Four days later .                  

Gauri has visited the Maheshwari house several times, still it felt different because she wasn't invited as Lavanya's friend but as Arnav's wife . She felt part of their family rather than the stranger .                   

Lavanya, her best friend had a huge family and it had been a requirement to have any get together in the Maheshwari house if the whole family was invited. Today had been the birthday of Annapurna Maheshwari the head of the Maheshwari clan . Gauri had been fascinated by Lavanya's Grandmother whenever she met her ,because she held herself like a queen and always dressed as one but remained  kind to everyone .                         

 It had been close to a day since she saw Arnav and she missed him, a fact she refused to think about because it meant her traitorous heart is thinking about him . She felt safe as long as she thought of him as Rahu's guardian but being Arnav's wife had been everything she dreamed about when they were together and it hadn't been easy to ignore her heart when she was surrounded by his family who made her feel normal .                    

Rahul missed him too and it was because of that she had been seriously contemplating to move into Arnav house. He had asked her four days ago and she answered with she need time to think rather than definitive answer because his offer blindsided her and he did have a valid points .      

He told her that they need to stay together until custody at least , because they shouldn't give Vinoth's lawyer any reason to doubt their marriage. But none of it affected her as much as his request that his family wanted more time with Rahul.          

Gauri couldn't deny them yet she held back from answering for four days because she was scared to live in a close quarters with Arnav. In her house she felt safe to have a room of her own but during the tour Arnav's mom gave her of Rahul room, there hadn't been a room for her which meant they expected her to share room with Arnav and she wasn't ready for it .           

 Arnav will not cross the line she trusted him about that ,maybe it was because of that she always felt safe around him . Gauri had often felt surprised by her lack of hesitance for physical contact when it comes to Arnav , she still couldn't believe how she kept rushing into his embrace because it felt safe but she wasn't fooling herself to believe it meant she wasn't broken any longer .  Her nightmares were enough of a reminder .                 

Gauri hadn't been able to sleep peacefully for a long time ,the nightmare had became a regular occurrence that got triggered by her visit home and yet she hadn't panicked  because her psychiatrist told her that it was expected because of her new surroundings . And it was  another reason to decline Arnav request because if they shared a room , he will be worried about her all night.                  

Since her family were invited as well ,Gauri choose to drive with them which meant she hadn't seen Arnav since yesterday evening, when he dropped her and Rahul home. Today she will say no she decided as she got down from the car and walked inside the house with her family .             

The house had already been filled with people who were once familiar to her, now strangers . Her brother rushed off to greet his best friend Meera, awhile Gauri stayed with her parents and Rahul who gotten shy at the sight of so many people.             

 Gauri felt a familiar smile tug at her lips at the sight of her best friend marching towards them. Gauri had been relieved to see her best friend had quite forgiven her as she was crushed in a hug that spelled she was happy to see her, they have met once in her home and once in Arnav house in the last four days as they had lot of catching up to do but she hadn't gotten a chance to meet the man standing beside Lavanya yet.          

Vihaan Mehortra , Lavanya fiancee was smiling at her which was a relief. Since Yuv's anger ,she wondered if Vihaan would have a similar reaction considering she had hurt the love of his life by her disappearance . " It is good to see you " he spoke up as his hands stretched out for a handshake , he had always been a man of few words .                          

Meanwhile her son found himself relaxing as he chatted with Lavanya for awhile ,but few minutes later he ran away from her side and she knew where he was going because  the moment she looked up, she saw Arnav enter the house with his family , her son rushed straight into his arms making her smile.             

" Rahul is smitten with Arnav bhai " Lavanya spoke up next to her and Gauri knew it was quite true ,her son may not think of him as his father but he was smitten by him indeed.                

" It is difficult not to like him " She replied back because she knew the power he had over her . Thankfully her best friend didn't think much about her words , Rahul remained by Arnav side till the time for dinner and when she noted how Arnav kept the space beside him free for her , a smile tugged at her face as she took the seat beside him .                   

When they were dating ,she had to plot and plan well in ahead to maximize the time she spent with him , usually Kavya and Lavanya would help her out by making sure they were either seated together or near each other and tonight she didn't need any excuses or plans to be near him ,the thought alone made her feel happy .                      

 Gauri should have known when it comes to her  happiness it doesn't last because they had some guests who arrived late, she saw them enter in her peripheral vision and then she heard Lavanya's grand mother welcoming them as she introduced them as her neighbors to the rest of them .                  

Since she probably won't know them, she didn't turn to greet them like others and continued to be side tracked by her son who had been asking her some questions regarding the choice of food before him, he wanted to eat dessert and had been asking her just how much he need to eat before he can skip to dessert .                  

 And then she saw her father get up from his seat and march towards the guests , and she froze when her father voice asked them to leave .She knew her father well enough to know it hadn't been a request ,so she turned around to see them and realized why her father was blocking them from seeing her because she didn't want to see them as well not if she can help it .             

