❝A New Trials In Life❞

Vansh's POV:

I look at Riddhima infront of me. She looks tired, weak and not pregnant. What happened to her?

"Riddhima, what's wrong with you?" I ask and take a step closer to her but I am held back by Rehaan. He enters through from the other side of the road and closes the door behind me. No one answers my question.

While Riddhima was tense while looking at me, her face lit up with a smile the moment she saw him. I watch him move closer to her and taking her hand in his. "He needed to talk to you about something."

I hear him say and watch as Riddhima gives me a confused look. "Actually I wanted to apologize."

"You already apologized." She says talking about the last time I was here. The moment I understood what I had lost and could never reclaim. The moment I made the mistake of turning away from what could have been the best thing in my life.

"Fantastic. Get lost then." My trial of thoughts are interrupted by Rehaan's harsh voice.

"Rehaan, let him have his say." Riddhima says doing something with her eyes that makes him throw a glare at me.

"I know." I gulp down the lump forming inside my throat. "I understand my apology can't change the past neither I can bring back...I still am sorry."

Riddhima glances away and then looks at me with a hint of short smile. "I know and I'm glad you regret your actions, even though I thought you never would."

"I had no idea you were pregnant," I say, attempting to explain myself. But then I notice Rehaan about to lunge at me; Riddhima quickly restrains him. "Still, even the thought of hurting you fills me with deep regret. I know it's completely out of line, and I wish I could take back any feelings that led me there."

I settle onto the couch, glancing over at her as Riddhima continues to regard me with intensity.

"Why are you here though?" I ask and glance around the hospital's ward room. "Hospital??"

"That's none of your concern." Rehaan growls again. His hatred towards me is completely justified.

"Rehaan, I'm thirsty. Could you get me a glass of water?" She is sending him out. To talk to me alone.

"I'll ask Sunil to get it." I says and as if realising he just send them back home sits back.

"Rehaan, I know you get it. Just give us time to talk." He clenches his jaw and glares at him. If looks were lethal, I'd be burning on my own pyre.

"NO." Just No. 

"I swear I won't even go anywhere near her." He hear me say and then turns giving me his full attention.

"As if I would even let you." He says in a threatening tone, but just then Riddhima draws him nearer, she whispers softly in his ear. He nods before leaving, making sure we're at a safe distance.

"You're not here solely to say you're sorry." I turn back to Riddhima. "What are you here for, Mr. Raisinghania?"

"I...I," I look away from my her. I'm glad that's the first time I'm stammering. "I want to ask something?"

"Or should I say about someone?" She instantly gets my attention. "Sanya?"

"How did you know?" I ask and get back on my legs. "She is in london, I know that part."

"She told us. Rehaan and Me." Oh, yeah that's how she got to know the past. "She is heartbroken. You and Us we broke her heart. We lied to her."

"She loved me and I let her go." I say and watch her teary eyes.

"That's hardly surprising," she says, mocking me. "First Ragini, then me and now, Sanya. But I'm glad you at least came back for her."

"Is she really in London right now?" She nods and wipes away her tears. Just then Rehaan comes in with some papers.

"Who are you talking about?" I hear his first question while he standing near me. Not safe.

"Sanya." I still say not hiding anything from him.

"Why? Weren't you here just for an apology? Why ask about her?" He ask and throws a mocking chuckle at me.

"Because I want to met her and apologize and confess," I say making him stop in his tracks towards his wife. "That I love her."

"No, I'm not letting you anywhere near her. I consider her my sister and a bastard like you doesn't deserve her." Don't I know that but still.

"That for her to decide." I say and look at him defiantly. 

"So that you can manipulate her, just like you did with me and then leave her." Its comes from Riddhima.

"No, I didn't manipulate you. Never." I don't know why am I digging up old feuds? But I need to end the past to start a future. "It's you who came to my house, my life as a spy."

"I know and we both were at fault during both times. Neither one of us was any saint." Thank god, Rehaan is not talking. "We all need a closure. For us. For you. So, that we all can start our future with no guilt left."

Closure? Yes, I need that more than anything. So, I nod at her words. "So, is she?"

"Well, yes." Rehaan says interrupting us and agreeing to Sanya being in london.

"Unfortunately, this situation will force me to stay away from her for a week and a half, thanks to the visas and everything else." I mumble in a low voice not for them to hear.

"You are going after her?" Riddhima asks glancing once at Rehaan and then looking at me shocked.

"Yes." I say confidently, my voice steady despite the uncertainty swirling inside me. Will she forgive me?

"You shouldn't waste your time. She hates you now and must have moved on." Rehaan's words sends a pang straight to my chest.

"You absolutely should pursue her." And we both are shocked as Riddhima says to me.

"Riddhima, what are talking about?" Rehaan asked shocked from her words. Why would she side me?

