She Can Be Toxic Too (Completed) √

"So what changed?"

Abhinav stared at his wife's face blankly. How did she know? And how much did she know? He sat numb, his thoughts freezing at the prospect of his wife knowing about his darkest secret. He shuddered as his wife's hand shook his body, waking him up from the shock. He immediately looked at her face as she raised her eyebrows in question and continued looking at him expectantly. Suddenly, a doubt crossed his mind and he asked her quickly, his voice carrying suspicion.

"How do you know? And it is not necessary that what you know is right. I know you way too well to get trapped by your words. You probably know nothing and just want me to blurt it all out" he spoke confidently, trying to convince his mind that his past still remained a secret.

Aashi smiled slightly before speaking, "Okay, it is not the time for this. We are no longer in school that I would prank you like that. I'm very serious now and I hope you are too. I need to know what happened. I really need some answers from you, so let's get over with this entire denying thing."

The seriousness in her voice crushed his confidence as the slight smile that began appearing on his face instantly vanished. To assure himself another time, he questioned her again.

"So you really know how I got these scars? Why should I believe you?"

"Abhi, it is okay for you to let it all out. She is not going to interfere with your life any more. You both have been divorced for over a year now."

Abhinav felt his hands go cold as he heard her words. He had been beating around the bush assuming that she was playing him. He thought she knew nothing. But when he heard her talk so confidently about someone she barely knew, he was left tongue tied. He immediately felt sweat glistening on his forehead and his hands began shivering under the comforter.

Aashi who was observing his reactions immediately scooted towards him and threw her arms around him, trying to control and comfort his shaking body. She kept humming a random tune to calm him down as her hands repeatedly caressed his hairs. A few minutes later, when she was sure that his shivers had settled, she pulled back to face him. Lifting her hands from underneath the comforter, she wiped his tears and cupped his face in her palms, giving him a warm smile.

"You don't have to be scared. I'm right here by your side. You also don't have to feel pressured to tell me everything. It is fine if you don't want to. But always remember that letting it out will make you feel lighter and also bring you closer to the people around you, the ones who actually love you and care for you."

She sat there holding his hands as she waited for him to speak.

"Say something. Just anything" she whispered.

After what felt like decades, Abhinav slowly stretched, sitting upright. His hands still held on to her wrists, a gesture indicating how much he needed her support to confess. Aashi silently observed him, not wanting to disrupt his resolve by saying anything. She simply kept nodding, encouraging him to speak up.

"You... You were right. These scars... The scars were given to me by Nidhi. They were... They were like kind of my punishment" he breathed heavily. Aashi scrunched her brows in confusion but nevertheless, waited for him to speak further.

"It all started when we got married. Ours was not a love marriage, we never dated or something. Her father was dad's client. His company had been involved in a scam and he wanted dad to represent their side of the case in the court. Dad considered him only as a client and stuck only to meetings regarding the case. Apparently, one of the company's employees had been double playing Nidhi's father, giving away some crucial stock statements and deal information to their rivals. Dad decided to fight the case only after being convinced that her father was not responsible for any wrong deed. You know how particular dad is when accepting cases. He wasnt one of the country's top lawyers just like that" he smiled slightly, remembering those good old days.

She slightly squeezed his hands, asking him to continue. He let out a sad laugh as he spoke, his thoughts wandering to the bad days.

"Dad was successful in proving Nidhi's father innocent. All the board members were asked to continue their exports and shares with his company after charges were filed against the accused employee. But Nidhi's father did not stop with just that. He proposed Nidhi's marriage with me when he came over to thank my dad. Dad had no issues with the proposal. He promised her father that he would respond after discussing about it with me. And I guess considering that proposal was the first and last mistake my dad ever did."

Aashi glared at him and raised her eyebrows, her sarcastic look challenging his words. Abhinav chuckled at that and spoke quickly,

"Okay, okay. I agree it was my fault too. I can't blame dad completely for all this mess" his voice grew grim as he continued from where had left off. "I still remember the day dad came up to me with that proposal. It feels so fresh, like it happened just yesterday" his last words were a mere whisper as his body shivered, a frightening chill running down his spine. Aashi rubbed her thumb over their entwined fingers to calm him and soon, he had composed himself.

"Honestly, I was a little hesitant to get married then. I had just started my own company and business was just growing. I wanted to focus on my career options first before settling down with a family. Dad however asked me to meet Nidhi at least once before I made my decision. So assuming there was no harm in just meeting her once, we decided to catch up over coffee on a weekend. I spent the entire afternoon and evening with her. We visited some local places and as much as it sounds weird, I really did enjoy the time we spent that day. She was fun to be with and spoke very sweetly. Only if I had known" he sighed, his pressure on their hold increasing.

"A week later, when dad told me that her father had been asking for my decision, I was in a fix. Though I knew I was not completely ready, I also knew there was no reason to reject her or the proposal. She had behaved very sweetly and never nagged me like the other girls I had dated back in college. Since there wasnt a reason to say no, I said yes."

"Do you hear yourself? That sounds ridiculous! How stupid can you be? You did not love her, wasn't that enough a reason?" Aashi snapped.

"I know, I know. I agree it sounds crazy. But I just couldn't think properly then. Or maybe I was missing the genius head of my best friend" he joked, trying to calm her.

"I'm sure you never remembered even my existence back then. I was just a phone call away and still you didn't bother to tell me anything. So stop flattering me and continue."

"Yeah, okay... So it was decided that we would have a simple marriage in a register office since both of us were not fans of big weddings and pomp. Her father was a little upset about it but eventually Nidhi's stubbornness convinced him. The initial few weeks of marriage were beautiful, almost like the ones in a romantic novel. We had a great time and I began enjoying my married life. I would go to office in the morning and come back early to spend time with her. We went on a weeklong trip to Maldives and even on the weekends, we would go on road trips to Pune or Lonavala. Life couldn't be any better, or that's what I thought."

"Sounds like you guys had a great time together" Aashi spoke sarcastically, trying to hide the pain she felt on hearing her husband talk lovingly about another woman, or precisely, his first wife.

"So what changed?" she questioned, her voice growing serious again. He let out a dry chuckle before he whispered,

"She changed."