She quickly ducked her head trying to still her shaking hands , she noticed that everyone attention had been on her father and the guests except Arnav whose hands were over hers ,she never realized that she would have a breakdown in front of everyone ,she had hoped those days were over but she was having yet another panic attack ,she heard Arnav's voice and saw her son being held by her best friend and then everything faded into dark  .

                         ********************              

Arnav looked at his father in law , and wondered if he will give him anything to understand the reason behind Gauri panic attack ,the girl he loved had nightmares ,suffered from panic attacks , disappeared from everyone life for 4 years and he needed to know the answers if he had any chance of helping her .                 

 Gauri's mom was with Gauri and Ishaan was keeping Rahul occupied which left Arnav alone with his father in law . They drove Gauri back to her home when she lost consciousness and since Lavanya had assured him, she will wake up on her own,  he had held of from taking her to the hospital.                

 " She will be fine bhai , call me if she didn't wake up in an hour or two " Lavanya told him before he left and it was close to an hour by now . He knew his father in law knew the reason, so did her entire family from the way her mother face paled to the way Ishaan reacted as if it wasn't the first time , he knew her family were aware of her reason and only he remained in the dark .             

 Since Gauri wouldn't like to be with others when she woke up ,they drove her home trying to spare her from too many concerned people and now he had been waiting alone with her father in hopes of understanding his wife reaction to the strangers .            

" It is not mine to tell Son " his father in law answered his unasked question and he felt frustrated by their secrets .         

" How can I help her ,if I didn't know ? " he spoke up wondering if there was any way he can find the answers on his own ,then he remembered how Lavanya's Grandmother said they were her neighbors, so he got up to have a word with them .         

Arnav knew Gauri may not forgive him for crossing the line ,but he had tried to he patient and wait for her to confide in him but he couldn't continue seeing her suffer and ignore it . And he would have if not for Rahul who ran towards him when he saw that he was about to leave .      

 " Mom is sick ,don't leave " Rahul  signed out and Arnav couldn't make his feet move away from him ,as he scooped his son into his arms and headed towards Rahul's room then stayed by his side until he fell asleep holding on to his hand .          

When his phone rang ,he gently pried Rahul hands away from him as he went outside to answer the call from Lavanya who had been worried as well ,he had already texted Kavya to tell his family but failed to do so with his cousin .      

 " Is she okay ?" Lavanya words greeted him filled with concern ,and he answered back that she was still asleep . After asking him to call her when Gauri  wakes up ,Lavanya ended the call leaving him to wonder if it is too late to drive and meet the strangers .

" Di would be fine " Ishaan ,his brother in law spoke up when he saw him outside Gauri's room ,hesitating whether to barge in or not .

 " Do you know anything Ishaan ?" Arnav asked him in turn .

" I know enough ,but not the whole story and sometime I wish I never knew " Ishaan answered back making him wonder why they were all keeping the secret for her .  

  " Is there anything I can do ?" he asked next because if he can't find the reason at least he need to know If he can be of any help . 

" Be patient with her ,so she can tell you everything on her own " Ishaan told him and Arnav wondered when he had grown up to be able to offer advice . At the age of 17 ,Ishaan looked like a grown up then the little kid who had always been running behind Meera ,Lavanya's cousin .

                    **********************                        

The man knew he shouldn't have driven to this home after what happened few hours ago ,but he needed to see the little one who looked just like him. His wife had been confused when Adharsh whom she known as her superior asked him to leave ,in fact she was furious on his behalf .  

 But his eyes remained focused on Rahul ,his blood . He always doubted when she disappeared and when his wife insisted they go back to their home town, he agreed as he believed she won't ever return until he saw her in the super market with her son . And then in spite of his good intention, he found himself stalking her house for a glimpse of the little one .                   

By the time he returned back home ,he had been hoping his wife was fast asleep so had been taken back when she was waiting for him . He didn't have any reasons for being away for over three hours and had been thinking of trying to find one when she spoke up making him realize she had already connected the dots .                   

" It is her ,isn't she the reason everything fell apart in my life " She shouted at him and he flinched at the accusations in her words .                 

" It is not her fault " he answered back coming to her defense like the other times but she wasn't in the mind frame to listen to him .               

" Did she bewitch you as well ,or you obsessed with her too just like our son" her words made him shudder at the depravity .  And he was tired of telling his wife that it had never been Gauri fault , and he was tired of trying to protect the image of her son that he always let Gauri share the blame .          

" She killed my son " his wife shouted at his silence and he realized now that she knew who Gauri is,he no longer can protect either of them if he continued to keep his secrets .       

 " No , I killed him with my own hands " the admission left him after four years of silence and he slumped down next to his wife as he tore apart her life to protect Gauri and his grandson .

P.S :" That it for now.. Let me know your thoughts and feedbacks. Hit the votes if you liked it "

Love

Juanita Reid .