Radhika's POV

I entered the mansion measuring every step I took inside. The air inside felt so foreign and cold without the master of this place to fill the warmth in the breeze. Without Arjun this house seemed like a deserted place to me but still I am here because I am attached to this place. This is my house, my home, every corner of this house has a memory attached to it.

I looked at the huge family wallsize portraits on the walls of the hall. I almost got a chill when I saw Arnav Mehra staring right back at me with the same black eyes like my husband's. He looked scary even though dead but still there is this iciness in those eyes that cut through your very soul.

"What a pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting you here."

I was snapped out of my trance to hear the same voice that pricked my heart like thorns. How can he be so happy after turning my whole world upside down?!

"I wasn't expecting you here either." I replied in a snarky tone.

"This is my house now." He stated.

I looked him in the eye,"This place, the people who work here and everything including me belongs to Arjun." I said in an unflinching tone.

"You aren't tired singing his praises?! Sometimes I feel you are more of a PR than his wife." He mocked me.

"At least I am trustworthy unlike you." I taunted.

"Why do you think I am not trustworthy?!" He asked me softly as he closed up to me and I took a step back.

I glared at him,"Its because of you, Lily is dead. She trusted you and you broke her trust. I didn't liked her, I never liked her but I didn't want her to die, I never wished that. You used her to save yourself that itself shows that you cannot be trusted at any cost."

He smiled evil,"Beauty with brains. You are very observant darling."

I hated Lily with all my guts for how she stared at Arjun without a wink, for how she made a pass at him and tried to drive a wedge between us! She was a bitch and I will never forgive her, it's only because of her, we are in this situation. I wanted her to go away from my husband somewhere I will never have to see her again as she was a constant reminder of Arjun's womanizing ways. There were times when I prayed for her to go away and start a new life somewhere far from us but I didn't wanted her dead. I can swear upon one thing I loved the most, my baby that I just wanted her to go away.

"I am not here to have a chat with you. I came here to tell you to back off from my life. You have already done enough damage to my life so please just back off." I told him harshly.

"Back off?! I think you have forgotten you came here to see me not vice versa." He plays innocent.

"Why do you want to marry me?!" I hit the bull's eye.

He walked in circles around me as he talked,"Straight to the point, I like it! Well what can I say that will convince you. You know my heart melted when I realised that you have to singlehandedly bring up your child and the world is a very cruel place for a beautiful woman like you. You need someone and that someone could be me because I really didn't wanted to cause you any pain."

I rolled my eyes,"You actually think I am going to buy all this?!"

" No I don't. I was just kidding but your father believes this shit. Now listen sweetheart neither am I interested in you nor your baby. Your husband was a real crook. He has made his will such that if he dies then his wife or his first born will inherit everything. You might be a widdow but you have no idea how wealthy you are right now. Everything belongs to you and there is nothing I can do to change it." He replied in a slightly disappointed tone.

Oh God! I didn't know all this. Arjun never shared all this with me. He actually left everything for me behind him. I don't want any of it all I want is him. His arms wrapped around me proactively and his breath falling on my face and his lips making designs on my skin. That is my heaven and only desire. I don't want anything else except him.

"You are the stupidest person ever if you think after knowing all this I would marry you. I will never ever marry you." I smirked.

"Darling, patience please let me complete what I want to say. You know you can't keep this baby because your father wouldn't allow it and neither can you stay single for life. You want this child to see the light and I can be it's foster father or father for name sake. You want the child to live and it's only possible if you marry and you cannot marry another man because of the rule which says a queen doesn't marry after the king dies but no one will ever doubt that I am not Arjun."

He is right there. No one will even get the slightest cue of him not being Arjun. Only I can tell who is my Arjun if they were to stand beside each other. I can tell in a second because my heart will know when my hand will touch him. Eyes can be fooled but my heart will not make a mistake to recognise my husband.

