After eating ice cream, they had gone to play soccer at a ground that Shaurya had rented. Dhruv had been overjoyed at the prospect of playing on such a big field, and he and Shaurya being the only ones playing. Dhvani sat on the benches watching the father-son play soccer with a small smile on her face. She was happy seeing her son this happy. Seeing Shaurya so carefree and being so expressive of his happiness was a pleasant surprise. When he was younger, he was always so restrained and non expressive, but it was nice to see him be so free.

"Mumma!" Dhruv screamed and ran towards his mother. "You come and play with us too." He said as he tugged at her arm.

"No, baby." She used the tissue from her bag to wipe Dhruv's face. "You play."

"Did you see the goal I scored?" Dhruv asked.

"Yes! So cool. My baby is the best." She said as she pulled him closer and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Shaurya approached them with a smile and plopped himself beside Dhvani on the bench. Her body language turned guarded when Shaurya's arm brushed against hers.

"Mumma, all three of us will play."

Dhvani shook her head and opened her mouth to disagree, but Shaurya beat her to it. "Leave it, Dhruv. Your Mumma is a scaredy chicken. She is too afraid to lose."

"I am not scared!" She snapped.

"Really?" He taunted as he sipped on the water bottle that the field provided.

"Yeah! Remember, I beat you that one time when we played soccer." She reminded him of that time when they were playing soccer on a rainy night.

"I let you win." He clarified.

"Yeah! That's what losers say. I won that night. Fair and Square." She said, folding her arms to glare at her.

"Then what's stopping the champion from playing now?" He snickered.

"Fine." She stood up and removed her jacket. "Let's play!"

"Yay!" Dhruv raised his arms and yelled. "Mumma, you and Shaurya in one team and me alone." He announced and ran towards the field.

Dhvani panted as she doubled over and took deep breaths.

"Dhvani, at least try pretending like you are trying to stop him. That kid is beating both of us." Shaurya laughed as he jogged up to her just as she sat down on the green grass. "You are so unfit." He teased and sat down beside her.

"He runs so fast." She panted. "And I don't play professionally for me to work out okay. So unfit." She said the word unfit in a mocking tone.

"He has gotten all this stamina from you." She said as she got up. Then looking at Shaurya, she saw him smirking and then realized he had twisted her words into a sexual innuendo.

"What are you? A seventeen-year-old teenager?" She huffed, ignoring the blush rising in her cheeks.

Dhruv ran full speed towards them and lunged towards Dhvani in an attempt to hug her. But the way Shaurya and Dhvani were sitting, the force knocked Dhvani into Shaurya.

Dhruv sat on his mother's lap and wrapped his arms around both Dhvani and Shaurya, surprising both of them.

"I am so happy!" He exclaimed happily.

Dhvani and Shaurya smiled as they patted him on the back.

The game resumed with Dhvani and Dhruv teaming up against Shaurya as per Dhruv's demands.

"Aah!" Dhvani yelped when Shaurya accidentally pushed past her causing her to fall on the ground.

"Dhvani!"

"Mumma!"

"Are you okay?" Shaurya asked he helped Dhvani sit up a little.

"No, I am not okay!" She hit him on his shoulder. "We are just having a friendly match, and you go all crazy and push me down." She cried as she lifted her palm only to find it scraped and bleeding. Looking at the blood, Dhvani began crying louder.

"Mumma, don't cry," Dhruv said, blowing air on her palm.

"Come on! Let's go home." Shaurya said and got up. He held out his hand for Dhvani, and she gingerly placed her hand in his and tried to get up. She immediately fell back on her butt with another whimper.

"What's wrong?" Shaurya asked in worry.

"My foot. I think I sprained it." She cried.

"Try getting up slowly," Shaurya instructed and wrapped his hand around her waist and began helping her up.

Pressing her lips together, she bit back another whimper. "It hurts, Shaurya." She cried as leaned against him.

Shaurya's heart clenched at Dhvani's pain-filled voice. Without a second thought, he bent down and swept her off her feet.

"What are you doing?" She gasped as she wrapped her arms around him. "Put me down!" She demanded.

"It is not like this the first time I am doing it. Don't worry, have I ever dropped you?"

《○▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎○》

"Wow! It is such a big house!" Dhruv yelled as he ran into Shaurya's house.

Shaurya smiled as Dhruv ran and sat on the couch and bounced with a squeal. "I love this!"

