BETRAYAL IN LOVE (L&M #4)

SHOT 5

Third person's pov!

"I didn't think you would come running back like this, Siddhant ji." Shraddha said apologetically, as she placed the quickly made sandwich in front of him.

"I couldn't stay there after your phone call, Shraddha. I just had to come back.." Sid said in a defeated tone.

"But still.."

"How long did she cry?" Sid asked anxiously.

"Not sure. I didn't linger long. But I could hear her muffled sobs coming from the room. Yesterday too she was crying." Shraddha said with a sigh and Sid felt out of his depth.

"What am I supposed to do?" Sid asked helplessly.

"I already told you the solution, Siddhant ji." Shradda said with a shrug.

"How did I not realise this? I thought she was simply being stubborn and acting out. She had grown up in a privileged world. So she is a bit stubborn by nature. I thought this was also a phase of her stubborn nature." Siddhant said helplessly.

"Don't beat yourself over it, Siddhant ji. Not many people are aware of postpartum depression. Most mothers face it. If given proper counselling quickly, it can be cured easily. Here, it went unnoticed. With a demanding little kid and no elders in the family to help you out, you might have overlooked her state of mind. Many people tend to do that. Sometimes, it gets cured within a few months or within a year. But in Diya Ma'am's case, I don't know how it is. It has been nearly three years. So, I suggest you consult a professional immediately. We have no idea how bad it is." Shraddha said.

"You recognised within a week, Shraddha. How could I not recognize it in the last three years?" Sid asked, self deprecating.

"I recognised because I have learned about it. Before taking up the nanny job as a main job, I attended a crash course, to learn how to handle emergency situations. And postpartum depression was taken as a session for us. That's why I was able to recognise it, Siddhant ji." Shraddha said.

"I just want this nightmare to be over with.."

"How was her pregnancy?" Shraddha asked curiously.

"Terrible.." Sid said, his eyes filling up thinking of those nightmarish days.

"How?"

"She had three miscarriages before Ansh. Her uterus was weak. The endometrium was thin. I don't know. They said many medical issues and all I wanted was Diya to be safe. So I agreed for whatever treatment they suggested. She used to be given daily injections of some medicine. That too twice a day. She used to cry in pain. Her forearms and thighs were full of this bluish marks from the daily injections. But the pain was unbearable." Sid said, as flashes of those days came to his mind.

Shraddha listened patiently.

"Her morning sickness continued even after the first trimester. She had become very weak during the pregnancy. Towards the end, she looked as if she just wanted to end it all. Once the baby was born, I thought everything will get better now. But she couldn't connect well with the baby. And she started crying asking me why she couldn't love the baby. I thought it was all because Ansh was a huge responsibility and she had no experience of ever handling any responsibility. I blamed it all on her privileged upbringing and took Ansh's care into my hands. I never liked having nannies around, but I had no other choice. It slowly started straining our relationship because Diya was becoming increasingly disconnected from Ansh. We even fought over it and she would end up crying badly, which would further anger me. The probability of a postpartum depression never crossed my mind." Sid said with a heavy sigh, his heart breaking for the woman he loves.