A cold breeze blew by as Lakshmi exited the hospital. she opened the car door and Arjun stood behind her carefully guiding her with his eyes, which seemed to bore holes in her back. Arjun quickly got into the driver's seat and drove through the city silently. Neither spoke a single word as the tension could be felt. Early in the morning, they left Noor and Fei'er in the daycare centre to visit the hospital.

her hazy eyes neither captured the scenery outside the window nor the turmoil brewing within her heart. She knew what was wrong with her body, she knew that she couldn't keep this pregnancy but after confirming that there was life within her womb, or the 2 lives writhing in her womb couldn't be kept, was what broke that non-existent thin line of sanity.

Arjun focused on driving as his mind wandered to what the doctor said. The happiness of seeing two lines on the kit was short-lived when he heard the doc state the matter clearly that Lakshmi has to abort. The lives within her cannot be sustained even with care or money he could pour into it. There are high chances that her body could undergo spontaneous abortion or even if managed to be kept for a longer time, it's detrimental to Lakshmi's life.

As soon as they reached her home, he parked the car while Lakshmi went inside silently. He looked at the other side of the gate where Rahul was standing, waiting for Arjun to sign up the documents.

" you know that your house is too far from the city" Rahul said as he smiled at his buddy and took out the briefcase from the car. Seeing Arjun not responding, he understood that something must have happened again in between them. The world owes this couple to have all of us on tenterhooks around them.

They sat down on the lawn as Arjun went through the documents. Rahul expected Lakshmi to at least show her face to him but she didn't even step out of the house even after an hour had passed. keenly observing the pale face and bulging veins on Arjun's neck, he knew that something serious must have happened for him to be disturbed to such an extent.

"Are you alright ?" Rahul asked while Arjun was signing the document. His pen halted for a second before he signed the rest of the papers.

" you don't have to know" Arjun stated. He didn't know whether it was shame or fear that had kept him from spilling out what he had done. Rahul sighed heavily before leaning back and holding onto his forehead. He just has a feeling that Arjun has fucked up for big time right now. He doesn't know where this would lead to.

" you know what man
Cut out some slack for her.
You can't forcibly make her fit into your life if she doesn't want to!
Why the hell are you torturing her and yourself?
You are the one who made those decisions and hurt her!
No sane woman would come back to their tormentor !
I still wonder how the hell she still kept her hands to herself from killing you the moment you kidnapped her kids" Rahul almost yelled with exasperation.

" they are my kids too" Arjun said while his gaze turned darker .
" wtf, that's not the point here! Do you know that it's damn easy for her to get the custody of children if she gets to show that you abused her! This gonna fuckin kill your business too! you were offered this slack because of those kids by fault having your DNA! All of this would mean nothing the moment you even add another crack to this.
Stop your wilfulness and see that she is not that small kid anymore.
She is a killer for god's sake who doesn't even flinch while slicing through the necks and do you think that she is that little kid who got married to you!" Rahul slammed the papers on the table and yelled in anger and exacerbation. Arjun is unable to see how toxic this relationship has become.

Rahul gasped while he poured some water for himself in a glass and chugged it down. He knows how hard it is for Lakshmi. On one side her own family has been bickering about property while this man in front of him is forcing her to a dead end. He only wishes that she wouldn't harm herself. he doesn't care about this man in front of him.

Rahul left as soon as the documents were signed. He didn't want to spend another second with this man. He wants to go back to his sanctuary and lay down beside his wife, who shall cleanse his mind and eyes.

A month passed by and the news of Lakshmi's pregnancy couldn't be hidden from either of the families as their connections were far more spread than anyone could imagine. Anita was initially very happy until she heard Arjun expressing his thoughts about abortion. Arjun didn't want his family to know about Lakshmi's pregnancy but this was not something that could be hidden from his father's eyes. He wanted to discuss Lakshmi's health and the probability of her body unable to cope with this pregnancy through the term. But his mother took it upon herself and said that they could wait and see if there was a chance that both the mother and kids could be safe after proper care.

No one asked her.
No one. To the one who is bearing these lives within.....

Arjun looked down at his watch and saw that it was already 7:00 pm. He took his briefcase and briefly instructed his secretaries about the next meeting before leaving for home. As soon as he reached the mansion, he took out the box of imported organic fruits from the back seat and gave it to the butler as he looked at Lakshmi whose stomach now seemed to be slightly protruding. She was sipping on juice while his mother Anita (MIL) was talking to her or trying to make her talk.

He was about to greet his mother when Ankita (his sister) stopped him.
" how come you are here today ?" Arjun asked looking at his sister who had been bound to a wheelchair. Vikrant (his BIL, Ankita's husband) nodded at Arjun with a smile as Arjun took the lead to push his sister to the sofa.

Arjun saw Anita and Lakshmi coming towards them and he immediately held onto Lakshmi's hand as if he was holding onto a porcelain that could shatter even on the slightest touch.
" brother, we....." Ankita hesitated to continue and stopped what she was about to say as soon as she saw her sister-in-law beside her brother gazing at her. She can't openly ask for another time....

" what is it? Don't hesitate in front of your brother.
If it's about the new bidding, then I can leave it up for Vikrant to handle it" Arjun said knowing that his brother-in-law was interested in this project.

