Bella walked out of the hospital in a daze, her legs moving on their own, but her mind spinning in circles. The cold night air hit her face, but she barely felt it. Her entire body was numb, her heart aching in a way she never thought possible.
Vidyut followed her, his breath heavy with desperation. "Bella, stop!" he called out, reaching for her wrist. But the moment his fingers brushed her skin, she jerked away as if burned.
"Don’t," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Don’t you dare touch me, Vidyut."
He flinched at the way his name fell from her lips—cold, distant, filled with pain. His heart clenched at the sight of her tear-streaked face, her swollen eyes that once looked at him with love but now held nothing but devastation.
"Bella, please... just listen to me," he pleaded, stepping in front of her, blocking her path.
She let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. "Listen to what, Vidyut? More lies? More excuses?" She looked up at him, her eyes flashing with raw betrayal. "Do you even realize what you’ve done? You let me believe Ruhani wasn’t mine. You let me carry my own daughter without knowing she was mine!"
His jaw clenched, pain slicing through him at her words. "I was scared," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "Scared that you’d leave, scared that you’d hate me."
Bella scoffed. "Well, congratulations," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You’ve made your worst fear come true."
Vidyut felt his breath hitch. "Bella, don’t say that—"
"Why not?" she snapped, her tears falling freely now. "Everything I believed about us, everything I thought we had—it was all built on a lie. You married me not because you loved me, but because I was the mother of your child."
His heart shattered at her words. "No, Bella!" he burst out, grabbing her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "I love you! I have always loved you!"
She stared at him, searching his eyes, looking for the truth. But all she could see was the deception, the manipulation, the secrets he had buried for months.
"If you loved me, Vidyut," she whispered, her voice laced with sorrow, "you wouldn’t have lied to me."
His hands dropped from her shoulders, helplessness creeping into his veins. He wanted to fix this. He wanted to make her believe him. But how could he, when he had been the one to break her in the first place?
She took a deep breath, stepping back. "I need space," she said, wrapping her arms around herself as if trying to hold herself together. "I need time to think."
Vidyut’s chest tightened. "Bella—"
"Please, Vidyut," she cut him off, her voice barely above a whisper. "Don’t make this harder than it already is."
And with that, she turned and walked away, leaving him standing there, his world crumbling around him.
....
Bella sat on the hospital bench, her body trembling, not from the cold but from the overwhelming storm inside her. The hallway was dimly lit, the faint sounds of beeping monitors and murmured conversations filtering through the walls. She wrapped her arms around herself, staring blankly at the floor, her mind replaying everything that had just happened.
Her anger had been raw, her words sharper than a blade. She had lashed out, thrown accusations, ripped apart the man who had stood by her side all these months. Vidyut. Her husband. The father of her child. The man who had lied to her but also the man who had loved her fiercely, unconditionally.
She let out a shaky breath, her heart pounding as she recalled the look in his eyes—the devastation, the helplessness. He wasn’t just a liar. He was a man who had feared losing her. A man who had made a choice out of desperation, not malice.
"I was scared… scared that you’d leave, scared that you’d hate me."
His words echoed in her mind, twisting her heart painfully. Had she been so consumed by her own betrayal that she had failed to see his? He had lost just as much—no, maybe even more.
She closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against her palms. He had hidden the truth, yes. But had he done it to deceive her? Or had he done it to hold onto her, to protect their love, their family?
And then another thought struck her, one that made her breath hitch in her throat.
Ruhani.
Their daughter was lying in a hospital bed, struggling, fragile. And what had she done? Instead of standing by Vidyut’s side, instead of comforting him, she had turned against him. She had pushed him away when he needed her the most.
Her stomach twisted with guilt. He wasn’t just fighting his own battle. He was fighting for their daughter too. He had already been dealing with the fear of losing his child, and she had added to that fear by walking away from him.
Tears welled in her eyes as she realized the depth of his pain.
He had fought for her, for their daughter, for their marriage. Even if it was built on a lie, hadn’t it grown into something real? The way he had held her at night, the way he had worshipped her body, the way he had cared for every little thing—had any of that been fake?
She thought back to the nights he had woken up just to check on her, the way he had massaged her swollen feet, how he had carried her when she was too exhausted to walk. The way his eyes had softened whenever he looked at her, like she was the most precious thing in his world.
"You didn’t love me… you only married me because I was the mother of Ruhani."
The words she had thrown at him felt like poison now.
Bella shook her head, feeling her chest tighten. No. That wasn’t true. He loved her. He had always loved her. And she… she had let her pain blind her to that truth.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stood up, determination setting in her heart. She had hurt him, but she would not let this be the end.
She needed to fix this.
She needed to find him.
....
Vidyut stood outside the hospital room, his hands clenched into fists, his jaw tight as he stared at the floor. The cold tiles beneath his feet felt warmer than the emptiness settling inside his chest.
Bella’s words echoed in his mind, piercing through his heart like daggers.
"You didn’t love me… you only married me because I was the mother of Ruhani."
His breath hitched, and his fingers curled tighter. Was that what she thought? That everything between them had been a lie? That he had only wanted her because of Ruhani?
Did she not see how much he loved her? How much he had worshipped her, adored her, given her everything he had?
His throat felt dry, his chest aching as he leaned against the wall. The weight of the truth he had hidden for so long now crushed him from all sides. He hadn’t meant for her to find out this way. He had wanted to tell her—he truly had. But every time he had looked into her eyes, every time he had seen the love she had for him, he had frozen in fear.
Fear of losing her.
Fear of her walking away.
Fear of exactly what had happened tonight.
A bitter laugh escaped his lips, his body shuddering with exhaustion. Maybe he deserved this. Maybe he had been a fool to think that love alone could keep their marriage intact.
He slid down the wall, resting his elbows on his knees, rubbing his hands over his face.
He had spent months watching her change—watching her go from a woman carrying his child to the woman he couldn’t live without. Every little thing about her had become an addiction—the way she smiled in her sleep, the way she pouted when she craved something, the way she whispered his name when he made love to her.
Was that not love?
He had cherished her in every way possible. He had loved her with every breath in his body. And yet, she believed it had all been a lie.
The pain of her words burned deep inside him.
And now, their daughter—his little princess—was lying in a hospital bed, fragile, and instead of comforting Bella, instead of holding her close, he had let his world crumble.
His head dropped back against the wall, his eyes shutting as memories flooded in.
The moment he had found out that she was the biological mother of his child, the night he had realized the universe had given him a gift he never even knew he wanted.
He had been scared at first—terrified, even. But that fear had soon been replaced with something deeper. Something stronger.
He had fallen in love with her.
And now? Now she hated him.
A shaky breath left his lips. No. He wouldn’t let this be the end. He wouldn’t let her walk away from him, not without a fight.
He had fought for her before.
And he would fight for her again.
Even if it meant proving his love to her every single day, for the rest of his life.
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