Sona's POV

My mind screamed out as the pain seared through every cell in my body. Every thought I just had, became blur as the burning pain spread through my heart like scorching fire. I cried at my own suffering.

Mental anger swiped through at this chaos and pain, pain for those around me whom I wanted to protect and provide.... However all I did was to increase my own agony in defence of others. I lost this battle. I couldn't do this anymore. I stood there like a statue, self-loathing and bearing the pain, wishing the world to end rather than facing this sea of endless monsters crashing over me and breaking me, permanently.

"Maa....I didn't..." my voice came out choked as tears flowed uncontrollably from my eyes.

My mum became so agitated seeing me in that state. I was too frightened to even face Dev. I didn't want to see his accusation looks on me. I wished my voice would come out stronger but it didn't.

"Sona.... Beta what's wrong?" my mum panicked as Dev walked closer.

"Maa... how did you know that I was the one who sent you that money?" I asked as she looked at me with a confused look.

"I received your letter with a cheque in a small parcel. You had mentioned in that letter to keep this as a secret.....but I don't think we should be getting money from your in-laws like this Sona. That parcel also had your engagement ring. I think you accidently dropped it there. Here you go...." She passed me as I looked at her gobsmacked.

I had lost my ring on the day I went shopping with Neil. The same day when I was assaulted by Neil....which means......Neil had the ring? Shit..... I turned my face to look at Dev and he gave me the most disgusted and painful stare which burnt me to ashes. I couldn't take this anymore.

"Maa..." I started but before I could complete Dev interrupted the conversation.

"Maa.... It's ok. You can take this money. You don't have to return this..... I will take care of the expenses... Am I not like your son?" he asked but the pain in his voice didn't go unnoticed.

"You are like my son beta.....but we won't be needing this now. I think this amount is more than what we need. If we really need any money, I will definitely ask you. Please keep this with you now." she requested and Dev took it without a word. I just stared at them like an alien.

"Sona.... what's wrong? Are you ok?" she asked as I just shook my heads in defeat. I knew that if I argued back, things would still turn against me so I decided to keep shut. Now all I had to do was make Dev understand that everything happening around him is not true.

We walked her to the living room where all the other family members were now standing. I just kept my gaze down on the ground praying that my mum would leave before any other drama starts in the house.

"Take care Sona...." She smiled.

"Maa...I love you........I am trying my best....just remember..... Never accept any money from others...please" I whispered so that only she could hear. Her expressions changed as she looked at me with shock.

I couldn't even smile back at her. My jaws ached and I forced a smile out just to prevent her from suspecting anything happening. I didn't want her to know what I was going through. They already had enough problems and I didn't want my parents to feel more burdened because of me.

Convinced by my act, my mother left the house. I stared at her retreating figure and tried to ignore the wave of pain tugging in my heart.

--------------------------

"So now.... Anymore explanation needed?" I heard his voice. It was cold and menacing.

I turned behind and gasped as I saw him inches away from me. He was standing there with a resentful look.

"Dev, please just let me explain...." I started but from his stare, I knew that whatever I say would fall deaf in his ears.

"Why Sona........ why?" he asked as his eyes drilled through my face.

"Dev please trust me. I really don't know how maa got that cheque. I swear it wasn't me!"

"Then what about the ring? You lied that you lost it, remember?" he asked as I stood there controlling my tears. It just made me feel so weak to cry in front of him. I just wished he had listened to me patiently instead of getting angry.

"No, I really lost it that day in the shopping mall. Maybe Neil had it... He could have used it to put the blame on me?" I said as my head started throbbing all of the sudden.

"What happened Dev? Why was Asha ji here?" Ishwari interrupted.

"Let them deal with it Ishwari. It's not right for us to interfere." Jay said as he tried to pull her away. But Ishwari was just too adamant to stand there.

"How many more lies? HOW MANY? Are you trying to say that Neil broke into our office to steal that money too?" Dev yelled as he sat there with his hands on his head. Tears started flowing through his eyes as they reflected pure agony and pain. He shook his head trying to get rid of his thoughts but I could clearly see that my 'betrayal' had shaken him. I wanted to wipe his tears and tell him that it was ok but damn him!

He trusted the people around him more than me...

"I can't Sonakshi. Everytime I try to trust you, you betray me. I tried to believe you but you failed me. I still love you but I can't see you doing this....... If money is what you want, you could have asked me, Sonakshi. I would have thrown my entire wealth for you... But why did you have to steal from me like this?" he choked as the pain he was going through was so evident from his face.

He was suffering again because of me. It wasn't his fault. The entire universe was against me and I was partially at fault this time. If only I had been open about Neil to him earlier, he would have seen the entire truth but now, everything was just screwed up!

"Dev......Please trust me! I am not lying at all..... You know how reluctant I am when it comes to taking money from you.... How could I do such a shameful thing?" I cried as he just turned his face away.

"I knew it. This is what happens when you bring bloody middle class people into our house. All they know is, how to steal our things. They never think before doing such low class acts." Ishwari fumed.

