Page 229 of One Hellish Wedlock
“I should be asking you that,” Aanya replied coolly. “What areyoudoing in California?”
Caught off guard, Shagufta scrambled to regain control. She’d handled Aanya before. But this woman beside her now? She wasn’t the same girl anymore.
“I don’t need your permission to travel, do I?” Shagufta said, masking her nerves with indifference.
“Of course not,” Aanya said calmly. “But you do needmypermission before walking intomyhouse and fillingmysister-in-law’s ears with your toxic lies.”
Shagufta choked on her drink, some spilling across the counter and her dress.
“Damn you,” she spat.
Aanya grinned, offering a tissue, one Shagufta rudely smacked away. Aanya didn’t offer another. Instead, she leaned back on the high stool with regal ease.
“This is what happens when you try to fling filth into someone else’s life,” she said, voice tinged with mock sympathy.
“Oh… so Radhika told you I visited?” Shagufta asked, trying to sound unfazed.
“She did,” Aanya confirmed. “And it didn’t affect a damn thing. I’m still the daughter-in-law of the Chopra family. Di still loves me like her own. And Reyansh?” Aanya’s eyes sparkled. “I don’t have to tell you how much that man loves me.”
Shagufta gritted her teeth. The pain in her eyes betrayed the jealousy she couldn’t suppress.
“Let me share a secret,” Aanya added, leaning in. “Reyansh and I remarried last week in Cape Town with full rituals, and surrounded by both our families.”
Nowthatwas news Shagufta hadn’t seen coming.
She’d known Aanya had been in Cape Town—those award ceremony pictures had surfaced online fast. For the first time ever, Reyansh and Aanya hadn’t held back with the press. Every frame they shared told the story of a couple deeply connected, effortlessly happy, and maddeningly in sync. Each image had stoked the fire of Shagufta’s jealousy until it raged uncontrollably.
And although she had convinced herself it was all for show, she still wondered how did it happen? How could her plan fail? She had told Aanya the truth about her mother’s will and how it linked directly to her marriage with Reyansh. She’d seen Aanya crumble that day, shattered and stunned. And when Aanya left for California, Shagufta had toasted her supposed victory. She believed she’d finally won. That the thread tying Reyansh and Aanya together had snapped clean. That they were two broken individuals drifting farther apart.
She waited, hungry for headlines, certain that the news of their separation…or rather their divorce, would break sooner or later. But six months passed. No court notices, no scandal, not even a whisper. Slowly, the horrifying truth settled in that Reyansh and Aanya were still in contact.
That revelation had been the last straw. She had flown to California with one goal: to sever whatever fragile bond remained between them, no matter the cost.
And now? Aanya looked her in the eye and casually declared that they’d not only reconciled—they’dremarried? In presence of their families? With rituals? How was that possible?
Before she could speak, Aanya leaned back and lifted her phone, unlocking the screen with a few swipes.
“There’s your proof,” Aanya said softly. “Just so you know I’m not making this up.”
She turned her phone toward her, showing a photo from their wedding night aboard a private yacht.
There it was.
Reyansh stood behind Aanya, arms wrapped tightly around her waist, chin resting possessively on her shoulder, his lips almost grazing her cheek. Their smiles weren’t for the cameras this time. They didn’t just look like newlyweds. They looked like two people who had found home in each other.
Shagufta stared, blinking hard.
“I didn’t come here to make you jealous,” Aanya added, her voice cooling. “I came to warn you. That night, you risked Di and her baby’s life. And I’ll never forgive you for that. Thank your luck Reyansh doesn’t know yet. Because once he finds out, you know what he’ll do. You’ve hurt his sister, the one he is so protective about. He won’t sit quiet.”
Shagufta exhaled sharply. That cool, commanding arrogance wasn’t the Aanya she remembered…the girl who once needed shelter and backup. This Aanya was solid, self-assured, and fiercely protective of her own. It threw Shagufta off-balance, even if she’d never admit it. But she was still Shagufta Khanna. And no woman…no matter how transformed, could rattle her for long.
Sliding off the high chair, she straightened.
“You don’t scare me, Aanya,” she hissed. “And all this doesn’t mean you won. This smile you’re flaunting, that so-called married bliss you’re wrapped up in? It’s on borrowed time. Your fairytale has an expiry date, and I’ll be the one to stamp it.”
Aanya’s jaw locked.
“Old habits die hard, right?” Shagufta sneered. “And old fears? They still bite. You’ll know what I mean… soon!”
