Heena woke up hearing low murmurs and various other faded noises. She shut her eyes back feeling a sharp light.
Slowly her eyes adjusted to it and she tried looking around. She recognised her surroundings as a hospital. That's when she remembered the events that led her to this place.
Feeling a prick on her hand she saw a drip attached to the back of her palm. She looked around trying to figure out if anyone was in the room.
Where was Vihaan? As if hearing her question, Vihaan entered the room with a packet in his hands.
As soon as he saw her conscious form, he rushed to her side.
“God! Finally! No, don't get up! You're asked to take a rest.”
She asked him to help her sit and he straightened the bed for back support making her sit against it.
“Why didn't you tell me you've been taking contraceptives? Aur agar nhi suit kr rhi thi toh why did you continue to take them? The doctor said that's what harmed you so much.”
Her eyes teared up remembering what her body was subjected to without her knowledge let alone her consent. Vihaan sensed something amiss and held her hands.
“Heena? You know you can tell me. Mai hamesha tumhari baat sunne aur samajhne ke liye hu yaha. Don't keep it inside you anymore please.”
Placing two soft kisses on the inside of her wrist, he pulled her in such a way that her head rested on his shoulder.
“I-Vihaan I…mujhe nhi pata tha about the contraceptives being given to me. I didn't know those pills were being mixed in my food.”
Why did her lips feel so dry suddenly? Her heart pounded in her chest. Could she do that? Ruin his relationship with his own parents because of her?
“What…do you mean you did not know?”
Something in his tone told her that he'd understood what she wanted to imply. She did not say anything for a minute.
“Heena-I-please tell me!”
His tone became pleading and she lost control on her tears.
“Maine bhut koshish kri Vihaan! Bhut koshish kri ki wo mujhe accept krle. Mujhe apna family member maan le. Unki kahi unkahi saari baatein maani maine. Wo sab kia jo mai nhi bhi chahti thi.”
She cried letting the frustration she had trapped inside her for such a long time out. She could feel Vihaan's body tense up but she had to get it out of her system or else she knew she would never be able to.
“Tum-tumhe pata hai shaadi se pehle unhone mujhse kaha ki unhe mera job krna pasand nhi hai. Wo nhi chahti ki tumhari shaadi ek working ladki se ho. Unhe khush krne ke liye, unki baat rakhne ke liye, I left my job Vihaan. Wo job jiske liye maine itne dreams dekhe the, itni mehnat kri thi. I left it all behind because she wanted me not to work.”
Vihaan couldn't believe what he was listening to. He never understood her decision of leaving her job earlier. But now he did. She didn't leave it, she was compelled to. Given a choice between the two things she loved the most.
“Aur jab you started the conversation about your honeymoon plans, I saw how she didn't want it to happen. You were always confused why I said no to going to the place I've always wanted to, right? It was because unki ye unsaid wish bhi puri kar rhi thi mai.”
How many shocking things was she going to tell him today.
“Heena stop crying first jaan. Tum already bhut weak ho. Tabiyat aur kharab ho jaayegi.”
She wiped her face and snuggled more into him, getting to the other details was difficult.
“You-you remember how I started covering up, asking you not to leave marks on my skin. It's because she taunted me for making any sound when I was with you. I was taunted for those love marks on my body. It felt as if wo mujhe tumse dur karna chahti thi. Itna embarrass karna chahti thi that I would start staying away from you.”
Vihaan didn't know how to react. Knowing that his own mother could do something like this. And he unknowingly had subjected her to it too. He would leave for work every morning leaving her alone with his parents.
He opened his mouth to apologize but then she continued horrifying him even more.
“You asked me why I started putting a dupatta jabki mujhe suffocation hoti thi hamesha se. It was because your father said something really bad about me when I didn't wear one.”
Vihaan froze. His father what?
“W-what did he say?”
Hw whispered in a scared tone. She closed her eyes. The words were still clear and vivid in her mind.
“Please don't make me say them aloud. They've been eating me from the inside for a long time. The words still disgust me enough Vihaan. He is my father's age. How can he have such thoughts about someone his daughter's age let alone his daughter-in-law. You know the words he used?”
She hicccuped and told him what his father had said and Vihaan didn't know how to react anymore. Anger? Yes. Pain? Yes. Disgust? Yes. But the most prominent of all was hate. Hate for his parents for making his wife feel all those things.
For making her so dull. He'd never seen her so lifeless. She had always been full of life and that's what attracted him in the first place.
“Aaj I saw mummy put those pills in my lemonade when I wasn't looking. And you know what she said when I asked her why she was doing all this? She said she doesn't want my bad blood in her lineage. She doesn't want me to give birth to your babies. Am I so bad Vihaan?”
She cried hiding her face in his chest and clutching his shirt. Vihaan closed his eyes letting the information sink in.
When he opened them again, he was determined. To correct everything that has been going wrong.
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