Arjun's POV

"You think he will be fine?!"

"Of course, he is Arjun. He has taken a bullet in his heart for me years ago, if he could survive that I am sure he will get over this."

"It was a close call, Mathew. Thank God! He fell on the grass and just broke his ribs and a hand."

"I think he had calculated the height in his mind and you know how smart he is, he had estimated where he is going to fall and at the most, how much will it cost him."

"Why isn't he waking up?! There is no brain injury...."

"I don't know."

"Radhika is beside herself, she isn't eating anything in fact she hasn't eaten anything since last night."

"I could care less about that girl but I do care about his baby so tell them to force some food down her throat."

"He is alive because of her, remember how he was when we brought him in, he wasn't responding to the treatment it's only when I started talking about her, he started responding to the treatment. She kept him alive!"

"You are her fan, aren't you?!"

"She is so perfect, the perfect wife for him. You know how possessive, controlling and aggressive he is, she is the calm to his storm. I hope he wakes up before she starves herself to death, she is barely eating anything."

I could hear Mark and Mathew's conversation and I was worried sick now.

Starves herself to death?! Fuck. She is not eating well! What the hell! Has she lost her mind?! Stupid girl, so stupid and thoughtless. What will happen to her if she continues depriving herself of food?!what will happen to our baby?! She needs me! My baby needs to me! I can't be lying here on this hospital bed and let her wither away in grief.

With all my strength, I willed myself to wake up, for my Radhika. I have to or else that stupid girl will throw away her life. I didn't sacrifice myself for her to starve herself to death, I chose her over me because I knew in her, I will always be alive. She will keep me alive in some form and of course the baby, my flesh and blood, a part of me will always be with her.

I opened my eyes to Mathew and Mark who looked as if sun had no risen for them for the days I was lying lifeless on the bed. They were overjoyed to see me awake and shared their ordeal. The pain was excruciating but I knew, I will get better and bounce back. I always tell myself that I am made of rock and no matter what, nothing can break me. I keep telling that to myself so that I don't bend, I might break but I will be a whole again.

Mathew smiled ear to ear,"I will get Radhika tomorrow."

I shook my head,"No she can't see me like these. The stitches need to come off, she will faint if she sees my condition. Let's wait for at least two weeks or until at least the damage looks less." I tell him.

She will faint if she sees me now, we can't give her a shock right now.

"She is miserable, Arjun." He tries to convince me.

"I know but if she sees me in this state, she won't be able to bear it. Don't tell anyone yet, tell Mariam to look after her and make sure she is eating well."

"She loves you very much." Mathew smiles.

"I love her more." I state because it's the only truth I know.

Mark frowned,"I know but look where she got you."

I stared at him with pure disbelief,"You think she got me here?! Why the fuck would you even say such a thing?! She is innocent and she has nothing to do with what happened or what has been happening for past one month."

"She is Rehan's daughter and its only because of her, they brought you to your knees! She brought this misfortune upon you, don't you realize that?!" He asked, in an enraged tone.

I glare at him fiercely,"My whole life has been a misfortune right from the birth! Did you forget who my father was and what he was capable of?! Radhika saved me, are you so blind to see it?! See, how much I needed her to save me not from someone else but my ownself! If you want to talk about misfortune, it's me who brought misfortune to her. It's me who spoiled her life when she wasn't even responsible for what happened with my mother and our family. Just take a good look at her, she is just twenty one yet she has more maturity than I do. I insulted our marriage, I stepped over her dignity, I kept throwing insults at her and punishing her for something she isn't guilty of yet she held onto me. Why?! Because for her, this marriage meant something even though it was a sham for me and only a means to torment Rehan. I kept giving her grief and for what?! She still consoled me, held me when I needed her comfort, she offered me solace something which I have been chasing relentlessly. It's high time you stop this mudslinging at her!"

I don't know if I can tolerate anymore of this shaming my wife for no reason. If it would have been someone else, I wouldn't have given that person a chance to apologize as I would have already given him a death sentence but its Mark and I cannot disregard what he has done for me.

He glared back at me,"She is Rehan's daughter, his filthy blood runs through her veins!"

"Am I not the son of a heartless tyrant?! You and I both know who father was and what he did. Forget about him, all three of us aren't any good. She is good, pure, honest and so much more something which I never was."

He scoffs,"You can't force me to like her."

"I am not, it's your choice all I am asking you is to be civil to her. I am not going to put up with you putting her down, she is Mrs Arjun Mehra now. She has done nothing except being respectful towards you even when you called her a whore, she has not said anything against you not even when we are alone."

