Page 111 of Mrs. Rathore

I sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the window. From the balcony, I could see a quiet stretch of land, dusty trees, some buildings in the distance, and army men marching in uniform. Their faint voices reached me.

But inside me, everything felt soft, hesitant, and unsure. I didn’t belong here. Not in this flat. Not in his world. But for the next six months, I would have to find a way to live here with him. In silence, in duty, in something that wasn’t love but still wasn’t hate either.

I still didn’t understand why he brought me here. Maybe he wanted to distract me from my grief over Maa. Or maybe this was his twisted way of punishing me for breaking things off with him, for everything that went wrong.

“I think we need to buy some new furniture, curtains, and a mattress,” Aryan said, walking up to me and running his fingers through his short hair. I couldn’t help but smile. He looked so effortlessly handsome with his cropped hair and clean-shaven face. At home, he looked a little messy, but here he was an officer. Disciplined. Put together.

“I still have a few days off,” he added. “We could go shopping if you want.”

Was he seriously asking me to go furniture shopping for our temporary home? The flat already had the basics except maybe a few kitchen appliances.

“What kind of furniture are you planning to buy?” I asked.

“A bed, shelves, a cupboard… or anything you like. We can decorate the place however you want.”

“I don’t want you to waste money on unnecessary things,” I said. “We already have iron beds, cupboards, and shelves. I think we can manage.”

“I’m not sleeping on that metal bed,” he said. “And two people can’t possibly fit on it.”

“Two people?” I repeated in surprise.

“We’ll be using a single bed,” he said firmly. “Don’t you dare think we’ll be living in separate rooms.”

My heart skipped a beat. So now he wanted to act like a married couple.

“Are you serious?” I asked.

“Are you serious?” he snapped back, and I frowned at his tone. “You’re my wife, Avni. I want you to act like it.”

“You want me to pretend to be your wife?”

“You are my wife,” he said coldly.

“I thought you wanted a divorce so you could marry Ira...”

“We can’t get divorced, Avni,” he gritted out, jaw tight. “My father won’t allow it. I’ll try to convince him eventually, but until then, we need to act like a husband and wife. We’re under too many eyes. I won’t let people think I’m some heartless bastard of a husband.”

“Then why the hell did you bring me here if you don’t want your image ruined?” I asked bitterly. “Because I’m telling you now I won’t be playing the sweet, obedient wife.”

He stepped closer, his eyes cold and unreadable. “I brought you here because I know you didn’t want to stay at your father’s house. And I know you can’t go back to Rathore Mansion either. I just wanted to take you away from everything, give your mind some space to breathe. I’m trying to be a good husband, Miss Ballerina.”

He leaned in close, his breath warm against my ear, his voice dropping lower. “And you better play your role. Because if you don’t…”

His tone turned threatening, his words almost a whisper. “I’ll make you do it.”

I gasped when Aryan’s thumb brushed the corner of my lips. “You’ve got lipstick here,” he murmured, his voice seductive.

God, I liked the feel of his rough thumb against my skin. My eyes flicked to his lips, something fluttering deep in my stomach. I wanted to grab him by the neck and kiss that gorgeous mouth.

“You want something?” he asked, catching me staring.

I jumped a little, startled.

“No,” I said quickly, but my voice came out husky. I looked away, letting out a long breath.

What was wrong with me? Why did I react like this every time he got close? This wasn’t how I was supposed to feel. It was wrong but somehow, it felt right.

Aryan stared at me for a beat longer before stepping back and turning around. “Get ready by four sharp,” he said. “We have a lot of shopping to do.”

---