Page 48 of Mrs. Pandey
"You and I... whatever that was... it was never love," she snapped. Her eyes had hardened, her voice sharp and unforgiving. "It was convenient, fun and distraction. Friends with benefits. That's all. And I told you that from the start you just never listened."
"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "That's not true. I thought... I thought there was something real between us. I feel it, Ira. Deep in my bones. We're so good together."
She let out a cold, humorless laugh. "You felt something. That doesn't mean I did." She took a step closer, voice low but venomous. "And you really thought I'd leave Aryan for you? Prashant, really?"
"Aryan is a senior officer, from a good family. He has money, power and influence. All the things you don't have. All the things you'll never have."
Her words felt like hammer blows.
"And please don't stand here thinking I'd choose to be the wife of some small-town dreamer who blew his small paycheck on a ring, thinking that was enough to win me over."
I flinched. The honesty was cruel, but what shattered me was the way she said it like it was obvious. Like I was a fool for ever believing anything else.
"Love doesn't pay bills, Prashant," she went on, mercilessly. "Don't act like I led you on. I was honest. If we slept together, that gave you no right to make claims on my life."
That one cut deeper than anything.
I stood there, frozen. The box was still open in my hand, the diamond still gleaming but it had lost its meaning now. It wasn't for her anymore. It never was.
She tilted her head slightly, voice dipping into sarcasm. "You're sweet, Prashant. You really are. But being sweet isn't enough for a girl like me. Never was. You were a phase. A good distraction. Fun. That's it. Don't read too much into it."
I opened my mouth, tried to say her name, but my voice cracked before I could speak.
She picked up her purse, slipped her phone inside, and straightened her shoulders like none of this meant anything. "Let's not make this awkward. You'll get over it. And don't try anything dramatic, don't message me like a desperate teenager. I won't text you back. This is over, Prashant."
What we are. As if I had misunderstood everything.
And just like that, she turned on her heels and walked out. The little bell above the café door chimed softly as it swung shut behind her.
I stood there for a long time. I didn't remember how long. Maybe a few minutes or an hour.
A waitress came by eventually. She didn't say anything, just looked at me with quiet sympathy and began clearing the table.
I looked down at the ring one last time before closing the box with a soft click. It didn't shine anymore. Not for me. Not for anyone.
I walked out of the café. The rain hadn't started. But somehow, it felt like I was already drenched.
Maybe it wasn't outside. Maybe it was all inside me.
______
Chapter 22
PRASHANT
She wanted to marry me.
She forced herself into my life. Hijacked it like it was hers to own.
I was sitting in a mandap about to start a life with someone else, when she showed up draped in lies, every word she spoke a carefully placed knife to my throat. She didn't just disrupt the wedding but she destroyed it.
In front of a hundred guests, family, friends, she spun her story. That she was pregnant with my child.
Pregnant.
Fucking impossible. I hadn't touched her in three years. Not even once. So how the hell was she carrying my child?
Simple answer: she wasn't carrying my child and damn she was not even pregnant.
