The Breaking of Anvitha"

Even then, Anvitha never said she loved Chaitanya. She couldn't bring herself to talk about her love to someone who already suspected an inappropriate relationship between her and Vijayan.

She had resigned herself to fate and only said, "I did it all for you… I just wanted you to get well soon."

But he didn't believe her. "What? You did it all for me? Why are you trying to fool me? Fine, let's say everything you did was for my sake. Then where is Aadhira? What did you do to her?" he asked angrily.

"I didn't do anything to Aadhira… She died during childbirth due to complications," Anvitha said softly.

Chaitanya, unable to bear the shock of Aadhira's death, grabbed Anvitha by the throat.

"Don't lie! My Aadhira is dead? She left me? I don't believe it! If you lie to me again, I swear I'll kill you right here!" he shouted, pressing her against the wall.

Struggling to breathe, Anvitha gasped, "No… It's true… Aadhira is really dead… Please believe me…"

Hearing that, he suddenly let go of her neck and stumbled back, overwhelmed by the shock of Aadhira's death. He sat down and tears filled his eyes.

Seeing him like that, Anvitha realized how deeply he had loved her sister. But it gave her no peace. Her heart was torn.

After a while, he got up again, grabbed her throat, and shouted, "Did all of you gang up to kill her and now you're trying to act innocent in front of me?"

"What's wrong with this man? Has he lost his mind?" she thought, and pushed his hand away with all her strength.

As a result of his grip, she started coughing. Composing herself, she shouted, "Are you an idiot? How can I kill my own sister's child? Do you even have a brain?"

Hearing that, he slapped her hard. Anvitha fell to the ground.

"You came to me under a fake name and acted all innocent! Thought you were clever, didn't you? But I figured it out! Do you think I'm a fool?" he yelled, grabbing her hair.

"Why did you lie to me about being Aadhira? If you really did it for my good, you should've told me before our marriage, shouldn't you? If you had told me, I would've found a solution. Instead, you lied and fooled me for months! Did you think I'm insane? Do you all think I'm crazy? Each of you claiming to be doing good for me while lying to my face! Do you think I'm that gullible?" he raged.

Unable to bear his accusations, Anvitha cried and shouted, "Whether you say it or not, you're insane! When someone clearly does something for you and you still fail to understand them, what kind of human are you?"

Angered even more by that, he slapped her again. She collapsed to the floor.

"You even claimed that a child you had with someone else is mine! What kind of woman are you? Don't you have any shame?" he shouted.

Holding her sore cheek, Anvitha wept and said, "It's your child… I didn't give birth to anyone else's child… I haven't given birth at all… I don't have a child… Please believe me…"

"I'll just run a small test and I'll find out the truth myself. Shall I?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Anvitha didn't understand what he meant. Looking at Chaitanya in confusion, he said, "What are you pretending for? I'm a doctor. You're a doctor. Don't you know how to determine if a woman is a virgin or if she's given birth? Should I run that test on you and find out?"

His words made her feel sick with disgust. "You have no shame talking like this? Do you really need a test to know the truth? Don't you trust me at all? You think it's necessary to test me instead of believing me? What kind of human are you? You have no compassion at all… You're a beast…" she sobbed.

"I don't care. I'll be a beast then. I won't trust anyone without proof anymore. But I need to know this very moment—at least whether the child is mine or not. Or are you lying about that too?" he demanded and dragged her by the hair to the patient examination room in his house.

No matter how much she resisted, Anvitha couldn't escape Chaitanya. She cried and begged, "Please don't do this… this is wrong… I've never had a child… I've never had an inappropriate relationship with anyone… Please believe me…" But he didn't listen.

He was focused on his actions. When she saw him putting on gloves, her stomach churned. How did I think I could live with a man like this? she thought, unable to lie down on the bed.

She tried to get up and run, but he caught her and forced her down again. Her actions only made Chaitanya more suspicious.

"So everything you said was a lie? If you really haven't done anything wrong, agree to the test. If you're lying, then leave right now. From this moment on, we have no relationship. Take the child with you and go," he said coldly.

Shocked by his words, she lay down silently on the bed, tears streaming from her eyes as she closed them tightly. Let whatever happens, happen, she thought.

With gloves fully on, he examined her. She trembled when he touched her, clenching her teeth. After that, she felt nothing. She lay like a wooden log, tears continuing to fall. Her own husband had tested her womanhood. She couldn't bear the humiliation.

It's over. Everything is over. I can never live with him again, she decided firmly, eyes still shut.

After nearly ten minutes of examining her, Chaitanya was shocked. She was still a virgin. She had never given birth. That meant she was telling the truth.

Realizing this, he let out a sigh of relief and turned away from her.

"Get ready. Let's go home," he said, without even looking at her, removing and tossing the gloves before walking out of the room.

Anvitha, adjusting her saree, could barely stand. She kept telling herself not to cry, but the tears wouldn't stop. She wept for a long time.

Chaitanya waited in the car, but when Anvitha didn't come, he called her mobile—but no one answered. He waited for a long time, but she didn't return. He went back into the hospital to check his room, but she wasn't there.

He came out and asked a nurse if she had seen Aadhira.

"Sir, she just left walking this way. Didn't you see her?" the nurse asked.

"Oh, yeah. I had asked her to step out for something," he lied. "Alright, you may go," he said and followed the direction she had gone.

But even after searching everywhere, he couldn't find her.

She'll have to come home for the child anyway. There's no other choice, he thought, shrugging his shoulders, and drove home.