Reyansh is RIVANs wife #3
Not professionally.
Not in a hospital.
Self-stitched.
Crooked.
Uneven.
Painful looking.
The kind of stitches a man does when he doesn't trust anyone else to touch him.
For the first time that night
Reyansh felt genuinely shocked.
His mind simply blanked.
The words escaped before he could stop them.
RIVAN lowered his gaze.
Almost casually.
As if this wasn't horrifying.
As if it was normal.
As if carrying half a dozen injuries was an everyday occurrence.
Meanwhile Devyani felt the blood drain from her face.
The moment she saw the wounds
Her stomach twisted violently.
Her breathing became uneven.
Images flashed through her mind.
The blood she had seen on his hand.
The panic attack.
The knife.
The shaking.
Everything suddenly connected.
And she hated it.
Because despite everything
Despite the anger.
Despite the divorce.
Despite the hurt
Seeing him like this made something inside her chest ache.
Badly.
Very badly.
She looked away.
Unable to continue staring.
The bruises alone were enough to make her dizzy.
Meanwhile Reyansh stepped forward.
His expression had completely changed.
No irritation.
No jokes.
No sarcasm.
Just disbelief.
"RIVAN..."
His voice lowered.
"When did this happen?"
RIVAN shrugged.
Actually shrugged.
As if discussing weather.
"Different times."
Reyansh stared.
Then stared harder.
The idiot wasn't even taking it seriously.
One cut alone looked severe enough for hospitalization.
And yet here he was.
Drinking whiskey.
Starting fights.
Calling people his wife.
The entire situation was insane.
Absolutely insane.
Then RIVAN looked at Reyansh and smiled.
A tired smile.
A broken smile.
The kind nobody expected from him.
"See?"
He laughed softly.
"I told you."
His finger tapped one of the bruises.
Then another.
Then another.
"I am hurt."
And for the first time that night
Nobody laughed.
The silence that followed felt heavier than anything else in the room.
Nobody knew what to say.
Nobody knew how to react.
The sight of those wounds had drained all humor from the situation.
Even the businessmen who had been secretly enjoying the drama were now pretending not to look.
Reyansh stood in front of RIVAN, staring at the cuts scattered across his body.
His jaw clenched.
The anger he had felt earlier had disappeared.
Now all that remained was frustration.
And concern.
A dangerous combination.
He grabbed RIVAN's arm.
"Come."
RIVAN blinked.
"Where?"
"Hospital."
Immediately RIVAN made a face.
An actual face.
Like a stubborn child refusing medicine.
"No."
Reyansh closed his eyes.
Counting to ten.
Then twenty.
Then thirty.
"What do you mean no?"
RIVAN pointed at his chest.
"But it hurts."
"I know."
"It hurts a lot."
"I know."
"So why hospital?"
Reyansh looked ready to scream.
"Because that's where injured people go."
For a moment RIVAN seemed to think about it.
Seriously.
As if considering a business proposal.
Then he slowly shook his head.
"No."
Reyansh's eye twitched.
"Why?"
RIVAN smiled.
A strange smile.
A sad smile hidden beneath drunkenness.
Then he tapped his chest.
Not the bruises.
Not the cuts.
Not the stitches.
His heart.
"What about this one?"
The smile remained.
"My heart is hurting more than these."
For a second nobody spoke.
The words landed harder than expected.
Especially because he wasn't joking.
Not this time.
Not completely.
The smile was there.
The drunkenness was there.
But the pain underneath was impossible to miss.
Reyansh inhaled slowly.
Meanwhile Devyani stood frozen.
Every muscle in her body locked.
Her throat tightened painfully.
Her fingers curled into fists.
She hated this.
She hated hearing him talk like that.
She hated the fact that despite everything, his words still affected her.
Most of all
She hated herself for caring.
"RIVAN."
Reyansh's voice softened slightly.
"First let's get you treated."
But RIVAN wasn't listening anymore.
His gaze had drifted somewhere far away.
As if he wasn't standing inside a crowded bar.
As if he was remembering something.
Someone.
Then suddenly he laughed.
Softly.
Quietly.
The sound was worse than any shouting.
"Don't worry."
He waved his hand lazily.
"I already treated them."
Reyansh frowned.
"Treated?"
RIVAN nodded proudly.
"Self-stitched."
The pride in his voice was genuinely concerning.
"I know."
"You know?"
"Yes."
"I stitched them myself."
Reyansh looked like he wanted to hit him.
Hard.
Several times.
Instead he forced himself to remain calm.
Then RIVAN looked down at one of the stitches.
A pout appearing on his face.
A literal pout.
Something nobody in the history of humanity had ever expected to see from RIVAN Thakur.
"I thought it would work."
"What?"
