“I am sorry, beta. I left without meeting you,” he says softly.
“It’s okay, Papa. I’ll meet you soon,” I reply, then end the call.
“It was just a coincidence, Mrs. Rathore. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Raghav explains, before turning to Dev. “Mr. Rathore, the man hasn’t been handed over to the police yet.”
Dev nods sharply. “I’ll handle him myself. You can leave.”
Raghav gives a small nod and walks out.
The moment he steps out, Dev’s father scoffs. “This is exactly what I’ve been saying. Your wife just likes to accuse us for no reason. She only wants to create problems among us and break our family. She just can’t stand to see us happy.”
My throat burns with guilt so deep it digs into my bones. I don’t feel guilty for standing up to Veer. He may not have planned the attack on me, but he certainly did on Sonia. What hurts the most right now is knowing that because of me, Dev has to stand here and listen to this.
“Dad, I am not hearing a word against my wife. She did what she felt was right. End of discussion,” Dev states firmly. Then, without another word, without even looking at me, he turns and strides towards the bedroom.
Veer and his dad give me disgusted looks before leaving the room.
Samarth steps forward, concern etched on his face. “Meera…”
I shake my head. “I need to go… to Dev.”
With that, I turn and climb the stairs, my heart still pounding in my chest.
“Dev…” I whisper as I enter the room. He’s standing by the dresser, adjusting his tie.
“I don’t have time for another argument,” he says without looking at me.
“Dev, listen to me, please,” I say, taking a step closer, stopping just behind him.
“Listen? To what? Another accusation?” he snaps, spinning around and pinning me in place with his hurt, stormy eyes.
“That’s not fair, Dev,” I say, desperate for him to listen, to let me explain why I did what I did and why his brother can’t be trusted.
“What’s not fair is how quickly you assume the worst of me, Meera.” He steps closer, his hands gripping my arms, frustration vibrating through his fingers. “I thought that even if you weren’t ready to confess how you feel, you’d at least understand how much you mean to me. But no. To you, this marriage is a lie. And the kiss we shared… even that is a mistake in your eyes.”
My breath stutters as I struggle to meet his gaze. “Dev—”
“It tears me apart, Meera, every time you accuse me, every time you push me away,” he rasps. “All I want is to be the one who makes your world better, not the one who breaks it. I want to be the only man you ever feel safe with.” His jaw tightens, painflickering across his eyes. “But you’re determined to see me as a monster, someone you need to stay away from.”
My heart thuds. “That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” he fires back. “Because today you proved it again.”
My eyes burn. “Dev… I am sorry. I—I thought—”
“You thought I wouldn’t fight for you,” he cuts in. “That I wouldn’t care about the bastard who hurt you.”
Tears slip down my cheeks before I can stop them.
“I was wrong,” I choke out. “Please… just give me a chance to fix it.”
“I can’t do this right now,” he grinds out. “If I stay here, my anger will make me say something I’ll regret. It’s better I take it out on the bastard who attacked you.”
He drops his hands and starts to move past me towards the door, but I step in front of him, blocking his path.
“Dev, you’re not going there to handle him,” I say firmly.
“Move, Meera.” He tries to step around me, but I don’t budge.
