The way I used to live

Arjun's POV:-

When we were exiting the cafe, suddenly Daksha stopped in her tracks and held my hand tight. I looked at her in confusion but before I could have a chance to know what happened, her hold on me loosened and she closed her ears as if she wanted to avoid hearing something.

I really didn't know what was happening to her. When she was about to faint, I immediately held her in my arms and she lost her consciousness after muttering 'Rahul'.

Now I didn't have time or leisure to think about who he was. My priority was Daksha. So I lifted her in my arms and hurriedly marched towards my car.

I placed her down to open the car door and held her by her shoulders. After that I made her sit on the passenger seat and grabbed a water bottle from the car. I sprinkled some water on her face, while waiting worriedly for her to open her eyes. Some time later, regained consciousness and looked at me after blinking away her daze.

"Daksha, are you okay.?" I asked her concernedly.

"I am fine. Can we not go to my parent's house.? Take me home." She requested me weakly and I nodded.

After making sure that she was okay, I took the driving seat and started heading home.

Daksha closed her eyes tiredly and leaned on the headrest. Seeing her like that, I couldn't stop myself from worrying more.

"Are you really okay? Let's go to the hospital." Saying this, I was about to change the direction of the car but she held my hand and shook her head slightly in denial.

"No. I am really fine. I know my body well. Just a little rest is all I need. Sorry to frighten you like that. Don't worry, okay?" She told me but still, her words didn't fade my concern.

I looked at her for a while and she gave me an assuring smile. I sighed and headed to the house.

We soon reached our home. I got down from the car and went to Daksha's side to open her door. I called her name slowly but she was sleeping soundly.

I lifted her in my arms carefully so as to not wake her up from the sleep and carried her inside after informing the watchman to park the car in the garage.

Mom just came out of the kitchen and after seeing Daksha in my arms, she hurriedly came to us and glanced at Daksha in worry.

"What happened to her? Didn't you guys go to her parent's house? " Mom asked me and hearing her voice, Daksha stirred in my arms. So, I gestured to my Mom to keep quiet.

"Nothing. She is just sleeping. We didn't go to meet her parents as she was so tired. Can you please make a call to inform them that we couldn't make it today?" I asked her softly and she nodded at me in agreement.

I didn't tell her about Daksha's fainting spell as I didn't want my Mom to worry much.

After that, she gestured to me to take her upstairs. I agreed with her and wished her a good night.

I went inside our room and placed her carefully on the bed. After covering her with a blanket, I stepped into the washroom to grab a quick shower.

Later on, I checked on her once. After making sure that she was okay, I went outside to make a call to my assistant.

He attended the call immediately.

"Hello, Sir."

"Tarun, can you get me the security footage of the cafe which is close to Mam's hospital?" I asked him but after thinking about something, I sighed. "Forget it. Sorry to disturb you." Saying this, I ended the call.

I really wanted to know the reason behind her previous behavior and If I used my means, I would have known it by now but I wanted to respect her privacy.

I already promised her that I would wait for her to open up to me. So, I would wait patiently for her to tell me all by herself.

With these thoughts, I went to bed and slept beside her while pulling her into my arms.

I could clearly hear the loud thudding of my heart but feeling her soft even breaths reduced my worry a little.

I hugged her tightly to assure myself that she was with me now. I didn't even dare to get a wink of sleep as I feared that she might disappear.

In the middle of the night, she woke up and tried to come out of my embrace. I held her tightly and looked at her.

"Sleep quietly," I told her and she looked at me in surprise.

"Aren't you asleep?" she asked me and I shook my head at her.

"Leave me, yaar."

"No. I won't," I told her firmly.

"Leave me, Arjun. I have to use the restroom," she told me in an irritated tone and I immediately left my hold on her embarrassedly.

"Sorry," I told her. She huffed at me adorably and left for the washroom.

After a while, she came out and slept beside me. She immediately came into my arms and placed her head on my chest. I hugged her tightly and kissed her hair.

"I must have frightened you a lot that you didn't even sleep at all." She said to me slowly while stretching her head upwards to look at me.

"Yeah. You did." I accused her softly while bending my head a little to meet her eyes.

"I am sorry." She said meekly and buried her face in my chest.

I didn't say anything in reply except for tightening my hold on her.

"I am really sorry," she told me again.

This time I lifted her face to look into my eyes and after looking at her face for a while, I released a sigh.

"Daksha, please never repeat this. Earlier when I saw you like that, I was so afraid that I felt like I was going to lose you too. I don't know what was the reason behind that earlier incident but I felt so helpless. This is the third time that I have experienced the same kind of fear. I have never said this to you before but remember it clearly, you have become an important part of my heart. I can't imagine my life without you. So, please never leave me alone," I told her in a low voice.

After hearing my words, she hugged me tightly and I could feel the dampness of her hot tears through my shirt.

