16. The Bitter Past

Ananya

It's been ten days since the attack. After days of uncertainty, the attackers finally gave up the information the police needed, and justice began to take shape. Four days of silent tension, but it was worth it when the truth came out. The police moved swiftly, arresting everyone involved, including the mastermind behind it all.

Two days ago, Kulkarni sir told us that the case had officially been closed. Still, he asked us to stay on for another fifteen days, maintaining the same appearance we'd kept up until now—keeping up the facade so the cricketers and the public wouldn't suspect anything.

Right now, I'm sitting in Shika's room. I've got a book in my hands, but I can't focus. The cramps are unbearable, and no matter how hard I try, I can't escape the pain. I set the book aside and press my hands to my stomach, hoping the warmth will ease the discomfort. But nothing seems to work.

"Anu, did you read this book?" Shika asked, lifting the book in the air, its cover glinting slightly in the dim light of the room. I shook my head slowly, my fingers gently rubbing over my stomach, trying to ease the uncomfortable, relentless ache. Why can't periods just end in a day? Why do they have to linger like an unwanted guest, dragging on for days, like exams that stretch beyond their limit?

I let out a small sigh, wishing for a break from it all, before asking, "What is it about, by the way?" I flopped onto the bed, my body craving the comfort of a soft surface, even if it didn't ease the growing discomfort in my mind.

Shika began explaining, her voice soft and light, describing a tale of office romance. The man, drawn to his secretary, feeling the connection between them grow, how the tension builds and the lines blur between professionalism and something more...

"Read it out?" I asked, my voice quieter than I intended, the idea of reading it myself too much to handle right now. My energy was fading, and I just wanted the comfort of someone else's voice, something to distract me from the spiraling thoughts in my head. Shika nodded without hesitation, flipping the pages, her voice filling the silence as she began to read.

As he reached out to pull my sleeve down, I felt a flush creep up my neck, an uncomfortable heat spreading across my face. My heart raced, and a knot formed in my stomach.

Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him. He paused, his eyes shifting down to me, clearly confused by my sudden movement. His brow furrowed, waiting for an explanation.

"I..." I cleared my throat, my voice shaking as the words caught in my throat. My mind screamed at me to stay quiet, to let the moment pass, but my heart was racing, and I knew I had to say it. I had to say it out loud, even though every part of me wanted to run from the vulnerability.

"I am a virgin," I whispered, the words slipping out in a rush, my chest tightening with the weight of the confession. Shame washed over me in heavy waves, crashing against the walls I had so carefully built around myself. What if he doesn't like me? What if he expects someone experienced? What if this changes everything?

Before I could say another word, the irritation I hadn't realized was bubbling inside me burst out. "Stop!" I shouted, my voice sharp and sudden, breaking the tension like glass shattering.

Shika gasped beside me, her hand flying to her chest in surprise as the book tumbled between her legs, landing with a soft thud. I could feel her eyes on me, but all I could focus on was the rush of emotion that had just spilled out.

"Anu, what's wrong?" Shika's voice was a mixture of confusion and concern, her words trembling slightly as she sensed something deeper beneath my sharp reaction. There was a bite in her tone, but also a touch of fear, as if she knew something was off but couldn't quite place it.

My hands clenched the book tightly as my frustration boiled over. "What the hell was that? That girl, that stupid... is sorry for what? For being a virgin?" I scoffed, my voice rough and harsh as agitation swirled within me. The words had slipped out before I could stop them, the anger and confusion too overwhelming to ignore.

Shika blinked, her eyes wide with uncertainty. She hesitated for a moment before speaking, her voice softer, more tentative. "Hmm, maybe. You know the man, right? He's had one-night stands, he's experienced... so maybe the girl is... nervous?" Her words hung in the air, uncertain and fragile, as if she, too, didn't know how to make sense of what I was feeling.

I let out a bitter laugh, the sound almost hollow. "Then he should be the one to apologize," I said, my voice sharp with disbelief. "Why is she apologizing? It's as if her worth is tied to something she shouldn't even have to explain." The frustration inside me swelled, a deep, gnawing ache, but I couldn't seem to find the right words to articulate it. Why was it always the woman who had to apologize for something so natural?

