The contrasting combination of warmth and wetness woke Mitali from her peaceful and numbing slumber. As her awareness of the surroundings heightened, she picked up on the deep grumbles and groans of a male.
She found it difficult to open and keep her eyes open. In the arms of Morpheus, she sought to drown her sorrows and be covered by the veil of sleep's obliviousness. Her curiosity overpowered her urge to slip back into darkness, enabling her to find the will to open her eyes.
She wondered if she had slipped into a dream when she saw the vision with dried and burning eyes.
Despite her blinking eyes, Anurag Gupta stayed crouched at her feet, holding them in his palms and hiding his face against them. It was his tears that washed her feet, and the warmth of his flushed face that spread through her; a scene just as ironic as the pair of warmth and moisture, but just as overwhelming.
Adhrit Sinha, the man who had been her anchor throughout the fiasco, caught her eye. She struggled to interpret the amalgamation of emotions in his gaze as he looked at Anurag. She pondered whether she couldn't decipher them since they didn't resonate with hers.
His eyes held pity, but she didn't feel the same way for the man at her feet. She had a plethora of less than friendly emotions towards the man, ranging from animosity to disappointment and apprehension.
She attempted to rise from her position, but a gasp because of her long impassiveness left her with chapped lips, causing the men to jump to their feet and come to her side. Adhrit's concern wasn't unexpected, given the days of compassion he had shown her. However, it was Anurag's worried expression that caught her off guard.
Her foster brother, who talked her into signing the surrogacy contract, had dry tears on his cheeks. A derisive huff escaped her lips and a condescending smirk twisted her ashen features.
"What are you doing here? Came with a proposal to renew the contract and demand for compensation so that you can earn more money?" she asked.
Her trembling and breathy voice echoed in Anurag's ears, carving new wounds into his already damaged conscience. The man's throat was in excruciating pain as he hung his head in shame.
Adhrit was undecided about whose side to take. He was overjoyed to witness Mitali's feisty spirit return, but it was bittersweet as it came from her torment.
Since the text message informing about the miscarriage, Anurag has not missed a single day without calling him. Despite ignored calls, unreplied messages, and bitter silence, the man persisted in contacting Adhrit to learn about Mitali's condition.
Anurag's remorseful demeanor triggered a sympathetic response in Adhrit, causing the complaints to dissipate.
"Mitali, did I wish for you to have this fate? Never, not even in my dreams," said Anurag, blinking back his tears and collapsing onto his knees.
"I regret asking you to enter this contract. I succumbed to desperation. Come back home, Gudiya," he said with a firm grip on Mitali's hand, pleading with her to help return the contract money, and the mention of her childhood name caused Mitali to lower her guard for a moment.
"You did this, didn't you, Mr. Sinha?" Throwing an accusing glare at Adhrit, she claimed, "You conspired against me to escape fulfilling my request."
"Request? What are you talking about?" asked Anurag, alternating between Adhrit and Mitali, before pinning his gaze to the former, since he had not apprised Anurag of any requests from his sister.
"Mitali, believe me, this is in your best interest. Leaving your child behind and walking away will hinder your ability to live a peaceful life." Adhrit clarified that he didn't want that life for her as he stared into her hazel eyes.
"Could you handle the guilt of not bringing your child back? Could you look at yourself in the mirror knowing you took away my biggest dream of becoming a mother? Mr. Sinha, if I can't have a child like the one I lost, I'll never have a child in my life."
With tear-filled eyes and shaking fingers, she clutched her abdomen and broke Adhrit's heart once more.
Adhrit had to contain himself with a great deal of effort from shaking some sense into her. He knew that her loss had taken away her ability to see beyond the emptiness in her heart and womb, but her pleas and desperation were incomprehensible to him.
He had lost the same thing as Mitali - a child, the one meant to be his, and her, first love- but no amount of fury, disappointment, and repentance, no matter how misplaced or potent, could bring their unborn back. Acceptance was the only way to move forward, but he disliked she couldn't see the path ahead.
"Mitali's request has put us all in a difficult position," he exclaimed with frustration while Anurag concurred.
"Your family will be ecstatic when they hear about this, Mr. Sinha. You listened to their wishes. Perhaps you can do it again this time. At least, it would give me peace and satisfaction."
Rubbing his temples, Adhrit slumped in the chair next to her. The exhaustion of events from the past two weeks almost extinguished his passion, which had been fueling him since his mother's admission to the asylum years ago. Mitali's vulnerability mirrored the state of his mother before her admission, and the possibilities kept him up day and night.
"You are right about everything. Except Mitali," spoke a voice that everyone realized belonged to Purvi Sinha. "It's not something that would make me happy. Do you think I don't feel regret about what happened? I do more than what you can imagine. I hold myself, my desperation, and our meddling responsible for what happened."
Purvi sniffled. She was once the woman on the bed - caressing her flat abdomen and blaming herself for the death of her unborn. The absence of the father of her child left her without a hand to hold or words of consolation whispered into her ear. The memory stirred up icy gusts that washed over old wounds.
She cursed the Fate for snatching the baby from another mother, and herself for allowing another woman to live through her destiny.
"I agree with Mitali. We should try the whole thing again," she said, causing Adhrit's face to contort with anger like never.
"You let me down, Di. I expected better! Despite your familiarity with the pain, this is the advice you give her? How much more will your desperation make you stoop, Di?" asked Adhrit, clutching his arms by his side to ensure that he does nothing he would regret.
Purvi closed her eyes and took a deep breath as Adhrit continued to taunt her. Turning to Mitali, she looked at her with compassion and guilt that she had never shown before.
"Regardless of what you decide, Mitali, you'll receive the contract money. I say this because the child might be the only way for us to make amends and for you to find peace of mind. You and the innocent child paid for the sin we all committed. It's fair to give the child a chance at life and give you what your heart seeks."
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The pressure is building on Adhrit, and Mitali has someone else supporting her. Whom do you support? Please VOTE and COMMENT!
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River & Desert
Romantik"There's no need to go searching for a bride, Dadi. We don't need a bride. It's a surrogate that we need. In order to fulfill my obligation, I need a surrogate to bear the heir." **** "We have less than two days left to repay the money," said Mitali...