"I don't want to marry you or anyone and I can take care of my child on my own." I replied firmly.

I don't need to marry anyone to support my life. Also I know my Arjun is alive because had he been dead, my heart would have withered away but it's broken but still breathing in small pieces. The day he comes back, my heart will be a whole that I will gift him. I will tell him how much I love him and he is my whole life.

"Sure you can but just imagine you get drugged and your child gets aborted in your womb itself. You need me and I need you. It works both ways."

His words scared me to death. Abortion can be done in any form. They can mix something in my food or change my medicines. They can do anything to harm my child.

"I need time to think."

Of course I won't marry him but I need to keep him confused about my answer. The more he thinks about what my answer will be, the less he will devote his time to scheming. He will also get distracted from Arjun. That might keep my husband safe and give him time to come back with a bang.

"One day, is that enough?!" He asked impatiently.

"No! I need more time." I said in a loud tone.

"Fine. I would suggest you don't go back to your father's house. He is up to something and that is sure not good for this little one." He said as he pointed to my baby bump.

It's really unbelievable that he is warning me against my father. I mean why he even cares?!

"Why so much care for your enemy's child?!" I asked him curiously.

He stared into my eyes,"I hate Arjun but I don't hate you or this child. I was also in my mother's womb when my biological father abandoned my mother and asked her to get rid of me because he already had Arjun. She didn't and that is why we are able to have this conversation. You remind me of her."

I don't know what to say to that. It's not like I have warmed up to him. Nothing changes the fact that he is the reason my husband is not with me and I will not forget that. He isn't fooling me at any cost, this child is a threat to him as he is the blood of a true born son. He will try to kill him or her one day and hell would freeze upon if it so happens!

"I would like to stay in my old room." I changed the topic.

"The house is all yours." He shrugged.

I decided to not linger here anymore and make a run for my room.

"Good night Radhika."

I heard him wish me but I seldom replied and continued climbing the stairs. As I reached my room and shut the door behind my back, my tears betrayed my eyes as I took in the huge wall size painting of my husband on the wall. God! It feels as if he is watching me. That smirk on his face is his signature look. I can't believe I haven't seen him for a week. It felt as if the sun has set and never risen again.

"You'll come back right?!" I asked the painting in a vulnerable tone.

The painting only stared at me but never replied as it wasn't supposed to but still I hoped for an answer, one single answer to all my questions. My whole world begins at Arjun and ends at him and without him everything is meaningless. Life is blank and purposeless. I can't function without him. I know he wasn't nice to me in the beginning but he had his reasons. He never demeaned me though or made me feel like a cheap whore something which my father did with his mother.

Yes, he took me by force but then he could have done worst right?! He could have passed me off to his men to enjoy after he did. He didn't do that because there was good in him. He could have made me a mistress but he chose to make me his wife. Wife! I don't even know if I am a wife or a widdow now.

Please be alive, please never leave me I need you in my life. I love you so much more than I can say. I placed a chaste kiss on the face of the painting as I weeped placing my head on it.

Veer's POV

I tiptooed inside the terrace to get some air and I was spellbound by her beauty. Fuck! She is so gorgeous without any trace of make up on her angelic face. No wonder he loved her like no other. It's not like she could be ranked as the most beautiful of them all but there is some enigmatic charm in that innocent looking face that draws attention.

My eyes travelled to the small pouch she had. Veer! She is pregnant with his child and she loves him still. Everything that she does is a telltale of how much she worships him. I personally don't get it at all. According to what I have heard he married her forcefully and it's just been three months then how can she love him so much despite what he did to her?!

I closely watched her face and I realised she was sobbing. Her crying sounded like that of a poor dove that cried when her mate was killed by the hunter before her eyes. I had an urge to go and comfort her but I know I must not. She will never allow me close to her. He might be dead but he lives in her mind, body and soul.

