BLOOMING LOVE FROM HATE

Chapter 34

Sri and Diya left on Sunday evening, as Diya had school the next day. She cried, not having the heart to leave her little brother, Anith. 

Days passed as usual, and one night, after Anith had fallen asleep, Nithya was reading comments on her YouTube videos. Just then, a message from Priya popped up, "Hey, how are you doing? Guess you've been busy lately. By the way, yesterday's recipe was really nice! I tried it, and it turned out so tasty." Nithya smiled at the message and typed back, "Thank you! It's my husband's favorite," before clicking send. Usually, Nithya never shared anything about her husband with anyone, but in her excitement, she typed without thinking. Immediately, she regretted it, worried about what Priya might ask next.

"You must love your husband a lot," Priya replied.

"Yes, I love him very much," Nithya said, smiling bitterly. Another message popped up from Priya, "Love or arranged marriage?"

"Love come arranged," Nithya replied.

"Then you must be very lucky, you married the love of your life!" Priya exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm very lucky," Nithya replied nonchalantly. Only she knows how lucky she is. Before Priya could ask more questions, Nithya quickly typed, "Okay, bye! We'll talk later. Good night," and went offline.

That night, sleep eluded Nithya as memories of Adhitya flooded her mind. She cried silently, covering her mouth with her palms to avoid disturbing Anith. She worried about what she would say if he ever asked for his father. Anith was small now, and perhaps he didn't need a father yet, but what would happen when he started school and began to see other children with their dads?

Nithya thought about Adhitya. Did he ever think of his son? If he did, why didn't he want to see him? How could he entirely ignore the existence of his own blood? Tears slid down her cheeks as she slowly drifted to sleep, burdened by these thoughts.

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Four days passed, and Nithya woke up early as usual. She went to the hall to open the front door and sweep the house. After sweeping the entire house, she stepped out to the portico, but what she saw there made her heart sink. Tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes. It was Adhitya sitting on the steps of the portico, having nodded off while waiting for her to open the door.

Hearing Nithya's cries, he opened his eyes, stood up hurriedly, and asked, "How are you?" His gaze searched the house for his son. But Nithya stood frozen, unable to respond. She wanted to shout at him, to slap him, to unleash all her pent-up anger, but she did nothing and continued crying. Adhitya approached her, reaching out to hold her hand, but Nithya pushed him away and stepped into the house, closing the door behind her.

"Nithya, please, listen to me!" he called, banging on the door. After a few minutes of silence, he sank to the floor, leaning against the door, contemplating the insults she might hurl at him. But he was determined not to leave her now.

Hearing the commotion, Anith stirred from his sleep and made his way to the hall, finding Nithya crying on the couch. She embraced him, soothing him to sleep on her lap.

A little while later, Gangamma arrived as usual with milk and other supplies, and was shocked to see Adhitya sitting outside on the floor. "Adhitya dear, when did you come? What are you doing here? Come inside, why are you sitting out?" she said, knocking on the door. Adhitya stood up but didn't say anything, waiting for Nithya to respond.

Hearing the knocking, Anith woke up again, rubbing his eyes while perched on his mother's lap.

"Nithya, Nithya, open the door!" Gangamma called. Nithya set Anith down on the couch and opened the door. Adhitya seized the opportunity to step inside and saw his son sitting there with a sleepy expression. Recognizing him from the video call, Anith exclaimed, "Dada, Dada!" and clapped his hands.

But as Adhitya stepped forward to lift him into his arms, Nithya shouted, "Stop! Don't you dare touch my son!"

Gangamma, sensing the tension, decided to give the couple some space and quietly left after placing all the groceries in the kitchen.

Hearing Nithya's words, Adhitya paused briefly, but ignoring her, he moved forward to lift Anith into his arms, kissing him gently. In that moment, his heart felt at peace. It was the moment he had longed for, and he promised himself he wouldn't leave again. Anith hugged him back, a smile on his sleepy face.

Nithya felt a surge of betrayal watching Anith embrace his father. She moved closer to take him back, gripping Anith's hand and pulling him toward her, but he resisted.

Seeing Nithya struggle, Adhitya said, "Nithya, what are you doing? You might hurt him."

"So what? He's my son! What I do with him is none of your business. Just get out of my house!" she yelled back.

Adhitya had anticipated this reaction and was ready to face it. "Nithya, he's my son too," he said softly, trying to make her understand.

"Oh, where were you all these years? Did you suddenly remember your son? Did you bump your head and fall into a coma for the past two years?" she replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she locked eyes with him.

"Nithya, no matter how much you insult me, I'm never going to leave you again. I... I love you. I can't live without you and our son," he said, his voice pleading as he looked into her eyes.

Nithya was taken aback by his declaration of love.

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