Gereksiz İntikam

50

Taniya's pov

Before my mind and heart could calculate my feelings after Theodore left,
before my shock and fear could even settle-
Shoaib came.

Drenched in rain, eyes red as hell.

Was he crying?
Was he alright?
He didn't even ask why the door was ajar.

My mind was a whirlwind of questions when suddenly-
his huge frame clung to my tiny one,
like I was the air he couldn't live without.

Recovering from my shock, I reached up and caressed his wet hair.
His drenched body soaked through my clothes too.

"What-"
Before I could even speak, his hurtful, broken voice hit my ears,
and tears flowed from my eyes before I even noticed.

"She's gone, tani. Danial is gone," he cried, clinging to me.

Tears streamed down my face.
"My brother will die without her," he sobbed.
"She left him. She left her child without a last glance...
The same child she cried for-countless nights."

He cried, truly cried.

And painfully ironic-
he wept for his brother's loss while restraining me from ever contacting mine.
He loathed my brother for marrying a woman he loved.
He snatched everything from me-my peace, my dignity, my innocence-
only because my brother fell in love with his sister.

And now, here he was-crying on my shoulder for Danish Bhai.

I wasn't mocking him. I never could.
I wasn't in a position to mock.
I felt bad.
Not for Shoaib.
But for Danish Bhai.

He was head over heels for his woman.
I felt terrible for that innocent life she gave birth to,
after all her suffering-
yet never got the chance to hold, to feed, to love.

I hugged Shoaib-
not for him, but for myself.
To fight my own sorrow.
To forget Theodore's confession.
To forget everything.

Because I didn't want to believe anyone anymore.

Holding my husband to my heart,
we both cried.

After an eerie silence,
his breath warm against the exposed skin of my chest,
he whispered-

"Will you... mother my nephew, Tani?"

He looked into my eyes, tears threatening to fall again.
My throat felt dry.
I wanted to say yes-
but could Shoaib's bipolar personality ever be safe for a child already fighting his own battles?

"Please, Tani," he begged. "Please mother my nephew. I don't want him under Shreya's watch."

He paused, wetting his lips.

"She'll definitely take this tragedy as a chance to get into Danish's pants,"
he said-
and all the air left my lungs.

Danish? Shreya?
Didn't Shreya love Shoaib?

"What are-"
Before I could finish,

He grabbed my face,
our foreheads pressed together,
and he continued-

"She played me. And Danial.
Shreya never loved me.
She wanted to be close to Danish-through me."

He cried, tightening his grip on my face.

"She's insane, Tani.
She could even hurt Dawood for her own good.
And no one will believe me-
because she pretends to be madly in love with me."

"I want to save my nephew," he sobbed.

"He's innocent, Tani.
My baby... he's not even healthy.
He's still a child-
mentally, he's still a child.
He has a medical condition, Tani.
His mind hasn't developed like other kids his age."