Page 76 of Mrs. Pandey
He held a bundle of papers in one trembling hand, clenched so tightly that the pages were crumpling at the edges.
"What's this?" he snapped, raising the papers in front of me.
My stomach turned.
"What's what?" I asked, trying to sound calm, though my pulse was beating fast and hard under my skin. Something was terribly wrong, I could feel it.
"Our house papers!" he roared, flinging the documents in my face.
They hit me before fluttering to the floor, and I took an involuntary step back, stunned by his fury more than the impact.
"Prashant, what happened to the house papers?" I asked carefully, my voice was lower now. I bent down slowly to pick them up, my fingers shaking just slightly, but- "You owned our house?" His voice cracked from disbelief. I looked up, meeting his eyes. "You put this property under your name?" he asked, almost choking on the words. "You paid off the full amount?"
"Prashant, no..." I reached out instinctively, trying to explain, but before I could finish, he grabbed my forearm tightly, his grip rough, his stare piercing like a dagger. His pain bled through his rage, it was written all over his face.
"I never expected you could go this low..." he ground out, making me wince as his grip tightened further. "Did you pay the loan amount?"
"I never meant to..."
"Did you pay the damn loan amount!" he screamed into my face.
And that's when it hit me.
This wasn't the same Prashant I'd fallen in love with. This wasn't the man who held me when I cried, who whispered my name like it was precious. This man was a stranger. He was the same man who was being held captive for three months in a dark room.
My lips trembled. "Yes... yes..." My voice cracked, barely above a whisper. "I did."
A beat passed. Then I heard the soft shuffle of footsteps. His mother and sisters had joined us.
I turned slightly, only to see them standing near the stairs, their expressions unreadable except for one. His mother.
Her face curled in satisfaction, as if this was exactly what she had been waiting for.
"Why?" Prashant asked, his tone colder now. "Why would you do this, Ira?"
"I just wanted to lighten your burden," I said softly, trying to pull my hand from his, though he didn't let go. "You were struggling so much... I thought... I thought I could help. I didn't know they'd put it under my name..."
"Shut up!" he barked, making me freeze in fear.
There was a silence in the room so loud it rang in my ears.
"You see, Prashant?" his mother said sharply, stepping closer. "This is the kind of woman you married. Sweet on the outside,but sly inside. She's clever, I'll give her that. Came into our house, won your trust, and now she owns it."
"Shameless," Priya added, crossing her arms with a mocking smirk. "Isn't it funny? We were worried about her background. We should've worried about her intentions."
I stared at them in disbelief.
"I never meant for this to happen," I whispered, my eyes finding Prashant's again. "Please believe me."
But he just stood there, jaw clenched, breathing hard. And in that moment, the silence between us hurt more than his shouting.
"You tricked him," Priya said with clenched teeth. "What else have you taken, huh? His pride? His peace? Or maybe just his pity?"
I opened my mouth to speak, to scream, to defend myself but before I could utter a word, Pari stepped forward.
"Stop it!" she said, her voice trembling but still brave. "Bhabhi didn't do anything wrong! She helped when we all turned our backs..."
"Enough, Pari," her mother snapped, turning to her with fury. "You don't understand anything. Stay in your limits!"
