The bedroom door stood closed.
Behind it was a young woman whose heart had finally given up pretending that it wasn't hurting.
Outside it stood a man who had just realised that loving someone wasn't enough if he failed to make them feel loved.
Arjun stood before the door for a few seconds.
His mind replayed every word Alankrita had spoken.
He has me and you. But I don't have anyone.
He closed his eyes.
How could he have been so blind?
He had noticed every little thing about Raghuveer. His changing expressions, his favourite foods, his sleeping habits, the way he laughed, the way he reached for him whenever he entered a room.
He remembered every tiny milestone.
But when was the last time he had asked Alankrita how her day went?
When was the last time he had noticed that she was tired?
When was the last time he had held her simply because she needed affection?
He couldn't remember.
And that realisation hurt more than he expected.
He pushed the bedroom door open.
### The Woman Behind the Closed Door
Alankrita was sitting on the bed.
Her beautiful birthday saree was crumpled.
Her jasmine flowers had loosened from her hair.
Her jewellery lay scattered beside her.
She had buried her face in a pillow, crying uncontrollably.
The sight stopped Arjun.
He had seen her angry.
He had seen her frightened.
He had seen her stubbornly refuse to accept help.
But he had never seen her like this.
Completely broken.
"Alankrita..."
He called softly.
"Sweetheart."
"Go away!"
Her response came immediately.
She didn't even look at him.
Arjun slowly approached the bed.
"Please listen to me."
"I said go away!"
She picked up a book from the bedside table and threw it in his direction.
It missed him and struck the wall.
Arjun didn't move.
"Alankrita..."
"Don't!"
She turned toward him, her face soaked with tears.
"Don't call me that!"
He stood beside the bed.
She tried to turn away, but he gently reached for her hands.
"Look at me."
"Leave me!"
She struggled to pull away.
"I hate you, Arjun!"
The words cut through him.
But he didn't walk away.
He sat beside her, his expression filled with regret.
"I know you're angry."
"Angry?"
She laughed bitterly through her tears.
"You think I'm just angry?"
Her voice trembled.
"You have no idea how lonely I have been!"
Arjun lowered his eyes.
"I know."
"No, you don't!"
She pulled her hands away.
"You don't know anything!"
She wiped her cheeks angrily.
"You have Raghuveer. You have your work. You have your brothers. You have your family. You have the whole world around you!"
Her voice broke.
"And I have..."
She stopped.
She couldn't even finish the sentence.
Arjun looked at her.
For the first time, he understood the magnitude of what she had been carrying.
### The Kiss
He moved closer.
"Alankrita..."
She shook her head.
"Please don't."
But he couldn't bear watching her cry like that.
He gently held her face.
She tried turning away.
And then...
He kissed her.
It wasn't a casual kiss.
It wasn't playful.
It wasn't an attempt to silence her anger.
It was desperate.
A kiss filled with the regret he couldn't put into words, with the realisation of how badly he had neglected her, and with the fear of losing the emotional connection he had taken for granted.
For one suspended moment, Alankrita froze.
Her hands rested against his chest.
She had not expected it.
She had been prepared for another explanation, another apology, perhaps even an argument.
Not this.
For a brief second, the familiar warmth of his closeness softened her resistance.
But the hurt was still there.
The unanswered calls.
The untouched birthday dinner.
The hours of waiting.
The loneliness she had endured while convincing herself that everything was fine.
She pulled back.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
Arjun looked at her.
He didn't try to explain the kiss away.
He simply stared at the woman before him, finally seeing how much pain he had caused.
### The Slap
Her hand moved before either of them could speak.
SMACK!
The sound cracked through the bedroom.
Alankrita had slapped him.
Arjun's face turned slightly with the impact.
For a moment, the room went silent.
His cheek reddened.
He slowly turned his face back toward her.
He didn't raise his voice.
He didn't become angry.
He didn't question her.
He simply looked into her eyes.
Alankrita was trembling.
Her breathing was uneven.
Tears continued rolling down her cheeks.
Arjun swallowed.
Then, in a voice rough with emotion, he spoke.
"Again."
She stared at him.
"What?"
"Hit me again."
His eyes were wet.
"If that's what you need..."
He paused.
"Do it."
She looked at him in disbelief.
"Arjun..."
"For every lonely tear."
His voice cracked.
"For every unanswered call."
He lowered his head.
"For every evening you waited for me."
He looked at her again.
"And for every time I made you feel like you didn't matter."
