Chapter 31 – A Broken House

The Roy mansion felt strangely quiet after Priya’s arrest.

The chaos of the previous day had settled, but the air inside the house was still heavy with the weight of everything that had been revealed.

Mareena sat in the living room, holding little Abhina gently against her chest. The baby slept peacefully, unaware of the storms that had surrounded her birth.

Across the room, Abhinav sat on the sofa.

His eyes were fixed on the floor.

Blank.

The medicines Priya had been feeding him for months had left deep scars on his mind. Though the truth had come out and the doctors had stopped the drugs, his mental state was still fragile.

Sometimes he spoke normally.

Sometimes he stared silently at walls as if searching for memories lost somewhere inside his mind.

Mareena watched him with quiet worry.

Her heart ached seeing him like this.

This was not the confident man she once knew.

This was a man who had been broken slowly.

Cruelly.

---

Just then, footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Soumili appeared.

She stood near the entrance of the living room, her eyes filled with emotions she had been trying to hide since the truth had come out.

Mareena looked up at her calmly.

Soumili’s voice trembled slightly.

“Are you… sending me away?” she asked softly.

The question hung painfully in the air.

Mareena took a deep breath.

“Soumili… you know this marriage happened because of Priya’s manipulation,” she said gently.

Soumili looked down.

She knew it.

Everyone knew it.

But knowing the truth did not make the pain easier.

“You cannot stay here as Abhinav’s wife,” Mareena continued quietly. “That marriage is not real in our lives.”

Soumili’s eyes filled with tears.

“But… I don’t want to leave him,” she whispered.

Mareena frowned slightly.

Soumili looked toward Abhinav, who was still sitting silently on the sofa.

“I took care of him when he was sick… when everyone thought he had lost his mind,” she said, her voice breaking.

“I gave him his medicines… I stayed beside him every night…”

Her chest tightened as she spoke.

“And somewhere along the way… I…”

She stopped.

But the words were clear.

She had fallen in love.

Mareena remained silent for a moment.

Then she spoke gently but firmly.

“Soumili… I understand you helped him. And I’m grateful for that. But we cannot deny Priya hired you and if I put everything together, Abhinav didn’t really marry you. You are wearing the vermillion on your own."

She paused before continuing.

“If you are worried about your future… we will help you financially.”

Soumili looked up quickly.

“We will make sure you are secure,” Mareena said kindly. “You won’t have to struggle.”

But the words struck Soumili like a slap.

“Money?” she whispered.

Her eyes filled with tears.

“You think I stayed here for money?”

Mareena stayed silent.

Soumili laughed bitterly.

“You don’t understand,” she said quietly. “I know he was never truly mine… but I still cared for him.”

She looked at Abhinav again.

“But now… you’re asking me to leave him like I was nothing.”

Her voice cracked completely.

“I have nowhere to go.”

The pain in her voice filled the room.

Mareena softened slightly, but her decision did not change.

“Soumili… this house belongs to Abhinav and his family,” she said calmly. “And I am his wife. Talking about money, you were lured because Priya hired you so why are you hesitating if we help you financially?"

The truth hung between them.

Soumili lowered her head slowly.

Her heart shattered in silence.

Without another word, she turned and walked away from the room.

---

After she left, the house became quiet again.

Mareena looked toward Abhinav.

He was still sitting silently.

His gaze slowly shifted toward the baby in her arms.

Abhina moved slightly in her sleep.

Abhinav leaned forward slowly.

“Baby…” he murmured faintly.

Mareena watched him carefully.

He reached out his finger hesitantly and touched Abhina’s tiny hand.

The baby curled her fingers around his.

For the first time in days—

A faint smile appeared on Abhinav’s face.

But it faded quickly as confusion returned to his eyes.

“Mareena…” he whispered slowly.

“Yes?” she said softly.

He looked at her like a lost man.

“Something feels… broken in my head.”

Her heart clenched painfully.

“I know,” she whispered.

Mareena added,"I think Soumili has fallen in love with you but as your wife I cannot tolerate it".

Abhinav replies,"Mareena I never loved or will I love anybody except you. I don’t think Soumili loves me because she was hired. Anyways if she has any feelings I don't reciprocate that and thats null and void."

Mareena said,"Acha Abhinav when I wasn't around you were drugged did you both have.... you know what I mean".

Abhinav replied,"No never. Even if i was drugged I never slept with her. If i did so I would never be infront of you. Soumili is delusional. She is lured by my money nothing else".

Mareena was happy and relaxed. She trusted her husband and felt lucky to have a truthful partner.

She moved closer and sat beside him, still holding Abhina.

Abhinav leaned slightly against the sofa, exhausted.

Mareena looked at him with deep concern.

The doctors had warned her.

Recovery from the drugs could take months.

Maybe even years.

She gently adjusted the blanket around Abhina.

Then she rested her head lightly on Abhinav’s shoulder.

“I will fix everything,” she whispered softly.

Even if it took time.

Even if it meant rebuilding the man she loved piece by piece.