Page 298 of Hateful Games

My best friend Bianca is officially and for the final time happily married.

The occasion brings me so much joy.

The ceremony, the view, her beautiful red lehnga, and the music… everything was romantic, surreal, and breathtaking.

I cried, which I’ve apparently taken as a hobby, as I stood and watched she and Dash take seven pheras around the holy fire in the exquisitely decorated mandap. Shammi, who she met when she moved away last year and has gotten super close like family, gave her away to Dash in place of her real father.

The moment was so emotional, I was a mess.

Me? The girl who never wears her feelings on her sleeves, has lost her edge and is smiling more freely. I still have my resting bitch face but it’s not as scary as it used to be. Or so says Iris and Bianca, when I saw them earlier before we left in separate cars to drive to the resort where the reception is.

The wedding brought back memories of my own.

What a wreck I was, crumbling inside, torn over the uncertainty of my future. That I was exchanging one prison for another.

Yet months later, it’s like I’m living a fairy tale.

Or I’ve magically transported into living another woman’s life.

Because mine sure as heck doesn’t seem real.

When I was walking down the aisle, my gaze locked on Nova, I wanted to turn around and escape. Scared of what hell he had in store for me. Never in a million years did I think I’d become inseparable from my husband. In more ways than one.

Although lately, he’s been a little detached and closed off. There’s an edge in the corners of his eyes that always had warmth, even at the peak of their intensity. An invisible cloak of tension simmers in the air around him. I catch it in the moments he doesn’t know I’m staring at him while he’s deep in thought.

Thoughts I’m not privy to.

The unknown is killing me, weaving a chaos in my psyche. I hate the wall that’s slowly building brick by brick. So many times I’ve fought the urge to demand answers.

Is this what being in love is?

Being vulnerable, so deeply connected that even the littlest of difference drives you mad, skyrockets your fears and makes you want to fix it. I know what hiding a secret is like, the shadows that become a part of you and the conflict.

Nova is hiding something; I can sense it.

I just don’t know what or why.

Does he still not trust me?

Of course, he doesn’t. You’re hiding truths from him.

I wish he would share what’s bothering him. While this dark cloud hangs over our heads, he’s still the same attentive, possessive, and filthy-mouthed man who’s constantly doting over me.

Despite having a busy schedule, he chose to accompany me to my best friend’s wedding. Because it was important to me. Although his response was rather on the lines of seductive. He didn’t want to miss the chance of seeing me dressed up like his wet dream.

Once he saw the backless cocktail gown I was wearing, he was on me in a flash and growling in my ear, “No way I’m letting you go alone. One glance at you, everyone will need a reminder that you’re my wife. The lucky man you’ll be going home with.”

With a satisfied smirk, I had let him guide me to the car.

That was in the morning, now the sun has fallen down and we’re again locked in the back seat while the driver rides ahead.

“Nova?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“I’m curious,” I murmur, tracing the wedding band on his left hand resting on my thigh.

He breaks away from staring out the window and glances toward me, squinting his eyes curiously, “About?”

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