I... I can't express what I felt at that time. I felt as if someone had taken everything away from me. Because, Nishtha was my everything.

"I... I am your husband..." I said in a low voice.

"What!!??? How... how??? I can't remember anything..." She said and held her head really tightly. I could see that she was in so much pain.

"I'll... I'll call the doctor!" I said and went out of the room. A tear slipped down my eye. I went out where the others were sitting.

"How is she!!!?? Can I meet her now???" Anvita asked in an excited voice.

"She has probably... lost her memory." I somehow managed to say. My voice was breaking. Anvita looked at me with a horrified expression. Just then the doctor arrived.

"Doctor... she doesn't remember me... please... tell us what's wrong?" I said and the doctor rushed to the room after asking us to stay outside. He came back after some time.

"She has lost her memory of one year. It's not a permanent damage. Her memory will come back but you must not force her to remember things, it can have adverse effects. Avoid telling her things that might upset her very much." He said. I could tell by the look on his face that he had also read that news.

"It would be better if she stays with us." Nishtha's father spoke.

"So that you could brainwash her? No way, she's staying with me, in a safe environment. Away from toxic people!" I said. I was so angry that I could kill this man right here right now!

"But..." He tried to oppose.

"No IFs and BUTs." I said lifting up my finger. 

Then I went back to her room. Anvita was sitting by her side and Nishtha was chuckling. 

"So umm... you're going to stay in our apartment after we are discharged from the hospital." I said looking at the floor.

"Ok umm..." She then gestured Anvita to give us some privacy.

"So... what is our marriage like? Are we a happy couple?" She asked, expecting a positive answer from my side.

"I wouldn't lie, we have had our fair share of arguments and so many ups and downs. But then, we confessed our feelings to each other. And yeah, we are a happy couple." I said, still no looking at her. I was too ashamed to face her.

"How did I end up here?" She asked.

"You had an accident. Your car got hit by a truck." I said and she looked at me with a straight face.

"As far as I remember, I was in a relationship with Akshay. How did we get married?" She asked, I knew she would ask that.

"Well umm, he had to marry a girl of his parent's choice and apparently we had to do the same after 6 months of his wedding..." I said and she looked clearly shocked and upset.

"But let me assure you, we had accepted what fate had planned for us. And we were happy about it." I said and she nodded.

"Look, I want to make it clear right now itself. I don't remember even a single thing about our marriage. I would appreciate if we stay a bit away from each other, you know what I mean. I would like to stay in a different room. We are married so you would be knowing that my relationship with my parents isn't great, that's why I am agreeing to stay with you in your apartment." She said in that professional Nishtha style.

What saddened me the most was that she was back to the 'YOUR' apartment thing. I couldn't control myself.

"OUR." I said.

"What?" She asked with a confused face.

"It's not MY apartment, it's OUR apartment." I clarified and she nodded.

"I want to make some things clear too." I said fidgeting with my fingers.

"Go ahead." She said.

"You're not allowed to read news, be on social media and all for at least a month from now. Because, you have a severe injury in your head. And any kind of strain can be fatal." I said.

"I can take care of myself. Thank you." She said rudely. It had been really long since she used that tone on me. It hurt a bit to be honest. I just nodded and left the room.

As I was paying for her medicines, her brother approached me.

"Take care of my sister. She has been through a lot." He said. 

"I will. She's my responsibility." I said assuring him.

Then she got discharged. I was driving. She was looking out of the window, probably observing the changes that had happened after the time that she can remember.

We reached the apartment. She looked at the interior as if she had never seen it before.

"This place is beautiful!" She said looking around. It felt weird, really weird.

"Thanks I guess." I said rubbing my neck. It felt like she was my new room mate and she didn't know a thing about the house. I had to explain her everything.

"I'll get your stuff shifted to the other room in a while." I said and she nodded and went to her room, technically the guest room.

I then cooked a healthy meal for her that included khichadi and curd with black pepper. She ate it without throwing any tantrums. Yeah sure, she was treating me like a complete stranger. Then I had dinner too. She then took her medicines.

I was sitting on the couch working on my laptop when a thought suddenly came to my mind. And then I went to her room.

"Do you umm... need any help with changing or something?" I asked. I was probably sounding like a pervert but how else could I have said that. Her left arm was fractured duh.

"Did I not make things clear already at the hospital?" She asked folding her arms.

"Look, I'm not asking you to indulge in any umm... activity with me. I just want to help because your left arm is fractured and yeah, I care about you!" I said stressing more on that care part.

She raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes. 

"No thanks, I can do it by myself." She said when she saw that I was expecting an answer. Why was she so stubborn? Anyways, she would ask for my help after a while herself! Umm... would she? Because she is the independent Nishtha!

I went and got back to work. After half an hour, Nishtha came to me.

"Okk fine, I need your help. But please shut your eyes." She said and I nodded. Of course I would shut my eyes because this Nishtha wasn't my Nishtha, she was the one from 2019.

I helped her change her clothes and went to my room without saying a word to her. I didn't know what to do. Till yesterday, she was in my arms, so close and now suddenly, she felt so distant and different.

I went to my room and lied on my bed. My head was aching. Suddenly I remembered a bed conversation of ours from like, a week ago.

"What would you do if I suddenly lost my memory someday?" She asked me.

"Why may I ask would you lose your memory?" I ask looking in her eyes.

"Well I don't know, I can meet an accident or something?" She said and I placed my finger on her lips.

"Never talk about these things. I'll never let anything happen to you. EVER!" I said and pulled her in a tight hug.

"Aww my baby! Don't worry! Youhave to hold me tightly and sleep every night for the rest of your life! You have got no other choice!" She said and faked a glare.

"Oh my my! Look at my angry cat!" I said and started tickling her. She was indeed very ticklish.

The best part about her was, she didn't snore.

How was I supposed to sleep without her in my arms? How was I supposed to win her heart once again? It seemed as if she wasn't even ready to give me a chance. 

I wonder how she would react after she sees all the news about her. Hell with that, how would she feel when she would come to know that her own father handed their company over to some other person, which was me apparently, instead of her.

I looked at her side of the bed which was empty. I missed her warmth and her goodnight kiss. I slowly shifted to her side of the bed and hugged her pillow, pretending it was her.

This is how I tried to sleep tonight.