Author's POV

As his phone buzzed with Samyukta's message, a wave of conflicting emotions crashed over him like a tsunami. The words on the screen, simple yet loaded with meaning, pierced through the armor of his anger, stirring a tumultuous storm of feelings within him.

"I would stay with Suyash as he needs me."

The weight of those words settled heavily on his shoulders, a bitter reminder of the sacrifices they were both making for the sake of others. The urge to cry threatened to overwhelm him, his throat tightening with unshed tears as he struggled to contain the flood of emotions welling up inside him. 

He longed to be by Samyukta's side, to hold her close and reassure himself that everything would be alright. But the threats looming over her, the danger lurking in the shadows, cast a dark shadow over his desire for solace. The thought of her safety, her well-being, consumed him with a gnawing sense of fear and helplessness. All these emotions, tangled and intertwined, surged within him like a raging river, threatening to engulf him in their depths. In that moment, he felt the crushing weight of responsibility pressing down on him from all sides, a heavy burden that threatened to crush him under its unbearable weight.

With a determined exhale, he made a conscious decision to rein in his tumultuous emotions. Clarity slowly began to seep through the haze of anger and worry, and he found himself grounding his thoughts with a firm resolve.

He need her.

I'm a grown man. I cannot allow myself to be consumed by childish emotions.

With each breath, he reminded himself of the strength they shared as partners, as husband and wife. 

She was not just a fleeting presence in his life; she was his anchor, his confidante, his partner in every sense of the word. 

She's my wife.

And she's with me for a lifetime.

With that thought firmly planted in his mind, he felt a sense of calm begin to settle over him like a comforting embrace. 

But, I want her near me!

Despite his efforts to focus on his work, a lingering sense of agitation continued to gnaw at him, like an itch he couldn't scratch. With each passing moment, his patience wore thinner, his temper simmering just beneath the surface. When news reached him of the sales department's failure to meet their deadline, his already frayed nerves snapped like a taut rubber band. Without hesitation, he dialed the department manager's number, his voice laced with frustration and anger as he unleashed a torrent of reprimands.

"What in the world is going on over there?" he barked into the phone, his tone cutting like a razor. 

"You had one job, and you couldn't even get that right!"

As he lambasted the manager, a voice of reason whispered in the back of his mind, reminding him of the bigger picture. Suyash needed Samyukta now more than ever, and his outburst was doing nothing to alleviate the situation. Guilt gnawed at him like a hungry beast as he chastised himself for his own shortcomings.

Why am I so worked up?

She's not my doll to control. 

Suyash needs her.

With those words echoing in his mind, he made a conscious effort to rein in his temper, to approach the situation with a level head and a calmer demeanor. Though the weight of worry still bore heavily on his shoulders, he resolved to channel his energy into finding solutions rather than succumbing to anger. After all, in times of crisis, clarity and composure were the greatest assets one could possess.

As night descended, casting shadows across the dimly lit rooms of the house, he found a semblance of calm settling over him like a soothing balm. When Nandini's voice called out to him, summoning him to the dinner table, he made his way there with a heavy heart, longing for the familiar comfort of his wife's company. But as he entered the dining room, he noticed the absence of two familiar faces, and a pang of disappointment pierced through the fragile peace he had managed to find.

"Samyukta and Suyash are not here?" he inquired, his voice tinged with a hint of longing.

 Nandini's gentle voice offered an explanation, but the words fell on deaf ears as he struggled to come to terms with the reality before him. 

They were watching a movie and having dinner in his room – a simple gesture, perhaps, but one that left him feeling strangely excluded, as if he were an outsider peering in on a scene he no longer belonged to.

The hurt he felt was a sharp ache in his chest, his appetite suddenly lost as the weight of loneliness settled upon him like a heavy blanket. With a murmured excuse, he retreated to his room, the silence of the empty hallway echoing the emptiness he felt inside.Alone in the darkness, he lay upon his bed, his thoughts swirling like leaves caught in a gust of wind. And as he tried to drift off into a fitful slumber, he couldn't help but wonder if he would ever find his way back to the warmth of her embrace.

I'm thinking way to much.

He remembered how she had noticed the tension in his shoulders, the furrow of worry etched upon his brow, and had gently guided him to the bed, her touch a comforting reassurance in the midst of his turmoil. With a soft smile, she had taken her phone and queued up a playlist of calming music, the serene melodies washing over him like a gentle rain, easing the knots of stress that had wound themselves tight around his heart. As he lay there now, adrift in a sea of solitude, he reached for his phone with trembling hands, his fingers tracing familiar patterns on the smooth surface. 

With a sense of longing that bordered on desperation, he navigated to the playlist she had once shared, the music~ a lifeline connecting him to the memory of her touch, her voice, her presence. As the first notes filled the room, he closed his eyes and let himself be carried away on the tide of sound, allowing the soothing melodies to envelop him like a warm embrace. In the soft glow of the moonlight filtering through the curtains, he felt her presence beside him, her love wrapping around him like a blanket, offering solace in the midst of his loneliness. And as sleep finally claimed him, he held onto that feeling with all his might, clinging to the hope that tomorrow would bring him closer to the one he loved, to the one who held his heart in her gentle hands.