Sometimes I feel why does he have to get all the best things?! He got father's love and name both. What did I get?! I was bullied, taunted and always insulted my whole life because no one knew who was my father. People would make my mom's life hell just because he left her pregnant and never looked back at us. In his defense, he told my mother to get rid of me as there is no way he will father another child who could be a threat to his son in future.

Arjun got everything that should have been mine too. Even I deserved to walk in society with my head high as a Mehra. I know how much he fucking loves his name. He is so egotistical about his name and the Mehra behind it. I would never forgive Arnav Mehra for what he did with my mother and me. Bastard deserved to die a painful death and he did.

"What are you doing here?!"

I was brought out of my trance as I heard Radhika's voice.

"I can ask you the same?!" I replied her.

She stared at me with pure disdain,"This is my house and I don't need your permission to roam freely here."

Why does she fucking has to hate me so much?!

"This is my house too." I said in reply.

"This is my husband's house and you are not him." She stated in an unyielding way.

Husband, husband, husband....I am tired of this word. Has she uttered anything else except the word husband since the time she came here?! It's like Arjun is all over in her mind and he comes out on her lips each time she speaks.

"Are you always like this?!" I asked her in a casual tone.

Suddenly I feel like talking to her more as there is really no one I can talk to in this big place. She is alone, I am alone. I don't think a few words will hurt.

"Like what?!" She asked me back.

Like the way you are. Fragile yet so strong in your opinions. I feel her looks fool a person and he will think she can be taken down easily which is true but she cannot be broken that easily. As I see the fire in her eyes now I realise what exactly Arjun loves to see in those beautiful brown depths. He loves the fire in them. The kind of fire that is fatal if you grow too close but you still choose to burn little by little.

I smiled at her,"Fiesty?! Do you always talk back or it's just me who is bringing this out of you?!"

She shakes her head vigorously,"You can never affect me in any way. All I feel for you is hatred."

Hatred is a strong word, darling. You hate me because of what I did to your loved one. Imagine the amount of hatred I would have in my heart for him because of whose existence, my existence was questioned and always looked down upon. Right from birth till now, he was everyone's first choice because I am not a noble born like him according to all this prudish people. My mother was a characterless woman who made a married man stray from his path but was she the only one who was wrong?! Wasn't the married man at fault too?! Then why only she had to suffer?! Why only she had to hear the hurtful words that this people threw at her face?! She died every day hearing all of this until she died one day abandoning me just like Arnav did. He didn't even feel the need to check if I am alive or dead in all this years.

I know he wasn't a great father to Arjun also but he was there for him. When my mother had called him years ago to inform him about my birth, he kept the receiver down after telling her that he has an outing to attend with his only son, Arjun. Only son?! What about me?! He rejected me because he had Arjun. Had he not been there, a man like Arnav Mehra would have been on cloud nine to be a father of a boy. Arjun ruined things for me and I am never going to forget that ever. I just hate him from the bottom of my heart.

Is Arjun so perfect for Radhika to forget the world around her?! He is not in fact if I have to count the no of women he broke, the entire night would get over but I wouldn't finish. He surely took after Arnav Mehra in that aspect. Of course I know it wasn't anything emotional but he did wrong lives of several women. He has also beaten them when they crossed his path. Do I hit women?! Yeah I have but I wasn't involved with that many women. I have had girlfriends not flings and I had genuine feelings for a certain girl named Preeti who broke my heart and later had her heart broken by the great Arjun Mehra. I think she is the only person who has seen me and seen him too. She was in my college and I had a hugh crush on her but never had the courage to tell her. One day I did and she rebuked me saying a man like me doesn't even deserve to be the dirt on her shoe! Why?! Because I have no father's name and surname. Later she met him and I wondered had she forgotten he resembled me. She tried to woo him and he also gave her attention but only for a week or two after which he threw her out like trash! This is real Arjun Mehra not what Radhika thinks that he is.

At that point I wanted to point out Arjun's flaws before her.