"Rehaan, I know that Vansh did wrong. His mistakes were worse, but mine weren't insignificant either. We both...did something wrong to each other. I spied on his life, his family just because someone asked me to." I gulped as I thought about the actions that had caused us both pain. "If I've been able to move forward in life, why shouldn't he? If I can love you, why can't he fall in love with someone else?"

She turns to face me, a subtle smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. But Rehaan still glares at me. "Thanks." Really, I'm grateful for her understanding.

"She's in London, and if you need any help finding her...Rehaan can." She says nodding at my words.

"NO." He growls again. What's his deal?

"You asked me why I was here?" Ignoring his words entirely, she asks me, compelling him to look at her. "Do you want to see our child?"

Child? That means she...she had delivered the baby today. 'I won't let him ruin the happiness our family has found today' I recall Rehaan's mother's words "Really? I can?" I ask dumbfounded with the revelation. But how? And where is the child? Don't they usually keep them with the mother?

"Yes. Actually since it was premature birth and with complications. She is still in NICU." She? Girl? Wow, I can't believe. "Would you?"

I nod and see her turning to look at Rehaan who is still looking at me. But, I'm eager to meet a child. For the first time, I would experience looking at a child. Ishani aborted her child, I killed my own child and I saw my siblings as kids when I myself was one. So, this moment would be surreal. 

After meeting their child, I'll have to apply for visa so that I can go to Sanya. To tell her. Talk to her.

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Rehaan's POV:

My wife is forcing me to do this. She blackmailed me to take this bastard to the NICU, to meet our daughter. But I am scared, scared about him meeting my daughter, getting more involved in my life. Sanya is not the problem. Since, Devika mom would never agree for this neither Sanya would forgive him for his mistake.

But still my insecurities are getting me. I fear what if Riddhima started feeling something, I trust my wife but I don't trust him. After all, he is her first love. I walk him in the room, in which my daughter is with other kids separated by the glass walls. 

I smile as I look down at her, peacefully sleeping with her tiny fists clenched in innocence. Tomorrow morning, she will be free from this cage, and I can't wait to show her the world. My heart swells with determination to give both her and her mother the best life imaginable. 

I turn to look at Vansh, who is looking down at my daughter with a small smile on his face.

"Stop looking at her like that." I know my insecurities are silly, but protectiveness washes over me. Yet, then I catch his smile fading, transforming into a look of sadness at my words, and it hits me like a punch to the gut. He lost his child too; this pain isn't his alone. I feel a wave of guilt crash over me, realizing that I have no right to speak so harshly when Riddhima has already chosen to forgive him. My heart aches, torn between my fears and the understanding that we're all suffering in this. "I'm sorry, that was harsh to say."

"No, it's ok. I understand where this is coming from," He says looking away. "If I can kill my own child, I get your insecurity. But don't worry, I'm actually out of your life."

"You said that last time too. Still, you came back." We're speaking in hushed tones, almost like whispers."I hope you won't give up on Sanya."

"If she won't do it, then I stand firm—I won't do it either." He says making me smirk. That's hard. No one in our family will ever agree.

"Don't hurt my family and I won't do anything." I say thinking about Riddhima's words.

"Am I forgiven?" He has the guts to ask.

"From me, No chance." I say putting a full stop to our conversation. 

"Then, I think I'm not out of your life yet." He says chuckling. Damn him. I'm telling about him to Devika Mom.

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Sanya's POV:

As I begin to wake up, the first thing I notice is a strange heaviness in my body. My eyelids feel heavy, but eventually, I manage to flutter them open. My head hurts and my body feels disoriented. Something heavy is tied to my wrist but my back feels soft. Like silk soft. I try to open my eyes, and look around. 

Panic grips me as I take in my surroundings—a strange room with unfamiliar shadows. I try to move, but I feel restrained, and a wave of fear washes over me as I look behind. I'm on a chair, but the chair cushion are what's soft. I hear a faint whisper, a voice that sounds familiar but distant.

Where am I? How did I came here? Just when the memory barges inside my head. Mumma leaving-concierge-food and then nothing. Someone held me and everything blackened out. I don't remember anything after that.

"Oh, look who decided to wake up!" I hear a sudden voice and turn to look. James it's him. Did he kidnapped me? The confusion swirls in my mind, and I feel a knot of anxiety tightening in my chest.

"What are you doing?" He bends eye level to me. 

"Nothing, I'm bringing back my girlfriend home. So, how did you like our new place?" I look around at unfamiliar surrounding. This isn't his place. "Oh, I totally revamped it!"

"Why did you abduct me?" I demand, my throat dry and my voice weak. 

"Because I love you, and you should be with me." He says and bends on his knees in front of me touching my thighs. Then he grips me suddenly, making me shriek and move closer to him. "But you defied me, so I had no choice but to bring you here."

