In the darkest flat, she was walking back and forth quietly. Her eyes diverting back to the clock every few minutes. Eyebrows drawing together, forehead creasing, hands folded behind her back and lines forming around her mouth. She was aging fast. Being a mother was a burden in the eyes of this society but to her far worse was the unfortunate fate of being married to a useless man.

The key chinked in the keyhole. He was home with subside breath, she waited as his footsteps muffled through the thin carpet. He emerged at the hall doorway. His eyes grew together in astonishment seeing her awake at the middle of the night.

"You're awake?" He grunted.

He was reeking of alcohol as he walked passed to her. She trailed behind him. "You lost everything, didn't you?" She stumbled on the words.

He tried to unbuttoned his shirt, faltering on his steps. "I don't want to talk about it."

Her hands fisting in a bowl, jaw clenching for the first time in years of their marriage. She mustered up the courage to speak up. How long could they go like this?

"You will strip us of everything with this addiction of yours." She hissed.

His head shot up and red brimmed eyes glared back at her, "Chup reh tu. (Shut up women)."

A wave of shiver ran down her, "Or Kab tak mai chup rahun. (How long witll I keep my silence)"

He took a step forward, "One word and see what I will do!"

Despite of his warning, she glared back. She wasn't going to shut up tonight. "We have nothing left. You will lead us to our doom."

Suddenly her whole world spun around. Her head started to blow away. She stumbled on her feet. She felt a sharp pain over her left cheek. A loud winced escaped from her lips.

"Apna mooh band kar samjhi. (Shut your fucking mouth)"

He sprawled on the bed closing his eyes. He didn't spare any emotion towards her. She stood in the corner, tears rolled on her cheeks. Her face was colored red, bruised. She silently stared at the man, who had changed drastically in last few months. The one her father had chosen for her.

"He is not the way you have told me Papa." She broke down pouring her heart silently, after a moments later her eyelids were heavy and like every day she slept crying hugging her son tightly.

*******

1 year ago,

The sun was shining in the sky effortlessly. It was short distance for spring to come. In the cafeteria they both were seating trying not to look into each other's eyes. The fact that they were hiding something from each other was crystalline. For a longer moment no one made an efforts to talk. Until the waiter distracted them.

"Two amaricano please." He forced a smile and turned his attention again on her, as the boy started to leave she called him up, "bring it one. As I'm not here to drink coffee anyway."

"What's the matter, alisha? Why are you behaving like this?" He asked concerned.

"You know that! Dhruv I can't do what you want me to do. This....this child--" she pointed her belly as she continued "I..I can't get pregnant right now. I have everything on stake." She looked at him straight in his eyes as the words she continued,"My career, my future,my dream. What will happen to it?"

Dhruv looked at her, astound. He was finding it hard to believe that whether she was the same girl whom he had loved since his high school days. Now, that he was seeing he realized, she did changed.

He took a deep breath before letting out the words he was holding it in, his posture changed,disquietude,"are you going to think about yourself only? I've been through so much, just so that you smile always. Isn't it too much whatever you're saying?" He reached out for her hands but she pulled it off quickly,"let's think one more time, please." He beg helplessly.

"I'm sorry dhruv but I can't do that. I've already done with the abortion procedure, the date is tomorrow." Her voice was cold.

Dhruv still on his place, her words pierced deep in his heart. He blinked vigorously to stop the tears from falling, but it was losing battle.

"So you will get rid of our child in the end!!" He giggled like a mad man and added, "and you think I'll seat here like a fool, not doing anything? It is my child as well and I'll never let you put a finger on my child ever." He mocked, his voice was hoarse.

Alisha was a audacious women, who doesn't care what other might think. She had made up her mind before even coming to see him, coming here and telling him her decision was just an excuse for her. Her eyes didn't blink neither she flinched from his sudden changed of tone.

Instead, she looked straight in his eyes as she said, "I'm sorry dhruv for not asking your permission. I hope you'll recover soon." She reached for his hands which was rested on the table and patted gently.

"I guess it's time for us to put full stop on our story. The journey was till here. I hope you'll understand some day." She got up and he stared as the door flung in the air.

He was left alone, alone in the crowded cafeteria which was beaming with a laughter of people and the light music, which he couldn't get the hold of. "I'm sorry." Was the only words he would replay time to time. Those two words was simple enough for her to say but it was a worst scenario for him.

It was meant to put a black dot on his love, which was decades older. Which he had since he was holding her school bag. Her sorry was meant to take the life, which haven't even seen the world, of whom he was waiting for.

Now she was trying to escape from all of it so smoothly. "She wants to free herself so she could start a new life. But by killing her past so brutually!!" Dhruv thought.

A rage of fire ran through his body. He clenched and unclenched his fist. His eyes were bloodshot red and clenching his teeth he stomped out of the cafeteria. It was not long when she left, so he guessed her location. Where he could easily find her. As he took the steps rapidly, there she stood on the other side of the road fetching taxi for her way back.

Dhruv clenched his fist roughly,the knuckle starts to turn white. As soon as he saw the red light, he ran towards her. Startled she looked at him.

"I'm going to give another chance. Tell me that you'll rethink you decision?" He stepped closer to her. She stepped back, managed to stand on the edge of the sidewalk. Her heels cracking against the blocks.

"I told you my decision and it's final." She rolled her eyes and looked for any vehicle to take her far away from him.

Dhruv looked at her then on the road. Suddenly a knowing smirk spread on his face. Partly she knew this evil smirk.

"I hope you will regret your decision. I will make you do it." He mocked.

Deep down she knew his behavior but before she could do anything. She found herself on the ground with her arms thrown out instinctively to catch her fall, into the jagged shards of glasses, she blinked severely to take the look of a tire rolling to the other side in hurry and vanished in minutes. Only now did she feel the seizing, stinging pain that ran from her wrist to the crease Inside her elbow.

Dazed and disoriented, she looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of her arm into the two suddenly panicked eyes. She heard muffling sound of people who started to gathered around her. It was fainting slowly. As her eyes started to shut, everything turned to blurred and the darkness started to overlap. The last thing she saw was a pair of black shoes walking back in a fog of people. "It was him. It was the sound of his footstep!!"

............

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