'What happened Geet? Please tell me?" Geet looked vaguely around the room and without meeting his eyes, murmured incoherently 'I ...tripped. Next thing I knew I was flat on my back.''Tripped? Against what?' He touched her cheek. The infinite gentleness made her want to cry all over again. 'Geet. Are you in pain? Shall I call a nurse?'. She touched his cheeks softly and said, 'No. I just need to sleep'. He clasped her hands in his, with a dangerously soft voice he asked 'How did you trip?'. Geet babbled, 'The stool...living room'. Maan instantly knew she was lying and she knew that he has seen through her pack of lies. The silence rose like a living thing, broken only by the faint hum of the air-conditioning and the patter of rain on the window. A wall dropped between them. An impenetrable barrier she didn't know how to broach. 'I am sorry. i should have been more careful…' she said into the silence. She forced her heavy-lidded eyes to meet his. Grief and dark emotions she couldn't read swirled in those deep black eyes. Another tear spilled over to sting her cheek. This time he didn't attempt to wipe it away. Didn't try to touch her at all. Everything—her own grief, the guilt, the love, twisted inside her.
His cold indifference was unbearable. But how could she tell the truth to him when she knew the truth may just destroy him. At that inopportune moment, the nurse arrived and asked her to rest. After she made a hasty exit, Maan told her with a shuttered expression, 'You need to recuperate. I'l be back in the evening. Maybe by then you will trust me enough to tell me the bloody truth.' She heard it all in those few words, the cold, hard finality of a door slamming shut. Her world was spinning apart and she couldn't catch the pieces fast enough. Seeing her distraught expression, he softened.'Put this on.' He eased her dressing gown over her head, helped slip her arms through the sleeves, but his hands might have been those of any nurse or care-giver. He was pulling away, physically and emotionally. She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and never let him go. 'Maan…' His name seemed to be all she was capable of. The residual anaesthetic was a dark mist enveloping her. She couldn't fight it anymore.
Maan breathed a sigh of relief when those eyelashes drifted closed. He waited a few moments to make sure she was asleep before pressing his lips gently to her forehead, her eyelids and finally to linger on that beautiful cushion-soft mouth before dragging himself up. He was determined to know the truth. He couldnt let his dearest wife fade into this darkness. If he'd had to look at those grief-stricken eyes a moment longer he'd have lost it right there in front of her. He fingered the taveez which she had given him an eternity ago and promised himself that he will not let her go through this agony alone.
After 4 hours;;
Groggy eyed, disoriented, Geet woke up from deep dreamless sleep. She again felt that empty sensation. Our baby is dead. Maan was not her child's biological father but she knew he was looking forward to it as much as she was. She smiled sadly when she remembered how enthusiastically Maan had decorated the nursery, how he had stared with wonder when he had felt the baby kicking against his hand, how he had adored her rounded body and told her that she was the most beautiful woman on earth, putting her insecurities to rest. Everything seemed liked a distant memory now...
When she tried to get up on the bed, a pair of strong hands steadied her, It was her husband. 'Maan what are you doing here? You were supposed to go home.' He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her, soft gentle kisses on her face. 'I was watching you sleep. You look so beautiful'. His words melted her and she buried her face against his neck and kissed his pulse point.
'Before I met you i was a hardened cynic, a suspicious, selfish sorry excuse of a man. I hated women and lived a meaningless life. I never knew i was capable of giving or receiving any love. And then you came along, like a tiny tornado, and from the first moment ...I was yours. But i fought it till the bitter end with the foolish belief that i could protect my heart. But the heart knows what it wants, and my heart wants you..needs you..loves you. You rescued me Geet, you are my home , my world. Once I was too much of a coward to believe in something so beautiful but I learn from my mistake. I cant ever let you go. Tell me what happened Geet. Whatever it is, we will face it together,' his voice shuddered with emotion.
His soft words undid her and she decided to tell him the truth. Afterall when he was with her, she could face any hurdle. any obstacle and come out unscathed. Geet shook her head, her eyes watering in earnest now. 'I didnt trip. I was pushed from the stairs.'. ...
p.s--my first draft of part 3 didnt get posted. It was much better written. Promise to continue asap. Muahhh
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