I lay on the expansive bed, my body aching with exhaustion, yet sleep remained a cruel stranger. I prayed for unconsciousness to hit me, to knock me into a black void before I did something I would inevitably regret. I wished it were easy to forget the note he’d left yesterday, but the words were etched into my mind, each one a jagged glass shard stabbing at the core of my heart.
I knew he felt trapped. I knew he saw me as the architect of his misery. But it wasn't as if I’d had a choice. My father’s hand hadn't been on my shoulder during the ceremony; it had been around my throat, metaphorically pressing until I gasped out my vows. I wanted to scream the truth into Saurav’s face, to howl that I was a prisoner, too. But the image of Kirti, my sweet, innocent little sister kept me silent. If I spoke, if I dared to ruinthe alliance my father and brother had engineered, they would break her.
The bathroom door clicked open, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the quiet room. My heart skipped a beat, then began a frantic, uneven rhythm. I forced myself to look away, staring intently at the far wall so he wouldn’t think I was leering at him even though, usually, I couldn't help myself.
The sharp scent of his body wash hit me. He was closer now. I didn't need to look to know he was standing right beside the bed. I could feel the heat radiating from him and the faint, minty trail of his breath, the same breath I had been inhaling like oxygen only twenty-four hours ago.
"You haven’t slept yet?" he asked, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.
"I’m not sleepy," I said, my voice coming out colder than I intended. I kept my eyes fixed on the shadows in the corner.
"Why? Are you waiting for me to try those BDSM tools on you?"
The sheer cruelty in his tone made my blood boil.
"Not even in your dreams!" I spat.
A slow, mocking smile tugged at his lips, though his eyes remained as hard as flint.
"Relax, Kavya. You’re not quite that irresistible."
I scoffed, finally snapping my head around to face him. The sight of him, damp-haired and looming, sent a pang of longing through me that I hated.
"Good. Because the feeling is mutual."
The silence that followed was thick, suffocating, and heavy with the things we weren't saying. He ran a hand through his wet hair, a gesture of pure irritation.
"Then why are you still awake?" he demanded, his voice sharpening. "Don't tell me it’s because of me."
"It’s not always about you, Saurav," I shot back, sitting up.
"Really?" He let out a bitter, hollow laugh. "Because lately, my entire life seems to revolve around the pathetic decisions you made."
The accusation landed like a physical blow on my face as I sat up straighter, my fingers curling into the silk bedsheets until my knuckles turned white.
"You think I wanted this? You think I had a choice?"
"You always have a choice," he snapped.
A broken laugh escaped me. "That’s easy for a man like you to say. You’ve never known what it’s like to be a pawn."
"Then explain it to me," he challenged, taking a predatory step closer. "Because from where I stand, you forced your way into my life, into my home, and into my name… "
"I didn't force anything!" I shouted, my voice trembling. "You don't know anything about what I had to…"
I bit my tongue just in time. The threat to Kirti hung in the air like an invisible executioner’s blade.
His eyes narrowed to slits. "About what you had to do? Go on, Kavya. Finish the sentence."
"Nothing," I whispered, looking away again, the familiar weight of the secret crushing my chest.
"Don't do that," he said, his tone dropping to a lethal, quiet level. "Don't start a fire and then hide behind the smoke. I hate that."
"Well, I hate a lot of things, too," I snapped, the tears beginning to burn behind my lids. "Including your assumptions. Including the fact that you think I’m some... some high-priced call girl here to collect a fee."
He leaned in, dragging himself closer until I was trapped between his body and the headboard. I could feel the warmth of his skin.
"You were very good last night," he whispered against my lips, his words a toxic mix of praise and poison. "Better than any woman I’ve ever slept with."