"Ssh! Don't cry. I didn't say all these things to make you emotional and you also know that I am not good at consoling anyone. So, stop crying," I told her with a hint of helplessness.

She slapped my chest lightly after hearing my words.

"You always claim that you don't know anything. Yet you will do everything like a pro. Like you have been in tons of relationships before our marriage," she told me in an accusatory tone.

"Hey, believe me. Except for that engagement which eventually got annulled, I swear I have never been in any relationship." I hurriedly retorted to her claim to which she laughed wholeheartedly.

"Hahaha..why are you getting so panicky for no reason? I am just teasing you," she told me with a slight smile.

I smiled at her but remembering the main issue, I immediately looked at her seriously. "Tell me what exactly happened at that cafe?" I asked her while looking at her warily.

"Nothing has happened. I just fainted in exhaustion. Ain't I okay now.? So, don't worry and get some sleep," she told me without meeting my eyes.

After saying this, she was about to turn to the other side to avoid my questioning glances.

It didn't take a genius to guess that she was lying. So, I prevented her from doing so and made her look at me.

"Don't take me like I am an idiot and stop giving me this nonsense of fatigue. I know very well that something must have triggered you and who the hell is that Rahul?" I asked her in a deep tone.

After hearing my words, she bit down her lips and bent down her head like a little culprit, making me sign in vexation. I sighed and lifted her face with my hands.

"I won't force you to tell me everything now. I will wait for you to open up to me. So, tell me when you feel comfortable," I told her softly while looking into her eyes.

"I will." She agreed to me immediately.

"But don't make me wait too much," I told her and she nodded at me.

After that, soon we both drifted into sleep.

Daksha's POV:-

The next day, I woke up to see that I was alone in the room. Arjun was nowhere to be seen. I sighed upon remembering all the previous day's happenings.

I knew I gave quite a fright to Arjun. I really wanted to tell him about my past but neither I had enough courage to open up to him about it nor was I strong enough to face it bravely.

I was glad that he didn't force me to tell him right away because I didn't trust myself to tell him everything without going through an emotional breakdown.

If he wanted to know about it, he could know it with just a flick of his finger, yet he respected my decision and was even willing to wait for me to say it to him.

My respect for him increased to another level. I really wanted to lead a happy life with him without having the constant fear of my past. So, with these thoughts, I called my Anna to tell him about everything. He picked the call immediately.

"Now you remembered your poor Anna?" He asked me immediately after attending the call.

"Yeah. At least I called you now but someone didn't even take an initiative to call me, right?" I taunted him.

"You win. Tell me the matter."

"How do you know that I have something to tell you?" I asked him in surprise.

"I know you well enough to tell you that you won't call me unless you have something important to say." I could hear him scoff from the other end.

"You got it. I actually called you to tell you about an important matter."

"That I know, tell me now."

"Yesterday, I saw him." I told him and I didn't need to tell him anything about who I was referring to.

The call was silent for a while until he started talking again.

"Are you sure that the person you saw was 'him'?" He asked me for confirmation.

"I am sure Anna," I told him and I heard a sigh.

"Did he see you? Did he say anything to yo.? Why didn't you call me immediately when you saw him?" After a minute of silence, he started bombarding me with questions.

"Calm down. I am not sure whether he saw me or not. Even if he had seen me, he couldn't do anything as Arjun was with me at that time," I told him and narrated to him about my fainting and the conversation with Arjun.

"I know that he will understand it. Still, you can't drag this matter anymore. Tell him about everything as soon as possible. He won't judge you. Trust me," he told me.

"No, Anna. I didn't think that he would judge me. I know he is my husband and he has every right to know about my past. It's just that I don't have enough courage to come face to face with my past and I don't want to relive those moments again. That's why I am not ready to tell him anything, even though I want to come clean in front of him. His presence itself is enough to make me feel so terrified. I felt like all those treatments that I underwent back then, had gone to waste," I told him while crying silently.

"Don't talk like that. You are a strong and brave girl. You just have to realize it. You don't know your capability. Just don't let your past have an influence over your present. I am always there for you and now, you have your Arjun too. So, what are you worried for? Trust me. Everything will be alright." He encouraged me.

"Anna, can I ever lead a happy life.? At least for Arjun, I want to live a normal life. I want to enjoy my time with him without any worries. Will it ever happen?" I asked him and controlled myself to not let my tears

fall down.

"You will. I will make sure of that." He told me firmly in a mysterious tone. Hearing his words, I immediately rubbed my tears and asked him.

"Are you planning something? Anna, please be careful. He is a really dangerous man," I told him worriedly.

"Don't worry too much. Just wait patiently for the good news. Take care. I will call you later." He told me and ended the call.

"Please let everything be alright." I prayed in my heart and stood up to start my day.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