Shika looked at me, her expression a mixture of confusion and concern. "I get it, you're angry about her apology," she said, her voice softer now, "but why would he apologize? It's not like he cheated on her. They weren't in a relationship when he was with other women, right?" Her question felt like a gentle probe, trying to make sense of my outburst, but it only made my insides churn further.

"They weren't together, but he clearly made her feel insecure. Why else would that girl apologize for being inexperienced? That too... in sex?" I burst out, the words tumbling out in a rush, my chest tightening with frustration. "Like, come on! Sex is not something you do with every other person on the street. It's so pure—something that only two people in love should share!" The words felt heavy, like they carried the weight of everything I couldn't articulate before. But what I said was true. Why get intimate with someone when you don't even care for them? The thought made my heart ache, a deep, bitter ache that gnawed at me from the inside.

Shika's response was slow, hesitant. "Anu, nowadays, everyone does that. People don't need to have feelings, you know..." Her words faded, unsure, almost as if she, too, didn't fully believe them, but said them anyway.

I shook my head, the tears threatening to well up, though I forced them back with a sharp breath. "I know. But what's the need to make it look like the one who isn't sexually active is wrong where it is actually how it is supposed to be? I just hate it," I said, my voice trembling. "What if someone is waiting for you, dreaming of you... while you're out there, busy getting laid with other people? And for what?" The question lingered in the air, thick with everything I couldn't understand. The idea of it twisted something inside me, made me feel hollow, like I was watching something precious slip away.

Shika looked at me, trying to make sense of it all. "Maybe to fulfill their physical needs?" She shrugged, her voice quieter now, unsure of how to respond.

"Physical needs my foot!" I snapped, my voice rising in a moment of raw frustration. The anger surged, but it was quickly overtaken by the sharp sting of tears that clouded my vision. "After marriage, if husband and wife happen to live in different places, would they go to other people to fulfill their physical needs?" I felt the burning ache of my own words, the memories crashing into me like waves—memories that I couldn't shut out no matter how hard I tried.

"Anu, come here." Shika's voice was soft, but firm, pulling me into her arms as I broke down. Her gentle hands brushed through my hair, offering a quiet comfort I desperately needed. I clung to her, my sobs shaking my whole body.

"How can she do that, Shika?" I whispered between ragged breaths, my chest tight with the weight of it all. "She... she slept with another man because Vikram said he didn't want to get physical till marriage? We... we almost lost him that day. He tried to take his life." The words slipped from my mouth like a jagged blade, each syllable cutting deeper than the last. I could still see his pale face, the lifelessness in his eyes, his body limp on that hospital bed. That vile woman had cheated on him, and in his pain, he almost left us forever.

I broke down completely, my chest heaving with sorrow. "I... I thought sex was the ultimate expression of love between a couple," I murmured, my voice thick with grief. "But now people have turned it into a need, an addiction. And because of their immoral choices, people who truly love are getting hurt." I buried my face in Shika's shoulder, the tears soaking through. Vikram was like an older brother to me. Seeing him so broken had shattered something deep inside me—something I valued so much.

Shika held me tighter, her hands soothing as she murmured words of comfort. "Anu," she whispered softly, "how people want to live is their choice. We can't force them to live their lives according to our perspective. All we can do is choose for ourselves." Her voice was calm, but I could feel the sadness in her words too. "Vikram chose the wrong one. He gave her the strength to break him, and when she did, he couldn't take it."

I lifted my head from her shoulder, wiping my tears as I tried to make sense of it all. "Doesn't she feel anything about it? About breaking his heart?" My voice was small, fragile, as if hoping for some sense of humanity in her actions.

Shika sighed softly, caressing my hair as she spoke. "If she cared about him, or his feelings, she wouldn't have done that in the first place. All we can do now is hope Vikram finds a way to move on from her. And pray he meets someone who truly loves him." Her words were gentle, but the sadness in her voice echoed my own grief.

