BLOOD DOESN'T LIE

CHAPTER 8

BLOOD DOESN'T LIE

A Story of Blood, Betrayal and Destiny

By: walidah_hm

Chapter 8 – Eight Months Later

The first light of dawn slipped through the carved windows of the Singhania Mansion.

Eight months had passed.

The house had changed again.

Baby Vishu was no longer the tiny newborn who slept all day.

Now he crawled across the marble floor, chasing a bright red wooden ball with determined little hands.

"Vishu!" Deepak laughed, crawling after him.

"You'll catch it before me!"

The little boy looked back, giggled, and crawled even faster.

Pooja stood in the doorway carrying folded clothes.

She couldn't help smiling.

"They're becoming partners in crime."

Kumar laughed as he scooped Vishu into his arms.

"And he's already as stubborn as his mother."

For a brief moment...

The room became quiet.

Naina's name still carried a gentle ache.

Pooja looked at Vishu and whispered in her heart,

"He's growing just the way you wished."

Upstairs...

The atmosphere was very different.

Sakshi stood before the mirror, both hands resting on her large stomach.

Her breathing had become heavier these days.

She adjusted her dupatta...

Then stopped.

Her eyes drifted to the framed photograph on the shelf.

It had been taken during a family gathering.

Naina was smiling in it.

The memory hit her without warning.

A hospital room.

A crying baby.

People rushing through the hallway.

Then...

Silence.

Sakshi quickly looked away.

"No..."

She whispered.

Her fingers trembled.

"No..."

A tear slipped down her cheek.

She wiped it away immediately.

"I'm not going to die."

"I'm not."

The bedroom door opened.

Raj stepped inside carrying a bowl of sliced fruit.

He stopped when he saw her wiping her face.

"Sakshi?"

She turned away.

"I'm fine."

He walked closer.

"You've been saying that every day."

She didn't answer.

Raj gently placed the bowl on the table.

Then, without a word, he knelt in front of her and rested his hand over hers.

"Look at me."

She refused.

"Sakshi."

Slowly...

She raised her eyes.

Fear had replaced her usual confidence.

"I don't want to go to the hospital."

Raj frowned.

"Why?"

Her voice cracked.

"What if..."

She couldn't finish.

"What if I don't come back?"

Raj understood immediately.

"Naina."

Sakshi closed her eyes.

One tear became two.

"I saw what happened."

"I heard everyone crying."

"I..."

She swallowed hard.

"I don't want my baby to grow up without a mother."

Raj stood and pulled her into a gentle embrace.

"You are not Naina."

"The doctors are watching you carefully."

"You and our baby will be fine."

Sakshi clutched his kurta tightly.

For the first time in months...

She allowed herself to cry.

Not because she had become kind.

Not because she had changed.

But because fear had found a place even inside her proud heart.

Outside the room...

Dhuraya had been about to knock.

Instead...

She quietly stepped back.

She looked toward Vaani, who had also heard the soft crying.

Vaani sighed.

"She's frightened."

Dhuraya nodded.

"Every mother is."

Later that afternoon...

The family doctor arrived for Sakshi's routine check-up.

After finishing the examination, he smiled.

"The baby is healthy."

"The heartbeat is strong."

Raj let out the breath he had been holding.

"And Sakshi?"

"She's doing well."

The doctor looked at Sakshi.

"But you need to rest."

"And stop worrying so much."

Sakshi forced a small smile.

"I'll try."

In the kitchen...

Pooja stirred a pot of dal while Vaani rolled fresh rotis.

The rich aroma filled the room.

Deepak ran in, slightly out of breath.

"Maa!"

"Vishu stole my toy!"

Before Pooja could answer...

Vishu crawled in behind him, proudly holding the wooden elephant.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Kumar walked in moments later.

"There you are!"

He lifted Vishu into his arms.

"My little thief."

Vishu laughed happily and clapped his tiny hands.

Vaani watched the scene with a warm smile.

"They're growing up together."

Pooja nodded.

"Like brothers."

Vijay, who had just entered to deliver groceries, froze for a second.

Like brothers.

The words echoed painfully inside him.

He looked at Deepak.

Then at Vishu.

His jaw tightened.

No one noticed.

That evening...

Rain tapped softly against the mansion windows.

Sakshi sat alone in the nursery that had been prepared for her baby.

Tiny dresses hung neatly inside the wardrobe.

Soft toys filled the shelves.

She picked up a pair of little pink socks.

A faint smile appeared.

"I hope you're a girl."

Then her expression changed.

She remembered Naina again.

Quickly, she shook her head.

"No."

"I'm stronger than this."

She carefully folded the socks and placed them back.

By the time Raj entered the room...

The tears were gone.

The proud Sakshi had returned.

"I've decided something," she said.

Raj raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"Our child..."

She looked around the beautifully decorated nursery.

"Will have the finest life."

"The finest clothes."

"The finest education."

"And no one..."

She paused.

"No one from the servants' quarters will ever be equal to my child."

Raj looked at her quietly.

He wanted to argue.

But seeing the fear she had hidden all day...

He simply sighed.

Some wounds healed slowly.

Others...

Turned into walls around the heart.

And Sakshi's walls...

Were only beginning to rise.

To Be Continued... 🩸✨