Oh hell, I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment, willing myself to wake up again, to find myself safe at home. But when I open them, the reality sinks in deeper, and I know I have to figure out what's happening, how to escape this place, and if anyone is coming for me.

"𝒜𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 ℰ𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒟𝒶𝓎𝓈"

I can't tell how many days have passed, but they've been the worst of my life. I didn't sleep at all last night, but at least I know I'm well-fed. I even get to use the washroom. In my desperation, I tried to escape, but of course, it's impossible. The elevator requires a key card, which he has hidden somewhere, and we're on the 35th floor which means now windows or doors can help.

He told me that he bribed that concierge to inform him I came. He was involved all this. The first day I was here, I was with the hope that someone would notice my absence that hope descended to the next day.

Every day, his hands would invade my personal space, sliding up my thighs  as if I were just an object for his pleasure. His gaze lingered far too long, a predatory hunger in them that made my skin crawl. One evening, after he forced food down my throat, he had the audacity to suggest me 'I can mend things between us' by him forcing himself on me. I felt a surge of fury rise within me. Without hesitation, I kneed him hard, not knowing what would be it's result in future?

The result was what can be the beginning of darkest days. That evening, he slapped me and  threw me on the side table, causing my head to hit a chair. I fainted. He never treated my wounds, though I never expected him to.

The slap turned into a punch, which then leading to painful lacerations on my body. Each day, he would ask me the same question, and when I refused, he would take a knife and make a new cut on my skin. Till now, my whole body was covered in knife marks and dried blood. He's passed out on the bed now, lost in a drunken stupor. 

I look ahead as I remember how he forced me to touch him today making me puke all over him. I didn't remember what happened after that, but when I finally woke up, my clothes were still on. It felt like a flicker of relief, but the terror lingered. I'm haunted by the thought that he could have done something to me if he hadn't passed out first.

The fear and agony consume me every day, trapping me in a cycle of unending terror. Why isn't anyone coming for me? Where is mom? Does she know what happened to her daughter? Of course not. 

I close my eyes and let the tears escape, feeling the weight of everything that happened. 'I need you mom, please. I need you to get me out.' I mumble to myself and close my eyes.

I lost those hope last night, and now I can't help but recall Vansh. What must he be doing right now, while I'm left here grappling with this sadness?

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Riddhima's POV:

I open my eyes to the sound of low, hushed voices and, in that moment, I realize I've woken up in the middle of the night. It's my husband and our daughter, who are the reason me being awake.

Our baby is crying softly, and I see my loving husband gently cradles her in his arms, his soothing voice lulling her back to sleep. The way he rocks her, whispering sweet nothings, fills my heart with warmth and love.  I can see the care in his eyes as he strokes her tiny head, his touch so tender and reassuring. In this moment, I'm reminded of the bond they share—a love that seems to glow in the dim light of the room.

We came back home last night when doctor's were sure that I and my daughter was completely fine. She had to stay a day extra in the NICU room since, she was too weak. My heart clenched at the news, the weight of it pressing down on me, but somehow, we all pulled through it together. In those moments of shared pain and uncertainty, I found strength in my family.

His attempt to lull her back to sleep falters, and I sense that she might be hungry. His face doesn't even show an ounce of frustration. He would be the best dad. I'm sure of it.

"Rehaan." I say and try to sit back straight, but wince due to the pain in my lower abdomen. "She must be hungry."

He nods as he hears me and then looks down at her. Passing on a gentle smile to me, he hands her to me and sits on the other side of the bed. I look down as she eagerly latches onto my nipple, suckling contentedly. In that moment, I feel an overwhelming love, a beautiful connection that reminds me of the joy and purpose of being her mother.

"See. She was hungry." I say telling him. He chuckles at me words, but he seems tired. Since we came back, he hasn't stop being worried about us. "Rehaan, I'm home and don't worry we both are fine and healthy."

"I know, but during those hours when you were in surgery, and the doctors had put me in an impossible position, asking me to choose between you two. It felt like my heart was being torn apart, and I was left grappling with a decision I never wanted to make." He says looking tensed and scared at us. I knew he had chosen me, and I had already scolded him. Our baby was important for us. But neither he nor I extended the conversation, since for him we both were important.

"I'm here, Rehaan. We are here and we won't leave you ever." On my words, he brings out his little finger.

"Promise?" He can be this childish too.

"Promise." I say and chuckle. After giving him a gentle peck on the lips, I carefully lay our baby in the middle of us, feeling a wave of warmth wash over me. Within seconds, they both go back to sleep leaving me awakened.

I know Vansh left for London last night and might have arrived by now. I'm relieved he went, especially since Sanya isn't picking up her phone. Meanwhile, Devika's mom is worsening; her blood pressure is low, and she fainted two days ago. We can't tell her about any of this—it would only add to her worries. I just hope Sanya is fine. 

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Hey guys so that's all for today . Hope you guys liked it.

Your writer,
Krisha💚