We sat there in silence for a long while, the weight of unspoken words pressing down on me. Finally, I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"I saw her yesterday." My voice trembled, barely above a whisper. The confession slipped from my lips like a forbidden truth, and as soon as the words left me, I regretted them.

Shika's head snapped toward me, her eyes wide with disbelief. "What? When?"

I swallowed hard, trying to push back the rush of memories that came crashing in. "During the match. When I saw her, everything came rushing back—her betrayal, the fight between Rakshith and Vikram, their separation, Vikram's suicide attempt... Bhavin's anger... everything. She was the one who broke us, Shika. She broke us all." My throat tightened as I relived it all, the way she had shattered something that we could never fully repair. She was the reason behind the cracks that ran through our gang, through our brotherhood. Vikram and Rakshith—two souls bound together since school—had been torn apart by her lies.

I paused, trying to steady my breath, but the ache in my chest only grew heavier. "She separated them. Vikram was so blinded by her that he didn't even see it coming. And when she left him... he was too ashamed to return to Rakshith, too ashamed to come back to us." The words felt like a dagger in my heart. We were supposed to be a family, a team. But she had destroyed us, piece by piece.

Shika's voice broke through the fog of my pain. "Everything will be fine, Anu. They're talking again, right? They'll be back to being best friends soon."

I wanted to believe her. I desperately needed to believe her. But a small voice inside me whispered doubts. How could things ever be the same again? The damage was too deep, too raw. I wanted to fix it, to put everything back the way it was, but I wasn't sure it was even possible anymore.

Shika noticed the conflict in my eyes and, sensing my need for distraction, began talking about random things, filling the air with chatter. Slowly, I allowed myself to be swept up in her words, her voice grounding me, even if just for a little while. The ache in my heart didn't completely fade, but I welcomed the relief of not having to think about it for a moment.

After a while, we moved to the hotel's restaurant for lunch. Vikram and the others joined us, and the moment we sat down, they wasted no time teasing me about the recent segment with the cricketers.

"Your hero Shaurya, huh? He swept you off your feet, " Vikram winked, nudging me playfully.

"Oh, shut up," I muttered, but my cheeks flushed anyway. It had been the talk of the day. We were shooting some practice shots, and the ball had come flying toward me, speeding with a force that would have knocked me out cold if it hit. Before I even had time to react, Shaurya had leaped forward, his hand gripping my arm and pulling me to safety in one swift motion.

I could still feel the heat of his body so close to mine, the way his eyes locked onto me for that brief, heart-stopping second.

Of course, that became the topic of discussion between both teams, everyone laughing and chatting about it like it was the most interesting thing that had happened all day. Shaurya's friends, the cricketers, were just as relentless, joking about his "heroic save," and now my friends were teasing me mercilessly.

"You owe him your life, Ananya!" Rakshith grinned. "What's the deal? Did he sweep you off your feet and into a romance novel after that?"

"Oh my God, you guys," I groaned, burying my face in my hands in embarrassment.

Shaurya, who was seated at the far end of the table, caught my eye from across the room, and the corner of his lips twitched into that smirk I'd come to recognize all too well. My heart skipped a beat as our gazes locked, and for a moment, everything around me seemed to blur. His friends nudged him, and he just leaned back, acting cool, as if the teasing didn't faze him.

"Ananya, come on! Tell us the truth," Bhavin said, leaning closer. "Don't you really feel something going on between you two? Don't tell me you didn't feel a little something when he caught you."

My cheeks burned even more. How could I explain the rush I'd felt in that moment when Shaurya had pulled me to him? The way his presence had both unsettled and comforted me at once. It was like something flickered in the air between us, something unspoken but very real.

"You guys are impossible," I said, trying to brush it off. But I couldn't shake the feeling that Shaurya's protective gesture had meant something more than just a reflex to him.

"Hello, people!" Akshith's cheerful voice broke through our little teasing session, and we all turned to face him. But the sight of the woman wrapped in Chirag's arms made my stomach churn, the knot in my gut tightening painfully. I glanced over at Vikram, whose expression had gone completely blank, as if his mind had shut down.

