Falling Softly

SHATTERED

Recap

After their wedding, Kavya and Aaryan moved to a new city where Aaryan works. Kavya, feeling homesick and struggling with minimal conversation with Aaryan, found solace in her friendly neighbor, Priti. As she adjusted to household chores and work pressure, Aaryan's efforts in cooking dinner brought them closer, allowing them to open up to each other. The visit from Aaryan's supportive in-laws eased her workload but left her tense due to their comment about expecting "GOOD NEWS" soon. Meanwhile, Aaryan, preoccupied with work stress and financial issues, became increasingly distant. Kavya, determined to surprise him for his birthday, enlisted the help of her coworker, Raghav. However, the strain between Kavya and Aaryan grew, with his long work hours and lack of communication further complicating their relationship.

Kavya's POV

I sat in the dark room, the moon casting shadows on the wall as I rested my head on the sofa, painting the wall with my imagination. The past few days had been terrible. Despite my mother-in-law managing the household chores, the lack of interaction was eating me from the inside. Aaryan's behavior had changed. He used to cook dinner, and we had good chats. Now, he barely spoke to me. Did I do something wrong? Was I disrespectful towards his parents? Nothing came to mind.

Taking a deep sigh, I listened to the silence, hearing only my breath. The door clicked open, and I looked up, squinting as the light blurred my vision. Aaryan entered, closing the door behind him and switching on the light.

"Why are you so late?" I asked, standing up as he dropped the tiffin on the table and walked towards the washroom. Shaking my head, I heated the food and served us both at the table.

I didn't feel like eating at all. Aaryan focused on his food, lost in thought. He started coughing, snapping me back to the moment. I quickly fetched water from the kitchen.

My phone rang. "Can you pick it up?" I called out, pouring water into a glass and walking towards him. "Hello, are Kavya, tune address to bheja hi nahi," a cheerful voice said loudly enough for me to hear even without the speaker on. Aaryan pulled the phone away from his ear, looking worried.

I grabbed the phone from his hand, ended the call, and handed him the water. He took a few sips and just stared at me for a few seconds before continuing to eat. I mean, whattt, aren't you even going to ask me who the man was that was asking for my address at this hour?

When I looked at him, he seemed more shattered, like I had thrown a rock at broken pieces of glass. He looked exhausted, and I didn't want to push him about coming home late, so I avoided the topic.

"The bus was on time," I smiled, trying to start a conversation. "Thank you," he said, shattering the silence again. I struggled to make conversation, realizing I knew very little about him.

"Seems like your workload is increasing?" I tried again, but he just nodded. I wouldn't even dare mention the bomb his mother dropped about having kids. He clearly wasn't in a good mood.

As I chewed my food, it took me ages to eat one roti. Suddenly, he asked, "Have you ever thought about going back home for a few days? You must be missing your parents."

Taken aback, I sensed there was more behind his question. "Wel—" I started, but he cut me off.

"You should go. I've noticed you've been feeling homesick."

His words felt forced, spoken out of desperation. Was he trying to get rid of me? I was hurt and confused. Before I could respond, he stood up, placed the plates in the sink, and went to the bedroom.

I felt a pang of pain seeing him like this. What demons was he fighting? I wanted him to open up to me. Was it something I did? And why did Raghav have to call at this time? Shaking my head, I placed a plate over my food and put it in the fridge before heading to the bedroom.

I leaned against the wall near the door, watching him lying on the bed in his office clothes. "Aaryan," I called out loud, as I glared at his outfit.

He woke up, realizing what I meant. Laughing, he shook his head. "Work has taken a toll on my mind," he laughed again.

He sat at the end of the bed, his back bent, elbows resting on his knees, hair messy, and shirt worn out.

"I can't keep pretending everything is fine. What's going on?" I blurted out, my heart pounding as I awaited a response.

"Nothing is going on" He removed his socks and replied back trying to avoid me

"Than why are you so late" I crossed my hands "And why do you want me to go to my parents"

"Can we deal with this tomorrow" He blurted out in frustration

"no let's just forget about it, why even talk about it tomorrow, you know what let me go to my parents, if you want me to" words popped out of my mouth in anger as I turned around to leave the bedroom and I heard him.

"I lost my job"

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Thank you for reading, add a star. I took a little break for few days, as I am bumped up with lot of things in start of month, but you can expect regular updates in future.

Thank you for reading, add a star. I took a little break for few days, as I am bumped up with lot of things in start of month, but you can expect regular updates in future.