Raghav's POV:

Something was definitely bothering Tanya. From the day we came back from her house, she had lost the spark in her eyes.

Yes, her father's deeds had caused a havoc, causing her to feel angry, upset and guilty; all at once. But even then, she was going strong.

Something major had happened that day for her to look so broken. But what? I had no idea plus that stubborn lady didn't budge. She remained silent even though I pestered her continuously.

Tanya had lost her smile and kept to herself these days. The only time she smiled was when Sia was nearby. The smile was obviously fake, but Tanya still tried her best to be strong, so that Sia could gather strength from her.

Tanya became a pillar for Sia to lean on. Sia broke down many times. All the hurt she was hiding for about a whole year, came spiraling down in huge outbursts.

I still remember the first day when Sia came here. Tanya and I woke up from the sound of Sia's gasps for help. We ran into her room(Rishi's room) to see her trembling with fear.

Flashback

"What's with the noise?" Tanya groaned in sleep.

I too sat up rubbing my eyes as a yawn escaped my lips. It didn't take much time for our sleepiness to disappear.

We both jumped out of the bed and rushed towards Sia's room as soon as we realized that it was Sia's cry for help.

Opening the connecting door, we saw Sia shaking in her sleep, murmuring something along the lines, "Let the girl go. Don't hurt her".

As soon as we woke her up, Sia jumped back seeing me near her. Tanya barely contained Sia from hurting herself by mistakenly.

I stepped away from the girls, maintaining a safe distance.

"Sia, it was a nightmare. It wasn't real. Nobody is hurt". Tanya whispered comforting words to Sia while rubbing her back.

It took an hour to console Sia before she went back to sleep. From what Tanya informed me, it wasn't the first time, Sia was having nightmares. Something similar had happened during Rishi's wedding too.

"What do we do?" Tanya asked in a whisper, coming near where I was standing.

Leaving the room didn't seem right, knowing that Sia could need our help at any moment. Hence, we stood at the corner, whispering to each other while keeping an eye out for any movement from Sia.

"Should we consult a doctor?" I questioned back, not really sure what to do in this situation.

"I don't know. Let's ask Mom first. she may have some home remedy or any easy solution", Tanya said.

"Your Mom or my Mom?" I questioned, receiving a hard glare in response.

"My mom, got it", I rectified.

"Raghav..."

"Hmm?"

"In this condition, leaving Sia alone...". I interrupted her in between.

"I will sleep here from tomorrow. You two take our room". Tanya didn't need to complete her sentence. I very well understood her worries.

"Thanks for understanding. But you take our room, while I will share this room with Sia", Tanya declared.

"But—", I tried to protest but who listens to me here.

"No buts. I keep on asking you to adjust. You have left your comfort and your room more than once since our marriage. So don't argue and go back to sleep peacefully", Tanya ordered sternly.

Instead of getting scared of her stern face, I found her cute. I so wanted to squeeze her cheeks but it didn't seem right at the moment. Especially when Sia was hurting so much.

Tanya laid down beside Sia, gently caressing her head, while I went back to the room.

That night was the last when I saw Tanya's emotions. Even if they weren't happy emotions, still it was something.

Flashback over

Since then, seven days passed by and I was yet to see a genuine smile on my wife's face.

The only good thing that happened was that we never heard Sia's scream after that night. Fortunately her nightmares stopped. However, surprisingly the bags under her eyes got darker instead of totally disappearing as she was sleeping peacefully now.

★★★★★

After dinner, Sia was busy seeing a movie and I took advantage of the situation.

"Tanya, I need some help. Come with me", I called her out.

"Give me few minutes. I will come after finishing this work", she said pointing towards the sink, where she was washing the utensils.

"I will help you wash them later. Just come with me", I pestered.

She sighed but nonetheless agreed to come with me. Washing her hands, she followed me to our room.

"What did you need?" She asked, sounding too tired. This tiredness wasn't because of the physical work but due to her over working mind.

I silently sat on the bed and patted the space beside me, gesturing her to come and sit with me.

Tanya's eyebrows furrowed, not understanding my actions. She came up here, leaving her work, thinking I had some work for her. And here I was asking her to sit.

"You can drop the facade now. Sia isn't around".

The moment the words spilled out from my mouth, Tanya went stiff. I guess she was hoping that I wouldn't realize the change in her.

I took her hands in mine and looked into her eyes.

"Tanya, I don't know what has happened but I do know that something has went wrong. But hiding and shutting down those feelings won't work.

"The more you bottle up your feeling, the more painful it will become in future. We have a live example in front of us. You can see what hiding everything did to Sia.

"Don't follow the same path", I requested.

"But Sia needs me to be strong", Tanya whispered, looking at our enclosed hands.

"True. However, Sia isn't here now. So you can be yourself. You can cry and vent freely here. Its just me and you in the room", I encouraged gently.

Tanya bit her lips but didn't say anything. A few minutes passed by and I lost hope. Of course, it wasn't easy and maybe I was being too pushy. Sighing, I stopped waiting and just hugged Tanya to comfort her.

Unlike the previous times, Tanya relaxed in my arms instead of freezing. She soon started crying. I rubbed her back as she cried in my arms. It was hard to see her cry but it was necessary.

I tried to let go, so that I could see her face but Tanya just held me tightly, refusing to come out of the hug.

"I don't know what to think. My parents were my ideals. But they are not what I thought about them.

"One destroyed a girl's life while the other continuously reminds me to be a slave rather than your wife, so that their money flow doesn't stop.

"Your parents have understood and loved me more than mine has",she said while crying profusely.

I kept patting her back gently as she vented out all her bottled up feelings.

She cried, hiccupped, got angry, but never came out of hug. The hug provided two benefits-

1) It was warm and comforting.

2) She didn't need to face me.

I was glad too. It would have been a huge problem if she saw my expressions. Hearing everything made me so furious. But Tanya didn't need the angry Raghav right now. She didn't need me to fight the world. Right now, she needed the comfort and the feeling that someone was there for her.

It was best that she couldn't see the anger in my eyes.

I didn't know how many hours passed by, since we were sitting in this position. Tanya slept with her head on my shoulders, tiring herself out from all the crying.

I gently moved her and placed her properly on the bed. Covering her with a duvet, I left the room to complete her pending works. But not before giving her a forehead kiss.