Suddenly, it felt like the air had gotten thicker, charged with an awkward tension. The playful banter around the table faded away, and all I could focus on was the way the woman clung to Chirag, her presence like a dark cloud looming over us. It was like a sudden jolt of reality, reminding me of the things we had all tried to ignore.

I whipped my head back to Vikram. His eyes were trained ahead, a blank mask over his face, but I could feel the storm brewing beneath that facade. My chest tightened. I couldn't tell if it was anger or hurt that I felt for him, but the weight of it pressed heavily on my heart.

"You are a real idiot, Akshith," I muttered under my breath, leaning in close enough to his ear to make sure only he could hear me. My voice was laced with frustration and something else, a sense of helplessness that I couldn't shake off.

Akshith looked at me, dumbfounded, like he hadn't noticed the shift in the atmosphere. "What?" he asked, completely unaware of how things were unraveling before him.

I exchanged worried glances with my team. They all looked just as uncomfortable, caught between not knowing how to react and trying to respect what was unfolding in front of us. It was a tight spot. The tension was suffocating.

"I'm done with my lunch," Vikram said abruptly, his voice flat, void of any emotion. His words hit like a slap, and before any of us could respond, he stood up and started walking away from the table.

"Vikram," I called out, my voice tight with concern, but it fell on deaf ears. He didn't even look back, his pace unwavering, as if he had already checked out of the situation entirely. My heart sank.

I looked helplessly at Rakshith, who exchanged a knowing look with me, before quickly getting to his feet. Bhavin followed him without a word, both of them silently choosing to support Vikram, to follow him into whatever place he was retreating to. The unspoken bond between them, forged through years of friendship, was the only thing that seemed to be anchoring them to reality right now.

"Hey, Ananya. Nice to see you again," the woman cooed in a sickly sweet tone, and I swear, the sound of it made my blood boil. The words twisted in the air, a mockery of politeness that only added fuel to the fire building inside me. I could feel my hands balling into fists, my body tense with the overwhelming urge to snap her neck and rid the world of her.

"You both know each other?" Yuvaan asked, his voice full of curiosity.

I didn't even spare him a glance. My eyes were locked on the woman, the one who made my insides churn with disgust. "What the hell is she doing with you guys?" I demanded, the words tumbling out sharper than I intended. I didn't care if I sounded rude; the anger was too raw, too real.

The men around me looked taken aback by my tone, their faces frozen in confusion as they tried to process my outburst. But I didn't care. I wasn't going to hide what I felt. My glare never left her, pure venom in my eyes, and her smirk made my blood run hotter. It was as if she knew exactly what buttons to push.

Can I just kill this woman? The thought flitted through my mind like a dark cloud.

"Um...she...we met her after the match yesterday," Akshith stammered, his nervous energy evident as he shifted on his feet. He looked uncomfortable, but I wasn't about to let that make me feel sorry for him. He had brought this mess into our lives.

I shot the woman one last disgusted look, my stomach churning at the thought of seeing her again, before I turned on my heel and stomped off. Each step I took was filled with irritation, my mind spiraling.

Was seeing her at the match not enough of a punishment? Hadn't it been enough to make her disappear from my life? But no. They had to bring her here.

I made a beeline for my room, slamming the door shut behind me with a force I didn't even realize I had. I needed space, needed to breathe without the suffocating presence of that woman and all the turmoil she stirred. But just as I was about to turn away from the door, a knock made me freeze.

I hesitated for a moment, a wave of frustration hitting me. When I opened the door, Shaurya stood there, concern etched deeply on his face, his eyes searching mine like he could read the storm brewing inside me.

"Can I come in?" he asked, his voice low but steady.

I didn't respond immediately, just stood there, staring at him, my heart still racing from everything that had just happened. But I stepped aside with a small nod, silently inviting him in. He entered, his presence filling the space, and I felt a flicker of comfort in the chaos swirling around me. As the door clicked shut behind him, I felt a sense of finality, like the outside world was momentarily shut off, leaving only him and me.

