Page 122 of Mrs. Pandey
“When did you come?” she asked softly, though her voice carried surprise, almost panic. She quickly sat up against the headboard,her eyes darting to our son to reassure herself that Iraaj was still safely asleep. Then she turned to me, her expression shifting to anger. “What was wrong with you? You just left us in the middle of dinner!”
I held her gaze, trying to steady my voice though inside, every muscle trembled with the storm I carried. “I lost my control,” I admitted calmly, though the words felt heavier than stone. In truth, I was shaking on the inside, consumed with rage whenever I thought of what those bastards had done to my Ira. One had dared to assault her. Another had dared to hit her. And hell, I had punished them for it. My soul had demanded their suffering in exchange for her tears.
She searched my face quietly, as trying to read what I wasn’t saying, trying to look beyond the mask I wore. A long silence stretched between us before she suddenly moved closer. And then, to my utter surprise, she hugged me.
Her arms went around me with a desperation I hadn’t expected, her soft body pressing against mine, her warmth soaking into my skin. I froze, stunned. It had been two long years, two brutal, endless years since she had willingly embraced me. Two years since I had felt her acceptance, her love was given freely without resistance.
My hands trembled as they lifted, almost afraid this moment would vanish if I dared to touch her. But then instinct overcame hesitation, and I buried my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent, that familiar home-like fragrance that had never left my memory. I held her tightly, as though I could weld our bodies together. My heart ached so fiercely it was as if every vein in my body had been craving this very embrace, starving for it.
“I missed you,” I whispered hoarsely, though the words didn’t even scratch the surface of the torment I had endured without her.
She tightened her hold on me, and her next words made my chest constrict painfully.
“I’m sorry for everything I did to you, Prashant…”
I pulled back slightly, my protest already forming. “No, you...”
“Wait.” She silenced me with a soft finger against my lips, her eyes shimmering. “Let me finish.” Her voice trembled, her breaths uneven. “It was all my fault. I should never have rejected your love, not when I knew how much it meant to me, not when I knew it was the only real thing I had. I was blind, Prashant. I was so stupid. I kept telling myself lies just to feel safe, lies that made me push you away. But the truth…” She swallowed hard, her voice breaking. “The truth is, I was in love with you from the day you stepped into my world.”
Her confession hit me like a tidal wave, dragging me under.
“I was never this happy with anyone else, not even with Aryan,” she continued, her gaze locked with mine, unflinching. “You… you felt like the missing piece of my life. You weren’t just a man to me but you were everything. My healer, my anchor, my madness. No one, literally no one, has ever cared for me the way you have. And I was addicted to it, addicted to you. The closer I got, the more I craved you. You were my drug, Prashant, and I kept denying myself the only thing that made me whole.”
A tear slipped from my eyes before I could stop it. My throat tightened painfully as her words pierced deeper than any knife.
“I deserved this lesson,” she whispered, her hand brushing my cheek. “I deserved the pain for torturing a man like you.”
“Tell me I’m dreaming,” I whispered brokenly, clutching her, my body trembling. “Tell me, Ira, please…”
“You’re not dreaming, stupid,” she teased softly, punching my chest, though her smile wavered with her own tears.
A small, almost desperate laugh escaped me, but it died quickly when fury returned at the thought of her suffering. “Why didn’t you tell me about Kabir earlier?” I asked, the name bitter on my tongue, filling me with disgust.
Her eyes darkened with guilt. “Because I didn’t want you to feel used.”
“But you were using me,” I said, not breaking eye contact. My voice wasn’t accusing, it was simply raw truth.
"I was not using you. I just didn't want to marry that girl." She shook her head, a faint, self-deprecating laugh escaping. “I went mad when I saw you with another woman. I lost myself. I just wanted an excuse to break your marriage, to claim you back, to make you mine. I was selfish, I know. But I’m glad I saw Kabir’s real face in time, otherwise…” Her voice faltered, the pain shadowing her features. Then she punched my chest again, this time harder. “But you! You were ready to marry that girl?”
I sighed heavily, guilt pressing on me. “I just… I wanted a distraction. When I saw you preparing to marry that doctor, I thought I had no place in your life anymore. So I said yes to Mohini. I thought it was the right thing to do, thought it would keep me from breaking into your life again. But in truth, I wasonly messing up her life too. Thankfully, you came on time and saved all three of us.”
She shook her head, muttering under her breath. “But still you kept messing things…”
“Because I thought I was still trapped in that dark cell, but I realised it late,” I admitted, cupping her face with both hands, forcing her to look at me. “I was alive, yes, but I wasn’t living. Not without you. I saw you everywhere, Ira. Always. No other woman ever existed for me. And none ever will.”
Her lips trembled. “Promise?”
“Seriously, Ira,” I groaned, exasperated yet amused. “You still think I’d even look at another woman?”
“I don’t doubt you,” she murmured as a mischievous smile tugged at her lips. “But I don’t trust other women who leer at you.”
We both laughed then, the sound awkward but healing, breaking through the walls of silence and pain that had surrounded us for years. I exhaled long, pressing my forehead against hers. “I cancelled our divorce.”
Her eyes widened before softening, and she laid her head on my chest. “Good,” she whispered. “I love you.”
My arms tightened around her. “I love you more than you’ll ever know. More than you love me.”
“No doubt about that,” Ira teased, lifting her face to grin at me. Then she kissed me softly, her lips warm and sure. “So… what’s next?”
