Page 4 of Mrs. Pandey
That one day, I would kiss him and not remember someone else.
Did Aryan truly love me, though? We felt this profound connection only when we were together, physically close. But once we were apart, we reverted to normal colleagues, our interactions professional, almost distant.
Yet, I felt this undeniable connection with Prashant even when he wasn’t near. I still felt like his smile and eyes hovered over me, invading my personal space, my very thoughts.
“Thank you for always standing by me.” Aryan’s voice, a soft brush against my ear, pulled me back. “For chasing your dreams. For being everything.”
If only he knew. How close I had come to walking away, so many times. How often I questioned if he was truly the one my heart longed for, or if I had simply trained it, disciplined it, to beat for him out of gratitude.
If he ever asked himself if I was the one for him.
“Don’t get all sentimental on me, Rathore,” I teased, blinking back the hot burn behind my lashes, forcing a lightness I didn't feel.“Sometimes, I still can’t believe you’re the same Aryan who stares down generals without blinking. You look so brooding and dangerous in your uniform, if only people knew how soft you really are.”
“Only for you.” His voice was a tender murmur, brimming with devotion.
I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. If only that were true for me too.
My phone buzzed. “It’s Mom,” I muttered, and the fragile illusion of our private world shattered. Everything came crashing back: family, obligations, the suffocating weight of expectations.
“My brother’s on his way. He’ll be here in five minutes.”
I couldn’t breathe for a second, a wave of dread washing over me. I couldn’t handle more relatives, more expectations, more pretending.
“Relatives are more poisonous than snakes. At least if a snake bites you, you die. But these people? They mark your whole family for life with their words.”
“You have no filter, do you?” Aryan laughed, a deep sound. I liked his laugh.
As we walked out, Meera staggered toward us, mascara smudged and half-delirious, her teasing words a drunken slur. I laughed, deflecting her playful jabs, a practiced ease in my movements. We had secrets, Aryan and I, secrets she didn’t need to know.
The club air was heavy, clinging to my skin, a cloying reminder of the chaos inside. But outside, the cool breeze kissed my cheeks, a stark, unwelcome reminder that tomorrow was coming, faster than I wanted it to.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at the Haldi,” I said, my fingers tracing the strong line of his jaw, trying to imprint his presence.
He kissed me, a soft, lingering press, and I kissed him back, forcing myself into the moment. But just for a second, in the terrifying darkness of my own mind, it was Prashant’s lips I imagined. And I hated myself for it.
“See you, love,” Aryan said, his voice warm and steady, oblivious to the storm raging within me.
I stepped into my brother’s waiting car. The door clicked shut, a final, definitive sound. But the war inside me had just begun.
______
Chapter 2
IRA
I pressed my head into the pillow, begging for sleep. I even sang myself a lullaby, hoping it would lull me into slumber. But I was drunk and throbbing with a cruel headache.
Suddenly, I shot to my feet and rushed to the bathroom, the bitter sting of bile rising in my throat. I threw up hard, gripping the basin like it might save me. Hopefully, my snake-like relatives hadn’t heard me retching in the middle of the night.
I splashed cold water on my face, trying to shake the dizziness, and stepped out of the bathroom only to freeze.
There he was.
Beautiful and haunting, standing silently in front of me like a vision conjured by my fevered mind. The same hazel eyes, now bloodshot, short hair, and a shadow of stubble sharpening the edge of his jawline.
I wanted to grab his face and devour his mouth like it was the last morsel left on Earth. But I didn’t. I crossed my arms, biting down my hunger, glaring at the man I hated with every broken piece of myself.
“Do you like my surprise? I just covered eight hundred and five kilometers to see our new bride.” He had just come straight from Jammu to Rajasthan. Yes, this was Prashant. My fingers trembled.