"The stitches."
Reyansh stared.
RIVAN tapped his chest again.
"My heart was hurting."
His smile trembled slightly.
"So I thought..."
A small laugh escaped him.
"...maybe if I stitched myself enough, it would stop."
The words shattered something.
Not in the room.
Inside Devyani.
Her eyes instantly filled.
The tears arrived before she could stop them.
Before she could control them.
Before she could remind herself why she was angry.
Why she was supposed to hate him.
Her throat burned.
Her chest felt tight.
Too tight.
She couldn't breathe properly.
Not there.
Not in front of everyone.
Not while he kept talking.
Not while he looked so broken.
Because drunk people didn't hide things.
And that was exactly what terrified her.
For two years she had imagined a hundred versions of RIVAN.
Angry.
Happy.
Successful.
Indifferent.
Cold.
But she had never imagined this.
A man trying to stitch his own wounds because he didn't know what else to do with the pain.
A man laughing while admitting his heart hurt.
A man pretending everything was fine.
The sight became unbearable.
Without saying a word
She turned.
And walked out.
Fast.
Almost too fast.
The cold night air hit her face the moment she stepped outside the bar.
Finally.
Breathing became possible again.
She wrapped her arms around herself.
Trying to calm the storm raging inside her chest.
Trying to stop the tears gathering in her eyes.
Trying to remember why she was angry.
Why she should remain angry.
Inside the bar
Reyansh watched her leave.
His eyes followed her disappearing figure through the glass doors.
Then he slowly looked back at RIVAN.
The drunk idiot was still standing there.
Still smiling.
Still pretending everything was okay.
But now Reyansh understood something.
For the first time since RIVAN had returned
He understood just how badly his friend had been suffering.
And suddenly...
The wounds covering his body no longer looked like the worst injuries he carried.
Reyansh had heard enough.
Trying to reason with a drunk RIVAN was like trying to negotiate with a natural disaster.
Impossible.
The man wasn't listening.
Wasn't thinking.
And definitely wasn't going to walk willingly.
So Reyansh simply grabbed his wrist.
Hard.
"Enough."
RIVAN blinked.
Then looked down at their joined hands.
Then up at Reyansh.
Then suddenly a huge smile spread across his face.
A very dangerous smile.
One that immediately made Reyansh regret touching him.
The announcement echoed through the entire bar.
Every single person turned toward them.
Again.
One man even looked emotional.
As if he had witnessed a romantic reunion.
Reyansh wanted to commit several crimes.
Immediately.
But RIVAN wasn't done.
He pointed dramatically at the crowd.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then RIVAN narrowed his eyes.
Instantly several people waved.
The entire bar erupted into suppressed laughter.
Reyansh's soul left his body.
Meanwhile RIVAN looked extremely pleased.
He waved proudly.
Then pointed at Reyansh.
"My wife finally came to pick me up."
The bartender nearly choked.
And Reyansh dragged him out before things got worse.
Unfortunately
Things got worse.
The moment they reached the car, RIVAN suddenly stopped.
Then winced.
A real wince.
Pain flashing across his face.
The drunken smile disappeared for a brief second.
His body visibly tensed.
Those wounds were clearly hurting.
Badly.
Reyansh immediately opened the back door.
"Sit."
For once RIVAN obeyed.
Without argument.
Without drama.
He slowly settled himself on the back seat.
The second his back touched the leather, another painful hiss escaped him.
His entire body seemed exhausted.
As if he had been carrying too much for too long.
Reyansh watched quietly.
The concern in his eyes growing.
A few moments later RIVAN stretched himself across the seat.
His head resting against the window.
The city lights reflected across his face.
Then slowly...
His eyes closed.
The fight left him.
The anger left him.
The stubbornness disappeared.
Within seconds he had drifted off.
Finally asleep.
Reyansh exhaled heavily.
Silence.
Thank God.
At least for now.
He closed the door carefully.
Then looked around.
Searching.
A few seconds later he spotted Devyani.
Standing alone near the edge of the parking area.
Far away from the noise.
Far away from everyone.
The cold night wind moved her hair gently.
Her face tilted upward.
Toward the sky.
Toward nothing.
As if she was trying to gather herself together.
Trying to fight something nobody else could see.
Reyansh's expression softened.
Slowly he walked toward her.
She didn't notice him immediately.
Or perhaps she did and simply didn't react.
When he finally stopped beside her, neither spoke for several seconds.
The city around them felt distant.
Muted.
Quiet.
Finally Reyansh sighed.
"Devu."
She didn't look at him.
Her gaze remained fixed on the sky.
"Come."
His voice became gentler.
"Let's go home."
This time she looked at him.
And Reyansh's chest tightened.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
Not falling.
Not yet.
But there.