*tw: abortion, infidelity*
Segment #8
Veronica sat on the floor, her head against the wall, she had trashed the room, and it looked like an earthquake had hit her otherwise pristine room. But the room looked nothing like what she was feeling, the complicated thoughts going through her head. Samarth loved her, he never told her, Samarth knew about Abhay, and he had been pretending to be in the dark for so long?
The ever-present pain in her lower back emerged, a constant reminder of the baby she had lost, the baby she had let go.
As she closed her tired eyes, the day flashed infront of her eyes, like it was yesterday.
"And that is your baby's heartbeat." The soft thudding made Veronica clutch the bedsheet as tears stream down her cheeks. Dr Afreen pointed to the screen and showed the little ball growing in her womb. What was it like, to be happy seeing that? What was it like, to look at her husband and see tears of joy in his eyes? Veronica would never know.
"I'll let you clean up." The doctor said in a while and the thudding stopped.
"Doctor, what if I want to terminate?"
The doctor looked at her for a few seconds, as if to ask if she was sure and then guided her to the seat.
Veronica walked through the hospital corridor, almost in a daze. The doctor's words were ringing in her ears, but she snapped out of it when she walked into a man.
"Oh sorry." She heard a familiar voice. She looked down as Samarth picked up her file and gave it to her. He looked up at her face and froze.
"Um...hi." He said and she nodded and continued walking when she felt slightly dizzy. A firm hand held her and lead her to a metal seat.
"Veronica, do you need some water?" She shook her head, but a bottle was pushed into her hand. An elderly woman was standing next to her, saying kind words, but she didn't pay attention. Samrath thanked the lady and she left the two.
"Veronica, should I call the doc? You don't look so good. You look so pale." He said and was about to hold her hand, but didn't.
"Yeah, that happens when your husband cheats on you," Veronica said mirthlessly and Samarth slumped his shoulders.
"I am so sorry. I wish there was something I could do, to fix it."
"Fix it? What's left to fix?" Veronica shouted at him. A nurse shushed her, but Veronica ignored her.
"You want to fix the fact that my husband took me for granted? Never respected me? Never cared for me? That I was just another trophy for him?" She asked him, angrily.
"That's not true, Veronica, maybe he did love you, maybe the love was lost." Veronica scoffed. Trust men to find excuses for other men's behaviour.
"You know what, screw it!" She said and stood up when he held her hand.
"No, please, stay. Tell me what I can do to make this right?"
She looked at his face for a long time. Brown eyes looked into her hazel ones, with guilt and...care? She then whispered.
"Can you accompany me for a procedure this Wednesday?"
When Veronica woke up, it was morning. Dried tear tracks ran down her cheeks. Six months had passed, but the baby's heartbeat Samarth's soft "Ok," to her request were like haunting sounds of her personal, cold abyss.
_______
There was no real answer to why Samarth gave the divorce papers instead of a family member or someone else, but I thought there has to be some ground for VS to connect, so this, it's basically adding cement in a khadda, ik.
Also, V is already guilty of adding to her uncle and Shweta's finances and she has been earning for a out just three years, so abortion seemed the right course of action. It's practical, horribly painful, but practical.
Baaki jisko jo huddang machani hai, machao, this story is my personal source of angst and when I write, I am hell bent on writing #SobFest parts🤣
What's left to answer: How are A and S family's related (for WD's post)
