As usual, I was back home on time but instead of her smiling face that always welcomed me a horrifying scene blew my mind...

The wardrobe in our bedroom was left open with clothes shattered on the floor...When I observed properly I noticed the broken locker of the wardrobe...

Suddenly painful sobs fell on my ears and when turned my head in the direction of sound there she was...

In the corner with her head buried in her knees while her shoulders shaking as she was crying

In no time I ran and fell in front of her "Aashu"...

The moment my voice reached her senses she looked at me....

Her eyes were all puffy and her face had turned red...those quivering lips did not help her to speak so she raised her hands making some actions but failed miserably and engulfed herself in my chest

"sorry...I I'm so sorry" She burst out into loud tears while I began rubbing her back to calm her down

Comforting her took me a long time...

Next, neither of us spoke anything...

She just kept weeping on my chest while I held her securely assuring it wasn't her fault...

And actually, it wasn't her fault...

It could have happened with me too

I felt so...

As per our schedule three of us were out of home for our respective works but this time in extreme hurry Aashu left the backyard door open and grabbing the opportunity the thieves strived in and robbed the gold

Baba was extremely disappointed with her carelessness and raised his voice at her for which she was even more scared

At night she wasn't ready to sleep...she just kept crying "Every day I lock everything carefully Arjun...but today I was so late and this happened...I didn't do it purposely...I swear on my mother...I didn't do it purposely"

"I know Aashu...don't feel bad for Baba's anger...more than the anger he feels sad because it was Maa's jewelry otherwise he too knows that you haven't done it purposely"

"But I left the door open" she argued

"That could have happened with me or with Baba too" I announced and she had no words left

Later we filed a complaint at the police station but it was going to take a long time for things to proceed

A few days passed with sadness engulfing my home...everything went back to normal except for her..

She kept on sulking over her negligence

She would not talk much and be in the room for most of the time...she would refuse to eat food at times and just lie on the bed

She was so depressed that she refused to go to work too...

Her mind needed to be occupied with work so I convinced her to join back but there too she failed to perform well and was fired

She needed mental rest...I realized

To get back her confidence I asked her to stay at her mother's place for a few days...she would get a change over there

She too agreed...

*****

With her clothes still lying on the bed she was lost in her thoughts....

Sitting next to her I laid my hand on hers "Still thinking about it"   

"No, it's something else"

"Won't you tell me??"

Resting her head on my shoulder she began "Every month without fail I used to transfer my salary to my mother's account but this month I couldn't...when I go there she will definitely ask about the delay...already because of this robbery she is so upset with me and when she'll come to know about my job I don't know how she is going to react..I am so scared of her...

How will I face her...

I have lost everything over my negligence"

She huffed

"You don't have to worry about this...I'll talk to your mother...and I'll send some amount to your account you transfer it to her"

She got up from my shoulder with a jolt "No...you are not doing that"

She paused and taking a breath she continued "Already I am dying under a huge mountain of guilt now taking money from you is something that will kill my self-respect...I can't Arjun

I have to pay for my mistakes and I'll do that on my own"

"You are my wife Aashu...my responsibility...every mistake of yours will be ours as a whole...and same goes for reward too...your mistakes are my mistakes...my rewards are your rewards...and vice versa...this is how a married life works

If you can take my family's responsibility...run my house why can't I do the same for yours

Marriage involves partnership right...whether good or bad...in everything"

I finished and she kept looking at me and abruptly threw herself on me "I love you"

"I love you too" I reciprocated with a stronger hug

***************

Till the days she was at her Mother's place, I missed her a lot...I was so habituated to her sweet giggles and cute talks that every now and then I used to call her only to hear her voice and saying good night on video call was mandatory for everyday

I was behaving like a teen fallen in love that every time I would think of her a smile would adorn my face

I was eagerly waiting for the day when she would come back to me

And the day had risen only to throw me into the pool of darkness changing the dimensions of my whole life

As decided I was supposed to pick her up from her mother's place in the evening...

As I was busy finishing my work in hustle I got a call and when I saw the name on the screen I was pretty surprised

It was a call from Yuvraj...Raghav's maternal cousin...he was a student of class 12...last time we met at my wedding and since then there was no contact between us

"Hello Yuvi....anything urgent..if not can I call you back later??" I said in one go for which I heard on the other side

"It's very urgent Dada...and...and it is important" the intensity and concern in his voice was something I had never experienced from him

"Okay...tell me"

I approved and he asked me to meet him at the local Internet cafe where his friends hang out regularly

Within 20 minutes I reached the spot and the moment I parked the bike without even speaking a word he just kept dragging me inside the cafe "Yuvi what's wrong??" I asked him trying to free my hand from his hold but he was stubborn "You just come Dada"

Finally, he pulled me into the small compartment of the cafe that had a small table-like setup with a laptop placed on it...

There was also another guy who was his friend who looked equally worried

I stood right in front of them crossing my arms "Tell me what happened"

At first, they exchanged glances with each other and then dared to look into my eyes "Dada actually I wasn't supposed to tell you this...I was scared that you would tell my parents about this but then if I hid this from you whom I equally respect as Raghav Dada I can't live in peace...this would forever leave me guilty that I kept you in the dark and spoilt your life"

"Yuvi don't get scared just speak up"

He grabbed my hand and placed it on his head "Promise me you won't tell this to my parents"

"I promise I won't"

"Dada if you do...I will die then you will be responsible for my death remember" he snapped his finger at me

"Ha baba" I sighed and he made me sit on the chair in front of the laptop

His friend began switching on the device while Yuvi began explaining
"Dada he was a friend who works in one of the Oyo hotels near the city outskirts...he secretly installs hidden cameras in the rooms and later forwards the recordings to some of his friends...

We got the recording from him"

As soon as he finished my head snapped at him in anger for which he immediately held my shoulder "I promise Dada I won't repeat this kind of stuff...but this one...this is a serious one"

His eyes pleading to trust him

"Dada here it is" his friend said and I looked back at the screen

It was a cheap hotel room where a boy wearing the mask and a girl with a scarf entered hand in hand

After locking the room the first thing they did was hug each other so tight as if there was no space for even air to pass

Later the boy removed the mask and I felt like I had seen him somewhere before but what my eyes caught next the ground beneath my feet slipped off

The face behind the scarf was a familiar one...

It was none other than my wife's

Aasha

Do let me know how the story is going