Adhura Alviida

secret

Dear Maya,

I refuse to believe that you'd allow a few days of euphoria with Aditya change your mind about us. You have to remember whatever you feel for him is an illusion, I am the only one made for you. Our love was predestined. Aditya was simply Allah's zariya of making us meet. How can you forget the nights you spent crying over him? All he will ever give you is pain, Maya. All I ever will give you is happiness. I know you will choose me Maya. I know on the 3rd of March, our love will prevail. No one knows you as well as I do. Our love is forever. Aditya will have to go.

Yours,

Sahir Azeem Chaudhary

Aditya crushed the paper in his hand as he read it over for the umpteenth time. The letter had a postmarked date of 3 days ago, meaning Zoya had it with her for some time. Yet she didn't tell him anything. Aditya knew better than to doubt his wife but sometimes his own insecurities manifested their dreadful sights in his heart and he was forced to think about it over and over again. He spent his entire day at work thinking about that letter to the point where it made his mind felt as if knew no other thing. There was no logical reasoning for Zoya to have hidden that letter unless she was hiding more from him. He tried to convince his heart and mind that she had no reason to do so but they battled him making him think of Pooja's betrayal. This is how it all had started. The beginning was hiding things, hiding meetings and then she would be off into the sunset with another man. Aditya's anxiety was beyond his comprehension at this point.

**

Zoya didn't even realize when sleep took over as she sat at the dinner table. When she heard the front door open, she immediately got up and rushed over to Aditya. She ran up to him and hugged him.

"How was your first day at work, baby?" She questioned with enthusiasm.

Aditya barely even looked at her before mumbling "good", his words were barely even audible.

She looked at him in confusion, he had seen some worn out and distraught. She had never seen him look like this before. She felt as if something was wrong in her heart. She quickly cupped his cheek and placed a kiss on his lips. She was shocked when he did not even respond to her. He always reciprocated her kisses, irrespective of if there was a disagreement between them. However, his behavior suddenly began to worry her. She took his briefcase and smiled at him, trying to overpower his emotions with her own.

"Aditya, dinner is ready. Shower and come e—"

"I'm not hungry."

Her little, fragile heart fell at his cold response. She had made his favorite noodles. But she could tell something was off from his behavior, so she decided not to insist that he do anything.

"Oh..um...I'll put it away then. Um, are you sure you're not hungry? I made your favorite noodles. You must not have at—"

"Zoya! I said. I-am-not-hungry." He responded annoyed.

"Oh, sorry." She whispered, before turning around. Big, fat tears started forming in her eyes hearing him speak with such a cold attitude towards her. Everything was just fine between them. She brushed the tears off her cheeks, assuming it must've been his personal stress from work. She didn't want to bother him anymore.

As they both got into bed, Zoya cuddled up to Aditya. She had one last idea to improve his mood. She cupped his cheek and made him look at her. Without any warning, she took his lips in hers and began moving her hands up and down his chest. Taking the opportunity, she moved down and took advantage of his weak spot. She began placing kisses on his neck. Just as she moved up to kiss him again, he moved back, creating some distance between them. Without even looking at her in the eyes, he moved back and places his hands on her shoulders, moving her away from him.

"I'm tired." Was all he said before turning his back towards her and shutting off their room light.

Zoya placed a hand over her mouth as her back now faced Aditya's and the tears were rolling uncontrollably. She felt so rejected by her own husband. She wanted to do anything to make him happy and in a better mood but in the process of doing so, she herself got her own feelings hurt instead. She couldn't seem to comprehend why Aditya was behaving so bitter with her.

As Aditya sank onto his side of the bed, the remnants of the letter played in his mind over and over again. The way Sahir had described him as a threat to his and Zoya's relationship made him feel insignificant all over again. Aditya had always suffered a complex since he was little. He grew up watching his parents fight all of the time, he watched his dad choose another woman over their family. He watched as Pooja chose another man over him. He also saw as Sakshi blamed him for being a horrible husband as well. He thought the hauntings of his past were over but in reality they always seemed to resurface in his life at the most inconvenient times. He couldn't help the underlying fear in his heart that kept telling him Zoya too would leave him. He tried reasoning with the voices in his head but they all kept taunting him and telling him she was hiding that letter because she thought he was a bad husband just like Pooja. That she too was going to run away and leave him all alone because that's what he deserved.

**

Aditya found himself doing something he thought he would never do, in a million years. The voices inside of his head had finally gotten the better of him. And here he was, following Zoya. Things had gone gravely bitter between them in the last two days and she even demanded to know what was bothering him. But as always, he cleverly maneuvered himself out of the situation by placing the blame on work. He rejected her advances and romantic gestures, even though it broke his own heart because that wretched letter haunted him to no end. A part of him wanted to yell and scream and accept that Zoya could never do anything to hurt him, but another part of him had known betrayal all too well to know this is how it started. And that's the part that led him to spying on his Zoya.

He followed her all day around as she continued on her normal routine but his heart stopped when he caught her sneaking off to a nearby city. When he realized where she was going, his suspicions were confirmed. She spent two hours visiting Sahir at the prison and made no mention of it to him the entire day when she told him about her plans. Aditya was fuming with rage at this point. He had caught his wife red-handed. He didn't know what to do. Part of himself was angry for being such a lovesick idiot again, for thinking she would ever love a fool like himself. And another part of himself wanted to explode on her. He waited till she got home to confront her.

As he heard the door open, he felt his muscles clench. He didn't even wait for her enter properly.

He grabbed her by her wrist and slammed her against the wall. She looked at him, scared for her dear life as she saw his eyes reddened with anger. She trembled under his touch, one that was always gentle, but not today.

"I know your dirty little secret." He spat.

A/N: Do you all think Zoya's cheating? If not, what was she doing hiding and visiting Sahir? :P let me know what you all think!

Also, sorry but no updates till Sunday! I'll be at a family event this weekend.