"Ishwari, you are being cruel.." Jay interrupted but Ishwari started to argue her point.

"No Jay. Its high time you see the truth instead of siding that girl. She stole my bangles, now the office money... and tomorrow, it may be Dev's wealth. God knows what she will do next. Dev! Listen, now the decision is in your hands. Better think wisely.... Do you really need a kind of wife who is a gold-digger? She doesn't even love you. If your office bankrupts tomorrow, I am sure she will leave you like last time." She ranted as Dev stood like a traumatized patient.

"You don't have any rights to speak about me like that! YOU VERY WELL KNOW THAT I DIDN'T STEAL IT. Yet you are putting the blame on me for no reason. I have never seen such cruelty happening anywhere. You separated me from Dev 3 years ago and now, you are doing the same thing again!" I yelled as everyone became quiet. There was an eerie silence around the house as Dev stared at me in horror. That's when I realized what I had blurted out.

God.....

"Now I think I have heard enough. I don't think I have the energy to listen to anymore bullshit from you Sonakshi. Do you realise that you are blaming every single person around you except yourself? First you said Neha. Now you are telling that the separation which happened three years ago was because of my mum. Now if I remain silent, then it's going to cause a big disaster. I can't handle this any longer. I am going to leave this house right now!" he roared as my eyes widened.

Just then, Nisha entered the living area. She looked at the scene unfolding infront of her and frowned in confusion.

"Dev? What's wrong? Why are you.... Wait are you crying? What's wrong?" she acted like she was baffled.

"I should have trusted you from the start Nisha..... It's all my fault now. I've married a gold-digger and now, she has ruined me like you had said!" he poured his emotion but little did he know that she was the reasons for his miseries.

My knees gave way as I started crying uncontrollably.

"Dev STOP BELIEVING HER! She is a snake in disguise of a cow! Her intentions are not good. She is the reason behind all this. She had been framing against me all this time.... She even tried to kill me! She tried to hurt me... She is a horrible human being Dev. How can you trust her more than me? Please Dev.... Just open your eyes and see what's happening around you. THE ONE WHO DISGUISED AS NEHA AND FOOLED ME THREE YEARS AGO WAS YOUR COUSIN NISHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed as I buried my hands on my hair and cried.

The next minute, I felt a strong tug on my arms. When I opened my eyes, I realized that I was harshly pulled by my arms to stand up. My feet wobbled as Dev gripped my shoulders harshly and shook me with a death glare.

"Dare you utter another word about her, I would..." he raised his voice.

"You would what? Kill me? Tell me...What?" I screamed as I rested my eyes on his face as I saw the sorrow building inside him.

"Just go away Sonakshi..... Please just leave me. I am sick of all this games. Just tell me what you want?" he said softly as my blood started to boil.

"What do you mean by what I want? And where do I go? Isn't this my home?" I sniffled and stared at him with disappointed eyes. I was already too ashamed that he was questioning my character in front of his family. But now, he was asking me to go... Where am I supposed to go in the middle of the night?

"I can't Sonakshi. I thought that if you accepted your mistakes, I would give you another chance. But the more you keep denying them, the more I am starting to hate you. Today you have proven to me that you are truly a gold-digger.... A money minded human being. I loved you. But you betrayed me. I can forgive you if you made a mistake but this isn't a mistake. It's a crime.... You backstabbed me!" he uttered.

The photos thrown at my face already felt like a slap of humiliation making my whole face sting and now him accusing me as a back stabber crushed all the hopes I had on him.

"Dev... Enough is enough! How much are you going to accuse her... Where will she go in this hour?" Jay demanded.

"Ask her to go back to her boyfriend. The one who kissed her at the mall....." he uttered shamelessly and that was the limit.

I was done with his crap. I connected my hand with his cheek and the hallway went silent. A few minutes passed by and everyone just stood there in silence looking at me as if I did something wrong. I looked at Dev who had a mark on his face from the impact of my slap.

"So far you accused me of lying, I took it because I agree that I have lied a few times due to fear. You accused me of stealing........... I still kept quiet. You called me a gold-digger despite knowing me for so long.......yet I kept quiet. Now, you are throwing such a cheap accusation at me? How could you Dev... I thought you knew me better? Was I wrong?......Yes...I was.... I was so wrong" I uttered as I could feel Ishwari storming towards me.

"How dare you raise your hands against my son? You, nasty woman!" she said as she raised her hands but before she could do anything, Dev stopped her.

"No maa. You can't do this... No one has the rights to raise their hands on her.... Let me deal with this......." He said softly as his hand held hers. By his heavy breathing, I could tell that he was not ready to see the truth. He was all messed up.

"I...am sorry Dev...I didn't mean to..." my lips quivered as I brought my palms to his cheeks but he flinched at my touch.

I was really sorry. I didn't mean to hit him like that. That was really unacceptable but his accusations were too mean that my hands automatically raised by themselves. I clenched my eyes shut in embarrassment and pain.