He gently released her hands.
"I deserve your anger, Alankrita."
His voice became quieter.
"But please..."
He struggled to finish.
"Please don't believe that you mean nothing to me."
### I Forgot You Were Waiting
Arjun shifted closer, but this time he didn't touch her without waiting.
He looked at her tear-filled eyes.
"I was so busy being a father..."
He stopped.
A painful breath escaped him.
"I forgot to be your husband."
Alankrita looked away.
He continued.
"I thought because you were happy seeing me with Raghuveer, you were happy too."
He shook his head.
"What an idiot I have been."
He rubbed his forehead.
"You carried him. You brought him into this world. You stayed awake through nights when I wasn't there. You studied while raising him. You gave him everything when you had almost nothing for yourself."
His eyes moved toward the bedroom door.
"And when I finally became the father he deserved..."
He looked back at her.
"I forgot that the woman who gave him life needed love too."
Alankrita's lips trembled.
He continued, his voice barely above a whisper.
"You weren't asking me to leave Raghuveer behind."
"You weren't asking me to stop loving him."
"You just wanted me to remember you."
A tear escaped his eye.
"And I didn't."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then he looked at the beautiful saree she was wearing.
The jewellery scattered beside her.
The traces of the birthday celebration that had never happened.
"Today was your birthday."
He whispered.
"You prepared everything for us."
His eyes filled again.
"And I didn't even remember to come home."
He lowered his head.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart."
### His Promise
Alankrita looked at him.
Her anger hadn't disappeared.
Her hurt hadn't magically healed.
But for the first time that evening, he wasn't making excuses.
He wasn't telling her that she was overreacting.
He wasn't asking her to understand his responsibilities.
He was acknowledging hers.
And that mattered.
Arjun slowly reached for her hand.
This time, he waited.
When she didn't pull away, he gently held it.
"Listen to me, Alankrita."
His thumb moved softly over her fingers.
"Raghuveer is my prince. He always will be."
She lowered her eyes.
"But you..."
He paused.
"You are not someone who exists in his shadow."
He looked directly at her.
"You are my wife."
"You are the woman I chose."
"And I want to be the man you can come home to."
His voice became firmer.
"I will not ask you to stop feeling lonely overnight. I know I cannot undo everything with one apology."
He gently kissed the back of her hand.
"But I will change."
"I will make time for you."
"I will listen to you."
"I will remember the little things."
"And I will never again assume that because you're not complaining, you're not hurting."
Alankrita looked at him through her tears.
"Don't promise things you won't do."
Arjun nodded.
"You're right."
He brought her hand to his forehead.
"Then don't believe my promises tonight."
He looked into her eyes.
"Watch my actions."
Alankrita's tears began falling again.
She was exhausted.
Exhausted from waiting.
From pretending.
From being strong.
From wanting affection and feeling guilty for wanting it.
Arjun gently moved a loose strand of hair away from her face.
"Can I hold you?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Then, slowly...
She leaned forward.
He wrapped his arms around her.
And she cried against his chest.
This time, he didn't rush her.
He didn't tell her to stop crying.
He didn't ask her to forget what had happened.
He simply held her.
One hand rested against the back of her head while the other gently embraced her shoulders.
"I'm sorry..."
He whispered repeatedly.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart."
Her fingers slowly tightened around his shirt.
For the first time that night, she allowed herself to rest against him.
But the tears didn't stop immediately.
Because one kiss couldn't erase months of loneliness.
One apology couldn't repair every neglected moment.
And one embrace couldn't make her forget how it felt to wait for someone who never arrived.
Arjun understood that.
Tonight, he had finally heard her.
And he knew he had a long way to go before she would believe that she was truly loved.
Outside the bedroom, Lavanya sat with sleeping Raghuveer in her arms.
Vittorio stood beside her.
They could hear the muffled sound of conversation from inside.
Lavanya gently kissed her grandson's forehead.
"That girl has endured so much."
Vittorio nodded.
"Now our son must learn to take care of both his family and his marriage."
Lavanya looked toward the closed door.
"She deserves to be loved too."
Inside...
Arjun held his wife a little closer.
And Alankrita, still crying softly against his chest, finally allowed herself to believe that perhaps...
Perhaps he had understood.
Not everything was healed.
Not yet.
But something had finally changed.
For the first time, Arjun understood that Raghuveer wasn't the only person who needed his love.
His mother needed it too.
END OF CHAPTER 150