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Gauri, a young village girl holding firm views about morals a...
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Her lids fluttered sluggishly, weighed by seductive sleep and the fog of a dark world where all the damned souls wept. The struggle was real. Her ribs ached with every inhale, and a fire burned in her limbs. Her spine relaxed and contracted as she tried to straighten from a fetal position, curled on a bed with her knees close to her chest. But a sudden resistance didn't let her.
Dazed she opened her eyes, only to be blinded by the cruel rays of the bright sun. Tears collected in her obsidian eyes and she coughed due to a scratchy and dry throat. A warm hand rubbed her back and soothing coos reached her ears.
"It's okay."
Her eyes watered more recognizing that voice. It belonged to her husband.
"Be careful." He whispered as he brought a cool glass of water to her lips. Thirsty, she gulped it eagerly as if she hadn't had it in years. Her back protested and entrails screamed at the sudden invasion. She breathed through her mouth and tried to move her limbs only to notice they were tied to the bed by ropes.
"What's... What's happening?" She timorously asked, her voice coming out as rough as if she has screamed all night loud enough to wake up the dead.
"Nothing." He whispered, as he slowly unwinds the ropes and adjusts a pillow behind her back. The care he showed left her confused. He didn't even reek of alcohol and cheap perfume. He has hated her since the day she stepped into his palace and scarcely refrained himself from stating it. Why was he being so gentle? As he adjusted her back on the pillows, her breath got stuck in her lungs and she shuddered in revulsion. She was wearing a flimsy nightgown which she wouldn't even choose in her worst nightmares. It left little to the imagination. But that wasn't it. It was the large bulging belly that made her cracked lips quiver.
"Raghuveer! What? How?" She would have screamed if she had strength. All her bones were sore and her joints ached.
He settled beside her and held her hand.
"How are you feeling?"
A bitter taste flooded her mouth. The last thing she remembers is having an argument with him about attending a friend's birthday party. After that, she suddenly fell into the pool, and today when she woke up, she was heavily pregnant.
"I am pregnant? This is a nightmare. I need to wake up. Please wake up. Please wake up." She started slapping her cheeks lightly while glaring at the man in front of her in horror. He can't be so nice. Her breathing labored and anxiety clogged her pores. Raghuveer held her shoulders, looking equally distraught. She was questioning the very thing which has brought them close. The baby. Still, he grasped the threads of bravery and caged his heart in steel.
"What is the last thing you remember, Vasundhara?"
Her teeth started chattering when flashes of the past crossed her subconscious. Too many images to handle at once. Her hands shook and her head felt light.
