It had been a month since I found out I was pregnant.
Nausea, food cravings, mood swings, and back pain had become a routine now. But something else had changed too… something far worse.
I barely saw Sarthak anymore.
He left early in the morning and returned long after midnight. His mood was distant, cold, completely unlike the man I loved. Yesterday, I even overheard two maids whispering.
"Sir brought a woman home last night…"
"They say husbands cheat a lot during pregnancy… lust, you know."
Their words kept echoing in my head, twisting inside my chest like poison. I tried ignoring it, but insecurity had already made its home inside me.
It was a calm evening. Manya and I were downstairs, cuddled up on the couch watching a movie. Her arms were wrapped around me protectively, keeping me warm and steady.
Suddenly Anvi rushed in, breathless.
"Sammy! See the latest news!"
I frowned. "What is it now? Why are you panicking?"
She handed me her phone.
My heart stopped.
There was a picture of Sarthak… with a girl… entering a hotel.
The caption felt like a slap across my face.
"King Group's owner, Sarthak Malhotra, seen with his girlfriend in Bali, entering a hotel room together."
My heart shattered on the spot.
Not once.
Not twice.
This was the third time he broke me… and the last chance I had given him was gone.
He wasn't my love anymore.
"Sammy, are you okay?" Manya whispered, already scared.
"Yes… I'm okay." My voice cracked. "Why does your brother do this every time? He broke my heart… again. Am I not enough for him? Why is his lust always above everything? I gave him everything. I stayed loyal. And he—he only wanted my body. After I got pregnant he went to someone else? I hate him!"
The world blurred.
My breath slipped away.
And I collapsed.
The last thing I heard was Manya crying, repeating, "That's not true… that's not true…"
—
Two hours later, I woke up slowly.
A nurse was adjusting a drip. Beside me, Sarthak was sitting on a stool, holding my hand tightly. Tear tracks had dried on his cheeks. He had cried… a lot.
I shifted, and he woke instantly.
He didn't speak. Instead, he dropped to his knees.
"I will explain everything… and I'm sorry."
His words felt like confirmation of the worst.
The betrayal burned deep.
"So you really cheated on me?" My voice trembled. "Disgusting. I feel disgusted even looking at you. You're a cheater. A f*cking cheater. The man I loved for years…"
I grabbed the pillow and threw it at him.
He didn't move.
He didn't defend himself.
He just sat there in silence—because he knew he was wrong.
"Tell me something, Sarthak," I demanded as tears streamed down my face. "Who killed my brother? Tell me now!"
He inhaled sharply. "You don't need to know that, Sammy."
"Don't you dare call me that!" I shouted. "Just tell me who killed my brother and leave."
Silence again.
I yelled, "Tell me now!"
Finally he spoke.
"It was Mr. Pratap."
My blood ran cold.
"What? Martika's father? No… no, that's not possible. She's my best friend. How could he kill my brother?"
My world tilted.
Martika was like a sister to me. Our fathers used to work together — they were partners in a cancer medicine project, and also connected to the darker mafia world. We grew up together. Played together. Everything was always perfect between our families.
But after the death of Sarthak's parents… and after my brother Aarnik… everything changed. Their project collapsed, the partnership fell apart, and we drifted. But I never imagined… never even dreamed that Pratap could be behind Aarnik's death.
I whispered, barely breathing, "Why did he kill him?"
"Because Aarnik saw something he shouldn't have," Sarthak said quietly. "He saw Pratap talking to a rival company. He told my parents about it. On the day he was going to expose him, Pratap killed him… and then staged the car accident that killed my parents too."
My heart froze.
"What… just that? That's why I never found him when I returned that night? That's why everything collapsed?" My voice was hollow. "Leave me alone."
As if on cue, the doctor walked in.
"No stress. No crying," he warned sharply. "If this happens again, there might not be a baby left inside you."
I nodded weakly.
Without another word, I blocked Sarthak's number.
I promised myself I would raise this baby alone.
No more chances.
No more heartbreak.
No more Sarthak.
I closed my eyes and drifted into sleep — the last sleep I ever took with him still near me.