When Neha came out, her expression was grave.
“Mrs. Sharma… we need to talk.”
My knees nearly gave way.
“Please. Just tell me.”
She asked me to sit. I didn’t.
“Anaya has disclosed that the pregnancy is not the result of a consensual relationship,” she said gently.
“Someone hurt her. This was not her choice.”
My head spun.
“Who?” I managed to choke out. “Who did this to my child?”
Neha hesitated.
“She wasn’t ready to say his name. But she indicated it was someone she sees regularly. Someone she feared no one would believe her about.”
Fear pooled inside me—cold and heavy.
“Does she feel safe at home?” Neha asked quietly.
The question struck me like a slap.
“Of course,” I said, but my voice sounded thin. “I… I would never let anything happen to her.”
Neha looked at me with compassion—and with a painful honesty reserved for those about to watch their world fall apart.
“Sometimes,” she said softly, “children stay silent because they’re trying to protect the very people they love.”
Something flickered in my mind:
Anaya shrinking when Rajesh entered a room.
Her growing silence.
Her sudden fear of weekends when he stayed home.
No.
My throat tightened painfully.
I collapsed into a chair, shaking.
“For now,” Neha continued, “I recommend that you and Anaya stay somewhere else tonight—perhaps with a relative—just as a precaution.”
My breathing became shallow.
Rajesh had always been strict, sometimes harsh—but not this.
Not this.
Except… I was already thinking it.
And every memory I had pushed aside came flooding back.
“I’ll take her to my sister’s place,” I whispered.
Neha placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Good. The police will speak with you both tomorrow. Tonight, focus on keeping Anaya safe.”
When I returned to the examination room, Anaya sat curled into herself, staring at the wall. When she saw me, she broke down again.
I held her tightly.
“I’m here,” I whispered. “You’re safe with me. We’ll get through this. I promise.”
But inside, I was falling apart.
Because I already feared the truth I wasn’t ready to face.
And the next day, that truth shattered our lives.