It's true actually, I never heard Radhika say a mean thing about him even when he called her a whore, the first time he met her, she kept quiet even though I did not miss the tears in her eyes but she didn't say anything to him. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body, she never filled my ears about him or even about Lily when she knew Lily tried to drive a wedge between us. In fact she sympathized with a homeless woman who her husband had a past with. I mean, can you believe this girl?! How can you not love her?!

"I can't get myself to like her, but I will be civil to her for you and for the baby of course." He gave in.

I nodded, as this was a big step for him as well as for me, I rarely get through him but I am glad, he is ready to make an effort for me. I stare at the ceiling and that's what i did for the next few weeks until we thought that we can bring her in to see me. I didn't wanted to put her at risk in any case, I hope she understands that I did everything for her own good.

Today was a new day, a dawn after the darkest night for me as today is when I will see my Radhika, my little firefly who has lit up my dark world with her light. I wonder if she would turned more prettier than she already was. All I know is she is the prettiest girl I have ever laid my eyes upon and I am saying this not because of her looks, but because of her character. I had read somewhere boys look for their mother's character traits in their wife and I think in my case it's true.

As a child, I always wanted my mother back, I wanted her to wake up when I kept crying, shouting her name out, throwing my hands and feet in the air. I think that longing stayed with me even when I was a fully grown man, I think I fell in love with her selflessness, her love for my family, her not breathing a word to Sam and Mariam even when I was so horrible to her, her being my wife and the best person in my life even when I gave her countless tears.

I will never forget that this woman chose me when she had every reason to hate me with everything she had, she held onto our marriage and did her best to make it work. I will always feel obligated towards her for this and I will now only give her happiness, in fact all the happiness of this world. She is a queen already but now I will show her what's it like to be the Queen of my heart.

I couldn't sleep entire night and I refused when Diane offered to give me a sedative to put me to sleep. I don't want to, I want to live every moment of this wait, just one night, Arjun. I kept repeating in my mind. I wonder how she will look now, it's been almost a month since I last saw her and we didn't get much time with each other last Time.

I remember how she confessed that she loves me and I ruefully remember how cold my reaction was to her heartfelt confession but it was for her own good. I doubted whether I will come back to her or not and if I don't then I wanted her to live and move on perhaps. Fuck. Its difficult even to say that word without gritting my teeth because I exactly know that once I would have been dead, she would no longer be mine and there was a chance that she might move on with another man. Even the thought of another man touching her, making love to her, and most of all loving her which in my mind is always my right, would have killed me and I would have haunted that bastard even after death.

That's how much I love her, I love her more than I have ever loved anyone. When dawn came, it brought new hope for me and i was filled with so much vigor for the first time in this one month. I felt like that child bursting with joy and happiness during Christmas.

I sensed her even before she came inside, I don't know my heart was just threatening to jump out of my chest in excitement. Fuck. This is unreal. I am so pussy wrapped and I can't believe I have become such a lovesick idiot.

"Arjun." Her voice, hoarse and her lips quivered as she wept.

"Radhika." I said her name like a prayer that I have been uttering since last month.

"You are alive! I thought....." She sobbed inconsolably, bringing my hand to her cheek. 

"Not a chance! I had promised you and Arjun never breaks a promise." I consoled her.

"How did all these happen?!" She asked, in a frail voice.

"He had planted a bomb in our house and he wanted to burn everything down. I jumped off the terrace....."

She breaks in on me,"You what?! You actually jumped off the terrace?! You could have died...."

Is she nuts?! I just filled in her about the bomb and she is angry about me jumping off our terrace.

"I would have died if I had stayed inside the house. When I woke up, I was in the hospital with broken ribs and a fractured hand."

She cuts me off angrily,,"How easily you are saying all these?! Do you know what I went through?! I was lifeless and I use to keep asking myself that why did I listen to you and left you alone with him?! Why did I let you promise him to save my life?! I use to keep thinking what I could have done to change your mind?! I use to keep thinking what will happen to me if something must have happened to you?!" She broke into tears breaking my heart. Each tear that left her beautiful eyes pained me more than any bullet could.

"Radhika, I....."

She glares at me sharply,,"Shut up! I am not finished yet, you will listen to me, you put me through so much, Arjun. I never thought I could forgive you but here I am crying for you! You have made me so helpless, so weak and so vulnerable. I have cried so much in the last one month that...."

I am so sorry, baby that you had to go through so much without me. I wish I could undo everything that I have done and what unforeseen circumstances have done to us but I can't.

I touch her cheek,"I am sorry, baby. You are my talisman, my lifeline, my ladyluck, my everything. You and this little one kept me alive, without you in my life, I am as good as dead."

Her eyes lit up in joyful elation as she heard me and she smiled with tears in her eyes.

"How did you survive the fall?!" She asked me.

I don't know actually, all I know is that I had a rough idea of where I will fall if I jump off but I wasn't completely sure though. It's just that I knew my house and the surrounding like the back of my hand and it was a close call if I were to be brutally honest.

