Apna Bana Le - MsKrishita

10.iii. Her Love

"Then what happened Mumma?"
Nayan asked prerna who smiled at her with tears glistening in her eyes.

She pulled Nayan in her lap and hugged her again, resting her head on her daughter's.

"Then..."

---

The scene shifts again as we see Prerna lying in the operating theater, her mind was a tumultuous whirlwind of agony and fragmented memories. The stark white walls seemed to close in around her, echoing the torment she felt within. Flashes of that fateful night invaded her consciousness, each one a searing reminder of the violation she endured.

The pain was not just physical; it was a raw agony that clawed at her very soul. She writhed on the sterile table, her body tensing with each wave of anguish. But it was the memories that hurt the most—the memories of a night when her innocence was brutally stolen from her.

A tear escaped her eye as she struggled to suppress the rising panic threatening to consume her. How could she forget the trauma that man had inflicted upon her? The memory eluded her like a slippery shadow, taunting her with its elusiveness.

"Prerna, you need to calm down,"
The nurse's voice cut through the haze of her thoughts, but Prerna's panic only intensified. How could she calm down when every fiber of her being was screaming in agony?

But then the nurse's words shifted, taking on a new urgency.
"Your baby's life is at risk if you don't calm down,"
she implored, her voice tinged with concern.
"And your husband is waiting outside for both of you."

Prerna's heart lurched at the mention of Rishav—someone she trusted more than anyone in the world, a man she barely knew, yet one who had become entwined in the fabric of her life. But he was not the father of her child, nor was he her husband. But she couldn't bring herself to correct the nurse. Not now, when her baby's life hung in the balance. Not now, when Rishav had fought so hard for her and her baby when they haven't even known each other for more than a few months.

"He's outside? He is... He is still there..?"
Prerna murmured, her voice barely audible above the hum of the machines.

The nurse nodded, her expression softening with sympathy.
"Yes, he's been waiting anxiously for news."

Prerna couldn't find the words to explain. How could she tell this stranger about the tangled web of deceit that had ensnared her life? How could she articulate the pain of carrying a child who was conceived in violence? How do you explain to someone about the lie you have been living for the past seven months as a complete stranger's wife?

Instead, she let her tears fall, each one a silent lament for the life she had lost and the one she was about to bring into the world under the most harrowing circumstances.

As Prerna's mind wandered through the labyrinth of memories, she found herself drawn back to the day when Rishav had introduced her as his wife—a selfless act of kindness that had spared her the judgmental glances and whispered rumors that would have inevitably followed if the truth had been revealed. In that moment, she had felt a strange mixture of gratitude and guilt, knowing that she was deceiving everyone around her, yet unable to deny the comfort that Rishav's presence provided.

Rishav's home had become her sanctuary—a place where she could seek refuge from the outside world and the prying eyes that seemed to follow her every move.

Neelamma, with her gentle touch and soothing words, had become a mother figure to her, offering solace in her moments of despair. And Muskan, with her endless chatter and irrepressible spirit, had brought a much-needed dose of levity to the somber atmosphere of the hospital ward.