Her lids fluttered sluggishly, weighed by seductive sleep and the fog of a dark world where all the damned souls wept. The struggle was real. Her ribs ached with every inhale, and a fire burned in her limbs. Her spine relaxed and contracted as she tried to straighten from a fetal position, curled on a bed with her knees close to her chest. But a sudden resistance didn't let her.

Dazed she opened her eyes, only to be blinded by the cruel rays of the bright sun. Tears collected in her obsidian eyes and she coughed due to a scratchy and dry throat. A warm hand rubbed her back and soothing coos reached her ears.

"It's okay."

Her eyes watered more recognizing that voice. It belonged to her husband.

"Be careful." He whispered as he brought a cool glass of water to her lips. Thirsty, she gulped it eagerly as if she hadn't had it in years. Her back protested and entrails screamed at the sudden invasion. She breathed through her mouth and tried to move her limbs only to notice they were tied to the bed by ropes.

"What's... What's happening?" She timorously asked, her voice coming out as rough as if she has screamed all night loud enough to wake up the dead.

"Nothing." He whispered, as he slowly unwinds the ropes and adjusts a pillow behind her back. The care he showed left her confused. He didn't even reek of alcohol and cheap perfume. He has hated her since the day she stepped into his palace and scarcely refrained himself from stating it. Why was he being so gentle? As he adjusted her back on the pillows, her breath got stuck in her lungs and she shuddered in revulsion. She was wearing a flimsy nightgown which she wouldn't even choose in her worst nightmares. It left little to the imagination. But that wasn't it. It was the large bulging belly that made her cracked lips quiver.

"Raghuveer! What? How?" She would have screamed if she had strength. All her bones were sore and her joints ached.

He settled beside her and held her hand.

"How are you feeling?"

A bitter taste flooded her mouth. The last thing she remembers is having an argument with him about attending a friend's birthday party. After that, she suddenly fell sick, and today when she woke up, she was heavily pregnant.

"I am pregnant? This is a nightmare. I need to wake up. Please wake up. Please wake up." She started slapping her cheeks lightly while glaring at the man in front of her in horror. He can't be so nice. Her breathing labored and anxiety clogged her pores. Raghuveer held her shoulders, looking equally distraught. She was questioning the very thing which has brought them close. The baby. Still, he grasped the threads of bravery and caged his heart in steel.

"What is the last thing you remember, Vasundhara?"

Her teeth started chattering when flashes of the past crossed her subconscious. Too many images to handle at once. Her hands shook and her head felt light.

"I... I fainted by the poolside?"

He shuts his eyes in regret and pain. It was a year ago. She almost drowned but Aryan saved her in time while he drunkenly looked from shore. How will he tell her what has happened? Bracing himself, he reached to grab her hands again which were surprisingly warm. They were always cold before, he should've noticed it wasn't her. But he had to tell her something to wipe those worry lines forming on her forehead. She was in pain, in so much pain and they could lose the baby.

"Vasu, we were on our way to the temple of the family deity when the driver lost control of the vehicle, and we met with a terrible accident." He stated emotionlessly before pulling her head to his shoulder. "Everything is going to be alright now, I swear. I will take care of you and our baby. It is okay if you don't remember the past year, we can always make new memories."

She nodded in confusion before breaking into sobs, having no idea of how things transpired and led to this. For now, she was glad of whatever happened, because it brought them close and turned him into the man of her dreams.

"But this is not my room," Vasundhara whispered after some time. A long sigh eluded Raghuveer's lips before he explained.

"This is Chitrakoot Palace. I had it prepared for you. Father has locked the Chandra Mahal and forbidden everyone to enter there. According to the Royal astrologer, it will only bring bad luck in the future and pose a threat to the child's stars. It is of no use anymore."

A frown marred between her brows and he knew she was about to debate. Raghuveer tightens his hold around her shoulders and shook his head. There was a storm in his eyes she failed to perceive. And it was a good thing because if she came to know what he knows, she might wish to end her life or flee from this chaotic home housing demons and never talk to him.

Shrugging his hands from her shoulders, she backs away and looks at him warily.

"You are lying." It was a statement.

A chuckle escaped him and he caressed her hair.

"I should've known. You were always so perceptive. Now lay back and have some rest while I ask Ambika to bring your meal."

"Ambika?" Vasundhara asked in curiosity.

"Oh! She is your handmaiden."

"Ambika?"

A mangled whisper echoed in the room accompanied by heavy breathing. Yagya wakes up from his stupor and observes his mother in alarm as her eyes flutter open with great difficulty and stare at the creamy ceiling.

"Mother" He called calmly, as he engulfs her hand in his rough palms. A terrible pain knocks her skull and she moans in disdain. Rubbing her temple, she scans her surroundings and found a concerned Yagya examining her.

"What happened?" Vasundhara's brain was muddled with confusion, busy guessing how she reached here. But when the ugly scenario of cause crossed her mind, she found herself drowning in everlasting fear all over again. It was her. Vasundhara was sure that it was the ghost of the woman who has destroyed her life and had returned after so many years once again to finish what was started. Her fists curled tightly around the duet as she sat, ignoring the mild ache surging in her spine. More than age, the stress was getting to her.

