Ragini couldn't sleep that night. What Nachiket had told her was something she had expected and had prepared herself for it too, but at the same time had hoped it wouldn't be true.
Thrice. Tears started trickling down her face. She hastily wiped those off and turned on her side to face Nachiket. He was in a deep slumber and was holding a pillow over his face.
She hadn't expected him to confess it. She couldn't believe he did tell her about it. When she had posed the question, she had thought he would either deny any relationship or duck the question. But he did neither. Instead he told her the truth. He bared his heart out to her. Would it have helped if he had lied this time?, she asked herself. The pain that she felt right now, the aching heart, the sense of betrayal.. It was all overwhelming.. Thrice.
No. She needed to hear the truth. She deserved the truth. Nachiket had always thought of the present first and future later. He was an advocate of short-term solutions, a believer of things that provided instant relief from the pain. What he did today, was very unlike of him. He didn't say what she wanted to hear, he knew what he said would hurt her terribly, there wasn't going to be any short-term solution to their problem, and he also knew he wouldn't be able to help her go through this, but he still went ahead and said those words. Why? Ragini wondered. The answer wasn't difficult. He said the truth because he wasn't going to commit the same mistake that he committed 18 years ago. And now the question was, Was Ragini going to repeat her mistake now? Will she doubt his love for her and for their children again?
No. If there was one thing that she was sure of in this world, it was that Nachiket loved her and their children more than anything in this world.
She removed the pillow from his face. He frowned in his sleep and squeezed his eyes. The lights were on! She removed the frown from his face with her thumb and turned off the light.
"Thank you, Ragini" Nachiket murmured in sleep. He was hers.