Her Love

The Unexpected Guest

*Trigger warning- mentions of domestic abuse and miscarriage*

Raghav's POV

"Not bad huh? All it took is once without protection," I said, smirking as I recollected that night. "Shut up!" she said, hitting my arm softly, making me chuckle softly. "We should rest," I said getting up, tagging Jaanki along with me. "You need to start taking care of yourself more, Jaanki. I've been telling you you need to rest more, and you keep ignoring me. But I'm not going to let it go anymore. No more weekend meetings, no more working after 7 and no more skipping meals," I said, strictly. She looked at me in defiance, saying, "I do take care of myself, Raghav. It's not like I skip meals, because I want to. There's just so much to do with the new collection that Poshak is coming up with. I can't promise anything," she declared. "Not at all. You're in your first trimester, you need more rest. I'll give more time to Poshak, we'll do it together, until and unless we can't help it, there will no overtime, even for me. And I'm not going to listen to anything regarding meals. If I find out that you're skipping meals, I'm going to sit in your cabin every day," I said. She nodded her head reluctantly. And we drifted to sleep with that.

3 weeks later

Jaanki's POV

I was in the office, sending a few mails that needed to be sent today. I was at home today. Morning sickness had made me very weak. I wasn't able to keep anything down. Except for strawberries and imlies, I couldn't tolerate the smell of anything. I was living on glucose, basically. Everyone had been so supportive though. They took care of me and made sure I ate something at least. Raghav had almost done a PhD in making soups. He had cooked me all kinds of soups, hoping I'd be able to eat something. And all my stupid pregnancy was letting me have was this turnip soup, which I would never have otherwise.

"Bhabhi, the wedding planner is here," Aashi informed, walking into the office room. We were meeting the wedding planner today. There were just over 2 months left. Aashi and Arjun were going to finalize all the venues and themes today. "Chalo," I said, joining her. Arjun was already talking to the planners. I greeted them and took my seat. We had to finalize between 2 venues for all the events. As we were looking at the venues, a staff member informed me that someone had come to meet Raghav. I asked to let them him, since Raghav wasn't at home right now.

A woman had walked in. She looked worried and scared. She seemed in a hurry. "How may I help you ma'am?" I politely questioned. "Hi, I'm Gayatri Ranawat, I'm here to meet Maharaj. We were classmates in college," she said. I went numb as soon as those words left her mouth. Arjun asked the wedding planner to mail them the details and asked them to leave. "Please sit. Madhu, please get her a glass of water," I instructed the staff. "Raghav isn't at home at the moment. I'll call and let him know," I said, still dazed. I called Raghav. He picked up, saying, "How's the mama doing?" "I'm fine; your college friend, Gayatri Ranawat, is here to meet you." As soon as the words left my mouth, his voice lost its cheer. "I'll be there in 10 minutes," he said ending the call. "Sorry for visiting so suddenly," she apologized. I gave her a small smile, saying "You don't have to apologize." I didn't know what to think. She was looking haggard. I could notice a few bruises under her full-sleeve turtleneck. She was a beautiful woman. She looked absolutely gorgeous, despite how tired and distraught she looked.

Raghav walked in, breaking my line of thoughts. He looked at me with a questioning look, asking me where she was. I looked towards the couch to find it empty. Before I could say something, she emerged from the direction of the kitchen. I was so lost in my thoughts; I hadn't even noticed her leave. "You didn't have to do that, I would have asked the staff to pick up your glass," I said. "It's alright," she managed to say with a smile. "How are you, Raghav?" she questioned, looking at him softly. "I'm great. What happened Gayatri?" he asked, his voice filled with concern. She looked around, taking a moment to think before speaking. That gave us the signal. She might be uncomfortable sharing in our presence. I mean, we were practically strangers to her.

Arjun and Sakshi left, wordlessly. I, too, turned around to leave, only for Raghav to hold my arm, stopping me. "Feel free to share, Gayatri," he said, making sure to hold me in my place. "Let's sit down?" I suggested. We got seated and she took a deep breath, before starting. "I need a place to stay for a few days," she said, making both of us look at her with curiosity. She was the daughter of one of the richest business families in the country. Her husband was a cabinet minister. It was quite unusual for someone of her stature to not have a place to stay. "I'm planning to apply for a divorce, my husband, he, he isn't the most gentle, you see," she tried to say, but her words betrayed her. She was pulling down her sleeves, trying to cover her bruises up. It all started making sense to me.

The bruises on her face, her stammering voice, it all made sense. But I was even scared to imagine that possibility. "It's not what I think it is right?" I asked, terrified. She inhaled, before saying "I lost my baby." A shiver ran down my spine. The look in her eyes confirmed my suspicion. "I need a place to stay before I can muster the courage to tell my parents about it," she tried to say, her voice choking up. "What you need is a doctor right now," I said grabbing my phone. Raghav was silent all throughout. I knew he understood what she couldn't admit, to both us and herself. "No please, not yet," she said, scared. "You need to see a doctor, Gayatri," Raghav spoke, "I assure you, the doctor won't speak a word about it anywhere," he assured. He signaled me to make the call, while still looking at her. I made the call. "I'll show you to your room," I said standing up. Raghav held me and almost yelled, "Slowly Jaanki, how many times have I told you not to get up so suddenly? It's not good for you." I looked at him apologetically muttering a sorry.

I showed Gayatri to her room. "The doctor willbe here in 10 minutes. Please make yourself comfortable. I know it's not myplace to say anything, but please don't hide anything from the doctor," I said."Thank you, Jaanki, for both the hospitality and the concern," she thanked me,with a slight smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Please don't thank me," Isaid, making my way out of the room. "And congratulations," she said. "Thankyou," I said, giving her a small smile. An hour later, the doctor was done withher check-up. "The mental trauma is much greater than the physical trauma. It'sjust been a week since her miscarriage. Please take care of her," the doctor said,looking concerned. I nodded and the doctor took her leave. Raghav just satthere dazed. He had been like that since Gayatri had spoken to us. I knew whatwas going on in his head, but I wasn't sure I fully understood it. I can'timagine how it feels to know that someone you love and cherish has gone throughsomething so tragic and gruesome.