HER BETRAYAL HIS REVENGE

CHAPTER:17

AUTHOR'S POV

Aparajita took a deep breath.

"Yes, I can't die. Stop, Aparajita, just stop thinking about death," she whispered to herself.

Abhimaan hates me. Then why did he look so vulnerable when he said this?

She looked in his direction. He was looking at her.

"I can't die," she whispered to herself again, more resolutely this time.

"Don't worry, I will not harm myself," she said to him. "You know, Abhimaan, sometimes I think it's better if we had never met. This never-ending suffering, the frequent fights, everyone's hatred, and the accusations... We had very beautiful memories. I was living with those memories, but gradually the sad and the worst memories of us are overtaking the good ones."

Abhimaan stood there, just looking at her without any visible emotion. Inside, however, he was a whirlwind of conflicting feelings. Seeing her like this, so broken yet still fighting, stirred something deep within him. He was angry, hurt, and confused, but above all, he was bewildered by the woman who had once been his everything.

"I... I want to cry badly. But I can't. I can't break down. These days have been too tough for me, but I am not able to find any solutions."

Abhimaan's mind raced. He remembered the woman he fell in love with, the woman who was strong, resilient, and never backed down. The girl standing before him now was a shadow of that person, yet her spirit still flickered with defiance. It pained him to see her like this, but his anger and sense of betrayal kept him from reaching out.

"Abhimaan, do you remember when we had our first fight?"

A flashback washed over him. They had been married for a few months. Abhimaan had been working tirelessly, often skipping meals and neglecting his health. Aparajita had been worried, and one night, she confronted him.

"You never used to speak so loudly to me, even when we had our fights," Aparajita continued, snapping him back to the present. "I didn't believe it when everyone said you were a ruthless person. Because you never showed the real you to me. You always wore a loving facade when you were around me, but that broke two years back. I was really scared seeing you... even now, I am very, very scared. I just want to close my eyes and never open them because I don't want to see anything."

She started coughing as she broke down, the last sentence coming out in a choked sob. Abhimaan, despite himself, felt a pang of concern. He quickly went outside and brought a glass of water.

He held the glass to her lips. "Drink slowly," he instructed as she began to drink too quickly and started choking.

She stopped coughing. "I haven't drunk water in more than 24 hours."

Abhimaan's thoughts whirled. I never wanted to do this.

He moved the glass back to her lips, and she gulped down the rest of the water.

"To be very honest, we are not made for each other. It's harsh, but it's the truth of our relationship."

"Shut up, Aparajita," he shouted, anger flaring. She looked down, her spirit momentarily dimmed.

"Let me say something," he continued, his voice trembling with emotion. "What did you expect me to do when I found out you almost killed my grandpa? I didn't accuse you without evidence. I checked it a hundred times, but it was real. What should I have done? Should I have given you to the police? Was that right? Would you prefer a lifetime in prison?"

"Does that mean you will abuse me?" Aparajita muttered, her voice barely audible, her strength waning.

"My security head informed me that you are a potential threat to my family. It's very risky to keep you in the mansion. I was already enraged after all this. That day, the doctors informed me that Dadu had slipped into a coma, and it was uncertain if he would ever wake up. I agree that I was wrong to lay hands on you or any woman, but I was literally frustrated, and you were not helping at all."