Aditya was furious at the way his wife left the event without telling him. Even furious at the driver for driving her home without his permission. She could have got hurt by any of his enemies, especially Karthik Mehra who was lurking in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike at him.

He entered their room for the first time that week, wanting to warn her about the childish act she just displayed. She could never go out without security.

He pressed down the door handle but it was locked. He knocked. "Shradha?"

No response.

He knocked harder. Still nothing. He could hear movement behind the door.

"Shradha,let me in!" He hammered his fist against the door once more. He needed to see her with her own eyes, needed to make sure she was okay, unharmed. "I’m going to kick in the door if you don’t let me in."

"Shradha, open the fucking door!"
Finally, the lock was turned and he shoved open the door and stalked inside. Shradha stood in the center of the room, dressed in a silk nightgown, her eyes swollen and red. He moved towards her and grabbed her arm, needing to know why she just stormed off the event.

"Don’t touch me!" she shrieked, wrenching out of his grip.

"Don't play with me Shradha. My patience is wearing thin. Why did you storm out of there without telling me?"

Shradha glared at him, but behind the anger lingered deep hurt, and he didn't get it. "So now you are getting angry and impatient huh?"

"Do not use that tone with me." He rasped moving a step forward. He wanted to touch her arm, he fucking needed to make sure that she was okay. Seeing her wasn't enough to confirm she was unharmed.

She stilled at his touch, wanting to break down and cry but most importantly she wanted to know what her mother was doing with him.

"The old woman you were talking to, was she really my mother?"

Guilt flared up in his chest. She wasn't supposed to see that. She was never supposed to see that.
He had promised that she would be sheltered and treasured away from the bitter truth of her birth. She didn't know the dark side of her own family.

But he couldn't lie as well. She saw the scene. She knew her mother was alive now. No gaslighting was going to work on her now.

"Yes that was your mother. Mrs.Radhika Advani."

She took at few step back, with her lips slightly parted, at the realisation. Tears pooled up her beautiful brown eyes, and he wanted to wipe them away. He did not like it when she cried. It angered him more than anything.

"She. . .she's alive?" It did not feel like a question, but rather a statement that she said to herself. And she started trembling.

At her vulnerable state, something snapped inside of him.

He grabbed her by the hips and hoisted her on the bed, pressing her down with his weight as he held her wrists above her head. Nobody would ever touch her. Nobody but him.

"How is she alive? I saw her. . . her body?" She whispered to herself, tears glistening her eyes. She closed them tight and turned her face away when he didn't give her a reply. Aditya's gaze went down to her flushed skin, her trembling lower lip, the slow fall of tears down her cheeks.

Scared.

Sacred of him. Fuck!

She was his to protect and honor and what was he doing? He lowered his head and pressed it to her shoulders, breathing in her feminine scent. Aditya exhaled, getting a grip over his anger, "Shradha. . ."

He released her wrist and moved his head away. She didn't move, just laid in that bed, arms stretched out above her hewd in full submission, while tears uncontrollably rolled down her milky skin.

"She was alive all this time. Your father was killed then, but not her. She escaped and faked her death so she could be safe. . ."

She didn’t say anything, only regarded him with those sad eyes that felt like a blade in his chest.
"Why...why did she leave me alone then?"

Again a question to herself and not him. He waited a while for her to break out from her trance, and she did that by sitting up straight. "Why were you talking to her?"

There was no point hiding the truth from her. He knew this woman. She would pry and pry until she discovered the truth. So let it be from him and not someone else. But he also knew how shattered she would be if she knew the truth.

"Your mother was abused at the hands of your father. She took her chance and ran when she could."

"How come you know about her and I don't even know about my own mother?"

Aditya sighed, pinching his nose before he spoke again. "She came to visit me after the news of our marriage. She wanted the best for you. I offered her my security just like I did for you. She refused to be seen in public, hence never made it to your side. Forget her existence Shradha. She does not want you to remember her."

Lies. They were all lies that he was brewing up in order to save her from the darkness of her own family. Because if she knew, she would break.

She need not know that she was product of a rape. And her mother hated her and wanted her dead. She should not know that the only person that she thought she loved, didn't feel the same affection towards her. He might be heartless, but he knew his wife was not. She felt everything, too much. And he hated her tears.

So if lies were enough to seal her from the world of darkness and misery, he would treasure her from it. As long as he was alive.

But by the end of the day, no matter what he felt, she never wanted a future with him. She didn't want to be the mother of his children. That ached and ripped him apart.

"I want to meet her."

"No." Almost immediately, he said that giving her the memo.

"Why?"

"Just no. Do not press further." The topic was over. And he knew she wouldn't ask again.

"The night of our marriage . . . you told me to be on birth control." She whispered out breaking the silence.

Running his hands through her cheeks,wiping away her tears, he met her gaze. "Yes I did."

"I thought that you didn't want children. I thought you would hate to find out that I was pregnant. That is why–" she let out a sob, not being able to finish that sentence. "Then you threatened me with a divorce. Left me ignored for weeks. Am. . .am I not good enough?"

"We will not be having this conversation further. Forget everything that happened." He shook his head, trying to nestle closer to the crook of her neck. He could feel the arteries of her neck pumping high.

She sobbed harder. He was becoming exactly who he feared. And he was the reason for her tears. He buried his head on to the crook of her neck even more, wanting nothing but her acceptance. He needed to be held by her, he needed her close so fucking much.

"I'm sorry." She repeated again and again but what she did was something he could never forgive. He will forget it, but will never give her the forgiveness for robbing him off from the right to be a father.

He shifted off her from the bed and made it to the shower. From outside, he could hear her soft sobs. This was why he never got close to her emotionally.

Their relationship was purely physical, and it must stay that way. Because he knew, he will be the reason for her tears again and again, otherwise.