Darsh was out of the town on some business trip, Kaurna Ma told her smiling as she served her freshly made pancakes. Along with it were strawberries, custard, cream, and a tall mug of strong black coffee. It reminded her of home.

"Darsh said you had a headache last night. So I let you sleep late. How are you feeling now?"

"I am okay." Aditi shook her head, her face coloring red. She wished he was here, she wanted to see if he was okay. After her own revival, she was feeling particularly magnanimous. The world suddenly seemed a better place. After the last night, her husband suddenly seemed a better man.

But he was gone. A day passed, then two. She waited with bated breath. Her night of passion had loosened her knots. She wanted him home, safe and sound.

Well, there was no sign of Darsh. Instead, three days later Ashok appeared to ferry her to the clinic. As per her wishes, her husband had spoken to Gaurav. There was no confrontation. Darsh had been very polite, practical, and to the point.

"Quite an interesting man, your husband is," Gaurav mused when they spoke on the phone. "He gave me a long list of Do's and Don'ts, I feel like I'm on nanny duty. But one thing is for sure - he cares for you a lot. I think we'd be good friends."

Aditi listened with her heart thudding, the yearning in her belly growing unbearable. She couldn't wait to see him. Oh, why was he not here now that she was toeing his line?

Maybe because it was not really what he wanted, a little voice told her caustically. Maybe he himself didn't know what he wanted. Maybe you didn't know what you wanted and hurt him unintentionally.

Clutching her heart she sat on her bed. Their bed. Well, it didn't matter who wanted what. It was all settled now. They were married and were supposed to live like a married couple. And then she loved him with all her heart, her soul, and now her body too. The fact that he withheld his heart did not matter anymore. He will come around eventually, they all did, didn't they?

A day later she started the clinic. Karuna Ma came to see the place for herself. Unlike the son, the mother's face brightened when she saw Patel Nagar. It was just the right kind of place for her to start the next round of her social service.

Aditi smiled and shook her head. The mother-son duo was one of a kind. And for some weird reason, or rather a very obvious reason, she felt she belonged. This was her family now, this was a place she could call home. She just wished her husband was back, then they would be complete.

*****

It was then that Aditi started getting those texts. She was at the clinic the first time she got it, writing a prescription for an old lady. It had been a week since she started work and nearly two weeks since Darsh left. Aditi was agitated, at the end of her tether. Time and again her eyes filled; time and again her heart ached. Maybe she acted rashly; maybe she had succumbed to her anger and bitterness. Maybe she had taken it out on him in the worst possible way. But surely, he should come back so they could at least have a shouting match?

"So the bitch and the bastard are happy together."

The text from a withheld number beeped on her screen. Aditi stopped mid-way while writing her prescription and frowned at her phone.

"I miss you," said the following line.

Her pen clattered to the desk. Who the hell was this? This must be some joke. A ghastly joke from a weirdo who thought it was okay to call her and her husband names. Or maybe they sent it accidentally. This was not meant for her at all. Frowning, she was about to put the phone away when another text popped on her screen.

"Do you miss me, Aditi? Please say you do. After all, I was there first."

*****

"I was there first."

What did it mean? Was it from him? Them? Either of them?

Her head swirled and she gripped the edge of the table for support. The old woman fidgeted restlessly drawing her attention.

Gathering herself Aditi wrote the prescription and sent the woman on her way. The next patient was about to enter but she couldn't wait anymore. With shaking fingers, she picked up the phone to call her husband. It went unanswered. She tried again. The ring twice, thrice, then he cut the call.

*****

A week later Darsh returned home. His mother welcomed him as he sat there smiling, telling her tales of his business trip. Aditi sat at the table, smiling yet holding her breath, her heart in her mouth as she read the latest text from her tormenter.

"I love you," it said as a little heart emoji appeared next to it. Then came a sweet smiley followed by a red rose.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Remember our time together, sweetheart? Or did you forget it after all?"

Her hands shaking she stood up as the other two halted their conversation to give her a look. It was the first time in the past two hours her husband looked at her. Her heart skipped a beat as their eyes met. She was about to smile when his sharp voice cut through her.

"Any problem, Aditi?"

"Just a text from a patient. I need to call her up." She swallowed a hard lump before giving an apologetic smile, then rushed out of the room.

*****

The night wore on. An hour passed, then two. Darsh wondered if he should go to his room. His mother had already warned him to sort things out. She was disappointed in him, ashamed even, given the state of his wife for the past three weeks.

"I don't think she sleeps," his Ma had said in a caustic voice. "She eats a little, smiles a little. Most of the time she looks lost. I think she is too stressed."

