ᴍɪʜɪᴛʜᴀ-𝓗𝓲𝓼 𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓮𝓵𝔂 𝓸𝓫𝓼𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷

chapter 34

AUTHOR'S POV

Days had passed since their last argument, but the house still felt heavy with the weight of unsaid words. The silence that lingered between them was almost unbearable dense, suffocating, like the calm before a storm. Every corner of the mansion echoed with it, a reminder that nothing had been resolved.

Mihitha sat at the edge of the bed in the guest room, the one she had claimed as her own ever since she moved out of their shared bedroom. She stared at the divorce papers on the bedside table, still unsigned by Rudransh, still mocking her desire for freedom. She thought signing them would have been the hardest part, but now she realized that waiting for him to release her from this prison was worse.

Her hand rested on her growing belly. It had become second nature now, her way of grounding herself when the storm inside her felt too strong to control. She didn't know if it was the pregnancy hormones or just the exhaustion of fighting him at every turn, but the last few days had been emotionally draining.

She hadn't spoken to him since that night. Rudransh had tried, of course. He lingered in the hallways, his presence a constant shadow she couldn't shake off. Sometimes she could feel his eyes on her when they crossed paths in the kitchen or the living room, but she had learned to ignore him. Or at least pretend to.

Her chest tightened with frustration. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She was supposed to be free by now, living her life on her own terms, preparing for the birth of her child in peace. Instead, she was trapped in this limbo, under the same roof with the man who had broken her heart and refused to let her go.

The doorknob to her room twisted, and she stiffened as the door creaked open. She didn't need to look up to know it was him.

"Mihitha," Rudransh's voice was soft, almost tentative, like he was afraid of setting off another argument. He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. His presence filled the space, and suddenly, the air felt too thick to breathe.

She didn't respond, keeping her eyes on the papers in front of her. She had nothing left to say to him.

A few moments of silence passed before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry... about the other night," he said quietly, moving closer but still keeping his distance. "I shouldn't have pushed you like that."

Her jaw clenched, but still, she didn't look at him. Sorry. He was always sorry. Sorry for lying, sorry for manipulating her, sorry for refusing to let her go. But his apologies were empty, nothing more than words that meant nothing. Actions spoke louder, and his actions told her all she needed to know.

"I want to talk," he continued, his voice steady but strained. "I know things are... tense between us right now. But I need you to understand that I'm trying. I'm trying to make this right."

At that, Mihitha finally looked up, her gaze cold and unyielding. "You want to make it right?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Sign the papers."

Rudransh flinched slightly, but his expression remained calm. "It's not that simple," he said.

"Of course it is," she snapped, standing up now, the frustration bubbling to the surface. "You put your signature on a piece of paper, and I'm free. That's it. No more games, no more manipulation. Just... let me go, Rudransh."

He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I can't," he whispered. "I can't let you go, Mihitha. Not like this."

"Why?" she demanded, her voice rising. "Why is it so hard for you to give me the one thing I've asked for? You had your revenge, you got what you wanted. Why can't you just... let me be?"

"Because..." He struggled with the words, his eyes searching hers for something, anything. "Because I can't lose you."

Mihitha let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. "You already lost me, Rudransh. The moment you decided to use me, to turn this into some twisted game of revenge, you lost me."

His eyes darkened with regret, and for a moment, he looked as though he might argue. But instead, he took a step back, exhaling deeply as if trying to steady himself.

"I know I made mistakes," he said quietly. "But it's not about revenge anymore. It's about us. It's about our baby."

"Our baby," she repeated, her voice cold. "Don't act like this is about family, Rudransh. You never cared about that."

"I care now," he insisted, taking a step closer. "I'm trying to change, Mihitha. For you, for the baby. I don't want this to end in hatred. I don't want you to hate me."

"Too late," she spat, her hands trembling as the emotions she had been holding back threatened to spill over. "I don't want you in my life anymore. I don't want you near my child. You don't get to come in here and pretend like you can just fix everything with an apology and a few sweet words."

His jaw tightened, and for a moment, she saw the man she had once loved in the depths of his gaze. The man who had made her feel safe, cherished, even if it had all been a lie. But that man was gone now, replaced by someone she no longer recognized.

"Mihitha," he said softly, his voice laced with desperation. "I don't know how to fix this. I don't know how to make you trust me again. But I can't stop trying. I love you."

"Love?" she echoed, her voice barely a whisper now, the pain of those words hitting her harder than she expected. "You don't know what love is, Rudransh. If you did, you would let me go."

They stood there in the quiet, the tension between them thick and suffocating. Rudransh's eyes searched hers, pleading for something she couldn't give him. Forgiveness. Trust. Love. But those things were gone, shattered by the lies and the betrayals that had marked their relationship from the beginning.

"I'm not signing the papers," he said after a long silence, his voice steady. "Not yet."

Mihitha's heart sank, a familiar feeling of helplessness washing over her. "Why?" she whispered, her voice breaking. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because I believe there's still something between us," he said softly. "And I'm not ready to give up on that. I'm not ready to give up on us."

"There is no us," she said, her voice trembling. "Not anymore."

But as the words left her lips, she realized how true they were. There was no "us" anymore. There was only the shell of what they had once been, broken and irreparable. And no matter how much he tried to hold on, she couldn't find it in herself to care anymore.

"I'm leaving," she said quietly, moving toward the door. "I can't do this anymore."

Rudransh reached for her, but she pulled away, her heart aching with every step she took. She didn't know where she would go, or what she would do. All she knew was that she couldn't stay here any longer, trapped in this endless cycle of pain and regret.

As she walked out of the room, leaving him standing there, Mihitha felt a strange sense of freedom wash over her. It wasn't the kind of freedom she had hoped for not yet but it was a start.

And that was enough. For now