Barrister Babu

Chapter 98: Two Days To...

The room did not settle into silence immediately.

One last, deep thrust stole the breath from Mala's lungs, and she felt a sudden, intense heat flood her depths as Keth shuddered against her back with a guttural groan.

He held himself there for a long moment, a dead weight pinning her to the mattress, his essence spilling deep inside her, a final, undeniable claim. Then, with a grunt of satisfaction, he pulled out, the sudden void leaving her feeling achingly empty and slick.

He rolled away, the mattress sighing under his shifting weight, and flopped onto his back beside her, arm thrown over his face to block the sliver of moonlight piercing the curtains.

A tremor wracked Mala's body, silent and deep, and a single, hot tear escaped, tracing a path through the sweat on her temple.

Mala remained where she was.

Still.

Her fingers tightened faintly against the bedsheet before she slowly turned her face away, blinking back the sting in her eyes. A tear escaped anyway, tracing quietly down her temple into her hair.

She wiped it quickly. As though even that was not allowed.

Some things never changed.

Her chest rose slowly as she stared into nothing, her body aching, not just from the physical strain, but from the absence of anything that followed it. No gentleness. No acknowledgment.

For a fleeting moment, her thoughts slipped backward.

Her first husband had been old, yes. Much older. But he had never left her feeling like this. There had been patience in his touch. A quiet regard. A sense that she was not just... there.

Her lips pressed together.

Maybe it had been age. Maybe younger men carried a different kind of urgency, a different kind of force.

Or maybe... She was simply lying to herself again.

"Mala." His voice cut through her thoughts.

She stiffened before turning slightly toward him, careful, composed despite everything. "...Ji?" she managed, though her voice carried the faintest tremor she could not fully hide.

"I need a waris," Keth said, as plainly as one would speak of land or inheritance. "I will make both you and Chameli pregnant."

Mala's breath stilled.

"Whoever gives me a waris..." he continued, his tone firm, decisive, "...will be my rightful wife. Understood?"

The words did not strike all at once. They settled.

Slowly. Heavier with each second.

"So stop taking those medications Bondita gave you," he added, almost as an afterthought, as though discussing something trivial.

Silence followed. Mala did not move.

Then, almost mechanically, she nodded. "Ji."

That was enough for him.

Within moments, his breathing evened out, sleep claiming him with an ease that felt almost cruel in contrast.

But Mala remained awake. Her eyes open. Unblinking.

The ceiling above her blurred as her thoughts spiraled, one over the other, refusing to settle.

What if I cannot give him a son?

The question came quietly.

Then returned.

Louder.

What if I give birth to a girl...?