Chapter 10
Shaurya
“I still can’t believe you would take her side,” Mom says.
I keep my gaze fixed on the doors through which Reeva disappeared, an ache spreading through my chest.
“The nerve of her to hand you the divorce papers and then behave as though she is the victim, and we are the villains,” she adds indignantly.
“She didn’t make us look like villains, Mom.” I finally turn to face her. “My choices did. I gave her every reason to bring me those papers.”
Mom folds her arms across her chest. “You are allowing guilt to blind you. A wife who truly loved her husband would have tried to understand why he did what he did. She would have stayed and fought for her marriage. Instead, Reeva walked away. All she proved is that when forced to choose, she will always choose her Singhania blood over us.”
“She gave us Rajmahal, Mom. She didn’t choose her blood.
She chose her self-respect. And I cannot blame her for choosing herself after I gave her no reason to choose me.
” I glance around the boutique. Every customer suddenly appears fascinated by the merchandise, refusing to meet my eyes, but it is painfully obvious that they are listening to every word.
I turn back to her. “You wanted Rajmahal, and you got it. So tell me, what possible reason did you have to humiliate Reeva in public?”
Her shoulders sag for the briefest moment.
“Because I was hurting, Shaurya. I have carried this anger inside me for years. When I finally had the chance to say everything I had buried, I couldn’t remain silent.
” Her expression tightens again. “I wanted her to hear exactly what kind of man her father was and what he did to our family.”
“Then let that be the last time.” My voice leaves no room for argument.
“You will not humiliate her again. We got what we wanted. The fight is over. If you cannot forgive Arvind Singhania, then don’t.
But Reeva will not continue paying for her father’s sins simply because we refuse to let go of the past.”
Without waiting for a response, I turn and stride out of the boutique.
The moment I step outside, my heart lurches into my throat. Reeva is only a few feet away, stumbling as her body sways dangerously.
“Reeva!” I lunge towards her and catch her just as her knees buckle beneath her. One arm locks around her waist while the other cradles the back of her head, pulling her securely against my chest before she can hit the pavement.
“Reeva…” Her name leaves me on a broken breath. Her body is frighteningly limp in my arms, her face drained of all colour.
“Please, sweetheart. Open your eyes for me.” My voice trembles with a terror I have never known as I cup her cold cheek. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.” I brush the loose strands of hair away from her face, my fingers unsteady. “Just stay with me. Please.”
Voices erupt around us as people begin to gather, but I don’t spare any of them a glance. Sliding one arm beneath her knees and the other around her back, I lift Reeva against my chest. She feels terrifyingly light, her head falling limply against my shoulder.
“Move!” I bark, and the crowd parts instantly.
I carry her straight to my car and gently settle her into the passenger seat before fastening her seat belt with shaking hands.
“Stay with me, sweetheart,” I whisper hoarsely, my fingers lingering against her cheek for one brief moment. Then I shut the door, race around to the driver’s side, and tear out of the parking lot to the nearest hospital.
Throughout the drive, my gaze keeps darting to her pale face as questions tear through my mind. What the hell happened? She was standing inside the boutique only minutes ago. How could she suddenly collapse like this?
The moment I pull up outside the emergency entrance, I barely manage to shift the car into park before throwing open the door. Hospital staff rush towards us with a stretcher, and together, we carefully transfer Reeva onto it.
“She suddenly collapsed,” I explain, struggling to keep my voice steady. “She lost consciousness and hasn’t opened her eyes since.”
They don’t waste a second. Reeva is wheeled into the emergency room, where doctors and nurses immediately surround the bed and begin examining her. I can do nothing but stand beside her, utterly helpless, my gaze fixed on her colourless face as I silently beg her to open her eyes.
Every passing minute feels like an hour, tightening the knot in my chest until I can no longer bear the uncertainty.
“Doctor, what is wrong with my wife?” I rake an unsteady hand through my hair.
The doctor looks up at me. “Her blood pressure is quite low, Mr. Rajvansh, which is most likely what caused her to lose consciousness. We have started her on intravenous fluids, but we still need to determine why it dropped so severely.”
“Then find out.” The words leave me more harshly than I intend. “Run every test you need. I don’t care what it costs. I need answers.”
She holds my gaze, unfazed by my tone. “We are already doing everything necessary. Her blood samples have been sent to the laboratory. Once the preliminary results return, we should have a clearer understanding of what caused her collapse.”
“How long?”
“It shouldn’t take much longer.” She offers me a reassuring nod. “I’ll return as soon as I have the results.”
With that, she turns and walks out, the nurse following close behind. The door clicks softly shut behind them.
My gaze returns to Reeva. She looks heartbreakingly fragile against the white hospital pillow, an IV line taped to the back of her hand. I sink into the chair beside her bed and carefully wrap my fingers around hers.
“You don’t get to leave me,” I whisper, lifting her hand to my lips. “I won’t let you.”
The minutes crawl past with agonising slowness. I don’t release her hand for a single second, my thumb brushing absently over her knuckles as I watch the steady rise and fall of her chest. Every beep of the monitor echoes through the room, each one reminding me that she is still here.
It is the only sound keeping the panic clawing at my chest from swallowing me whole.
