SidNaaz Reclaimed Love

Chapter 8: His Questions

The night had settled quietly over the house, casting shadows across the walls and filling the spaces with a stillness that felt almost too heavy to bear.
Sidharth stood alone on the balcony, staring out into the darkness, lost in thought. Inside, Shehnaaz was putting Aryan to bed after a long day, his soft laughter still echoing faintly in the hall as she read him a story.

Unable to wait any longer, Sidharth turned back into the house, his footsteps purposeful as he approached the door to her room.
He paused, hesitating, but then pushed forward, determined to finally get the answers that had haunted him for years.

Shehnaaz looked up as he entered, closing the storybook as she tucked Aryan in.
Her eyes held a wary understanding; she knew this conversation was inevitable. She placed a soft kiss on her son's forehead, murmuring a goodnight, before slipping out of the room and quietly closing the door behind her.

They walked together in silence, eventually stopping in the quiet of the living room. Shehnaaz turned to face him, her face calm but guarded. Sidharth took a deep breath, his hands clenching at his sides as he struggled to keep his voice steady.

"Why did you leave me, Shehnaaz?"

His words came out harsher than he intended, his frustration and confusion simmering beneath the surface. "I thought... I thought there was someone else, someone who mattered more to you.
That's what you told me, wasn't it?"

Shehnaaz looked away, her face shadowed in the dim light, but there was a flicker of pain in her eyes.

"You really believe that, don't you?"

she said softly, her voice tinged with sadness. "That I left you for someone else."

Sidharth's jaw tightened.
"What else was I supposed to believe, Shehnaaz?
One day, you were just...gone. You left without an explanation, without a second thought." He paused, his voice thick with emotion. "You didn't even tell me anything .
You let me think you had moved on, that you were happy with someone else."

Shehnaaz's hands trembled slightly, but she forced herself to meet his gaze. "I thought leaving was the only way," she admitted quietly.

"When we married, Sidharth, we both knew it was arranged for our families' business. You were always so...distant, as if the marriage was just another transaction to you. I felt...unwanted, and I told myself that I'd never let my baby grow up feeling that way."

Sidharth's eyes narrowed, his voice laced with disbelief. "So, what then?

You just left because I didn't show enough...affection?"you kept me away from my son because of this reason .how can u be so heartless shehnaaz .

Shehnaaz's gaze dropped, her voice barely a whisper.

"No. I left because I loved you, Sidharth."

She closed her eyes, her voice breaking.

"I loved you, and I couldn't bear the thought of being in a marriage where my feelings didn't matter to you.
I convinced myself that it was better for both of us if I left...even if it meant lying about there being someone else."i wanted my child to feel loved I didn't wanted him to grow in this environment .

Sidharth stood there, stunned, his mind racing as her words sank in.
All these years, he had assumed she had left him for another man, never realizing that her reason had been rooted in love-and a fear of feeling unloved in return.

He took a shaky breath, his voice softer now.
"But... if you left for that reason, then why didn't you marry someone else? Why did you stay alone?"do u think by staying alone you are giving all the happiness to aryan .don't he need a father ?