SS: The Bought Wife Ch 6 Pg 16 [Completed] - Page 12

"That's enough", he says and mercilessly snatched that baby away from my arms. I froze in spot, dumbfounded until he dragged me away into his bedroom. 

We sat in silence for two hours. He took turns between making rounds in the hallway and staring at me with a cold, angered face. I bowed my head low in shame. I had nothing to say for myself except that I would really like to take my medication right now. A dull pain of withdrawal was already appearing in my abdomen. I looked around for my purse but cannot find it, nor did I remember when I put it and habitually forgot. He saw my distracted face and was about speak up when cries of the baby interrupt him.

"He must be hungry", I bolted toward the door but he blocks me. I walked back in with a defeated frown. 

I felt a sudden pain in my chest, a throbbing ache that was sufficient to consume my whole person. I helplessly held on to my bosom and let out a soft moan. He noticed me from the corner and soon brings back the baby in his arms. 

"Here", he let me hold Rudra once more and I asked nothing more than to die in this moment because a happier day would never come. I looked down at my son who had now calmed down, playing with my curls in his fingers. I swayed him side to side and he let out a few more cries. 

"He needs milk", Shivaay reminded me and I instinctively lifted up my shirt.  Then, pull it back down. 

I breastfed Rudra just fine for the first month but with my med load now and the fact that I skipped tonight's dosage, I simply could not risk his safety. I was probably being stupid, I know. The WHO endorses this truth but gaaah...just one day. 

The question now was how to get Shivaay off the mark? He could clearly see evidence so I have no reason to refuse. 

"I have the flu", I say in panic. 

"Then why are you holding him?" 

Stupid! Stupid! How could I not know. 

"I don't have the flu". I answer.

He raises an eyebrow, not at all amused with my haphazardness. 

"So you don't want to feed your own child? No problem. I have the nanny make him formula". He pulls the baby away from me again. I stand in place hopelessly waiting to catch a glimpse of my son. 

He went away and did not come back for the night. It was only in the morning that I realized I haf been sitting in underwear for the whole night and he was still very mad. We had gotten exactly nowhere. 

I did a fresh search for my purse but it was nowhere to be found. So I braced my body for the horrible side effects that are sure to come. First, it was the nausea. A constant dizzying effect that rendered me paralyzed for seconds and then I ran to bathroom only to find...nothing. I could not puke but I certainly had the urge to do so. Then, it was the head tearing, gut squeezing diarrhea. Had it not been for his string of phone calls in the morning I was done for, busted! 

But saved by the bell, I tidied up, only some reminiscent headaches left behind.

"I would like to go to the city now", I said. 

"What? Already tired of your son?" his cynicism is alive and well ya'll. 

"That, I...important meeting. Can I come by tomorrow?"

"This is not a hotel". 

"Shivaay please". 

"Get in the car and we'll see if you behave".

 I silently followed him out to the driveway. My head felt heavy as if it is made of metal. I was afraid I would pass out in the cold so I picked up a thermos bottle and gulped down the steaming liquid inside. My throat burned from the heat but I did not show. He drove in silence for a while then abruptly asked, "why? Give me a reason". 

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It was like this: I asked for a divorce and he said yes. He had always been a domineering man and he did not want to appear desperate. If I did not want to say by his side, he would not force me. Just that he would use every other sly method to make me stay. The prenup was one of them. He had thought that the off chance I wished to pull away from him, the greed of his money would convert me. It did not. Otherwise, the love for my child would stop me. It almost did. But this also forced me to run away. 

In the end, neither of us budged. And now, I had nothing but apologies left to give to him. Thinking back, the guilt had probably caught up to him. He knew had made a mistake keeping Rudra from me. But he would never say. And because I knew him far too well, I didn't ask either. 

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I scramble for an explanation but my mind blanks out. His clear blue eyes, the high rise brows, a slant fall of the hair turn me speechless. His big, round lips make my throat dry up. And oh that day old stubble demands to touched, caressed with a soft hand and two kisses. 

