My heart cracks deeper, splintering in ways I didn’t know were possible.
I blink rapidly, but my vision stays blurred. “Papa, please hear me once—”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses. And you—” His glare shifts to Dev. “You think you can walk into my house and expectus to accept this joke of a marriage? That we’ll just smile and give you our blessings?”
“Sasurji, being stubborn won’t change anything. Your daughter is my wife now, whether you accept it with happiness or with anger. Either way, it stands.”
Dad’s breathing turns hard. “She may have made a mistake by marrying you, but that doesn’t mean we will ever accept you as part of our family.”
“Your bad, Sasurji,” Dev clicks his tongue. “Now I know exactly where my wife inherited her temper and stubbornness from.” His smile turns mocking. “Just a tip, Sasurji. At your age, you might want to keep that temper in check. Before it does any harm to you.”
Not wanting Dev to escalate this, I intervene. “Papa, I—I never wanted it this way. I…”
I reach for him, but he jerks his hand back. And before I can even form another word, his hand rises, faster than I can register, and the slap lands hard across my cheek. My head snaps to the side, my hand flying up instinctively as fire races across my cheek, not from the sting of the slap, but from the truth behind it.
My father… the man who has never so much as touched me in anger… just raised his hand on me.
The shock hasn’t even settled into my bones when Dev’s arm wraps around me, pulling me back against him as he holds Dad’s glare.
“Sasurji, that was your first and last mistake,” he warns.
“Dev—” I choke out, still reeling.
But he ignores me entirely.
“You ever raise your hand on my wife again, and I will forget you’re her father.” Dev doesn’t take his eyes off him. “She’s my wife now. Andnoonehurts her.”
Dad’s jaw tightens, while Mom gasps.
“Dev, stop!” I grab his shirt, my fingers trembling.
“You can take your dear wife with you. We want nothing to do with her!” Dad hisses. Then he turns to me. “You’ve made your choice. Now live with it… without us.”
The words don’t just hurt, they bury themselves into my chest, twisting deep until breathing feels impossible.
“Papa…” My voice cracks. “Please… don’t say that.”
But the only answer I get is Dad stepping back and slamming the door right in my face.
“Ma…” I sob, pounding the door with my trembling hand. “Papa… please. I am begging you, please open the door. Don’t turn your backs on me… please. You’ve always overlooked my mistakes and forgiven me when I was wrong… why can’t you now? Why am I being abandoned when I need you the most?” I cry my heart out, but no answer comes. And the silence makes my tears fall even harder.
My parents, my home, my safe place, have shut me out. And for the first time, I feel truly, painfully, terrifyingly alone.
“They won’t open the door,” Dev drawls.
I turn to him, my vision swimming. “You are really enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Of course I’m, sweetheart.” He just grins. “This is exactly how I wanted it to play out.”
“You made my parents hate me,” I choke out, the words scraping out of my throat. I want him to feel even a fraction of what he’s ripped out of my life.
“You knew exactly what this marriage would cost you,” he shrugs, like it’s nothing. “I told you… everything changed the moment you married me. Your old world is gone.”
My nails dig into my palms. I swear on everything I’ve lived through, I’ll make him pay for this. For all of it.
“Meera?”
I freeze when I hear Samarth’s worried voice.
