Chapter 29
Shaurya
I don’t know how long I have been sitting beside Reeva’s bed, holding her cool hand between both of mine. With every passing minute, however, the helpless trembling inside me becomes harder to control.
I have endured the loss of someone I loved before, but as I stare at my pregnant wife lying so frighteningly still before me, terror screams through every part of me. Losing Dad broke something inside me. Losing Reeva would leave nothing of me behind.
“Please wake up, sweetheart,” I beg, brushing my thumb over her fingers.
She does not respond. Her expression remains peaceful, but the unnatural stillness of her body terrifies me.
The door opens, and I look up to find Dadiji entering with Mom close behind her. Dadiji approaches the bed and strokes Reeva’s hair with a trembling hand.
“Wake up, my child,” she whispers as tears fill her eyes. “You have only just brought happiness back into this family. We cannot lose you now—not you or the precious life growing inside you.” Her voice breaks. “Please open your eyes and come back to us.”
After a moment, Dadiji turns to me. “She will wake up soon,” she says, as though trying to convince herself as much as me. “She has too much love waiting for her here.”
I can only nod, unable to force a response past the tightness in my throat.
Dadiji lowers herself into the chair on the opposite side of the bed, takes Reeva’s free hand between hers, and begins murmuring a quiet prayer. Mom remains standing behind her, silently staring at Reeva’s pale face with an expression I cannot read.
A nurse enters a few minutes later to perform another set of neurological observations. She checks Reeva’s pupils, records her blood pressure, and adjusts the IV drip before gently calling her name. Reeva stirs faintly but does not open her eyes.
“When will she wake properly?” I ask, unable to conceal the desperation in my voice.
“It is difficult to give you an exact time, sir,” the nurse answers gently. “Her scans are reassuring, and her vital signs remain stable. There has also been no further heavy bleeding, which is encouraging. Drowsiness is common after a concussion, but we’ll continue monitoring her closely.”
I nod, frustration tightening inside me. Everyone keeps offering reassuring words, yet none of them can give me the only thing I need—to see Reeva open her eyes.
Once the nurse is satisfied with Reeva’s readings, she leaves the room. Dadiji resumes her prayers while I lift Reeva’s hand to my lips and press a lingering kiss to her knuckles, never taking my eyes from her face as I silently beg her to open them.
“I never imagined this would happen when I spoke to her,” Mom whispers. “I never wanted any of this.”
My head snaps towards her. “What does that mean?”
She stiffens. Fear flashes across her face, but she says nothing.
Before I can demand an answer, the door swings open and Meena Aunty rushes inside, tears streaming down her cheeks. Mom immediately steps aside as Meena Aunty hurries to the bed.
“My child.” She bends over Reeva, cradling her cheek with one hand while the other strokes her hair. “Oh, my baby,” she whispers, her voice splintering. “What happened to you?”
She presses a trembling kiss to Reeva’s forehead. When her gaze falls upon the IV line attached to Reeva’s hand, fresh tears spill down her face.
“She’s stable,” I tell her quietly.
Her tear-filled eyes snap towards mine. “What happened?” she demands, straightening.
“She fell down the stairs.”
“How?”
“I don’t know, Aunty. She looked distressed and wasn’t watching where she was going. Before I could reach her, she missed a step and lost her balance.”
“You don’t know?” Her grief hardens into anger. “You took her back into that house, Shaurya. I trusted you to keep my child safe, and now she is lying in a hospital bed because I made the mistake of trusting you again.”
I lower my gaze. I do not defend myself because I have no defence to offer.
“Rudra was right about you all along,” Meena Aunty continues, her voice shaking. “You cannot be trusted with my child. I should have listened to him. I should never have allowed you another chance to hurt her.”
Every word finds its mark, cutting into the guilt that’s already tearing me apart.
Dadiji rises from her chair. “Meena…”
“No, Maaji.” Meena Aunty angrily wipes the tears from her cheeks.
