The night wore on. Outside, a storm thundered, pouring its bile into a churning ocean. Darsh snored lightly, sleeping on his side, facing her as if he’d fallen asleep watching her. Aditi gazed at his handsome face as her heart yearned frantically. It was hard to keep away when he was so close. All she wanted at this moment was to wrap him around herself, snuggle into his chest and breathe in deeply his warm scent - so deep it will reach her core, to her unborn baby. How she wished they were a normal couple, that she could share her news with him like a normal girl. They would have celebrated their joy together. She would have claimed the happiness, the part of his love that was hers and hers alone.

As it was, she felt awkward, like an imposter who still didn’t know her place. He was not here for her after all. He was here for Vicki, Dadaji, and of course, because he couldn’t get back with Ananya. She was somewhere far below on his list, a last-ditch fallback option. When nothing else worked, he was here to see if this could work.

Her chest tightened as she got up and came out to sit on the living room sofa. Her tummy made a gurgling sound, and she gave a wry smile.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. We don’t need anyone. We have each other, we’ll be fine.”

She held onto the thought as she turned her attention to other, more practical matters. Opening her laptop, she clicked on the second folder that Uncle Shekhawat had sent her. The arrogant face of Paddy Chaudhury smirked at her from the front page. This one job was still pending. She still had this one man to attend to before she could find some closure.

But Paddy must wait. It was too soon after Ajay’s death. It would raise suspicion. More importantly, she herself needed to take a step back. She had other considerations, like her baby, Dadaji, and the man currently sound asleep in her bed.

Sighing, she shut the laptop and got up, when a groggy voice startled her from behind.

“What are you doing?”

She turned around in surprise.

“Oh, I am sorry I woke you up. I guess I was too loud…”

“You didn’t wake me up. I wasn’t asleep. I couldn’t.” His sleepless eyes watched her silently. Her heart thudded. So he, too, was missing her. That was the unfortunate consequence of their time together. Their bodies were wired, their minds had become attuned. Tangled though they were now, their life still flowed through those connections.

Or at least hers did. It hadn’t taken him a minute to cut the cord.

Biting her lip, she pulled her dressing gown tight around her.

“Go back to bed, Darsh. You’ve had a long journey. And tomorrow we have to travel again.”

He looked as though he didn’t hear her.

“Who were you talking to? I heard something. Sweetheart. We have each other. Who was it?”

He watched her keenly. Aditi swallowed. She hadn’t realized she was talking aloud. Or loud enough for him to hear in the next room. Maybe her voice carried in the quiet of the night. Or was he standing at the door all along?

“Nobody.” She pursed her lips. “I was just.. talking to myself. It’s just a habit I developed after…” That sounded pathetic, but she kept her face nonchalant. He walked round the sofa and came to stand in front of her.

“I told you to go back to sleep,” she started as her unease hiked, but he seemed preoccupied.

“Was it too lonely for you, too?” His searing gaze was locked on her. Her face burned.

“Why would I be lonely? I have my friends. I have Dadaji, Aron, Kanta Chachi. Steve. And I have my…” she stopped herself from saying ‘baby’. That was not for now. She didn’t know when, if ever, but definitely not now. “What I mean to say is there are many people for me. And when there isn’t anyone, I have my patients. So there’s no question of me being lonely.”

She stressed each word to make her point. Something weird was happening. She didn’t know how they had landed herself here in the early hours of the morning. She had to watch out. Any mistake at this vulnerable moment and she would regret it forever.

“Because I was lonely. I didn’t develop any new habits. There were no new people, no friends. Mom left. Even the servants are wary of me. Rajeev calls sometimes, but that’s about it.”

He looked so forlorn a lump formed in her throat. Did he actually look desperate? Or was he just tired? Whatever it was, the situation was getting dangerous. These fragile emotions, the quiet of the night and the crippling desperation pulling her into the centre of the cyclone - it was a recipe for disaster.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“You need to rest now…” she glanced at the wall clock that showed they were touching four. He shook his groggy head as if in another world.

“Letting you go was the biggest mistake of my life. I regret it every day. I said I came back for Dadaji, for Vicki, because it didn’t work with Ananya. But they were all just excuses. In truth, I couldn’t live without you. In that house… that haunted house…” He swayed on his feet, then steadied somehow to rub his tired face. She stared, motionless. Whatever he was saying, she couldn’t reply in words, but neither did she want her emotions to get the better of her. Too many times before, she had fallen for his words. Too many times she had let emotions take over her brain. He was doing the same now and it would only lead to another mistake. It was all nice to play the ‘I love you-you love me’ game, but in reality, things didn’t work that way.

