Page 130 of One Hellish Wedlock
Later That Night
Aanya stood under the shower, letting the water pour over her. She wanted to erase the memory of everything. Of every betrayal, every lie, every cold truth she had been forced to face in the last twenty-four hours. First her father and Kyle… and now Reyansh. One by one, they had hardened her heart to stone. She felt nothing for them anymore. She was done. Done pretending, done justifying, done hoping.
Leaving them behind was no longer painful. It was necessary.
The Next Morning
As expected, Reyansh hadn’t returned to their room the last night. For the second time in a row, he had slept in the drawing room. And for once, Aanya was relieved. She had no strength left for another confrontation. She was done with his silence, his hot-and-cold moods, his secrets, and their collapsing facade of a marriage.
When she woke up, there was a message from Radhika already confirming that they had landed safely in California.
Aanya typed back a quickSee you soon Diand tucking her phone away, she got out of bed, dressed for work, and headed out, ready to put one more day behind her and one step closer to her escape.
CHAPTER 24
Chopra Group Office
It had never been this bad. Sunny had seen Reyansh at his most ruthless, his most withdrawn, even his most furious, but never like this. Never so broken. Something deeper than just his sister’s departure was clawing at him from within. Every time Radhika had left in the past, Reyansh had been sombre, not shattered.
“Boss,” Sunny finally interrupted, checking his watch. “You have a meeting scheduled in twenty minutes.”
“Cancel it,” Reyansh replied without looking up.
Sunny didn’t push back. He was about to turn and leave when Reyansh stopped him again.
“Do me a favour,” he said, retrieving a sealed envelope from his drawer and handed it to Sunny. “Give this to Aanya. Personally. At her office.”
Sunny took the envelope, unsure what it contained.
“Boss… is everything okay?”
“I don’t know, Sunny,” Reyansh confessed. “I honestly don’t know where any of this is heading. Just make sure she gets this… and let me know once she accepts it.”
He nodded and walked away, leaving Reyansh alone in the silence of his own grief.
Icon Interiors
Aanya had just wrapped up her final meeting with Prem and the leads of the onsite California project when she noticed Sunnywaiting in the reception area. His unexpected presence made her heart jolt. If he was here, it had to be important.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” Aanya excused herself and made her way to Sunny.
“Hey, Aanya,” he greeted politely.
“Sunny? What are you doing here?”
“Boss asked me to give this to you,” he said, extending the envelope.
“What’s inside?” she asked, taking it from him.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say. He didn’t seem... well enough to explain. Honestly, I’ve never seen him thisdisturbed.”
Her throat tightened. If she had no feelings for Reyansh, why did hearing that sting so sharply? What exactly was she trying to deny?
“I heard you’re leaving for California tomorrow,” Sunny added with a small smile.
“Yes,” she nodded.
“All the best.”
