Silent Downfall

Chapter Ten

The divine breeze of dawn continued to knock on the closed window, but no sign of courtesy was displayed by the creature locked inside. He was lost in a mayhem brewed by the lucid recollection of the nightmare that had made his world slip out of its orbit. Sanchit let out a hefty sigh; the images floating inside his mind refused to truckle to his desire to bounce out of the maze.

"What are you up to, Jane?" A younger Sanchit asked in a puzzled tone as he spotted the tiny pillow on his wife's lap. "Who is that for?" His eyes dramatically moved around the room. "Have you got a cat?"

A mild smile spread across the woman's lips in reply. She tied her dark, shoulder-length hair before putting her focus back on work.

"Jane?"

"It's not a cat, idiot," she replied in a jocund voice.

"Then? Not a puppy?"

Jane put the pillow aside and looked at her husband. "It's a baby."

"A what?"

"Huh? What? It's yours!"

Sanchit narrowed his eyes. "Oh, I would have been almost disappointed otherwise. Is this the surprise you were talking about?"

"Yes." Jane affectionately placed a hand on her belly.

"Jenny. C'mon!"

"What? I thought you would be happy."

Sanchit looked away with a vivid trace of guilt in his eyes. "Not at the moment."

"What do you mean?"

"I am sorry," Sanchit said in a fragile tone. "But we can't keep the baby, Jane."

"I don't remember asking for your consent, Sanchit," the lady replied in a grim fashion.

He gently walked closer to his wife and confirmed a tender grip on her shoulders. "Please, Jane. Don't be mad. I know what the child means to you, but—"

"But?"

"We can't just have it now. I want to give my kids the best life ever. Not one in which they will have to play hide and seek. Don't act naive, girl," Sanchit continued with his eyes on Jane's blazing ones. "My parents don't even know about our marriage. Nobody does except a few friends, and I can't risk letting anyone else know just yet."

"It's been so damn long! Have you even bothered to keep track? Why don't you just tell mum and dad now? I can at least give them a grandchild!" yelled his wife.

Sanchit moved away. "We have talked about this before. You know how they are. Rural mindset. It's definitely not your fault, but they—they won't accept you, Jane. And they are not going to forgive me if they ever find out what I have done."

"Only because I had been with another man, and I failed miserably in saving the marriage?"

"I told you it's not your fault. Sienna and I grew up in a city, and we think differently. Neither of us have a problem with you. Can't we wait a little longer?"

"Your parents are not uneducated. Maybe you are simply underestimating them. Be honest for once. Are you waiting for them to die?"

Sanchit shook his head. "It's not like that, Jenny. Let me return from Singapore this time, and I promise I will talk to my parents about it."

"You have been saying this since forever!" Another yell filled the room. "After everything I went through, a reason to live is all I am asking for! And all you care about is your reputation, and God knows what."