Page 119 of One Hellish Wedlock
“But—”
“This conversation ends here, Di,” he said firmly and walked away toward their room.
Aanya turned to Radhika, her expression apologetic and conflicted.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Di,” she said gently, holding her hand.
Radhika nodded, her pain thinly veiled. “It’s alright, Aanya. The fault is mine. I shouldn’t have put you both in this situation without asking first. I just thought… you’d both be comfortable with it. I was wrong.”
“Are you angry with me?” Aanya asked hesitantly.
“Just a little hurt,” Radhika admitted. “Not angry. You and Reyansh are both dear to me. But I won’t impose my beliefs on you again. I promise.”
Aanya had no words. She simply hugged Radhika, trying to make amends with her silence, then turned to leave the room.
Rishi joined his wife and held her gently. “Radhika,” he murmured, “I told you to check with them first. Now you’ve upset them both and yourself.”
Radhika pouted, sighing against his chest. “I didn’t think they’d refuse, Rishi.”
“It’s alright,” he said, soothing her. “Give them time. One day they’ll come around and when they do, they’ll fulfil every tradition with open hearts.”
“I hope so,” Radhika whispered, clinging to the hope that her brother’s marriage wasn’t as broken as it seemed.
*****************
Reyansh had been quietly waiting for Aanya to return in the room and when she did, he didn’t waste a single second to speak.
“You wanted to have a serious talk with me?” he asked.
“Yes,” Aanya replied. “And it can’t wait.” She gestured sharply toward her forehead. “Not after this.”
His eyes followed her hand, landing on the vermillion he had placed in her hairline.
“Everything happened so fast,” he murmured, his voice almost apologetic. “I failed to read your reaction. I didn’t think you’d have a problem with it.”
Aanya stared at him, stunned. “This carries a lot of weight, Reyansh. And I’m not ready for it.”
He nodded stiffly. “Heard it. Loud and clear.”
She inhaled deeply, her pulse thudding at the sudden change in his tone. Still, she had to say it.
“I’ll move out after Di leaves.”
He swallowed, but gave no visible reaction.
“I don’t know where I’ll go, but it definitely won’t be my father’s house. I’ll find my own place, and you don’t need to worry about that either.”
Still no reply.
“And the keys…Nani will be more than happy to take them back from me. She’s the one who deserves them, not me.”
His eyes locked with hers, blazing now. Aanya felt the heat of his growing temper.
“I know Di will still want to keep in touch, but we can do that separately,” she added. “When she calls, I’ll tell her you’re busy… or something. We can manage it.”
Was she telling that to him or herself? She couldn’t even tell anymore. None of this felt like a discussion. She was rattling off decisions and he remained infuriatingly silent.
“And when the baby is born, and Di is out of any danger, we’ll tell her it didn’t work. She’ll be hurt… but she’ll understand. Eventually.” Her voice cracked. “This whole arrangement was always temporary, Reyansh. It wasn’t supposed to last.”
