Page 8 of Mrs. Pandey
I blinked hard and glanced at my phone screen and realized I still had to call Aryan and ask for a better explanation. I pressed his number, but no answer.
I had to talk to him. He couldn’t leave me like this. Not like I was some disposable mistake.
I promised myself that I would stay loyal to him after marriage. I would prove that I could be his. That I could make it right. But God, he didn’t even give me that chance.
If I couldn’t prove myself I would stay a cheater forever in my own eyes. A sinner with no redemption arc. A sob choked out of me. My chest ached, my vision blurred. I curled my fingers into trembling fists.
“Why did you do this to me, Aryan?” I whispered, covering my face with my palms. How pathetic I must’ve looked, crying like this, falling apart when I had built a life on pretending I had it all together. But this time, I didn’t stop the tears. Not anymore. After so long, I finally let myself cry.
______
The door slammed open. I didn't even knock; I just stormed in, every nerve in my body screaming.
"What are you doing, Aryan?" My voice was a wildfire, the kind that used to blaze with love for him, but now it threatened toconsume everything, especially me. Rage pulsed through me, hot and suffocating, my chest heaving with each ragged breath. His eyes, once reflecting my own devotion, were now just empty.
"You promised me," I choked out, my fists clenched so tight my nails dug into my palms. “You promised you would marry me, Aryan! You didn’t even have the decency to fight for us! You just threw me away to marry that crippled woman! Are you out of your fucking mind?”
He sat there, silent, his stillness a stark contrast to the storm inside me. I paced, a caged lioness, every step fueled by a desperate, burning disbelief.
"I’ve never seen you like this," I continued, the words tumbling out. “Not when you went on your first mission. Not even when you lost your best friend in the ambush. Not when you almost lost Rhea. But now? You’re just... lost. Hollow. Why the hell did you agree to this, Aryan? Who is she to you? Is she threatening you? Does she want money? We can pay her off. But not with your life. Not with our life.”
My legs gave out, and I dropped to my knees in front of him, the anger dissolving into a raw, aching pain. Tears streamed down my face, hot and stinging. I clutched his hands, pressing them against my wet cheeks, desperate for some warmth, some reassurance.
"I love you. Please don’t do this."
My heart felt like it was being ripped in two. I had always been the strong one, stoic, unyielding. But seeing him like this, knowing what he was about to do, shattered every last bit of my composure. I was sobbing into his lap, a broken girl who had losther entire world. Because I had. And he, the one I loved, was the one who had torn it from me.
"I’m sorry, Ira," he murmured, rubbing his temple, a sharp pain radiating through my own head at his words. “She, Avni agreed to drop the charges only if I married her. You know how much I love my uniform. I can’t lose it.”
A broken, humorless laugh escaped me through my tears. "And what about me?"
"I should’ve never thrown that bachelorette party," I cried, the memories a fresh wound. "I should’ve never made you drink. I should’ve asked my brother to drop you home. If I had done just one thing differently, we would still be together."
"We will be together," he whispered, leaning back, his jaw clenched, a muscle jumping in his cheek. "Just give me a few months. Let me fix this."
"How?" I whispered, lifting my head, my eyes searching his, desperate for a glimmer of hope.
"If she’s coming into my life on her own terms," he said, his voice cold, a chilling resolve I hadn't heard before, "then she’ll leave on my terms. I’ll make her leave. Just believe in me."
He pulled me into his lap, cradling my face in his hands. His thumb gently wiped away my tears, a tender gesture that both soothed and tore at my heart.
"Do you trust me, Ira?"
"I believe you," I said, resting my forehead against his, clinging to his words, to the hope he offered. "I love you…"
Just then, the door opened again.
"You aren’t ready yet?" His mother's voice was sharp with exasperation.
I scrambled away from Aryan, my face burning with embarrassment.
Her eyes softened as she looked at me. "Ira, what are you doing here, darling?" She walked over and hugged me gently, her touch a small comfort. "I’m sorry. I wish I could help but I’m helpless."
"It’s okay," I said with a tight smile, the bitterness coating my tongue. "Anyway, this marriage won’t last. We’ll give her a taste of her own medicine. She doesn’t deserve our sympathy, right?”
She squeezed my hand and nodded with assurance.
I wished Aryan would break this marriage. I only just wished.