She watched as he rubbed his eyes like a lost child. Her heart twisted, but she made up her mind. Walking to a side table, she poured a glass of water. Things needed sorting, and she had to sort them now if she was going to go back with him. She would not return to live with this wreck of a man. Nor would she let him wreck her life again.

“I promised you a chat once we reached home, but now I realize later might be too late.” She started in her most business-like tone as she handed him the drink. “So let’s get a few things out of the way. Have a seat. This might take some time.”

*****

Darsh staggered to the sofa as Aditi looked on calmly. With each sip of the cool drink, his brain fog cleared. He was not drunk, just fatigued by his travels. And now that he was coming to his senses, he realized he had opened his cards too early.

“I hope you remember how we parted,” she said, and he pursed his lips. “I had confessed my feelings - three times - before you told me you could never reciprocate them. You made me sign the annulment. You made me leave. That was the final break.”

“I let you go for your own happiness…,” he started belligerently. She waved him away.

“Please do not interrupt. As I was saying - You made me leave. You said it was for my happiness, but I knew somewhere you had a hope that one day, Ananya might return. So I sent Ananya to you.” She paused to wet her lips. “Unfortunately, it did not work, despite my best intentions. I am sorry about that. But just because you are over her does not mean you can have me back.”

“It’s not like that!” He thundered. “I told you it was always you. The reason it didn’t work with Ananya was because I’d moved on. To you. I just realized it too late..”

“That’s a lame excuse, which I do not believe. You are a grown man, Darsh, and if you are trying to tell me you didn’t know your own feelings, I cannot believe that.”

“Well, it’s the truth whether you like it or not! And you are only saying this because you are angry. I chose Ananya over you, that hurt your ego. This is your arrogance, nothing else. You were not my first choice, nor the second. And that’s what’s hurting you.”

That was the wrong thing to say. Aditi shot to her feet, her face flaming with rage. Not just rage, but humiliation, too. There was some truth in his words, but he had pointed it out at the wrong time. As usual, he had messed it up.

“Think whatever you want. Yes, I am arrogant, egotistic, and angry. And I am bitter. Yes, I am bitter, even hateful. I regret that I ever loved you. I regret every moment we spent together. Whatever it is, it’s too late to rectify my mistake. But at least I won’t repeat it. So let’s get one thing clear. I am coming back only for Dadaji. It’s a temporary arrangement. A compromise. I’ll be gone the moment the need for this farce is over.”

“Well then,” the connections of his brain fused with rage as he too shot to his feet. His face blanched with fury as his eyes focussed on her. “I am sorry to burst your bubble, but it won’t be anytime soon. Remember, I still hold the power of attorney. I can destroy your family in the matter of minutes. Not to mention that sweet little annulment that you keep harping about. Unfortunately for you, I still happen to hold the papers.”

Her face paled. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, Aditi, you are still very much my wife and I am very much your legally wedded husband. I never filed those annulment papers. In fact, I burnt them before I took the flight from Delhi. So whatever these delusions you have for freedom, you can stuff them where the sun doesn't shine. Because in this lifetime, you’ll never be free. Did you hear that? You. Will. Never. Be. Free.”

His shoulders relaxed as he watched his own devastation. He was on a roll of self-destruction and from here there was no turning back. How many times was he going to apologize and how many times was he going to beg? The way he knew her, it won’t make a difference. She had made her decision. No amount of pleading was going to change that. The only thing that will work now was force - threats, blackmail, the usual weapons in his armour.

Moreover, he was not the begging type. He claimed what was his, like the man he was. And this woman was his. For this life and the next, and the ones after it, she was his.

He walked forward blithely and pulled her towards him, snaking an arm around her waist. The kiss that followed was harsh, full in the face. He punished her folly, asserted his right, and demanded her total surrender. She struggled uselessly. Breathlessly. Ceaselessly. When he set her free, her face was blotchy red, wet with his saliva and her helpless tears.

“You are a bastard, Darsh Rathore. A bastard of a special kind. You should have it tattooed across your forehead. Once a bastard, always a bastard. It was my mistake that I let myself forget it. But never again. Never again will I trust you or even so much as allow myself to think of you. You are a waste of space, waste of time. Garbage that belongs to the gutter. I hate you, Darsh Rathore. From the bottom of my heart, from the core of my soul, I swear upon my unborn baby - I hate you.”

He was still smirking when her words hit his addled brain. For a moment or two, he was confused. She took the opportunity to slap his face - once, twice, thrice, then went to the bedroom and shut the door. Within five minutes, the building security was there to drive him out. Ten minutes later, he was arrested on the charge of unlawful intrusion.

***** *****