"You want to see something?" Shaurya asked as he walked towards Dhruv. Using the lever on the side of the couch, he reclined the seat.

"This so cool!" Dhruv clapped his little hands in joy.

"There is a PS4 in the entertainment room. Why don't you go and see it?" He patted Dhruv's head and pointed at a room in the corner. "It is in that room."

"PS4?" He asked as his eyes widened in excitement.

"Ummm, hmmm!" Shaurya laughed.

"Mumma?" Dhruv asked his mother for permission. "Can I go?" He got up and already began running to the room before Dhvani replied.

Shaurya turned towards Dhvani, who he had helped onto the chair near the dining room. He felt a little nervous and anxious as she looked around the house, taking in the details.

Oh, God! She hated the house. Maybe he should have called the interior designer and had everything ready sooner.

"The new curtains are still coming. Ordered white ones." He hurriedly explained when her glance landed on the heavy red velvet curtains.

"The chandelier is also going to change." He said when she looked at the extravagant chandelier above her.

"The windows are going to change to French style. I just haven't had time to sit down with the designer." He said sheepishly.

She shifted her foot slightly and whimpered again.

"I'll go get the first aid kit," Shaurya said hurriedly and ran to one of the rooms.

While he did that, Dhvani looked around the house once more, and pride filled every cell of her being. She was so proud of Shaurya for everything he had achieved. Despite what happened between them, only she knew the story behind his dream of becoming a cricketer. The sacrifices and hard work Shaurya and his father had put in for him ever to play professionally.

The garlanded photo of her father-in-law made her tear up. She really loved Shaurya's father just like her own while he treated her like a daughter. He always took her side in any disarguments that she and Shaurya had. He was the ideal father-in-law.

Seeing Shaurya approach her with the first kit in his hand, she quickly wiped away her tears.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" He asked as he placed the kit on the table.

She shook her head in negative. "It's not as bad."

Nodding, he sat down on the floor in front of her.

"What are you doing?" She asked in shock when he lifted her foot up carefully and placed it on his lap.

"Applying a pain relief balm." He explained calmly and slowly pulled off her sock.

"I can do it myself." She argued.

"I am sure you can, but this happened because of my mistake." He said. Opening the tube, he squeezed out a small dollop of the balm.

"Aah!" She cried out and instinctively placed her hand on his shoulder. "It hurts." She whined and closed her eyes as he slowly massaged her foot.

"Relax." He chided softly as he tried to pull her foot back into his lap. "Are you a six-year-old child? Just keep quiet."

"It's easy for you to say." She said as her hand on his shoulder tightened. "You are hurting me on purpose."

"I am not!" He retorted and held her foot tightly. "Now, stop moving."

"Why are you getting mad at me?" She scolded.

"Okay. I'll do it very gently." He said and blew on her foot as he applied the balm.

She smiled at the tenderness in his fingers as the caressed her feet.

"My palm." She held out her palm to show him the scabs.

"Let me go clean my hands and then I'll apply some antiseptic on it." He laughed as he gingerly put her foot on the floor.

When he returned, he cleaned her palm with the same gentleness. She was lost in the heat of the moment, and before she even realized it, she cupped his face with her other palm.

Her sudden touch caused him to look up at her in surprise. She was looking at him the same way she used to back when they were together. All those years ago.

Slowly sitting up on his knees, he too mimicked her actions. Both of them sat there, caressing each other's faces tenderly. No one spoke anything. The only sounds that echoed were the sounds from Dhruv's game he was playing, their thumping heartbeats and laboured breathing. They just watched each other like taking in the fact that they were there together in that one moment.

"Dhvani," he whispered in shock when she suddenly began sobbing.

"Where did I lose you, Shaurya? Was anything between us true?" She asked with tears in her eyes. "Was our relationship that meaningless to you that you didn't even think you should try to talk to me? Explain yourself to me? You sent those divorce papers just like that? Like I was... our relationship was such a burden on you. A burden that you couldn't wait to get rid of. Why, Shaurya?" She grabbed his collar and shook him a little. "Why did you do this to me? To us?"

Shaurya continued to watch Dhvani shell shocked. Each word uttered by her sliced his already wounded heart. What the hell was she talking about?

Author's note: Please please remember to vote and comment if you guys have liked what you have read. It would mean the world to me if you did.😊😊