He said and left the room with loud thud.