“There, your bandage is done,” she says, snapping the medical box shut. She sets it on the side table, turns around and walks to the couch without a backward glance. She grabs her blanket, flops onto the couch, and pulls it over herself.
I sit there for a long moment, my breath still heavy, my pulse drumming thick in my throat. It feels like an eternity before I finally speak.
“Thanks for taking care of it.”
She doesn’t even bother opening her eyes. “Save your thanks. Like I said, I didn’t do it for you.”
“I know you didn’t do it for me,” I murmur, swinging my leg onto the bed and leaning back against the headboard. “But you still did it. That’s all that matters to me.”
“I am exhausted. I am going to sleep,” she says, tugging the blanket higher around herself.
This woman, my wife, is the only one who can put me in my place. And God help me… she’s the only woman capable of unravelling me completely, the only one who gets under my skin and into my heart at the same time.
Chapter 17
Meera
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I smile at Sonia, perched on her vanity stool in her bridal red lehenga, her dupatta half-pinned, loose strands of hair brushing the delicate shimmer on her cheek. My chest swells, tightens, and then pulls inward all at once, as if the sight of her, happy and radiant, is almost too much for my heart to hold.
God… I always wished she’d find happiness like this.
“Don’t just sit there grinning to yourself. Come help me,” Sonia says, catching my eye in the mirror as she adjusts her earring.
Smiling, I stand and walk over to her, lowering myself onto the chair beside her as she turns on the stool to face me fully.
“You’re glowing,” I murmur, cupping her cheeks gently. “The most radiant bride I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you,” she whispers, her cheeks flushing even deeper.
The very next second, my eyes sting. I blink, then reach for her necklace and fasten the clasp at the back of her neck, my hands seemingly steady even though I barely feel them.
“You okay?” she asks, her eyes fixed on me.
“I should be asking you that.” I pick up her bangles and slide them onto her wrists. “Are you really happy, Sonia?”
Her smile softens, and she replies without hesitation. “I am really, really happy, Meera. Kushal is wonderful. He’s good for me. Gentle. Patient. Kind.”
My throat closes, and all I can manage is a small smile, letting her know I am happy that this marriage isn’t forced on her and that she’s stepping into it wholeheartedly.
“And,” she hesitates, “I told him about Veer.”
My fingers freeze mid-air. “You… you did?”
She lets out a breath. “Yes. All of it. How broken I was. How stupidly I clung to something that wasn’t love.”
“And?” The word barely leaves my lips.
“He accepted me,” she says, her eyes shining. “He didn’t question me. He just held my hand and said,‘Thank you for trusting me. Your past doesn’t scare me.’” She gives me a dreamy smile and adds. “He accepts me with all my flaws, Meera. Can you believe that?”
My heart twists so hard I feel nauseous. “Sonia… I am so happy for you.”
She pulls me into a tight hug. I close my eyes, burying my face in her shoulder, and the thought hits me all at once. This happiness she’s feeling is somehow because of Dev. He’s the one who brought the proposal.
What’s wrong with me? Why is my hate for him starting to waver? Last night, seeing him hurt shook me. And now… I am thinking good things about him? No. I can’t. I won’t think anything good about the man who is the reason my parents turned away from me.
I stiffen, instinctively pulling back.
Sonia frowns. “What happened?”
