Circle of Trust

Chapter 27

How had she not recognized Yashvi? Naina had seen her before – smiling happily at her lover who had his arms wrapped tight around her like he couldn't let her go. He couldn't let her go! The broken glass in the frame had failed to mask the bond they shared, and it pierced her heart along with her skin. 

Her heart pounded feverishly as she dug through the boxes searching for the photo frame she had left carefully wrapped in a cloth. Why had she preserved it? Why had she felt the need to store it safely instead of throwing it away?

Naina knew why, but was afraid to confront her worst fears.

Night after night, her husband's refusal to look at her after making love to her had something to do with it. While she couldn't claim she had fallen in love with him at that time, she had begun to feel strongly for him. How could she not have when he had cherished her body with singular attention? Her mind had refused to believe he could seek her warmth every single night without feeling anything for her.

In the cold darkness of the night, lost in his wild caresses, she had begun to desire the warmth of his smiles in the light of day. But, with each passing day, while the nights peaked with their passion, the days witnessed their growing distance. Every day she had lived with an invisible presence of another woman – a woman she had known nothing about until now.

Oh, she had known his heart had belonged to another. His silence had unequivocally conveyed it to her with neither a look nor a word.

So, she had been speechless at his possessive declaration that he would never let her go when she had confessed about getting close to Shiv. That night, he had possessed her so completely with every kiss, every touch, and every masterful stroke that she had come apart in his arms in raptures. They had clung to each other afterwards, a first for them both. There had been many firsts that night – his raspy whispers in her ears, him calling out her name repeatedly and finally when he had reached his release looking deep into her eyes.

That intense gaze remained etched into her heart, her name on his tongue a song she would always cherish.

Goosebumps coated her skin as she sat against the wall surrounded by open boxes in the room that looked spanking new. She loved the smell of fresh paint, but her senses were immersed in his scent from that night – the first of many nights when he had wrapped his arms tight around her as if he couldn't let her go. She had smelled the dawn of a new beginning.

For the first time in their marriage, she had woken up in his arms, with his soft gaze warming her heart. Not knowing how to greet her naked husband in the light of day, she had lifted her hand and waved, whispering a meek hi.

Naina laughed at that memory, her eyes filling with tears as she also recalled his response – he had smiled, pecked her lips and greeted her with 'hey, beautiful'.

Hey, beautiful.

Two simple words with a wealth of meaning to her.

Beautiful.

No one had ever called her beautiful before that memorable morning.

She had to believe that even today, with his first love a few yards away, it was his wife who resided in his heart. There was no reason to feel threatened then why did the thought of him meeting his lost love again, rob her of her breath.

Why couldn't she call Varun and casually mention her? Hey, guess who lives next door?

Her fingers felt the softness of the cloth inside the last one of the boxes and curled around the frame. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the photo out of the box and gingerly unwrapped it. She shook off the broken glasses, careful not to injure herself again. And there they were, clearly in love, as evident as the sun setting behind a giant grey cloud outside the window.

No shards of glass to hide behind, Yashvi's grey eyes, lighter in laughter were looking deep into Varun's dark ones. Her long hair curled around her shoulders, few tendrils twined around his fingers that squeezed her arm tight to him.

Heaviness settled inside her heart, and she dragged her eyes to the bright neon declaration across the photo in Varun's unmistakable scrawl.

'To the love of my life,

Always Yours'

Signed with a crimson heart.

It was a simple declaration of love between two lovers, a lipstick mark on the letters, an acknowledgment – sealed with a kiss.

A lone tear drop fell on the letters and jolted Naina back to the present. Was she crying?

She swiped at her wet cheeks and pulled herself together. She needed to have faith in their love and her helpless tearful state did not reflect it.

Setting the frame aside, she sprung up on her feet, and with confidence in her stride spent the next couple of hours emptying the boxes and getting the room ready for her MiL. There was a small cot next to her MiL's bed since Ria insisted on sleeping with her dadima. Her daughter thrived in her grandmother's presence, and her MiL's world revolved around Ria.

No matter how hard she pushed Yashvi to the back of her mind, the thought of Varun meeting his ex-girlfriend troubled her.

She bit her lip as she surveyed the room. It was perfect. Then her eyes fell on the photo. She didn't know what to do with it, so she wrapped it again with the soft cloth and carried it to her room.

Despite her apprehension, she knew her feelings of hurt weren't justified. He had every right to love and a life before her, and she had to respect that. Determined to do the right thing, she placed it into her handbag so she could get a new glass fit into the frame. The picture was after all her husband's cherished memory.

With Varun still at work dinner was quiet. Surprisingly, Ria was quiet but for a few words now and then; she was relieved that even her MiL seemed to leave her to her thoughts.

Unable to face Yashvi, she had sent her maid over to their house twice with snacks and dinner. Struggling to keep her turbulent emotions at bay, she had called her neighbor to enquire about her well being.

Yashvi seemed eager for her company, but Naina had politely declined. In a moment of weakness, she had promised to visit Yashvi the following morning, which ate at her nerves as she sat at her computer working on her next idea for a novel.

After about a hundred failed attempts at the first sentence, which was crucial to a novel, she cursed loudly, and rolled away from the desktop. Her fingers massaged her temples as she stared at the blank screen. She never wasted time on first sentences at least not until she had the first draft of a first chapter ready.

Naina had come a long way from an amateur writer typing and retyping a line over and over again till a perfect string of words appeared magically on the screen. Over time, she had learnt to let go of her obsession over perfect anything when it came to writing a novel. It took several drafts to get a novel publishing ready and even then it wasn't perfect.

So, it irked her that she now sat wasting away precious time doing nothing but stare....hard at a blank screen.

The loud blare of the door bell pierced the silence suddenly, making her jump out of her chair.

Schooling her features into a semblance of calm and pleasant to greet her husband, she pulled at her skirt she had promised she'd wear for the night. Her heart drummed with nervousness as she opened the door with a smile that belied the deep knots in her stomach.

Her smile dropped instantly, and her stomach rose up her throat when she saw who stood at her door.

"Hi, Naina. I have to tell you something."

*******************

Helloooo,

I'm back with the updates, refreshed from a much needed break. I hope you missed Circle of Trust :)

Please let me know what you think of this chapter in your comments below. And vote too :-)

The story is at #84 in general fiction. Thank you for reading :)

Neeru <3