"Arjun wasn't a good man either. You know all about his sex escapades right?!" I asked her in a cryptic tone.

"He didn't hide anything from me. He never cheated on me but why am I telling you all this?!" She asked more to herself than me.

Cheated?! He should have no reason to cheat on you in any case. Who would even think of being disloyal to a wife like you?! Does not cheating on your wife whitewash all your other sins?!

"That's not important. You know Radhika, believe it or not he has blindfolded you with his love but you never got to see the world outside because you are blinded by your love. You don't know anything except Arjun and that is what he wanted. You are not a wife but a beautiful object that sits high on the shelf and pleases him. Tell me the last time you have done something crazy?! Something which made your ears hear the thumping of your heart?!" I urged her to answer this question to herself than me.

She needs to take off that blindfold and actually see the real world. He has practically consumed her whole existence. It's like he is not there but still here holding her in his tight fist. Doesn't this woman love freedom at all?! If someone would give me everything and take my freedom away, I would be a poor man.

"He loves me and that is enough. I don't need to do something crazy to feel good about myself. I feel the happiest when Arjun smiles and strokes my cheek with affection. I am only hungry for love and I only want a family, the one that loves me and will always be there for me." She whispers.

Hungry for love?! Family, something that I longed for my whole life yet here I am, still alone and contemplating what was my fault in all this. Did he not want my mother because she was a lowborn?! Did he not want us because he didn't wanted another child?! He told her to get rid of me and never to show her face to him again.

She says she is only hungry for love even I have always been hungry. Hungry for my father's love then hungry for acceptance, hungry for respect, hungry for little bit of kindness. 

"Me too." I muttered under my breath so she doesn't hear me.

"What?!" She asked me.

"Nothing. I think I should call the night it's already 2 am and I suggest you should sleep too. Staying up that late isn't good for your or your child's health." I pointed out.

"Mind your own fucking business. I know what is best for me and my child. Having my husband's face doesn't make you my husband." She rudely replied.

"I don't want to be Arjun." I told her honestly.

If at all I would like her to like me as Veer not as someone's dummy even if she likes me as a friend.

"Stop acting like one then." She said angrily.

I am being so nice to her because of two reasons. One that she is of use to me and second is that she is so pretty that you can't even glare at her. She is adorable too. How did that arrogant brute manage to bag her?!

"He talks to you so nicely, I am surprised."

"What is there to be surprised about?!"

"Oh he is an arrogant brute who doesn't know to talk to anyone with respect."

"He is nothing like that. He loves me." She fired up.

How can you love him so much that you can't take a word against him?! How I wish I had someone like you in my life.

"Radhika, debating over Arjun when he is not even here is the last thing on my to do list. I know you don't want my suggestions but please I beg you get something better to do in life." I signed.

"Why don't you just leave from here?!" She asked me as she stared me hard.

"You want me to go from here. I am just going." I turned to leave.

"I meant my house. Why don't you leave my house instead of torturing me with your presence?!" She asked me in a tone full of flare.

I don't actually feel any anger towards her. I feel the angrier she gets, the more redder she gets. Her face looks like a plush pink rose right now.

"You should be thankful towards me. You must not be missing seeing him now that you see me." I say in a coquettish tone.

She fights a laugh,"Hahahaha. You are not even close to his fingernail. You think just because you have my husband's face then I will accept you." She says as she gazes at me with nothing but pure contempt for me in her eyes.

I wish you will like others. Who wouldn't like to have a beautiful woman like you on his arm?!

"My world doesn't revolve around you, Radhika." I reply firmly.

"Good you know your place." She smirked at me.

Fuck! She is one firecracker. No wonder she managed to have Arjun all for herself. As far as I have heard, he gets bored very soon but now I know why he commited to Radhika for life. She is something else. I would really like to know her more. Of course I know she will never be interested in me because she still loves him and moreover she is married to him. Still a man can hope, can't he?!

To be continued.....