When I woke up again, the sun had set already, replaced by the dark sky and shining in that was the white moon.
"How are you feeling now?"
He was sitting on the bed, next to my laying form, working on his laptop.
"B-better."
I said in a low tone and tried to sit. Soon, he sighed lightly and wrapped his arm around my waist, the other arm supporting my shoulder and made me sit.
"Here." He said in his calm tone.
For a moment, no one spoke. The silence stretched, until it felt suffocating.
"How much do you trust me?" I asked him suddenly.
I noticed his hand pause while typing on the laptop, before he kept it aside and faced me.
"Why are you asking this?"
I blinked away the tears forming in my eyes and spoke to him again.
"Why shouldn't I ask this?"
A pause.
"Well, I trust you enough to believe your every word."
"Even if I lie?" I asked him, my lips started trembling slightly, almost on the verge of crying.
"I trust you because you'd never lie." He said and wiped my tears gently.
A sob escaped my lips.
"T-then, am I really the reason of all the bad things happening in your mansion? in your family?"
His jaw clenched for moment.
"Who said this?"
"I am just asking."
"This isn't just asking, Kruthi. Who stuffed your mind with that?"
"I-I feel like that."
My voice cracked.
And that was it.
Whatever little strength I had been holding onto finally gave way.
Tears spilled freely, my shoulders trembling as I covered my face with my hands.
I tried to stop myself.
I couldn't.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't swallowing my tears.
I wasn't locking myself inside a bathroom.
I wasn't hugging myself and pretending I was fine.
I was crying.
In front of him.
Vivaan didn't say anything.
He simply pulled me towards him.
And for once... I didn't pull away.
"And why do you feel that?" He asked me calmly. No gentleness. No fake concern. No cooing.
"Because...(Sobs) It just..."
"It's alright." He spoke, silencing me by his words. "It's new. Everyone dislikes you. And now they have got another person to blame."
He looked at me wiped my tears by his handkerchief.
"It's normal here. You aren't causing any problem."
"Y-you're just saying." I said to him back and broke myself from his arms.
"Then believe me."
"Why should I believe someone who himself never accepts me?"
He stared at me for a moment. Furious.
"If I never accepted you, I'd not leave my important meeting and ran all the way here."
"You r-ran? that long?" I asked him in extreme surprise.
He facepalmed himself and muttered, enough audibly. "I didn't practically run throughout Kruthi. I abandoned my meeting and returned my way back here in chopper."
"Helicopter?"
He nodded and released his face from his hand.
"B-but still... our marriage is built on.."
His cold tone suddenly cut my words in between.
"Lies, forced and contract. Right?"
I paused.
Yes. It was.
"For once, Kruthi. Can you just, forget that all?" He paused "Because I forgot it when I was informed that you were missing."
I paused.
Again, none of us spoke for a moment.
"Who was that?" He asked suddenly. His eyes darkened slightly before he fixed it on me.
"I..I don't remember. I was in the corridors. Suddenly, someone wrapped his hand from my back, covered my mouth with anaesthesia and I fainted. Then I don't know how I ended up there."
I spoke slowly, trying to remember everything however, failed to.
"Who dared touch you..." He muttered under his breath and looked away, out of the window towards cityscape.
"Why aren't you looking at me. A-are you ashamed of me now?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
He shook his head lightly.
"Cityscapes help me reduce stress."
I nodded in understanding.
"That means I am the stress?"
He shot his eyes back on me.
"I didn't say that."
"You meant that."
"I didn't mean that too."
"The why are you stressed."
"I am stressed because I don't know who the f*ck touched my wife and ended her up in almost dead condition and we have no clues regarding that. Happy?"
"How can I be happy when you are not?"
He sighed and cupped my face firmly.
"Listen to me Kruthi. For I won't repeat it again. You are not the problem. You aren't causing the problems in this mansion. And you aren't just another woman to me. Contract or not. You are my wife. My responsibility."
I stared at him for seconds. Didn't realise when my eyes moistened lightly.
"Not again." He muttered under his breath again.
I immediately wiped my tears and nodded plastering a smile on my face.
His grip on my face loosened. His lips twitching lightly.
"Good girl."
He paused for a moment before asking
"Is there someone you suspect?"
"I... don't."
"Rushaan?"
"I-I am sure it wasn't him. He left the mansion right after you did..."
"He left the mansion?" He raised an eyebrow.
"But I left around 8 Am, right? His reporting time at company is 10AM." His voice carried uncertainity. Confusion. Suspicion.
"He and Ayesha are planning for Honeymoon."
Suddenly, he turned to me extremely surprised.
"Honey...what?"
"Moon."
"Well, that was unexpected. So clearly, he was occupied."
"I..." I paused for a moment and checked my saree thoroughly. "Here. I remember I... broke his watch while trying to defend me from his grip. It got stuck on my saree. Guess that's why my saree felt slightly heavy."
He looked at me dumbfounded and asked.
"As if no wears this watch else then him."
"Do they?" I asked him surprised.
He nodded, examining the watch. "I wear this type of watch Kruthi. Vintage, old fashioned with a hint of modern and completely limited edition."
"Limited edition?"
He nodded.
"Then the kidnapper must be rich."
His eyes shot up lightly in surprise.
"You must be right." He examined the watch more carefully. "The person who hurted you is rich. This watch is...damn expensive. Even Rushaan doesn't have this watch."
He paused and looked at me.
"I'll have Mirhaan check on this watch. There must be fingerprints here. He'll need to investigate thoroughly."
"How much does this watch cost?" I asked him curiously.
"That's not the concern."
"I am just curious about the expensive watch I broke."
He took his phone and made a call to Mirhaan. While the bell was going he turned to me and spoke.
"Just know that you have broken a watch as expensive that can help an entire poor family stay happily for atleast three years."
"Numbers?"
He turned around and focused on his call with Mirhaan.
Soon later, he returned and placed a watch in a thin neat polybag.
"Mirhaan is coming. He'll take the watch right away. We'll see what the forensic team can recover from it."