"Now it has been fully proven how much you care for me..... This was the only thing you did not do yet. Actually, you know what? I deserved more than a slap this time. I deserve this slap for loving you, taking your side against my family members all the time whenever they spoke bad about you, for loving you madly against all the odds in my life, for the sleepless nights I have spent taking care of you, for the emotional pain I went through everytime you got hurt....EVERYTHING. Thank you sooo much Ms Bose. You know what? You can stay here and enjoy for all the time you want....but I am leaving now. This damn minute!!" he said as he stormed to his room.

Everyone stood there shocked, registering what he just uttered. Everyone were too shocked to even react.

"Dev....why should you leave? It's her who has to leave if she wants. This is your house." Nisha argued.

"No Nisha, I am too damaged to stay with her or believe her anymore. I can't even live a single minute with her till I get a clear picture of her character. I am booking the next ticket to Australia right now...." He said and stormed off to his room.

With eyes full of worries, Jay walked towards me but before he could say anything, Ishwari pulled him off.

"Jay.... We have to stop our son right now. Come" she said and dragged a worried Jay towards our bedroom.

Neha walked towards me and gave me a tissue. One look at her face was all it took for me to breakdown again. What must she have thought about me? That her Bhabhi (sister in-law) was a slut? That I am gold-digger? She must have been disgusted as well... But she looked sad. She sat with me and wiped my tears of but that only made me cry harder.

Thinking that she was the only one who wiped my tears pained me to an extent where I thought that I was having a heart attack. Everything was painful. My body, heart, head...everything throbbed. My eyes were painful due to the constant crying as Radharani just walked away like a queen.

Neha grabbed my arms and asked me to follow her to her room but I was too weak to even listen to her instructions. My eyes became blur as I sat crying at the same place for the past half an hour.

Suddenly there was a sharp pain on my abdomen. I clutched my stomach and sat there. Soon Neha was dragged away by Nisha saying that she will handle the rest. Now the whole living area was quiet with only me and Nisha.

"So.... Now have you realized your place in the Dixit's house Sonakshi?" Nisha laughed as I wiped my tears and looked at her with fury. I still had no idea of giving up but her laughter just annoyed me.

"Just get the fuck away from here!" I spat as she looked around to make sure no one was around.

"Awww come on Sonakshi. Now you can't tell me that I didn't warn you. I warned you on your engagement day to back off but what did you do? You wanted to continue with this marriage and stuff.... But now, look. Look at the mess you have created for yourself." she spat as I stood there dumbfounded.

"What is wrong with you? Aren't you ashamed of running behind a married guy? I thought you will learn some senses after our marriage. But I can't believe that you are still behind him... Why can't you understand that he doesn't love you? He believes you so much! He thinks of you as a great friend. Do you know how hurt he will be if he finds out that the actual back-stabber is you not me?" I cried as Dev's hurt look flashed in my mind every second killing me slowly.

Just when she was about to reply, the door of our room swung open as Dev marched down the stairs. Ishwari and Jay were catching up behind him, convincing him to stay in the house for a little longer but him being the stubborn, arrogant-guy, he was not willing to listen to anyone. My eyes widened in panic as I ran towards him.

"Dev, I am your culprit na! Listen to me... Just punish me but don't leave me. I can't survive without you.... Please don't do this to me....." I begged as I held his hand hoping that he would forgive me at least for the last time.

"Sorry Sonakshi... I don't have anything for you to steal anymore. Now you can meet whoever you want or go wherever you decide to go. Just spare me this time. Don't make this difficult for both of us." he spat harshly as he was already standing near the doorstep.

"Dev, I have left my family, parents, siblings and friends to live with you. I trusted you with my entire life but you are leaving me with a bunch of people who are dangerous for me.... What if something happens to me? Will you be happy? What if they harm me? Your mum, Nisha and mami... they are not good people Dev. They don't like me..... Please bring me with you as well." I sobbed as my grip on his hands tightened.

For a moment, his eyes softened and his hands intertwined with mine. But that moment was short-lived as well.

Ishwari interrupted and jerked his hands away harshly. Dev stepped away and turned towards his car while I was pushed to my back, hitting the wall near the doorstep. Slowly I got up from the corner holding on to the barrels for support. My body felt as if I had been bruised in every corner. My legs felt shaky and could not support my body yet my head was the only thing that was feeling heavy.

I blinked my tears as I saw Dev walking to his car followed by his family behind him. Everyone were trying to stop him in their own way but I knew that it was impossible. He had taken this decision.... Of leaving me, and no one can change it.

"D-Dev.......P..p..please....." I sobbed as I fell on the doorsteps.

***********************

Warning : People who have read Dark passion previously, please DO NOT GIVE SPOILERS. It really angers me the most when some readers let out the future plot. Wattpad has no hidden function, so everyone can see your comments. Be considerate.

Precap : Dev's POV ...and Something unexpected....

Chapter 67 is something huge....So far all the guesses are wrong and I am happy that my story is not so cliche for readers to guess yet!

Chapter 67 Spoilers: Guess it with the pics