Sleeping Next to a Lie"

She took Adhvait and handed him over to Chaitanya.

"Please watch him for a bit… I still have work left in the kitchen," she said.

As she continued playing with Adhvait, he suddenly asked, "Why… Where's Anandi?"

When she said Anandi had gone to her hometown, Chaitanya looked at Anvitha sharply. She pretended not to notice his gaze and walked out of the room.

After sending dinner to the elder's room, Anvitha took food for herself, Chaitanya, and the child to their room.

She had a habit of putting the child to sleep by telling bedtime stories. That night too, she lay the child beside her and began telling a story. Lying on the other side of the child, Chaitanya admired the beauty of her storytelling.

He thought sadly, No one ever told me bedtime stories when I was little.

He remembered how, one night, his grandfather gave him a toy car to make him sleep. Maybe that was why he ended up racing cars as an adult. With a heavy sigh, he pulled the child and Anvitha close, listening to her story—and eventually fell asleep, just like Adhvait.

Watching them sleep, someone (unnamed in the passage) expected Chaitanya to be angry about the child sleeping between them. But to her surprise, he didn't show the slightest displeasure.

Why isn't he reacting? she wondered, and fell asleep herself.

The next morning, after dropping Adhvait at playschool, Anvitha and Chaitanya headed to the hospital as usual.

While driving, Chaitanya glanced at Anvitha and asked,

"Is it true, Athira, that the world could end in just one day?"

She looked at him, confused. With a mocking smile, he continued,

"Will Adhvait sleep with us in the same bed for just fifteen more days? After that, who will you keep between us?"

With affection, he added,

"I waited for years for you… Can't I wait a few more days?"

She replied,

"You don't have to wait. That's why I asked you to forgive Bhavya and Geetha. If you do, we can live together."

He shook his head. "Impossible. No matter what you say, I won't agree to that. Lies must be punished."

Hearing that, her eyes welled up with tears. To hide it from him, Anvitha stepped out, pretending to watch something outside.

Suddenly remembering something, she turned back and said,

"Your grandfather mentioned going to some temple. If he's planning to go, don't let him go alone."

Chaitanya replied,

"Yes, he mentioned that to me too. I also don't like the idea of sending him alone, Athira. He has an old friend, Gunasekaran, who also lost his wife. I'll talk to him today. If he agrees, they both can go together in a car."

She nodded. "Alright."

Anvitha thought, Once Grandpa returns from the temple trip, I must tell Chaitanya the truth. With that resolve, she got out of the car and entered the hospital.

Two days later, Grandpa left for the temples with Gunasekaran.

A week passed peacefully.

Chaitanya eagerly awaited Anandi's return.

Anvitha, however, was anxious—fearful of what would happen once Grandpa returned and revealed the truth.

One night, while Anvitha was in the kitchen, Chaitanya was playing with Adhvait in his room, watching the news.

Suddenly, a news item shocked him—

It reported that someone had worked as a doctor in a major hospital for years using fake documents.

Hearing that, Chaitanya grew suspicious. What if someone like that exists in my hospital?

Immediately, he called the admin and said, "I want the employee records of the last five years on my desk by tomorrow morning."

The next morning, as usual, Chaitanya and Anvitha dropped Adhvait at playschool and went to the hospital.

Since many patients were waiting for her, Anvitha went about her work.

Chaitanya reassigned his patient to another doctor and went to his room.

There, he found the file with details of every employee who had joined the hospital in the last five years.

He called the reception and instructed not to be disturbed for the next two hours.

Sitting in his chair, he began checking the files one by one.

He cross-checked suspicious employees' phone numbers and colleges.

After about an hour and a half, he felt relieved—nothing was wrong so far.

But when he opened the next file, he was stunned.

It had his wife's photo.

Is this… Athira? he thought, taking the file for a closer look.

To his shock, the name on the file was "Anvitha," not "Athira."

Confused, he assumed it might be a data entry mistake and checked her certificates.

Even those bore the name "Anvitha."

Not just that—Athira had studied in Chennai, right? But this file said Madurai!

He was completely bewildered.

He kept repeating the name: "Anvitha… Anvitha…"

Where have I heard this name before?

He turned the file again. It listed her parents' names and mentioned she had an elder sister.

When he saw the sister's name—Athira—he couldn't believe it.

So the woman here is Athira's younger sister, Anvitha?

The one living with me, the one who married me… isn't Athira? Then what happened to the real Athira?

Why did Anvitha marry me?

The air-conditioned room felt suffocating as he began to sweat.

How did this mistake happen?

He couldn't bear the shock.

The woman living with him wasn't Athira—it was Anvitha.

He recalled that Athira had once told him about a younger sister…

But how could they look so alike?

Athira had also once said her sister was in love with someone.

Could that man have betrayed her?

Is Adhvait not my child?

Is he the child of that other man?

Did Anvitha marry me just to give the child a father?

Or did she do all this for my money?

His thoughts spiraled into confusion.

But only one person could answer all of this: Anvitha.

Was I living with Anvitha all this time without even knowing the difference between her and Athira?

He couldn't sit anymore.

Getting up from his chair, he paced around the room, thinking.

What happened to my Athira?

Did she marry someone else?

Why did Anvitha marry me?

She could have just told me the truth! There was no need for this betrayal!

His rage boiled over.

How dare she deceive me and marry me?

Everything was a lie!

What an act she put on!

How many lies must she have told while living with me?

She pretended to be Athira and fooled me to this extent?

Heartless woman…

Then… what happened to my real Athira?

He was so shaken by these thoughts that he couldn't work any further.