"Radhika, I have been an adventurous guy always, the things I use to do if I tell you, then you'll start hitting me. I wasn't scared when I use to pull all those stunts because I didn't care if I lived or died but this time I was so fucking scared that I could hear my pounding heart in my ears. I landed on the grass that surrounds our house and I think I was blown away by the explosion. I am just happy I didn't break anything that couldn't be fixed. So back in one piece!"

"When will you be good to go home?!" She ignored my callous comment and asked me in a stern tone.

"You should ask the doctor that but I think I am good to be discharged." I smile at her.

"We will see."

I look her up and down, minutely observing her and the changes that have taken place in my absence. Her belly has grown bigger but she looks thin everywhere else. My God, she looks so fucking thin and I know she has not been eating well. I am aware that Mariam had to force food down her throat. I want to take her case here and right now for neglecting hers and the baby's health but I know I shouldn't because all that worry was for me only. The dark circles under her eyes are a giveaway of all the sleepless nights she has spend and she is someone who I know requires a lot of sleep even before she got pregnant she use to sleep for eight to nine hours. I just use to watch her sleep in my arms and it gives me immense amount of joy.

I asked her anxiously,"How are you?! How is the baby?!"

I will be damned if something is wrong with her or my baby. I just hope everything is alright with her and the baby.

Her cheeks flushed pink,"I will be lying if I tell you I am fine and the baby is fine. I complete my fifth month tomorrow so we can get to know the gender now if you want to know."

Fuck. The gender! I want a boy so badly but I know she has no preference. I am just that kind of a guy who will be better father if the first baby is a boy because what the fuck do I even know about little girls! I promise I will be the best father ever and also I will be on the top of my game if the second baby is a girl.

"I want to know the second they can tell us." I give her a smug smile.

I am 99% sure we are having a boy. How?! I don't know its just my instinct and whenever I use to talk to the baby, I use to address the baby as a him, it never felt like I am talking to my babygirl and not my babyboy.

"Why am i not surprised?!" She taunted.

"Healthy first but a boy will be a wonderful thing." I know she knows so no sense in pretending.

"You need to rest, sleep." She insisted.

I know, my love but I want to keep looking at you.

I carressed her cheek,,"I want to keep looking at you, in that one moment, I thought I will never see you again, I will never be able to feel my child growing inside you, I will never be able to hold him, I thought everything is lost but your face flashed in my mind, and I knew I had to come back to you and nothing could tear us apart. I love you so much, Radhika."

"I love you too." She says in between her tears.

I know she told me before but I didn't respond to her in a way she would have wanted but it was for her own good. I just wanted her out of danger and for that I could have done anything at that time.

"Say it again." I said, my tears betray my eyes as my control slips away.

Fuck. This is insane. How can I love someone so much?! How can she even love a person like me?! Me who has given her nothing but tears! I can't tell her how comforting it is to have her tell me that she loves me despite everything. I never knew I had that inside me to love someone or even an incessant want to be loved back.

"I love you." She repeats and her voice soothes my ears.

"Again." I demand.

She kisses my hand,"I love you."

"Again."

I want to keep hearing it as long as I breathe. Fuck. Three words have made me the happiest man alive.

"I love you." She chokes on her voice as she sobs tears of happiness.

I look her in the eye,"I can never get tired of hearing it, this three words mean the whole world to me."

I know it in my bone that I will never forget this moment till my last breath, I will never forget that this beautiful girl loved me enough to forgive all my wrong doings and still loves me and my child with all her heart. I will forever in dept for what she has done for me.

"Please rest, Arjun. You need to rest." She reminded me.

"I am fine, you are not going to get rid of me that easily." I joked.

Out of the blue, she bend down and kissed my forehead the way my mother use to and tears stung my eyes. Fuck. I don't deserve this. I don't deserve her kindness and her love but I am a fucking selfish man who will take her anyway she lets me have her.

"Sleep Arjun."

I closed my eyes and fell asleep, relishing her soft caressing in my hair. When I woke up, she was still weaving her fingers through my thick locks. Fuck. She reminds me of my mother and she is in many ways similar to my mama. As the door pushed open, my gaze travelled to it and I relaxed as it's just Diane. She has been taking care of me since last month and I know I am the most difficult man ever but she has been very patient.

I looked at my wife and smirked as her smile had disappeared now. I can actually tell by her expression that she is scrutinizing her. She is one jealous little thing! I don't blame her given my past and the way I look and the effect I have on other woman but I can never be tempted to cheat on her because I am completely in love with her.

"Sir, how are you feeling this morning?!"

"I am fine, Diane. When will I be discharged?!" I asked Diane.

