"Divorce papers?" Ashna took the support of the teal wall bearing a heartwarming rendering of a spring, but her hope withered away like autumn had arrived. "You want to divorce me, Aniket?"

Sandeep's decision to divulge Aniket's decision to divorce her had plunged her into such depths of an ocean of despair she had never fathomed. The only one she call her own - her family - had deserted her. The silence that followed had both offered her a promise of Aniket reconsidering his decision, and sounded a punishment of indifference.

"Don't amuse me, Ashna. When you bedded someone on our wedding anniversary, you had reached the heights of infidelity. You expect me to remain tied to you after that?" he asked, with a dicing edge to his tone that tore through her conscience.

"You were gone, Aniket. Like you always were. What could I make of it?" she asked, furious tears rolling down her flushed cheeks. The neck of her full-sleeved top slipped past her shoulder blades and her high cheekbones were prominent than ever. Without a touch of makeup, her ashen features had tugged at the strings of his heart before her rebuttal erased every sign of empathy towards the woman.

"Wow! What a justification, Ms. Agarwal! Your justification for infidelity is I was on a business trip! Wonderful," he spat, banging his fist on the wall beside him, ignoring the pain which throbbed through him with the impact. Ashna rushed to her feet to help Aniket's bleeding hand.

"Aniket, what's wrong with you? Have you lost it? What is this behavior?" she asked, pressing her palm over the wound to prevent blood loss and her desperate eyes searched for something - anything - she could tie around his lacerated hand. Aniket pulled away his hand from Ashna's grasp with a force that almost toppled her.

"Don't act like you care, Ashna. If you cared, you would not go behind my back to cheat on me. Don't act like you have loved me throughout your life and cannot see me in pain, because you never loved me."

The fear which had tied her tongue - the fear of losing him - was the same which had unraveled the intricate knot. "If I had never loved you, Aniket, I would not have spent years of my life to be the woman you wanted," she said, nibbling on her lower lip and rolling her eyes back to prevent tears from spilling out of her eyes.

"Didn't Vivek tell you what had happened? How many calls, messages, and emails Preeta, Sandeep and I had left for you? You were untraceable. I left all my modelling and shooting assignments and waited for you and your call. Now, when you are finally back, you slam a divorce notice on me and claim I never loved you. If I had never loved you, I would be in so much peace," she exclaimed, poking her finger into his chest with eyes that were just crimson like the blood she had shed on the fateful night.

Aniket's head spun, listening to her claims, and he raked his dainty fingers through his ruffled hair. "What the hell are you blabbering, Ashna? I gave you everything, and you say I stole your peace? Stop painting yourself as the victim, for god's sake!"

"Everything." A chuckle escaped her lips before fresh tears swirled in her eyes and sorrow clogged her throat. She clamped her lips down to restrain the sobs rumbling in her heaving chest. "What about company, Aniket? What about support? I won several accolades over the years, but you never came to cheer for me. After my mother passed, I had no one's eyes to search for jubilation down the podium. No one's proud smile to make the success worth it."

Warm brine rolled down her cheeks with reckless abandon. Her words pierced through his conscience and her tears blazed his heart. His fingers twitched to wipe the wet trails - replenished by tears that would not stop - but there was a mechanical stiffness in his arm which refused to oblige the heart's earnest wish.

"I think you chose the wrong person for your mission, Aniket. Ashna is not cut out for this. I did not know how to say this."

"But why? What's wrong? She matches the bill perfectly," retorted Aniket, shrugging his shoulders.

"Perfectly? You wanted a rich heiress, Aniket, to prove to your father that you can add value to family fortunes. You were tired of proving your worth to your dad in every way you could, till he said the only way you could be useful was by ensuring you bring a bride who brings along great wealth, and you took it to the heart. Don't you see the troubles plaguing her at home?"

"I did not force her. She is with me by her own will. I am not hurting her. I don't understand your concern for her," spat Aniket, turning away from his friend, avoiding the conscience which was rousing by his friend's words.

"You can win her hand without being manipulative, too, Aniket, but trust me, no relationship based upon such lies will stay forever. It is bound to fail," exclaimed Vivek furiously.

"I am tired of this, Vivek! Expectations, expectation and goddamn expectation from everyone. To be a prodigal son to my father, to be an ideal boy according to my mother, be meritorious yet ace the sports according to mentors, behave like that and don't behave like that."

Aniket huffed and shook his head. "Now, you tell me I should quash my father's expectations to meet with yours. Why do I have to do this? I cannot believe how, out of everyone, Ashna is the only one who does not have any expectations of me. This relationship will never fail. I will make sure of it!"

The relationship had failed, as did he in his quest of fulfilling his vow. Blinded by zeal to prove himself, he had failed to realize he had entered a maze without an exit. Not a free one, at least.

He had also remained afloat in a ignorant and blissful state from the vow undertaken by the lady in question, who had listened to a part of the heated exchange between the friends.

"I promise you, Aniket, I will try to keep my expectations towards you at a bare minimum and even if I find them rising, I will never compel you to live up to them. I will ensure this relationship remains unbreakable and you never feel suffocated in this relationship, no matter the cost."

Her vow, like his, stood broken. Not unlike their hearts and their aspirations. The dreams they had woven with twinkling eyes had dashed against the stony reality and the shattered shards tore apart their beautiful canvas of ardent affection for each other.

"You loved me, and I know about that. But I wish you had some time for me. So tied up with business trips, conferences, and bagging deals, the passion in our life ended the moment the chase ended, Aniket. I wanted to be loved. To be cherished, the way I have not from childhood because of the marital discord between my parents."

Aniket felt the very ground slipping beneath his feet. He knew her accusations were far from baseless. As she turned away from him, he could hear her muffled sobs. He clenched his wounded palm in vexation as the waves of realization crashed upon his consciousness - his actions were his own undoing.

Before he could reach out to Ashna, he felt the phone in his pant pocket vibrate. He pulled out his phone, and his conscience did not fail to mock how he had chosen his phone over his wife. As always. The username threatened to shake the crux of his very existence. The woman whose visions made his heart race and blood rush - Kriti.

"Hello," he spoke into the receiver as he accepted the call.

"Aniket, I am pregnant with your child."