Two weeks later. 

Gauri realized she couldn't do it , her hopes that Arun would let her be during the course of their marriage took a abrupt death,  when he walked into kitchen two days ago and told her that they are going on a honeymoon trip . 

Gauri sent her family home , few days after her marriage because she refuse to let them hover over any longer and the next one week Arun let her be and do whatever she wished which was locking herself up in her room and only using the kitchen to feed her baby if she was hungry . 

She didn't cook for him , talk with him unless he talked first or spend time with him alone and she had almost hoped the marriage would be like this forever until two days ago .

" Vinoth would return next week and it would be suspicious if you stayed ten meters away from me, that it better if we went away for a little awhile until he gets time to rent a new home so he won't notice anything , " Arun spoke up,  and it surprised her that he went as far as asking his brother to leave for her . 

" Look we can stay locked up in a hotel room for month and I will get a suite that a two bedroom everything will be just the same but a different place,  " Arun answered back ,  and she agreed because if Vinoth , Arun brother would have to believe her child was his brothers than he can't see them standing ten meters apart every single day . 

So when they stepped into the suite which Arun forgot to mention had been an honeymoon suite ,she was taken back by fear that in spite of his promises that he will never touch her , he had suddenly changed his mind . 

The big hotel bed didn't help her mind at the moment ,it was on one such bed she woke up two months ago with no recollection of what happened to her and found the monster lurking near ,nope she refused to think about him . 

Her nightmares had been more than enough to remember him ,suddenly she felt like she couldn't breathe as she gasped for air and her lungs felt like it was no longer functioning and as then the fear that she may faint took root and her panic increased ten fold, and when a hand pressed her shoulder,  she flinched and pushed him away . 

It didn't matter that she couldn't do much damage to the man standing beside her who barely a moved an inch even when she pushed him with force yet he took his hands away from her and took few steps back on his own accord . 

" Gauri ,close your eyes , Count to ten from backwards .Breathe in and out . Do it ,I promised you Gauri that I won't touch you .Trust me , " Arun voice echoed through her brain ,  as she tried valiantly to control her heart rate and confusion. She did as he said and found herself calming down a little yet she remained wary of him . 

This wasn't what he promised , how can she trust him when she stood before a decorated bed . Her mind was planning on an escape route away from him and she realized she was stuck in a new place with him far away from her home . Once again the panic began to set in until he heard his voice again talking to someone else . 

" This isn't the room I booked ,what were you thinking,  " he was speaking to someone else , and she looked back at him finally to see him on phone .

He cursed silently when he ended the call after hearing whatever they had to say but he didn't look happy rather angry that it somehow made her believe it wasn't his intention . 

" Vinoth went ahead and changed my plans , I shouldn't have let him know the hotel we are staying . I just wanted him to have our location in case of emergency,  " he answered back,  and Gauri relaxed when she learnt it hadn't been his idea . 

" Are you feeling better,  " he asked,  a moment later and she could only nod her head in answer . 

" I will get a room next to yours , I promised you privacy and space Gauri and I won't intrude on them,  " he spoke up willing her to believe him and she did so nodded her head again yet the fear and panic she felt moments ago was too real that she couldn't sleep the entire night ,she kept starring at the door as if it would open up anytime and she won't be prepared to protect herself just like the last time. 

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

Arun didn't really liked seeing her have a panic attack it was close to how he felt every single day after his family death , at first he really believed giving her time would help to recover on her own but realized taking her to a hotel was not the best idea. 

He had only the bare minimum details about the incident from her father when he asked so he could be prepared to deal with her better , he knew she went to a club and met a friend of hers who mixed something in her drink ,when she woke up it had been to realize he had violated  her . 

Arun had heard about tragedies happening everywhere but the more he gets to know Gauri ,the more he gets angry on her behalf about the monster who misused her trust ,the fact he was already dead was the only thing that was keeping him from going after him.  

It happened in an hotel, he remembered hearing it from Gauri's  father and it explained her panic attack at the sight of the hotel bed cursing himself for not thinking it through ,he got back to make change of plans . 

The concern for Gauri and her child keeps his monster at bay ,and that was what he envisioned to gain from this marriage but it won't be fair if he had been the only one getting something out of this arrangement .

The next morning he knocked at her door and after hearing the sound of her instruction to enter he walked inside to realize she didn't sleep a wink last night . And realized it was his fault. 

" Pack your bags ,Gauri , " he told her,  even though he knew she hardly unpacked anything yet ,she didn't ask any questions from him but was glad to leave the hotel room ,she may have expected him to drive back home ,so looked surprised once the cottage he rented for the month came into view .

Arun can't have his brother doubting their marriage which meant though hotel wasn't an option anymore ,they cant go back home either. 

" Thank You , " was all she replied,  when he told her about the new arrangement as she locked herself in her room , he knew that she did so every single night inspite of his assurance the locked door makes her feel safe , so he didn't bring it up in the conversation ever . 

The first few days she even pushed the dressing table against the door that he had to move it near the door away from the bed , so she didn't have to move it far a long distance every single day, if she noticed the changed place of the furniture she didn't comment on it but she stopped moving it few days later much to his relief which meant he had gained a little bit of her trust . 

He went back to the room, he selected for himself and his hands wanted to hold a glass of wine to forget everything about his past as always,  usually he pushed those thoughts away for Gauri as she had huge aversion to it after her ordeal the fact the monster had been drinking was the first reason that impaired his mind. 

So he placed the bottle away from his sight and went to his bed . That when he heard the sound of cry across the room from him ,Gauri room. He knocked but she didn't open ,barging inside would only scare her . He knew she was having nightmare yet he was far away from her to be of any help. 

He took the room furthest away from her room to give her sense of security that he missed those nightmare until now, for all his words on helping her at that moment Arun feared he may cause more harm than help to the person behind the door. 

He stayed leaned against the door until her screams stopped then walked back to his room wondering how he can help her when he had no clue in where to start yet . 

So the next morning he was taken back to see two arrangements of plates in the dinning table , the fact she cooked for him came as a surprise but he didn't want to startle her with words as he took his place in the table and she took the place furthest away from him . 

" Thank You,  " he spoke up , for the food once they finished eating and instead of heading back to her room as he expected she remained seated on the chair looking at him for awhile that he was worried that she was going to tell him that she was leaving him and this wasn't working at all . 

She still keeps having panic attack and nightmare ,and he knew that he was of no help at all . So of course she would want to leave he assumed until she spoke up making him forget everything . 

" I think we need to see a doctor for the baby , the last checkup I went had been one month ago . The doctors told me that we have to go for check up once a month , " she spoke up , and he felt relieved that she wasn't abandoning but rather reminding what or who this marriage is all for not Arun or Gauri but the child that was going to be born few months later . 

For the child ,he will continue to do his level best and yet he can't seem to forget the brief memory of his past at her words . And regret the person he had been before their deaths . 

" Take Vinoth and go to the hospital dear , I can't make it today I am so sorry,  " he told his wife, when she was pregnant with Riya often and how he wish he had been a better husband or a father back then . 

But it was because of it he promised himself that he will be the best version of himself for Gauri and her child . 

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

Love

Juanita Reid