"You were found unconscious in the infirmary. It was due to low glucose levels. Mother, you must take care of yourself, or who else will look after father?" Yagya grumbled as he ran a finger through his already ruined hairdo.

Vasundhara contemplated if she should deliver the truth now. Maybe he will accept it or announce her as a lunatic. But there was one person in the house who might share her reasons and resonate with them. Gauri. The girl will believe it.

"Where's Gauri?"

Unknowingly, his jaw clenched and his eyes looked away, hiding the anger and guilt swirling in them. He can't let her be here and become part of a chaos that will soon turn into a raging storm. Deep down, Yagya was aware that whatever was happening was only the begging. There was more to come. And if his mother falls sick now, nobody would be there to shoulder his burdens.

"I sent her away."

The roughness in her tone pushed her to various conclusions and all of them were negative.

"To rest, I suppose?"

He nodded, still not facing her, his back tensing further and sensing his inner struggle, the mother intertwines her fingers with her son's and caresses his knuckles with another hand.

"I never told you this, but your father and I hated each other at the begging of our relationship." She spoke lowly, earning his attention. "We couldn't see eye to eye and never left a chance to reprimand each other. He was an alcoholic and often spend his nights at clubs, sometimes indulging other women. I hated him so much." Yagya frowned, now completely facing her. Her words barely made any sense and sounded foreign. All his life, he saw them caring for each other and taking care of him with love.

"Things were getting worse and almost reached a divorce until we discovered I was carrying you. That day, our lives completely changed. You were special. Your father started spending more time with me and quit drinking. I wouldn't say it was all glorious. There were days we both struggled and went without talking. But somehow, we mended our broken bonds so you can have ideal parents. When I spent more time with him, I realized he wasn't a bad man but a broken one. A kind of man who needed a fixer, not a wife. I wasn't a therapist or a naïve woman who would hug him when he felt sad, but I tried my best to become his friend. My God! What a friendship it was!

A partnership that wasn't governed by marriage or responsibilities but simply because we appreciated and respected each other for the choices we made when we could've crumbled. He promised to never leave my hand and be a good father and I vowed to always support him because he was a champion.

Falling in love wasn't easy for either of us because we found the idea far-fetched and difficult.

But we stood as a mountain to shield the most beautiful things we had together."

Vasundhara explained looking at him with teary eyes.

"So father never loved you?" Yagya asked hesitantly. Vasundhara smiled. Emotions made her feel dizzy.

"He did. But not as a man would love his wife or the mother of his child. He loved and admired me only as a friend. Because when we found each other, it was too late. I realized he doesn't have the heart to give for it was already stolen."

"Then why did you stay back?"

"Because when I came to know the real him, I fell hard in love, knowing well my sentiments wouldn't be shared or appreciated. I never told him aloud but secretly whispered through my soul. He was and will forever be the only man in my life and my yearning feelings are enough to keep us tied together. I couldn't leave when I wanted to on lonely nights, when we went without talking for days and when he smiled at others but refused to meet my eyes. I wanted to show my back and announce how he didn't deserve me but every time I packed my bags to leave, I found him standing at the threshold, begging me with his eyes to not leave because he might not survive without us. That we were the ones who kept him going and made him happy. He only came home for us with the hopes that we will be waiting.

He was a delicate man from the inside wearing a hard exterior and in his twisted fashion, he loved both of us enough to keep us here."

Yagyavardhan immediately wipes a rebellious salty drop running past his cheek and cleared his throat.

"You've been brought up in a house full of luxury, expectations, and kindness. It is true. But there was also a gap between your parents, which they failed to fill.

When I see you today, my heart feels heavy with joy. My head rises with pride. You've brought glory to our house through your hard work, intelligence and benevolence. People say, in you, they see your father. The way you dress, the way you comb your hair, and sometimes, the way you smile, they see a glimpse of Raghuveer. You have been told a million times that you are his spitting image. They say right, you are your father's son, but they forget to mention me.

I am your mother and I know you the best.

You are ferocious and reckless like him. Smart, greedy, and clever like your ancestors. But your heart was the first thing that was created by God inside my womb. I know it because it is familiar, like mine. The thing is, you, my son, and fall in love too easily and when you do, you don't hold back the passion and other chemicals. You are too proud to confess it. And when your heart was broken, you've struggled to stand back up, not for yourself, but the people you love- for us. You didn't want to live, yet you stayed because your parents needed you.

Burned and scalded, by the ambers of darkness, now you've raised walls to shield your heart because you are scared to be left alone again. The thought of falling in love again terrifies you more than the horrors of daylight. You don't want to go through that pain and loneliness again. You feel like you are cursed, but that's not true. You have yet to find the cure to this madness that has turned your life upside down.

For once, believe me when I say- this isn't how your story ends. There's light at the end of the tunnel. All you have to do is give yourself a chance to leap.

What could go wrong?

You've already tolerated a wound deeper than most. Brave warriors and Kings aren't scared of dying in battles. Sometimes, wars are waged for love and harmony. Why don't you try your luck?"