I paused.
“I get peace. Deal?”
Kavya tilted her head slightly, studying me like I was some puzzle she hadn’t decided to solve yet.
“You think I married you for your money?” she asked.
“You literally just said you trap rich men.”
“I said I chose you because you were rich,” she said quietly. “Not because I needed your money.”
I scoffed. “Same thing.”
“No,” she said, her voice was softer this time. “Very different.”
That made me look at her again.
For the first time since she walked in. And I noticed something strange.
Her hands were trembling slightly in her lap. Not dramatically. Not enough for anyone else to notice. Just enough that someone paying attention would see.
But her face was still calm. Like it was stitched together from pain and practice.
“You hate me,” she said simply. “That’s fine. I expected that.” Her voice didn’t break. Didn’t shake.
“But don’t make me smaller than I am just so you can feel bigger.”
The words landed heavier than any insult she could have thrown at me.
Something uncomfortable twisted in my chest.
Before I could respond, someone called from outside.
“Bhai! Bhabhi! It’s time for another ritual!” my cousin Rhea shouted.
Kavya stood up first.
She adjusted her veil with steady fingers, straightened her posture and squared her shoulders. Like she was putting on armor. She stepped closer to me, close enough that only I could hear her.
“Don’t worry, Saurav,” she said quietly. “I didn’t dream of this wedding.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
Because something in her voice sounded like truth. And I hated that it made me hesitate.
________
Chapter 7
SAURAV
I was so fucking tired that all I wanted was to collapse somewhere and sleep for two straight days. There would be no thoughts, no memories and no voices, just darkness.
Kavya! That woman had turned my life into a living hell. She was everywhere. She carried my name now, and soon she would be living under my roof. But I swore she would regret the stunt she pulled against me. I would make sure she never walked away from it unscathed.
My steps slowed as I reached the corridor that led toward the private guest suites, the plush carpet muting even the sound of my breathing. The hotel was too quiet at this hour.
Then I heard a hushed whisper cut through it. “I told you my girl is clever,” someone murmured. He sounded familiar to me.