Jeoperdised, he kept staring at his wife with sheer pain in his every inch of face and most in his eyes.

She fainted twice and not in a normal state. She fainted because step by step she is coming closer to the truth. The truth which he kept hiding all this while. The truth which is too ugly and haunted.

The truth that can either break them apart or crumble down her.

The truth, which had swallowed them, inch by inch.

What would he say to her, once she regains her consciousness?

Did she really hear about the baby and the abortion?

What is she going to conclude with all the facts?

How would he make her understand?

How should he be enough strong to stand in front of her, meet her eyes and then lie, right at her face?

He kept fighting inside with all the thoughts and felt helpless,  tears falling one by one from his eyes. That tears pricked. That unconscious state of her pricks. This whole f*****g situation pricks.

Her little squirm in her sleeping state jerked him back and a mixed feeling of relief and terror engulfed him.

Now that she is awake, what explanation is he going to offer her?

What kind of support, he could offer her?

Will she be more broken than she already is?

He is yet not prepared to enlighten her with the truth.

There, Khushi opened her eyes only to recall the truth she came across, not so while ago.

She knew he must be there. Her eyes travelled to the side of the recliner and there she found him, sitting lost and cold.

Her eyes pricked to see him still at his place lost in his thoughts.

Probably, grounded with the thoughts that how is he going to pacify his ever broken, weak wife.

She laughed mockingly at her own self.

But then, her fist clenched. She again remembered what kind of brutal truth she came across just before loosing her senses in the arms of her culprit.

Ignoring the fact that how weak her body had become after coming across and registering the worst news.

The loss of that overwhelming feeling.

The loss of that hope.

The loss of her being a mother to a human created by her and her husband.

She attempted to stand only to sit back defeated.

A gut-wrenching ache bobbled in her throat dreading to come out as a painful sob which she gulped like her fate gulped her motherhood happiness or rather a particular someone did that.

Their talks conveyed her the possibility of tha latter more.

And if that's what the truth is, then the culprit won't be spared nor would she let herself shame in the name of a mother by staying with the one who snatched her baby from her.

But for that, she need to be strong, take a stand but will she be able to do so?

That too, when she isn't actually sure about him doing the shameful act deliberately?

May be, No.

She needs to find the truth but then, after today she is sure she lost the love of her husband, so, she won't insult herself living with a cheat of her husband.

She would move anywhere and then grasp the entire truth regarding her baby, his role and her unawareness regarding every fateful bit of it.

Too weak to stand, she tried to get down the bed only to shriek, break his chain of thoughts and in next second, he was found standing just beside her, holding her shoulder in a way refraining her to get down.

Her anger raised making her red eyes shot dangerously at him and jerking his hands enough harshly for it to collide with the bed-side table lamp, making blood ooze out from his skin.

For the first time, his wounds didn't matter, that painful, shocked expression on his face didn't matter because only fact she remembered was her loosing her baby even before she could acknowledge it and her husband keeping her in dark for any reason or any selfish interest of him or the worst, he himself being the reason for the sin.

She tried to get up again, this time to be hovered by him and painfully, now this closeness, his touch disgusted her.

She moved her face sideways not even wanting to touch him to push.

K-Khushi, let me explain. I-I can explain. He said in a quivering tone.

She stared right in his eyes and felt still. It conveyed pain and longingness.

But why?

But this pain when he doesn't love her and what about the baby, the abortion?

That thought clouded her mind yet again.

Did he got rid of their precious or was it one of her regular, fateful accident?

Should she reach a conclusion without listening to him?

There is/was love between them. Should she listen to him for that love sake?

Gulping her turmoils, she closed her eyes only to open it with a tinge of hope, even after their talks had fetch her enough proof to trust the mercilessly killing truth she came across.

Fine.
Explain.
She demanded and there started
his hesitance in speaking.

Uh-h

He tried and fumbled only to make Khushi chuckle dangerously saying-

Explain Arnav, I am waiting.

Khushi, whatever you are thinking is not true.

He said closing his eyes in fear.
A dark fear engulfing and slowly penetrating deep into his heart.

He had thought ways to convince her but when the moment came, not a single word to make up to come out.

He breathed eratically, when the next moment, he saw Khushi standing on her feet in a jiff and walking towards the closet.

One by one the dumping of her old clothes which he even hated to see and she kept hiding somewhere on her side broke his reverie and made him come across his wildest fear.

She is escaping from him.

She is trying to leave him.

Khushi?
W-what are you doing?
Why are you packing these old clothes?

He asked dreading the worst and what he heard next made his world crumble and his every attempt goof-up.

Let's get done with this Arnav. Tell your lawyer to get the divorce papers ready. I agree to free you. To give you a chance to be with the woman you love.

For the first time in all these years, the famous dreadful anger of ASR, from which the world is afraid of surfaced him for Khushi and in no longer time and in two long strides, he reached her and pinned her harshly to the closest starling and making her shiver.

He looked her at with his nose exhaling fire, eyes pricking with vengeful tears for what she demanded and hands etching to confine her within him that she never voice out, she voiced today.

She desired to leave him.

She alleged him loving someone else probably Lavanya?

Little did he know what the half-truth had fed her mind and what he had become in her eyes.

They kept staring in each other's tearful eyes and in that moment, Arnav stumbled with his head spinning when his wife asked broken-

Why did you kill our baby Arnav?

Killed?
Their child?
From all of these, she concluded him being the murderer of their own love-symbol, their first child.

He collapsed on the bed next second and then Khushi rooted at her spot when right infront of her eyes, her husband threw every damn thing of their room which had taken her six precious months to adorn it the way she dreamt to.

The beautiful world of them, Arnav and Khushi.

The room, her effort, his pride, their moments, the sacred place which witnessed the union of their soul was now left devasted which every damn thing along with their precious moment lay mercilessly torn and scattered all over the place.

She kept standing at her place still, he kept sitting on the floor still and the only things that showed its movements was the hands of clocks, and the flow of their tears with their hoarse breath.

Too damaged to mend, which path would life show them now?

To be continued..

What are your thoughts on this chapter? Where do you think their life is leading?  What is the truth?  When will he confine the truth with her?

Is it the truth that Arnav aborted Khushi's and his child?

It was a true rollar-coaster ride of painful emotions while penning it down.

Now, which update you want next?

HIGHEST voted one will be updated next.

Thank you to all those who voted and commented on the previous chapter.

Do vote and comment if you loved it.