"Brother, it's not about that," Ankita said hesitating. Seeing that her daughter was hesitant about this matter, Anita held her daughter's hand and said to Arjun " Arjun, you and Lakshmi already have many kids, so why not...." Anita stopped saying further as she knew that her son could understand her intentions. She knew how much her daughter Ankita suffered from abortion and now in this paralysed state, she can't have children anymore.... 

Why adopt when they have other options to share from within the family... She knows that this might be an injustice to Lakshmi when she is giving birth to her kids at the risk of her life, but she wants to know their opinion on this. Initially, she didn't want to bring this matter up but seeing the hope in Ankita's eyes, she managed to fumble those words out of her mouth. She was ready to get rejected a soon as she brought up this matter. 

" no," Arjun said without even giving a thought for a second. Pin-drop silence enveloped the whole hall. He didn't need to think even once. Ankita might be his sister but that shall limit to there. He can't give away his children even if it was his mother asking. His children are meant to be his. It's not like he can't afford to care and love for another two kids.

He looked at his wife beside him who has been silent this entire time. He couldn't make out what she had been thinking as she was slowly drinking her juice while her eyes lowered. 'This must hurt her a lot' thought Arjun. He took her hand in his and patted as if reassuring her that he wouldn't allow anyone to take away her kids...

Lakshmi slowly gazed at him blankly.
'What just happened?' She questioned herself. This has been happening a lot lately. It's as if she has entered a trance and her consciousness detached from her body. Only after a few minutes did she subconsciously start to play out the scene that happened before her did she realise that Ankita was asking for one of her children in her womb.

Everyone in the hall stared at Lakshmi as she started nodding her head.
What she said next, absolutely terrified them.
"If I'm alive, they stay with me. If I'm dead, you can take them all" Lakshmi said as she knew that Ankita is far more better human than anyone in her life right now. Ankita can love her kids like herself because she lost one of her own and there is no possibility of her having kids in future in such a state. Even though Lakshmi trusts Anu more than Ankita, she can't leave her kids to Anu as she will be having kids of her own in future. With the way of Arjun and her father-in-law's behaviour, it would be better to have Ankita as a buffer. She would be a rather better human compared to all those in this house.

She exhaled lightly as she put down the glass of juice on the table and laid back on the sofa while closing her eyes. Too weak to even move her body. Her body relaxed as if a couple of weights had been moved off those thin shoulders of hers.

The whole room was engulfed in silence as they looked at the woman who had just spoken, laid back on the sofa and started to doze off within mere seconds. 

Arjun took his wife into his arms carefully and left for his room, leaving behind a mess.
He laid her on the bed and started massaging her feet even though there was no swelling. He read it in a book that women's feet feel heavy during pregnancy.

During the next few days, Lakshmi spent her days in a daze. Her family too visited from time to time but she couldn't feel the surroundings around her anymore. As if her mind shut closed and her soul detached from her body. She didn't even want to think about anything anymore at this point.

Saraswathi did want to come and talk to her on multiple occasions but was stopped by Sanjay. He didn't want his wife to come in contact with anything related to Lakshmi. He knew that Lakshmi was mentally unstable right now. Nobody knows if she would harm others or herself when stimulated.

" do you want some orange juice ?" Anu asked while staring at Lakshmi. The fresh smell of the grass in the breeze refreshed their minds.
" Apple" Lakshmi said softly while gazing at the forest until the eyes could see. The soft and warm rays of the sun enhanced her petite yet sharp features due to her loss of weight.

Anu glanced at the butler who nodded and left with a tray of untouched fresh fruits. The caretaker on Lakshmi's side left quietly following the butler.

" it's already 5 months. Why do you continue like this? You can see that face of your's has become sallow and you have lost a lot of weight. You should prioritize your wellbeing di" Anu said with her concerns towards Lakshmi. She knew that she couldn't ask her to abort as it was immoral and it was not up to her to say it. But she also can't let Lakshmi trade on a dangerous path. Seeing her worsening condition, the doctors said that it would be not too far when something goes wrong with either mother and child or both of them together. They have so many children, does having another child make any difference? Do they have to sacrifice their lives for this? This is too absurd.

She and Rahul couldn't catch a wink of normal sleep because of this couple. Not only them, but almost everyone is concerned about them. Even Lakshmi's in-laws have unanimously accepted abortion while seeing her like this. Anu doesn't know what this couple wants... Rahul said that even Arjun too wants his wife to stay healthy.

While Lakshmi... She...
She just stays calm.....

As if she was going with the flow.....

As if she doesn't want to change herself...think about herself......
As if she has given up... And started being a nutshell.
An empty one.

"Alphanso said that he will be coming to visit you," Anu said as she kept a straw in the apple juice and gave it to Lakshmi who neither responded nor moved.

After a couple of minutes, Anu heard Lakshmi hum in answer.

Anu didn't know why but tears rolled down her eyes as she turned to look at the forest which Lakshmi was gazing at with her dull eyes.

Rahul might be her life but lakshmi is her solace. She might be selfish in wishing for lakshmi to survive at the cost of her children. But she wants the one in whom she found solace to survive and as it was her only hope that she hung on to too long and couldn't let go...