The Unwanted Wife (Published)

Chapter 5

"Did something happen recently, Mr. Rajvansh? There has to be a reason for Kaveri Devi's blood pressure to shoot up this high in spite of such high BP medicine dosage," the clueless doctor asked.

Even through the haze of her misery, Niyati could notice Uday Rajvansh's face tauten but he denied the doctor's statement with a very convincing shake of his head, "Nothing, doctor. Everything is just the same."

"Then I think she needs time away from this place and all the memories. A change of scenery might help her because medicines are clearly not doing that," the doctor suggested.

Niyati's heart sank. She clutched the now sleeping Kaveri Devi's palm in her own a little more tightly. The doctor wanted to take away her only solace. She had stayed back for Kaveri Devi, but what if they send her away? No, she will demand to accompany her wherever she will go, she decided instantly. In the last two weeks, since her miscarriage, she had followed the older woman around like a shadow and she had been utmost empathetic and kind towards her. They'd talked, they'd reminisced, they'd cried together. Niyati knew that she had taken the right decision in these past days even though Abhay Rajvansh's name was now liberally mentioned around her. But she'd realized it had no power to rattle her as she had feared it would. The only emotion she had to spare for that scum was contempt because he was not even worth her bitterness. He had seen to that while he was still alive. What she had failed to realize, however, was that his death had all but slew his mother. While they had been mourning her five-month-old unborn baby together, Kaveri Devi had also been mourning her twenty-seven-year-old son. Alone. She had been grappling with two losses, two tragedies, and a frail heart.

And today she had succumbed to her grief and depression.

"I hope you realize how lucky you all are that it wasn't another stroke," the doctor was saying.

"I know," Uday Rajvansh sighed.

"Then do something soon so it stays that way, Mr. Rajvansh," the doctor threw in bluntly as he left.

Uday Rajvansh walked back to the bed where his mother was sleeping, where Niyati was sitting holding her hand and looked at the drawn face of the older woman contemplatively.

Niyati spoke hesitantly, "Mr. Rajvansh."

Uday's eyes snapped up to her, as if in disbelief that she dared interrupt his thoughts.

But she took a deep breath and continued, "If you are planning to send your mother someplace else, I would like to accompany her."

Now Uday Rajvansh was a good looking man. A dense mustache on his upper lip which might have looked outdated on so many men out there looked utterly dignified on him and added to his dashing looks instead of taking away from them. His nose was aquiline. His eyes were dark and warm. He was also in possession of a strong chiseled jaw. The jaw, which got clenched as soon as Niyati spoke. The eyes on her were missing the aforementioned warmth, the fine royal nose had flared and the mouth under the mustache had curled up in disgust.

"Sure, so that you can finish there what you couldn't here?" he spat.

Niyati looked at him confused until the horror of his words dawned on her. "How... can you say that?"

"You come here flashing your baby and then conveniently manage to lose it."

She looked at him stunned.

"Couldn't keep a tiny baby alive, could you?" he lashed out.

Had he twisted a dagger in her heart, again and again, it would have hurt less than his acrid tongue.

"You, Niyati Mishra, are the reason my mother is in this position. Now have mercy and stay away from her! Stop sapping up her energy. Stop crying around her. Stop inflicting your negativity on her. Just Goddamn STOP! Haven't you done enough already?"