Page 85 of Protect my Heart
“Quiet,” she snaps. “There can’t be any other reason for such stupidity. You think this is just about you? This isn’t just betrayal—it’s humiliation.” She turns to look at me. “What will people say, Anika? Life is not easy for a woman in this societyanyways, and you will be a divorcee. First Vikram left you at the aisle, and now you’ll divorce?” Her voice rises a little, her words making me flinch.
“I’m not divorcing Anika,” Aarav says suddenly, his voice loud and firm, making all of us go silent.
My head turns sharply toward him. He’s staring at my mother, jaw clenched. “She is my wife. And she will always be.”
“Yes?” Maa raises her brows and stands. “Then why did you sign a contract?”
My stomach drops. “How do you know?” I whisper.
“Is that what you care about?” Mumma shouts, her voice breaking, and she coughs. I immediately offer her water, but she doesn’t take it from me. Anita rushes in with a glass of water, and she finally drinks it, calming down a bit.
“You were drunk on Holi,” Maa says. “You told me.” I feel my eyes sting, so this is all happening because of me. I don’t look up to see Aarav. We had everything in control, and I had to go ahead and ruin everything. I have to fix this somehow.
“We signed the contract…” I whisper, feeling a lump form in my throat, “Because… because I couldn’t risk Mumma’s health again. After everything, I couldn’t.”
“But now,” I whisper, heart pounding, “now I want him to be my husband.”
My voice trembles, but I mean every word. I turn to look at Aarav. His eyes are already on me—soft and steady, like he’s been waiting for me to speak. I turn back to face them both. “We’ve accepted this marriage. I don’t want a divorce either.”
Aarav’s hand tightens around mine. That one gesture makes something inside me settle. Gratitude. Hope. Something terrifyingly close to love.
But it’s not enough. Not yet.
They are silent for a while, and I feel like my heart pounds against my ribs.
“This still isn’t considered a wedding,” Maa says, eyes flashing. “You married so hurriedly, Aarav; your family wasn’t there. You made something sacred into acontract.You’ll still have to divorce eventually.” Her jaw clenches. “This is unacceptable.”
Aarav leans toward me, then looks at both of them. His next words crack the air.
“Fine,” he says. “I’ll divorce her.” My heart drops. And I feel the world around me spin. But he doesn’t let go of my hand.
“And then I’ll marry her again.” Both our mothers go still. He’s still holding my hand. He's still looking at me like I’m his whole world.
“Can I do that?” he asks, not to them, but to me. Like my answer is the only one that matters. I muster a smile; he’s done it again, broken my heart and won it in a second.
There’s a silence, heavy and humming, before Maa and Mumma glance at each other. After a long beat, Maa nods once.
I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Aarav turns to me again, eyes soft.
And in that moment, I know one thing for sure—he may have walked into this as a contract. But now, he’s choosing me.
And I might just be choosing him too.
CHAPTER 49
AARAV
‘Now I want him to be my husband.’
Her words have been echoing in my head on a loop ever since we left the living room-turned-interrogation room this afternoon. It's the kind of thing that would’ve terrified me if it was someone else, but it's her. And her words settle under my skin like something warm. Familiar. Something I didn’t know I needed until she said it out loud. I’ve replayed it so many times I could quote her exact tone. The breathy way she said ‘want’ and the pause before she said ‘my husband.’
I am someone who has always run away from commitment and relationships. Yes, it was mainly because I wanted to be hers and hers only. But it’s also because relationships come with needs, like being an open book with someone, and I can't for the love of god show my true self to anyone, except her. I have no clue how she does it, but I can never not be myself in front of her.
Maa wanted to tell the rest of the family about the contract when we got back home. She said something like “Family should always be kept in the loop”—her words, not mine. I love my family. I do. But Anika’s reputation? That comes before anything else. She's my wife. And I’ll be damned if I letanyone—anyone, even someone I share blood with—treat her like a scandal. So I begged Maa not to say anything. I never beg, not for anything, but I did for this. For her. Thankfully, Maa agreed. Reluctantly, but still.
Then she told me, as calmly as someone telling me the weather, “We’ll get you two married again. Properly this time. With all the rituals. No negotiations.”
And how could I argue? I’ve already hurt her enough. Lied, even if it was to protect. She took away her chance to prepare my wedding, the same wedding she and Rekha aunty had started talking about when we were kids. So I stayed quiet and nodded. For once, I didn’t want control. I just wanted to make it right.