Truth is, I don't have a reason. I didn't have one then, and most certainly got none now. I just want you to open your arms and hold me tight but I can't ask you that. I can't be too selfish with the way I answer you. I am afraid I might hold you back Shivaay.

"Are you here on business?" I try to divert his attention. 

"Yes. I am leaving on Sunday". 

"Can you leave Rudra with me?" 

"No". 

"Then, can I go with him?"

"..."

"Just for a week. Just until I have painted a picture of him in my head. I need him to know me, remember me. Please". 

"Are you never coming back as my wife?"

I paused for thought. Then answered, "I am afraid not in this lifetime". And I chose my words carefully, somehow conveying my helplessness in the mix. I was certain he did not understand. I didn't expect him to understand. I made this decision. I must live with its consequences. 

He dropped me on the side of the road and left. Thankfully it was not a stranded highway stop. He chose an intersection next to the subway to vent his anger but pretended to be coolly unaware of his provided convenience. 

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I reached my apartment on the top floor of a newly constructed high rise. A half colored canvas and a very hungry dog stood in my waiting. 

"Tigger!" he jumped me in the hallway and licked me clean. "I have makeup on beta. You are eating my lipstick! Tigger, this is not funny". 

He whined in a low crying voice. 

"Sorry baby. You must be really hungry. I am sorry. Let's get you something lunch". 

He barked twice refusing the food. Strangely, the poor guy didn't go for the drink either. 

"Are you angry with mummy? I am sorry beta. I won't do it again. I'll come home to you every night. Okay?" 

"Woof, woof". This time the playful barks were saying something. He pointed to the direction of the bathroom. A handsome figure was standing in silence looking at us in amusement. 

"Shivaay?"

"You know your dog is really stupid", he walked toward me with an intimidating gate. "A stranger broke into the house and he doesn't bite. He held the door open for me instead. What a genius!" sarcasm was dripping off mister's gums but what did he know. Before moving to Zurich, I had secretly packed a few of Shivaay and Rudra's most worn items to familiarize my pet with their scent. You see, I believed a dog has to know all my family and what do you know, my silly idea came in handy. There. My dog is smart. But I wasn't going to tell him that. 

"Good boy, good boy", I rubbed tigger's tummy and he rolled on the floor with laughter.

"You are teaching him wrong", Shivaay wagged his finger. 

"I parent my pet just fine, thank you!" 

"The same cannot be said for your son". 

"Give me a chance at the very least". I was getting frustrated. Blame it on missing the medicine or my starving artist complex but I was on the verge of kicking this man in the nuts.

"I gave you a chance when I married you. Now you tell me, what is this medicine". 

Oh God! How did I not notice? He had rummaged through my medicine cabinet looking for the signs of a new man. He used to do this even before I left. His one jealous trait was going to cost me a whole lot now. 

"Nothing. Give it back". 

"What about this one? And this one?"

He pulled out a slew of pills, one after the other. 

"Do you have cancer? Cause if you do, this is a stupid move Anika. We are not living in a Hindi movie. Who do I earn money for?"

"Fine, not telling me. I'll Google it", he screams in frustration.

I breathed once, then shouted: "wait. I will tell you. I have H.I.V."

My words were still stuck in my throat but I knew too well he heard 'em. His eyes lightened and his face turned dark. He dropped his weight on the ground and asked me to repeat myself.

"Anika", he said without waiting for my answer. "When did this happen?"

"Three months into my pregnancy".

"How?"

"Blood transfusion". 

His breathing became louder so much so that I could hear him inhale air from ten feet away. 

"Is that why you left me? You selfish bitch!"

I had not the slightest idea of what was running through his head as he paced back and forth across the room trying to put his words together. 

"You", he pointed to me a couple of times but stopped midway. It was as if he was at a loss. He finally scratched his head and said, "I need time to process this. I'll call you" and left.  

