ENCHANTED - BY INNOCENCE (ongoing)

59

Guys in the last chapter Vishnu saying "Dheeru" was an error on my part. I accidentally typed Dheeru instead of Dheera lol.

Also was busy with my studies which is why I wasn't able to uupdate earlier.

This chapter has 3200+ words and ends with a question, so make sure you read till the end.

Target for next chapter: 1400 votes and 750 comments

*** Yashoda ***

"Dheeru!" I ran toward my husband the moment Vishnu anna left, every step agonizing my heart as I neared the drops of blood staining the floor and the utter devastation in his eyes.

"Dheeru, why did you do this?" I asked, my voice trembling as I held his hand. The first thing I did was tie a bandage around it. "Look at the blood," I cried, my hands shaking as I carefully wrapped the bandage around his knuckles.

But there was no response. He remained motionless, no expression on his face. His eyes were completely empty, devoid of any emotion.

"Dheeru! Dheeru! Say something!" I cried, cupping his face, desperately searching for answers in his eyes. But he said nothing, only looking away, trying his best to suppress his tears.

"Dheeru!" I pleaded, turning his face back to mine as I continued crying, "Please, say something," I begged, my voice cracking.

He silently sobbed, still struggling to hold back the torrent of emotions within him.

"Why are you hiding your tears from me?" I asked, frustration rising in my chest as I grabbed his shirt. "Don't you know I love you?"

"You do ?" he asked, his voice soft and innocent, like a child, not because he doubted me, but because it seemed to touch something deeper within him. My anger melted away with that one word.

"Of course I do..." I replied, my voice steady but filled with pain. "Why would you even..."

I paused, my sentence faltering as he suddenly pulled me into a tight hug, breaking down in uncontrollable tears. "Because I don't know if I'll ever be able to love myself again," he sobbed, holding me tighter as his breath came in ragged gasps.

"The face I admired in the mirror every single day... is the same face I saw years ago, when days old Dheeru was left at the temple steps," he continued, his sobs muffled against my shoulder. "It's... it's the face of a monster. I feel disgusted even thinking about it..."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused, gently pulling him back to look into his tear-filled eyes. "Whose face?"

"I..." he sobbed again, his words coming faster now as he struggled to catch his breath, "I didn't notice it at first... I didn't notice it..." he continued, his voice growing more frantic, "But then... once I found out... I saw it... I saw it clearly..." He gasped for air, his sobs intensifying, "I looked... I looked just like him."

"Who?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.

"My..." he sobbed again, "My father..."

My eyes widened in shock, the weight of his words sinking in.

"Same eyes... Yashu," he cried, his voice trembling. "Same eyes... same skin... same hair... everything... everything is the same."

"Dheeru, it doesn't matter," I tried to comfort him, my voice soft but filled with desperation. "It... it doesn't change anything..."

"No," he interrupted, still crying, "No, you don't understand." He pointed toward the wall-mounted mirror beside us. "I look in the mirror... I don't see me..." he continued, his voice breaking. "I don't see me... I see a monster... and it's... it's disgusting." In his agony, he threw the first aid box at the mirror with a force that made it rattle on its hook.