“Careful!” he said, his voice filled with genuine concern.
“See?” he added softly, almost pleading now. “She can barely stand. I was just helping her… she cut her arm when she fell.”
Only then did I notice it.
A thin line of red across her forearm.
The water had diluted the blood, making it faint—but it was there.
Real.
Unmistakable.
And suddenly, something inside me shifted.
The anger that had burned so fiercely just seconds ago began to fade, replaced by something far heavier.
Shame.
“How long ago?” I asked quietly.
“Fifteen minutes… maybe,” Raju replied. “She was already dizzy from fever. The floor was wet. She just… lost balance.”
Anushka looked at me then.
Really looked at me.
And in her tired eyes, I saw something that hit me harder than any accusation ever could.
She had seen it.
The suspicion.
The doubt.
The instant I walked in.
“I tried to call you,” she murmured. “But my phone… was in the bedroom. I couldn’t stand.”
My throat tightened.
Every terrible thought I had just moments ago now felt ugly. Cruel.
Unfair.
Without saying anything, I stepped inside and reached for the shower knob.
The water stopped.
And suddenly, the silence in the bathroom felt heavier than the noise had been.
“Let’s get you out of here,” I said softly.
This time, my voice sounded like mine again.
Together, Raju and I helped her walk—slowly, carefully—out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Each step looked like an effort. Each breath, a struggle.
We sat her down on the edge of the bed.
She looked fragile.
More fragile than I had ever seen her.
And all I could think about… was how quickly I had doubted her.
“I’m sorry,” I said after a long silence.
The words felt small.
Too small.
Anushka didn’t respond immediately.
She simply looked at me—studying my face, as if trying to understand what had just happened inside my mind.
“You thought something else… didn’t you?” she asked gently.
No anger.
No accusation.
Just quiet sadness.
I lowered my eyes.
Because I couldn’t lie.
Three years.
Three years of trust, love, understanding…
And it had almost shattered in a single moment.
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