Page 111 of One Hellish Wedlock
Her voice cracked, but she didn’t stop.
“You assumed I’m a characterless woman, unworthy to be your wife. Then you went home. Told your Nani, and from that moment on, I was nothing more than a stain on your so-called family reputation. So don’t stand here and act like the one who got hurt.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she still continued.
“You knew exactly what you were getting into, and you still signed up for it. So don’t you dare play the victim now.”
Reyansh froze.
“I left because you didn’t stop me, Reyansh. And you never once looked back. You buried yourself in work, convinced yourself it was easier this way. Now, all of a sudden, because your sister wanted us to reconcile, you decided to show up and act like... this?”
Reyansh’s throat bobbed. Her words hit hard and for once, he didn’t fight them.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I thought letting go was giving you freedom. But I see now. I was just being a coward. I should’ve said this a long time ago. Maybe if I had... we wouldn’t be here like this.”
Aanya blinked at him, stunned. This was the first time he had openly taken responsibility.
“I didn’t fight for us. I didn’t fight for you,” he continued. “I should’ve held on instead of walking away, Aanya.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to break again in front of him.
“Forget it,” she muttered. “Why are we even bringing this up now?”
She turned to leave, but he caught her wrist.
“Because it matters now.”
She stilled.
It. Matters. To. Him.
He stepped in front of her again.
“I saw the real you when we began living under one roof,” he said. “I saw the truth. The way you love my sister. I saw your fears. I saw how out of place you felt in your own home. And that’s when I realized how badly I’d judged you. You weren’tperfect, Aanya. But neither was I. And I should have fought harder for us. Because that’s what marriage is.”
Aanya laughed bitterly.
“Marriage?” she bit out. “I still don’t understand your reasons fully for marrying me, but I signed those papers out of obligation. I felt like baggage, passed from my father to you. This marriage meant nothing to me. Then or now. I didn’t ask for your sudden interest when we agreed to pretend for Di for two months. And now coming to love and our marriage… that’s the last thing I need right now. So lower your expectations.”
She yanked her hand from his grip and strode toward the exit. If she could take the next flight back to Delhi, she would. But she was stuck here for three more days with Reyansh Chopra.
And if this one night already felt like a storm, God only knew what kind of chaos he’d unleash next.
An hour later
Reyansh downed his drink in one harsh gulp, trying and failing to drown out the echo of his wife’s painful words. She’d left him standing there, alone in the very pub where she had once created memories so unexpectedly beautiful… only to taint them tonight.
He had been so wrong all along. Obsessed with building an empire, he had neglected the one thing that might have grounded him:her. Had he spared even a fraction of his time to understand her, to pursue her like a man should, things might not have spiralled into this chaos.
What had he truly expected? That flying her to South Africa, revealing how they had first met, confessing she’d left a mark on him from that very night, would melt her defiance and make her fall for him? What a fool he’d been.
Aanya wasn’t like the women who chased him. She had been shaped by abandonment, distrust, and wounds she never even tried to hide. And he had only made those worse. Falling for her had been easy. Getting her into his life, easier still. But cherishing her? Protecting her? Understanding her pain, her silence, her fears? That was the part he had failed.
And this... this was only the beginning of his confession. What would happen when she learned the rest? About her mother’s will and how that twisted document tied directly into their marriage? He couldn’t let that surface now. Not when he had already shattered her trust once tonight.
Reyansh emptied the glass, tossed a few bills on the counter, and left the pub with his own guilt trailing behind him.
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