Of course, she was stressed. As he himself was. The weight of the night was still heavy on him. For three weeks, he had hidden away like a coward, trying to come to terms with it. It was all his fault. He had driven her to it. His misdeeds had finally broken her innocence, turning her into this vengeful beast. He wondered if she remembered that night as he did. If she'd seen the pain, the heartbreak, the senseless yearning in his face that he had so clearly seen in hers. All she had wanted was to punish him - punish him for ruining her life and punish herself for loving him despite that. Her pride couldn’t let her stay and her love couldn’t let her leave. It was a bitter act of the last resort- a night of his penance and her revenge.

He deserved her punishment, he didnt deny that. But this time she had jumped in with him rather than watching cooly from the bridge. In that sense, he was luckier than Vivaan Raisingh. Vivaan hadn't had that fortune.

"Remember it's your responsibility to sort it out Darsh." his Ma said before she retired to her room. "She is your wife, you owe it to her."

Yes...he rubbed his eyes tiredly. It was his responsibility but he didn't know how to fulfill it. He wanted to, desperately, but couldn't. The memory of his past life hovered between them like an ill omen. Try as he might, he couldn't cross to the other side.

"I am trying Ma."

"Well, try harder Darsh. Or the next time I’ll bring the divorce papers myself."

*****

He sat alone in the living room for some more time, then got up to go to his room. It was nearly midnight, yet his wife was awake. Waiting for him.

More than three weeks had passed, yet the room still held the memories. They stared at each other as time unwound itself, slowly, to remind them of that night.

His heart lurched as he stared at her, finally able to take in the true extent of her devastation. She looked like a wraith - a pale, ghostly imitation of her past self. She met his eyes with her faded, lifeless ones.

"Is Ma asleep?"

He blinked in surprise.

"Yes."

"Then I'll go back to my room. Good night."

For the first time, he noticed her voice. It was weak, so quiet he could hear her defeat in it. It was the sound of loss and her somber acceptance. She had finally given up.

"You don't have to go." He pursed his lips, his arms itching to pull her close. She gave a half whimper. A half self-deprecating smile.

"I have to. I cannot impose on you anymore."

"You are not imposing. This is your room. You are my wife."

Her face went blank.

"Don't say that again. Please. I am already having a hard time..." Her voice broke as if caught in a sudden gust of emotions. She swayed on her feet like a vine flailing in wind. Before he knew he was next to her, holding her safe to stop her fall.

He raised a hand to cup her cheek but she didn't like it. Her body stiffened as if repulsed as it shuddered in response. It shrunk, trying to minimize the contact, she shook her head frantically.

"Please. I am fine. I just need to ..."

He tightened his grip until she stopped struggling. Her face burned with shame as she tried to shrug him off, but he kept his hold.

"I don't think it works that way, Aditi," he said as his decision was made. It was crystal clear, right there in his mind all along, he wondered why it took him so long to see it. "After what happened last time, after everything that took place in the last two months, I think the only way now is forward. You took your decision, now you have to agree to mine. You cannot go back."

“There is no way forward for us. This was never meant to be. We were never meant to be…” her tears fell as her throat clogged again. That made his resolve even harder.

“It was always meant to be Aditi. Let's...let's do one thing." He took a deep breath as he called on his past deeds - any good deeds he had ever done - to inspire him, to bless him, to give him courage.

"Let's... start afresh, shall we? With a new story. Suppose I came to Palampur on a normal business trip. Suppose we met at the racecourse and... fell in love. Suppose there were no problems and we got married. And suppose... now it’s time for our happily ever after.”

Yeah…this story sounded so sweet and gentle. Their story was so broken that filling those cracks will take a lifetime. This new story had no gaps. It was shiny, sublime, a fairytale of dreams.

And with that maybe he too would be able to suppose he loved her. The jinx of his past would be lifted and he would be set free.

His heart raced as she watched him with sad eyes. It was a heap of bullshit for her, he was sure. A large dose of steroids to mask the pain when the doctor couldn’t find the cure. But then she was a good doctor. She knew what was needed to keep things going.

*****

Darsh stared out of the window into the dark night. A light rain had started; the air was cool, fragrant. His heart was quiet, listening to the gentle patter of the droplets on his window pane. His wife too listened quietly as she lay on his chest. Her heart beat to the gentle rhythm of the rain, in tandem with his own heart as she stared into the night.

He was holding her close with his arm wrapped around her waist. She maintained some distance as her hand rested on his chest. A couple of times, she tried to move away and failed. He kept his grip firm.

"Stay." He had to say it only once and she stopped fidgeting. Nothing more was said. Nothing more was needed. Neither had the courage, nor the will. This truce was sweeter than anything else, a step in the right direction. Like in a game of paper dance, their options were reduced. Moving forward was the only way. Staying together was the only option. Together they will stand and survive. Alone... they did not want to think about that.

Sometime later her eyes closed. He turned to inhale the scent he had missed for so long. He nuzzled his face onto the top of her head and there it was - a soft, wooly scent of jasmine. Delicate, tired, slightly wilted, yet very much alive.

"I missed you," he said as he closed his eyes for the night.

"Me too," came the muffled reply before it went quiet again.

***** *****