Tere Liye | ✔

Chapter Thirty - Punishment

However, he couldn't show such consideration towards his family members who just slackened lower and lower under the burden of these enfeebling facts. They had been on the edge ever since Arnav admitted his torture on Sheetal, but when he revealed he did all that for his Khushi, they went completely numb. They did not know what to think except for the realization that their Chotte knew about his wife's death since so many days and has been battling with grief all alone - whilst they were there blaming him of infidelity and god knows what else. 

Their aching heart finally shattered but the most affected was Anjali. All least the rest were still in their right mind to express their shock in the form of tears but she was not even that blessed. As the words she threw at him, the accusations she deliberately dig his heart with, rang in her mind, she slouched against the pillar, her mind numb with remorse. 

But as Arnav referred to Aarav as Sheetal's fake son, Anjali felt her emotions coming back, starting with shock and she stared at the duo, back and forth - all while wondering how many secrets are left to be unfold.

Arnav went on, ignoring the light gasp that broke behind his back.

"You had it in your mind since the beginning. You claimed to have loved me but you never cared for me. Instead, you hurt the girl you knew I loved more than anything. First you trained Aarav to be like me and then, you tried to make Khushi believe that I had a son with you? Not only that. You kept on approaching me deliberately, fueling Khushi's insecurities till she broke down and cried. You made her feel the fears that would never come true, you harmed her mental health, you broke her and now, now you're asking me why I did all that? You still have the audacity to call out my actions after all you did?" He gritted out. His eyes spitted fire, not only at Sheetal but at himself - for ignoring the advancements of Sheetal without caring about the woman he knew would be affected. He felt anger at his family members - who so ignorantly kept digging into Khushi's wounds. And lastly, he felt a resentment against his wife as well - who chose to suffer silently and he knew the reason was that she did not want to hurt him by posing her doubts, and as a result, was now trapped into an abyss from where even he can't find her. 

His breathing ragged and from the corners of his eyes, he saw that the condition of his said family members weren't better either. Some were already on the verge of slumping down as their mistakes came right in front of their faces. 

He then looked back at a blank Sheetal and the mere sight of her reinforce his maddening wrath over his self-approach. He seethe, jerking her repulsive body away from him. 

"AND WHEN DESPITE ALL THAT SHE DID NOT BREAK YOU TRIED TO KILL HER! YOU KILLED HER!" 

His inside quivered as he let out the howl, then shrunk in agony at his own words. The memories of what happened ransacked him from inside and robbed his ability to speak as a second, he fell helpless in front of the powerful sobs that bubbled in his aching chest. 

He breathed out, eyes watering when he couldn't defeat the sobs to allow his vocals to scream. And instead of screams, a shaky whisper left his mouth. 

"And along with her, you killed our unborn baby, Sheetal."

And then he heard it at last. Vaguely amidst the chaos of his own mind, he heard the faint sounds of bodies falling onto the grounds. The intensified sobs and wails throbbed in his head and he just stood there, taking a moment to sooth himself from the burdening sorrow. 

He sighed when the sorrow remained intact. It wouldn't leave. And he knew that. Nothing and no one could drive it away - no one except for her, who was lost herself. The thought tormented him again and he looked up wanting to strangle the life out of Sheetal for driving him to such a point. Her serene eyes and smiling face, however, stopped him in his tracks.