“I remained silent when he moved into Rudra’s house because Reeva allowed it.
I watched her begin to trust him again, and I convinced myself that perhaps he finally understood what he had done.
” Her blazing eyes lock with mine. “She defended you, Shaurya. She told me you were changing. And now she is lying in another hospital bed because she believed in you.”
“I failed her,” I admit, the words scraping my throat raw.
“Admitting it is not enough. You are selfish, cruel, and—”
“Stop blaming my son!” Mom’s voice cuts sharply across the room before Meena Aunty can finish. “This was not Shaurya’s fault. It was mine. I am the one who upset her.”
Silence crashes over the room.
Every eye turns towards Mom.
My mind goes completely blank as I watch her chest rise and fall with uneven breaths. Her face has lost all colour, and unmistakable guilt and fear twist across her features.
“What did you say to her, Mom?” I rise and round the foot of the bed, closing the distance between us as Dadiji moves quickly to my side. My voice descends into a deadly calm. “What did you do that sent my wife tumbling down those stairs and left her bleeding in a hospital bed?”
Mom swallows painfully. “Shaurya…”
My hands curl into fists at my sides. “No more lies, Mom.” I hold her gaze, every word edged with barely restrained fury. “Tell me the truth. Now.”
Her gaze flickers towards Reeva before returning to me.
“I asked Mr. Mehta to prepare a draft petition seeking sole custody of the baby. It stated that if ever your marriage ended, you would retain sole physical and legal custody.”
Dadiji releases a horrified breath. “Rajeshwari…”
Mom’s voice begins to tremble. “I wanted to make certain that if she left you again, she could never take the Rajvansh heir away from this family.”
Cold dread crawls through my veins. “What else did you tell Reeva?”
“I told her that you had ordered Mr. Mehta to prepare the papers.”
The confession strikes with enough force to hollow out my chest.
“You told my wife that I intended to steal our child from her?”
“I wanted to frighten her into signing—”
“You made her believe I had deceived her again.”
My voice emerges frighteningly quiet as the full horror of her actions settles over me. Reeva had trusted me with the shattered pieces of her heart. She had believed my promises, chosen our marriage again, and walked back into that house as my wife.
And Mom had used every wound I once inflicted upon her to destroy that trust all over again.
Shock renders me speechless. I can only stare at the woman who raised me, unable to comprehend how she could deliberately use my unborn child as a weapon against my wife.
When I finally find my voice, it emerges dangerously quiet. “I made myself perfectly clear. I told you I would never try to take our child away from their mother.”
Mom’s face crumples beneath my stare, and she squeezes her eyes shut as though that might allow her to escape the consequences of what she has done.
“And despite knowing that, you still terrorised my wife?” I hiss.
Her eyes fly open, and she recoils from the venom in my voice. “I only wanted to protect your child.”
“Our child,” I snarl. “Reeva’s and mine. There is no Rajvansh heir without Reeva.” My voice fractures beneath the force of my fury. “That baby is a part of her. You cannot claim to love our child while deliberately destroying their mother.”
“I wasn’t trying to destroy her,” Mom protests weakly.
I point towards the hospital bed, my hand trembling with rage. “Then look at her! She is lying there bruised and bleeding, facing the threat of losing our baby because of what you did.”
Meena Aunty closes her eyes in pain, while Dadiji turns away, tears slipping silently down her cheeks.
“I never imagined she would fall,” Mom insists, drawing in an unsteady breath. “You were becoming weak where Reeva was concerned, and I was terrified you would allow her to leave and take the baby with her. That is why I—”
My stomach twists with disgust.
“Loving my wife does not make me weak.” My throat tightens around every word. “Manipulating her, deceiving her, and using her love to fulfil a promise… that was weakness. Standing beside her now is the first honest strength I have shown since the day I met her.”
Mom breaks into tears. “Shaurya, please don’t hate me. Try to understand that I did this for you.”