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Here I was now, standing in front of my fridge door with a milk carton in hand, trying to put the incidents of the day together in a way that makes sense. I thought I have given him a way out. Seeing as we were divorced, Shivaay did not owe me anything. He was free to leave if he pleases.

But was he really? 

I couldn't help but feel I had trapped him emotionally. I pressed on his most sensitive nerve. He must have felt pity, self-loathing, anger, betrayal, love, guilt. Yes, I had trapped him. 

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Next morning, he showed up at my door with suitcases packed and our baby tightly secured in his pram. 

"You are coming with me", he declared. 

His attendants promised to deliver my belongings to me within 24 hours and told me to rest assured on my flight. I had no idea where this flight was going. He didn't think to tell me either. Instead, he handed me a sleeping Rudra and got busy driving. 

"You have a doctor here, right? Let's stop there first", he said. 

I dared not interrupt his train of thought for the fear of a road accident. This man was half a maniac and you could never predict what would happen if you ticked him off. We soon arrived at the doctor's and after a few minutes of mundane information gathering, he got right to the meat.

"She's my wife". Okay, he was forward and maybe a little too enthusiastic. "I would like to know how we can stay married". 

The physician went on and on about the importance of safe sex, precautions, and all the jazz you hear in sex-ed class. I was about as attentive as a thirteen year old listening to the parliament channel.

"How can she get pregnant again?" he boldly asked. 

I sat up straight all of a sudden. This man was more embarrassing that my dad crashing my prom party. Just as I was looking for a bowl to drown in, Rudra woke up with a loud cry. I took him to hallway to calm down and Shivaay finished up his conversation. 

During our flight, I tried to pry him for information. "What do you mean getting pregnant again? You aren't thinking of THAT, are you?" He gave me the royal ignore. 

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He stopped the car in front of the Delhi Civil Affairs Bureau. 

"Why are we here?" I asked. 

"You are marrying me", he told me with a straight face. 

"What?"

"If you want to see your child again then walk inside with me. Otherwise, I'll see you in court". 

"Wait..."

"Five, four, three, two,..."

"Fine, I'll go". 

Three exhausting and exhilarating hours later, I was a married woman again.

"Today is just the beginning Anika. The real story starts now", he said. 

Then, he looked me square in the face and asked, "study or bedroom?"

I rolled my eyes so hard they are about to fall out of my head. This man was blinded by lust I tell ya!

"Unless you want a kick to your ballocks, you better leave me alone with my baby". 

I don't know how it happened but we forgot about our dangerous past and built a new dynamic. One where I get to be sassy and happy like a real wife.

"I can't believe your stupidity", he suddenly said thinking about my decision to leave.

"Really? What would you have done?" I have always been clearheaded, you see. I made rational decisions like a reasonable person. And his proud arse does not get to mock my revered intelligence. 

"I would have forced you to stick by me even if you wanted to run away. I would have caught you by the neck and made you stay! Not run away like a coward. What's a little illness that we can't get over. And as long as I am alive, you just keeping kicking. Don't worry about a thing. Okay?"

Confidence was just oozing out of his bones. And that's the way I liked it. 

"Yes sir. Now let's get home to the baby".

"You know, I am starting to get jealous of the baby". 

"I thought you wanted another one". 

"Can you give me another one?"

"I was wrong to start the conversation. Stop talking", I gave in. No one could out-debate this lunatic. 

"You should have waved the white flag from the very beginning woman. No one wins against me".

"We'll see about that". 

"No hurry. You got a full life to fight with me". 

A/N: This is the end people! To all those who were wondering about the relationship & its conclusion. It was a toxic and unhealthy relationship not to be immitated IRL. Shivaay took advantage of a vulnerable person & abused her. There is no excuse for that. When I began the story, I wanted a tragic ending but I changed my mind midway. So, please understand that it was written in a way to make the protagonist unlikeable but I suddenly redeemed him toward the end. That was a decision on my part (still not sure if it was good or bad) and does not reflect on how to treat people in the real world. Please do not use this story as a mirror for real relationships. Okay, end of disclaimers. Hope you liked the story!