LOVE OR ARRANGED - 2

PROLOGUE

As the sun dipped beneath the horizon, casting a melancholic hue over the evening sky, they sat in silence on their weathered patio, each lost in their own sea of grief. The gentle breeze carried the whispers of memories shared, but tonight, those whispers felt like distant echoes of a life they once knew. She's eyes were red-rimmed, her gaze fixed on the horizon, her heart heavy with the weight of their loss. She reached for his hand, seeking solace in his touch, but found only emptiness as he withdrew, retreating into the shadows of his own sorrow.

"I miss her," She whispered, her voice barely audible above the soft rustle of the wind through the trees. He remained silent, his gaze fixed on the ground, unable to meet her eyes. His heart ached with the unbearable pain of their shared loss, but words eluded him, trapped behind the walls he had erected to shield himself from the rawness of his emotions.

"We need each other now more than ever," She pleaded, her voice trembling with emotion trying to hold his hand. "We can't let this tear us apart." But he remained unmoved, his silence a chasm between them, widening with each passing moment. He wanted to reach out to her, to hold her close and never let go, but the pain was too raw, too overwhelming to bear.

"I can't do this anymore," He finally whispered, his voice barely audible above the sound of his shattered heart. "I can't keep pretending that everything is okay when it's not. I need time... to compose, heal and find myself again. I think it is better we give each other sometime and space"

Tears welled in her eyes as she realized the depth of their disconnect, the distance that had grown between them in the wake of their loss. She had hoped that they could weather this storm together, that their love would be enough to see them through the darkest of nights. But now, as she watched him slip away, she knew that their journey had taken them down different paths, leading them further and further apart.

The loss of their unborn child had cast a shadow over their once vibrant love, draining it of color and warmth until all that remained was a fragile facade of what they used to be. They had tried to hold on, to cling to each other amidst the wreckage of their shattered dreams, but the weight of their grief had become too much to bear.

With a heavy heart, she rose from her seat, her gaze fixed on the horizon, her tears mingling with the fading light of day. She knew that their love would always be a part of her, a bittersweet reminder of what they had once shared. "I'm sorry," were her last words as she walked away, leaving behind the shattered remnants of their dreams, she knew that some wounds were too deep to mend, some losses too great to bear.

His heart shattered at the anguish in her voice, the realization dawning on him like a cruel twist of fate. He had been so consumed by his own pain, so blinded by the darkness that threatened to engulf him, that he hadn't seen how his withdrawal was pushing her further and further away.

The room echoed with a silence so profound, it suffocated the very air she breathed as she slowly stepped into the room. She sat at the edge of their bed, her gaze fixed on the empty crib that had once held their dreams, now a haunting reminder of their shattered hopes.

She silently packed a single bag with her documents, their wedding album, her wallet and glanced around the room lovingly where she shared countless memories with her husband, those beautiful memories which are going to be with her till her last breath, as she can't vision a life without him. She made sure to leave his credit card on the coffee table with a note. The only words on the note are 'I LOVE YOU!'

She moved towards the door with a heavy heart, wishing her husband stops her one last time. As she turned behind to get a last glance of her husband, who is still in the patio, motionless, his eyes distant and hollow, as if searching for answers in the abyss of their shared grief. Probably the biggest mistake he is ever doing at that moment isn't realizing she left... she didn't just give him space and time, but left with a grieving heart, both for her unborn child and her husband whom she loved more than anything in the world.