I point a trembling finger at her. “Do not use me to justify your cruelty. You did not do this for me.” My voice falls into a lethal whisper. “You did it because even now, you hate Arvind Singhania’s daughter more than you love your own son.”
“No, please don’t say that. I love you.” Mom’s voice fractures beneath her sobs.
“I was terrified that Reeva would take you away from me, and then take the baby too. My fear… my possessiveness got the better of me.” Tears stream down her face.
“You don’t understand what it feels like to believe someone might take your child away from you. ”
A hollow, humourless laugh tears from my throat.
“Less than an hour ago, I held my bleeding wife, who is carrying my child, in my arms, not knowing whether I was about to lose them both.” I hold her gaze as my voice breaks beneath the memory. “Do not stand there and tell me I don’t understand.”
Pain twists her expression.
Dadiji turns towards her, grief etched into every line of her face.
“I warned you that Rajmahal was never Reeva’s sin.
That child has already spent far too long paying for mistakes she never made.
And today, because you refused to release your hatred, you nearly cost this family both Reeva and her baby. ”
Mom says nothing. She merely stands there, tears slipping silently down her cheeks.
Meena Aunty’s fingers tighten around the bed rail until her knuckles turn white. “I will never forgive you for this.”
“I warned you, Mom,” I say, my voice becoming frighteningly calm. “I told you that if you ever used custody to threaten Reeva again, I would remove you from every decision concerning our child.” I hold her gaze without wavering. “You ignored me. Now you will face the consequences.”
The colour drains from her face. “Shaurya, please…”
“From this moment forward, you will not go near Reeva, our child, or me.” My voice is cold and final. “You will stay away from all three of us.”
“No, son. Please don’t do this.” She reaches for me, but I step beyond her grasp.
“You did this, Mom.” My voice breaks despite the fury consuming me. “You were so afraid Reeva would take us away from you that you destroyed your own place in our lives.”
Desperation floods Mom’s face as she turns towards Dadiji, silently pleading for her support.
Dadiji’s expression remains heavy with grief. “Leave, Rajeshwari.”
Mom recoils. “Maaji…”
“You heard your son.” Tears glisten in Dadiji’s eyes, but her voice remains firm. “Reeva needs peace if she and the baby are to recover. And right now, your presence is the reason she has none.”
Mom presses a hand over her mouth as a broken sob escapes her.
“Leave, Mom,” I repeat. My voice fractures, but the decision behind it does not.
Her gaze clings to mine, searching desperately for some trace of the son who might weaken and ask her to stay. When she finds none, fresh tears stream down her face. She looks at Reeva one final time before turning and walking towards the door without another word.
I remain standing long after the door closes behind her, unable to move as my chest rises and falls beneath the crushing weight of everything I have learned.
Then my gaze returns to Reeva.
“Dadiji… Meena Aunty…” My voice emerges rough and exhausted. “Could you please give me a few minutes alone with my wife?”
Meena Aunty studies me. The anger in her eyes does not disappear, but it gives way to reluctant understanding. After a moment, she nods and gently brushes a strand of hair away from Reeva’s face.
“We’ll be right outside,” she says softly.
Dadiji places a comforting hand on my shoulder. “You did the right thing, beta.”
I cannot bring myself to answer.
Dadiji takes Meena Aunty’s hand, and together they leave the room. The door clicks shut behind them, and I sink into the chair beside Reeva’s bed. Clasping her hand between both of mine, I lower my head and press my forehead against her fingers as silent sobs shake my body.
My mother did this to her.
The woman who gave me life nearly cost Reeva hers.
How will Reeva ever forgive me? How can I convince her that the custody papers were Mom’s doing? That every cruel word she heard was a lie?
“Shaurya…”
Her faint voice brings my entire world to a halt.
My head snaps up.
Reeva’s eyes are open, tired and unfocused, but fixed upon me.
Relief crashes through me so violently that I can barely breathe.
“Thank God,” I whisper brokenly, lifting her hand to my lips. “Thank God you came back to me.”