Page 87 of Mrs. Rathore

This marriage hadn’t been a complete nightmare, perhaps. But I certainly wasn’t living in a dream either.

When I finally finished, I held the ghungroos in my hands and smiled slightly. They weren’t perfect, but they were mine, just like my life.

It had been nearly an hour since Aryan left with Rhea and Dadi to drop them off at the airport, but he still hadn’t returned. Maybe he was with Ira...talking, laughing. I didn’t care, and I never would.

But then the door opened.

I turned my head and saw Aryan standing in the doorway. He looked tired, his hair was messy, and his sleeves were rolled up. He opened his mouth to speak but didn’t.

“What?” I asked.

His eyes went to the ghungroos in my hand. “You fixed them,” he said.

“I did it for myself,” I replied coldly.

He paused and then said, “You shouldn’t have acted like that in front of them.”

“Acted?” I narrowed my eyes. Of course, he was looking for a fight again.

He nodded. “You didn’t need to talk to them like that.”

My temper flared. “So now it’s my fault again? Should I just let them assume I’m pregnant? I’m tired, Aryan. Tired of pretending everything’s fine when it’s not!”

He let out a deep sigh and sat down on the bed. “I’m tired too.”

For a moment, we just stared at each other. We were two exhausted people playing roles neither of us intended to play.

“Why did you marry me?” I asked suddenly.

He looked up, caught off guard, but didn’t answer.

“Was it guilt or were you just scared of prison?”

Still, no response.

“Forget it,” I muttered, turning to leave.

But then, softly, he said, “Because I thought I owed you.”

I stopped in my tracks and turned to him. His expression was unreadable. Aryan never looked sad or happy but just blank.

“You don’t owe me anything,” I said.

“I do,” he replied quietly. “I hurt you. I ruined your legs. I destroyed your dreams. I thought marrying you would make it better, but I only made it worse.”

His words shocked me. I didn’t know what to say.

“Then stop making it worse,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Let me breathe.”

He nodded silently.

I turned and walked out of the room, ghungroos in my hand, and stepped into the backyard. I needed air and space.

After a long while, I felt like I could be myself again, not a wife or anything, just Avni.

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Chapter 33

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