Raghav's POV:

I had stopped crying a while ago but still the traitorous tears made their appearance. I rested my head on the room's door with closed eyes, waiting for them to finally stop.

A hesitant knock made me open my eyes.

"Raghav, are you okay in there? It has been a while. Please open the door", Tanya pleaded.

I didn't answer her. No, I wasn't that angry to avoid her but if I spoke then she would know that I was crying from my scratchy voice.

Tanya tried a few more times but then her voice stopped coming through. Maybe she left, after not receiving any response from me.

I felt bad but if she knew I was crying then she would make much more assumptions than she already had. It was a good thing that she gave up on asking me to come out.

I heard some shuffling noise, letting me know that I thought wrong and she was still here.

"I am sorry for doubting you, okay". What kind of apology sounded like this? It felt like she was scolding me.

"Before getting so grumpy about my assumptions, you should also think about it from my perspective. Anyone  in my place would think like that. Even you. If the situation was reversed, I can guarantee that you would make the same assumption".

I stayed quiet. I didn't necessarily agree with her but I wanted her to speak her mind. There was no point in arguing if I didn't hear her proper explanation and understood where she stood with her views.

"Our marriage is not on the basis of love. Heck, it is not even a regular arranged marriage. We married out of convenience.

"Your first love is within your reach now. The person you searched for years is nearby.

"How can I be sure that you won't break this marriage for your love, when the base of our marriage is nothing but a sacrifice?"

She did have a point. By agreeing to her point, I didn't mean that I would leave her and go back to Naina. I was just agreeing that it was possible to get scared and make such assumptions in this situation.

"I am sorry, Raghav. I do feel guilty for doubting you, but please try to understand me. Please, let go of your anger. It is scaring me. I really don't have enough courage right now to face your anger", she requested, her voice breaking down as she choked on her words.

Tanya went silent after that. Fearing that her mind would go under panic again, I stood up hastily and opened the door.

There she was standing with red, teary eyes, looking like she had given up. It scared me to think what would have happened if I hadn't opened the door now.

"I am not angry", I muttered in a scratchy voice.

"You were crying too", she whispered in shock.

I smiled weakly at her, before moving aside for her to come inside the room. Making her sit on the bed, I sat on the floor before her.

Taking her hands in mine, I squeezed her palms reassuringly.

"I am not angry. Nor I am ever going to leave you", I gently spoke to her.

"Yes, I won't lie saying that I don't love Naina, I still do. But I am trying my best to move on. Even if I am unable to do so, I still wouldn't cheat on you. I promise. Please trust me".

I looked at her with pleading eyes to believe me. Whatever our equation was, Tanya was my wife and it would remain that way.

"I trust you", she finally muttered, making me sigh in relief.

"Now get up", she ordered, smiling through her tears.

Nodding, I got up and sat beside her on the bed.

I scratched my head, knowing what I was going to ask now was capable of ruining all my efforts, I had done in reassuring her.

"Tanya...I...", I stammered, scared to word it out.

"What is it?" She asked looking concerned.

"I...Can I meet Naina once?" I finally managed to blurt in out.

Seeing her unresponsiveness, I got more scared.

"Only if you are comfortable with it. I want to talk to her once and ask her the reason behind leaving me.

"Please don't misunderstand. I just want a closure. Please, think about it. I won't mind if you say no. I can understand that it might not be comfortable for you. However, I assure you that I only want answers from her and after this, I would never meet her again".

Before Tanya could react to my absurd request, I denied it myself.

"Forget it. I was stupid to ask this of you. No wife in the world would be comfortable with their husband to meet up with their ex. Please forget this conversation. I must have gone mad for a second".

I felt like kicking myself. How could I request this from Tanya? She was already panicking and I added fuel to the fire.

"I trust you", she declared, making me come out of my state of self degradation.

"Huh?" I was dumbfounded to say the least.

"If talking with her will get you the closure, then go ahead and meet her. Relieve yourself from the trauma, which you are carrying like a burden from all these years.

"I am trusting you, Raghav. Keeping my trust or breaking it, is now in your hands".

I saw her in different light today. Even if she hadn't agreed, I wouldn't have thought bad of her. With the way life was testing her, trusting me must have been the hardest decision.

How painful it must have been to smile and allow me to meet someone who could easily ruin our marriage? Trusting me at this moment must have took all the strength she had. I understood in this moment, how courageous she was.

Our serious moment got broken when Tanya's stomach growled loudly. I bursted out laughing as she blushed in embarrassment.

"Someone's hungry", I commented in a sing song voice.

She bit her lips, shying away in embarrassment.

"Hey, it's normal. Chill". I stopped laughing and tried to comfort her.

She was about to say something but her stomach growled again, causing her to shut her eyes. Poor girl was too embarrassed to face me.

"Let's feed your stomach or else it would keep crying for food".

Tanya looked at me sheepishly, "In all the tension, I forgot to cook food".

I chuckled and stood up. "Give me few minutes. I will quickly prepare something for Mr. Stomach".

Her stomach growled again in response, making me laugh. Tanya chucked a pillow at me.

"Oww". The pillow hit straight to my face but that didn't stop me from laughing.

I saw her picking up another pillow. Before it could hit me, I closed the door and left the room hurriedly.