As he awoke to the soft light filtering through the curtains, he couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness that settled over him like a heavy fog. Blinking away the remnants of sleep, he reached out instinctively, only to find the space beside him cold and vacant, a stark reminder of her absence. 

A familiar ache settled in his heart, a pang of loneliness that seemed to gnaw at his very core. The warmth of the bed told him she had been there last night, her presence a fleeting whisper in the stillness of the night, but now she was gone, leaving behind only the echo of her absence. He knew she had her OPD shift today, but the thought only served to deepen his sense of disappointment. 

She could have woken him up, he reasoned, could have spared a moment to say goodbye before slipping away. But instead, she had left without a word, leaving him to wake up to an empty bed and a hollow ache in his chest. Turning to his side, he spotted a tray laid out before him, his breakfast covered with a napkin as if waiting patiently for his attention. But a bitter resentment welled up inside him, a sense of betrayal that cut deeper than he cared to admit. 

Why would you do all of this when you hardly care?

You care for everyone else but me.

A bitter laugh escaped his lips as he realized the truth of his own words. He had come much later into her life than the others, had arrived on the scene long after she had already forged bonds with those around her. It was his own fault, he realized, for expecting too much, for daring to hope that he could be more than just an afterthought in her life. With a heavy sigh, he pushed aside the tray untouched, the food suddenly tasteless in the face of his own bitterness. Resignation settled over him like a shroud as he headed towards the bathroom to prepare for the day laying ahead of him. 

As the day wore on, the weight of his solitude bore down on him like a suffocating blanket, suffusing every moment with a sense of emptiness that seemed to stretch on endlessly. Despite the piles of files demanding his attention, despite the endless stream of meetings crowding his schedule, his mind couldn't help but stray to thoughts of her.

With each passing hour, the silence of her absence grew louder, a deafening roar in the midst of the bustling office. He found himself restless and distracted, his thoughts consumed by questions that went unanswered, by fears that went unaddressed. 

Had she eaten? 

Why hadn't she reached out to him, even a simple text to let him know she was okay?

The frustration simmering beneath the surface bubbled over, his temper flaring at the slightest provocation. He lashed out at his staff with a ferocity that startled even himself, his words sharp and biting like a whip cracking through the air. They scurried away from him like frightened mice, their fear palpable in the tense atmosphere of the office.

Returning home, he yearned for her familiar smile, but found only silence echoing through empty rooms. 

Days passed in solitude as she threw herself into hospital duties and mentoring Suyash, her presence scarce in their shared space. He tried to bury his loneliness in work, but her absence weighed heavy on his heart, a constant reminder of their growing distance. Hoping for her return, he remained adrift in their empty home, longing for the warmth of her embrace to banish the shadows of loneliness.

"She's busy, beta." 

His mother's attempt to console him only served to deepen the ache in his heart, the hollow sadness reflected in the weary smile he offered in response. 

She's always busy with everyone else but me.

Despite my busy schedule, I'm trying to make out time for her, but no, she doesn't care.

This evening, the memory of their failed attempt at a date loomed large in his mind, a painful reminder of the distance that had grown between them. Her initial enthusiasm had sparked a flicker of hope within him, only to be extinguished by the cold reality of her last-minute cancellation. 

"I'm sorry Maan. An emergency surgery lined up. Please understand."

And she returned home late at night, when he had already fallen asleep, bearing his favorite flowers, the blue orchids- a mere band-aid over the gaping wound of their fractured relationship.

Anger boiled within him like a tempest when he looked at them in the morning with a sorry note along with a bouquet of blue orchids~ his favourite. 

A bouquet of flowers could never bridge the chasm that had formed between them, could never erase the loneliness that gnawed at his soul with each passing day. He had tried to reach out to her, to draw her close, but she remained elusive, slipping through his fingers like sand.

What if I give you bouquets of flowers instead of time?

Will you accept it for the rest of your life?

But to whom could he confide in? Once again, she had slipped away, leaving him to grapple with his emotions in the suffocating silence of their empty home.

With each passing moment, his resolve hardened, the realization sinking in that their marriage needed more than empty gestures and hollow promises. It needed time, effort, and above all, understanding. He couldn't continue to pour his heart into a relationship that refused to grow, that refused to evolve with the changing tides of their lives. With a heavy heart and a sense of resignation, he cast aside the bouquet of flowers, the symbol of their fractured bond, and made his way to the wardrobe to pack his bags.

It was time to confront the harsh truth of their reality, to acknowledge that some wounds run too deep to be healed by mere apologies and empty gestures. And as he prepared to walk away, he knew that he was not giving up on their marriage, but rather, freeing himself from the chains of a love that had long since withered and died.

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