"What happened, Ananya? You seem stressed," Shaurya's voice was soft, but it had that urgency I could never ignore. He reached for my hands, pulling them gently into his, his touch grounding me.

I didn't answer at first, my throat tight, my thoughts all jumbled. Without saying a word, I wrapped my arms around his torso, pressing my cheek against his chest, the familiar beat of his heart thudding in my ear like a lifeline. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the noise in my mind, trying to find peace in this moment.

Shaurya, ever patient, began to caress my hair, his fingers threading through the strands with a tenderness that made me melt into him. I sighed deeply, letting the softness of his touch wash over me.

"I'm here," he murmured, his voice a soft whisper as his hand continued its soothing path through my hair. It was enough to make the raw edges of my frustration dull, like the world outside didn't matter as long as he was here, holding me.

And for a moment, just a moment, everything felt okay again.

"That woman with you, she is Vikram's ex." The words slipped from my mouth like venom, each syllable thick with disdain. The very thought of her made my skin crawl, and saying her name aloud twisted something deep inside me.

Shaurya's expression shifted, his brow furrowing as he processed my words. His gaze softened as he nodded slowly, a quiet understanding settling in.

"Bad breakup?" he asked cautiously, as though treading lightly on fragile ground.

I felt the bitterness rise in my throat, the sting of those painful memories threatening to suffocate me. "He caught her cheating," I spat out, my voice tight with repressed anger.

Shaurya didn't respond immediately. His silence spoke volumes—he understood the weight of what I was saying. Instead of saying anything more, he simply pulled me closer, his arms wrapping around me like a shield. His hands moved gently over my hair, soothing me in a way only he could, as though his touch was the only thing that could calm the storm within me.

We stayed like that for a while, the silence between us comfortable, yet heavy. The world outside seemed to fade as Shaurya's presence enveloped me, offering a temporary escape from the chaos that had been raging in my heart.

Finally, Shaurya gently pulled away, guiding us both to the couch. His arms never left me, though, still wrapped around me as we sank into the cushions. I rested my head on his shoulder, grateful for his quiet strength, the way he just was when everything felt out of control.

In that moment, all I could think was how lucky I was to have him here, to have someone who understood without needing to say a word.

"Shaurya?" I called out, craning my neck to look at him, my voice teasing as it slipped through the quiet room.

"Hmm?" he hummed, his eyes meeting mine with that familiar warmth.

"Are you by any chance taking advantage of me?" I wiggled my eyebrows mischievously, pointing to his hands still wrapped comfortably around my waist.

A grin tugged at the corner of his lips, and his eyes sparkled with amusement. "What if I am? You have a problem with that?" He raised an eyebrow, his gaze locking onto mine with a mischievous glint.

I felt a smile tug at my own lips, my heart fluttering as I shook my head. "Not really," I confessed, letting my head drop back onto his chest, my voice soft and content.

A low laugh rumbled through his chest, vibrating against me in the best way. It made butterflies dance in my stomach, and for a moment, everything felt lighter, and warmer, as if the world outside didn't exist at all.

He pressed a gentle kiss to my hair, his hold around me tightening, as though making sure I was safe, sound, and right where I belonged.

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Hello readers!

Happy Bhogi to you all!

The chapters up to 26 are now available on scrollstack and here's the link: https://nidhi181002.stck.me/story/498598/Cricketer-and-His-Wife

And about posting glimpses here, I want to do it but I write chapters directly on wattpad so if I am to post glimpse, I have to create a new chapter for that and it's getting clumsy and confusing to both you and me. If you are interested in knowing glimpse, do let me know.

I'll post them as reels on Instagram with glimpse in caption. The people who are already following me must have an idea about it as I am doing the same for my other book. So, if you are interested to get glimpses, do comment here so I can add them.

I'll add spoilers for the Scrollstack readers too if you are interested. But please let me know here and follow me on Instagram!!

Once again, Happy Bhogi and advance Happy Pongal to you all!