She smiled"I think you are recovering fast, I think you are good to go but you should confirm with the doctor."

"Ma'am, can I just say you have a very good husband?! He kept taking your name from the time he regained conscious."

You heard that, Radhika?

"I know he loves me very much." I could still sense a bit of flare in her tone but I know what she is trying to do.

I remarked as soon as we were alone,"You are one jealous little madam."

She gave me a typical wife glare,"You were nice to her! I have never seen you being nice to anyone other than family." 

Am I that much of a brooder? Yeah, I guess I am but that's the way I am supposed to be as a Mafia King.

I gave her a smug look,"She treated me with so much care in last one month and she is easy on the eyes, you see."

"I will scoop your eyes out if you look at her!" She said in a sharp tone, her face red with anger.

Honestly I just looked at that girl as my nurse, I do agree she is a beautiful woman but I can swear that I didn't ogle at her because all I thought was my wife and my child in this one month.

"I was just kidding, the only reason I was nice to her because she wasn't throwing herself on me or salivating over my looks. She was just doing her job." I explained to her.

"Better, but don't form any friendship with her."  She pointed out.

I winked at her,"Aren't you being too bossy?!"

"You must listen to me." She stated.

I actually find this jealousy cute and she looks so fucking cute with that flushed face and pursed lips.

I looked her in the eye,"I don't befriend women, Radhika. I have stopped a long time ago."

I don't think so i ever want to friends with a woman again.

"I know, she was unlucky to lose your friendship." She said softly making me smile.

"Let's not talk about that whore." I tell her..

"Okay." She smiles graciously calming down my anger

"We should talk about ourselves." I carress her face.

She laid down beside me placing her head on my uninjured shoulder,," You think it's over?!"

"Not yet. Rehan and Rahil are alive but you don't have to worry, just think about your health and the baby."  I assure her.

"Where we will live?!" She asked me.

I kept thinking about this too in past one month because I know we need to scout a house soon because its just four months now.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out."

"You won't tell me!" She pouted.

"No because I want to give you a surprise in fact it's pretty much a surprise for Mariam and Sam as well."

"I want a garden surrounding the house where our kid can play." She tells me in an excited tone.

"Kid?! You don't think we are going to stop at one, do you?! I want at least five children!" I teased her.

She lifted her head from my shoulder and faced me, throwing daggers at me with her eyes,"Five?! Are you crazy?! I don't want to deliver five children...."

I smirked,"Did you forget the carrying part?!"

She stared at me pointedly,"Shut up! I do not want so many children."

"I can convince you and you know that. I want five boys, I want to have a small tribe for myself."

I honestly want to have kids, all boys and maybe a girl down the line when I am mentally prepared for one.

"All boys?! No girls?!" As if she read my mind, she pointed out.

"Why you want a girl?!" Of course I know she wants one.

"Of course I want at least one girl in the family. I want a daughter who I and Sam can dress up."

I shake my head in disbelief,"You want a daughter so you and that stupid sister of mine can dress her up?!"

"No I also want a daughter for other reasons as well."

"I hope they are not as stupid as wanting to dress up a girl."

"No they are not but you hear me, we are going to have a girl one day."

"As you wish, my love." I kissed her forehead," You have started to show now and man, it's so difficult to just look at you and not be able to fuck you!"

Her cheeks flushed pink at my salacious comment and my cock rose up in excitement. Fuck. She looks so beautiful carrying my child and it is such a turn on for me to see her swollen belly.

" You have no idea how much I want you right now." I state in a husky tone.

"I am not letting you touch me until you are fully recovered." Her words snap me and my cock out of her love induced spell.

"Radhika, we haven't had sex for two months and...."

She cuts me off,"And nothing! It's not the end of the world, I am sure you can wait for another one month."

"So not even blowjob?!"

She was tonguetied by my suggestion and her face reddened some more making her look so fucking cute. I want to just gobble her up.

She bit her lip in embarrassment,"It is inappropriate to talk about these things here."

"You are my wife and I can say whatever the fuck I want to say. You haven't even kiss me since you came inside." I say angrily.

She tilted her face to kiss me on my cheek but I outsmarted her and angled my face in a way that her lips reached mine. I held her face firmly and kissed her with fervor, expressing how miserable I was without her and how content I am right now in this moment with her. There was no lust just pure love and affection that I felt at that moment and it is now engraved in the deepest of my being that I have always loved her even when I was cruel to her and hated her rather I believed that I hated her.

I think it was that moment when she fell in to my arms and I looked into her innocent eyes for the first time. Of course I checked her out from head to toe like a horny  bastard that I am but in that one moment I could look nowhere but into her eyes. They intrigued me, challenged me, made me question my wrong doings. Her eyes gave birth to my shame and regret, something which I haven't felt in years.

To be continued....