A soft knock sounds before the door opens. My head snaps up as the doctor walks back into the room, a tablet in her hands and an unreadable expression on her face.
My stomach drops.
“Doctor… what is it?”
She offers me a reassuring smile. “Mr. Rajvansh, your wife’s low blood pressure appears to be linked to significant hormonal changes taking place in her body.”
I stare at her, unable to make sense of what she is saying. “What do you mean? Is she sick?”
The doctor shakes her head. “No, Mr. Rajvansh. What she is experiencing isn’t uncommon in her condition. The heat, combined with her low blood pressure, most likely caused her to—”
“Her condition?” I interrupt, raising a hand to stop her. “Please, Doctor, tell me in plain language. What is wrong with my wife?”
Her brows draw together in confusion. “You don’t know about the baby?”
My world doesn’t just stop. It lurches violently off its axis, taking me with it. My mind refuses to process what I have just heard.
A baby.
The two words reverberate through me, stealing the air from my lungs. My mouth turns dry, and my pulse thunders deafeningly in my ears.
“What… baby?” The question scrapes from my throat, rough and barely recognisable.
“Your wife’s blood test confirms that she is pregnant, Mr. Rajvansh,” the doctor explains gently. She glances toward Reeva before looking back at me. “Were either of you aware of the pregnancy?”
I swallow hard as my gaze drifts to Reeva’s pale face.
Had she known? Was that why she had been so determined to end our marriage? Had she truly planned to keep our child from me?
My jaw tightens as a thousand thoughts collide inside my head. But almost as quickly as the suspicion forms, I reject it.
No. Reeva isn’t capable of that kind of deception. If she had known she was carrying our baby, she would have told me. She must have been as unaware as I was.
“I didn’t know,” I finally manage, looking back at the doctor. “She never told me.”
“Perhaps she hasn’t experienced many symptoms yet,” the doctor says with a reassuring nod. “Every pregnancy is different, especially this early.”
I swallow again, my gaze dropping instinctively to Reeva’s still-flat stomach before returning to the doctor. “Is… is the baby all right?”
“From what we have seen so far, there is no reason to believe otherwise. But given her collapse, I would like to perform an ultrasound to confirm how far along she is and ensure that the pregnancy is progressing as it should.”
“Do whatever you need to do. Just tell me that my wife and our baby are safe.”
The doctor gives me a reassuring nod before excusing herself, leaving me alone with Reeva once more. My gaze drifts to her still-flat stomach, and my breath catches.
Our baby. A tiny life I knew nothing about only moments ago, and already cannot imagine losing.
I rest a trembling hand gently over her stomach.
We had only ever spoken about children in passing, always as something that belonged to a distant future.
I hadn’t entered this marriage expecting to become a father.
Revenge had consumed me so completely that there had been no place in my carefully constructed plans for a child.
But now, knowing that a tiny piece of both of us is growing inside her, knowing that I am going to be a father… changes everything.
The doctor returns a few minutes later with a nurse, who wheels a portable ultrasound machine into the room and positions it beside Reeva’s bed.
After ensuring that Reeva remains covered as much as possible, the doctor gently lifts the hem of her kurta just enough to expose her abdomen.
She applies a small amount of gel before picking up the probe and gliding it slowly across Reeva’s skin.
A grainy black-and-white image flickers onto the screen, and the doctor angles the monitor towards me.
I stare at it, my brows drawing together. “What am I looking at?”
“It is still very early, Mr. Rajvansh. I would estimate that she is approximately seven weeks pregnant, so there isn’t much to see yet.” The doctor points to a tiny shape on the monitor. “Right there… that is your baby.”
I swallow hard, unable to tear my gaze away from the screen. The emotions surging through me are so raw and powerful that, for several moments, I am incapable of speech.
“Everything looks good,” the doctor assures me as she wipes the gel from Reeva’s abdomen and gently lowers her kurta while the nurse wheels the ultrasound machine away.
“Both mother and baby appear stable. We will keep her under observation for the next few hours, but at this point, there is no indication that the pregnancy is at risk.”
I nod silently.
After offering me one final reassuring smile, the doctor leaves the room.
I drag a hand down my face and close my eyes, drawing in several steadying breaths. Then her thin, raspy voice whispers my name.
“Shaurya…”
My eyes fly open, and I look down at her. Every instinct urges me to reach for her, but I keep my hands to myself, afraid that my touch might upset her and cause her even more stress.
“Where am I?” she whispers, blinking slowly as confusion clouds her face.
“You’re in the hospital,” I answer softly.
“The hospital?” She pushes herself upright, panic flashing across her features as one hand flies instinctively to her stomach. “Is… is the baby all right? Is my baby safe?”
That is all it takes for my blood to turn to ice. I stare at her as the devastating truth takes shape in my mind.
She knew.
She knew she was pregnant.
She had known even when she brought those divorce papers to my office.
She had planned to walk out of my life without ever telling me that a part of us was growing inside her.
How could she keep something like this from me? How could she decide that I didn’t deserve to know my own child existed?
The joy that consumed me only moments ago disappears beneath a crushing wave of hurt and disbelief.
She hadn’t merely planned to leave me. She had planned to take our child with her, denying me the chance to be a father before I even knew that chance existed.