ᴛʜᴇ ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘꜱ

Vidhwan Sinha sat comfortably in the dimly lit room, lazily swirling the wine in his glass. A thin trail of smoke rose from the cigarette between his fingers, filling the air with its bitter scent.

Beside him sat a young woman in a shimmering dress, pouring more wine into his glass. She leaned closer to him, her posture far from professional. Her hand rested lightly on his arm as if she belonged there.

Vidhwan smirked faintly.

Just then, the door opened.

Sakshi Sinha stepped inside.

But the moment her eyes landed on the scene before her, she froze.

For a second, her fingers tightened around the edge of the door.

The girl sitting beside her husband.

The wine.

The smoke.

The closeness between them.

Once, this sight would have shattered her. Once, she would have cried, argued, begged him to stop.

But now…

Now it was painfully normal.

Seeing her husband with a different woman almost every night had slowly turned into something routine.

Her face showed nothing.

Only a quiet exhaustion.

Vidhwan glanced at her and slowly raised an eyebrow, silently asking why she had come.

Sakshi lowered her eyes slightly and spoke softly.

"Rutvik has a PTM at school tomorrow…"

Her voice was careful, almost hesitant.

"The teacher said your presence is necessary."

Vidhwan took another slow drag from his cigarette.

Then he said coldly,

"I'm busy."

Sakshi stood there for a moment, gathering the courage to say something more.

"Maybe if you could just spare—"

Before she could finish, his voice exploded through the room.

"You bloody wench!!"

The sudden shout made her flinch.

"Can't you hear?" he snapped harshly. "I said I'm busy."

The girl beside him smirked faintly, enjoying the scene like silent entertainment.

Sakshi lowered her gaze immediately.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of her dupatta before she slowly nodded.

"Yes."

Without another word, she turned and walked out of the room.

The hallway felt colder as she made her way toward their bedroom.

The moment she closed the door behind her, the strength she had been holding onto finally broke.

She sat on the edge of the bed, her shoulders trembling.

But even then, she cried silently.

No loud sobs.

No complaints.

Just quiet tears slipping down her cheeks.

This was her life now.

A life that had taught her obedience.

Faithfulness.

Care.

Affection.

To give everything.

And expect nothing in return.

And then the sound of the woman's moans and his groans, the banging of the bed against the wall echoed through the room as she closed her ears with her palms.

"Sakshi, never trust someone fully, even if they have given you any promises or no matter how much love, because not all people love you the same, beta"

The words of her adopted mother, Vandana rang in her ears as she cried silently -

"I'm sorry, maa. I should have listened to you, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

The voices from the room echoed loudly as she whispered-

"*Shame on me, that I watched my own husband kill my own mother, that I couldn't even save my unborn sister."