Karan did not object.
If anything, he felt a strange, reluctant relief at the thought. Mishti needed someone who was not him. Someone who could sit beside her, listen, console her, let her speak without fear of being punished for her feelings. He knew he was incapable of giving her that, ever.
This morning, when he had returned home before sunrise, Maria was in the middle of clearing away the remnants of the night before. Candles extinguished and discarded. Fairy lightsunplugged and removed. Flowers thrown out. The cake still sat there, untouched.
He had looked at it once and turned away immediately. Maria had glanced at him then, looking annoyed. She had said nothing beyond informing him that Mishti was in her room, resting, and that his bedroom had been cleaned. That he could go in whenever he wished.
He had not replied.
He had gone straight to his room.
It was back to how it had always been. Cold and devoid of any trace of her presence. This was how he had always believed he preferred it.
He showered, letting the water run longer than necessary, dressed in silence, avoiding his reflection for longer than usual. Without speaking to anyone in the house and having no contact with Mishti, he had left early for the office.
The revenge part, the confrontation that happened in the Goel mansion, was fine. Karan had prepared himself for it for years. That part of the night had gone exactly as planned.
What he had not prepared for was Mishti’s feelings for him. She had not spoken them aloud, yet he had sensed them in her eyes, in her silence, in the way she had held herself back the moment she understood the truth behind their marriage. He knew she was on the verge of confessing had the confrontation at the Goel mansion not happened.
Now the thought of facing her every day, of living beside a woman who loved him when he could never allow himself to return it, haunted him. He let out a hard breath, shut his eyes, and rubbed his palms over his face before leaning back in his chair.
Rajat and Abhimanyu noticed the shift immediately. It was clear to them that Karan was deeply disturbed. This time, Rajat did not hold back. He said quietly, “It’s hurting you, Karan.Why can’t you leave Mishti out of this? At least now, when you’ve almost completed what you set out to do. You’ve taken everything the Goels built. It’s over.”
Karan’s eyes snapped open.
He slammed his palms against the table, anger flaring. “It’s over whenIsay it’s over,” he said sharply. “And if both of you are done pitying my wife, get back to work. We don’t have time to waste.”
He rose from his chair abruptly. “I have a meeting with the Lexi Group in an hour.”
Without waiting for a response, he walked out of the cabin. Rajat and Abhimanyu exchanged a glance and sighed, both knowing the truth. Karan was not someone who would bend easily. He would hurt himself, and he would hurt Mishti too, but he would never reconsider giving this marriage a real chance.
***************
Wadhwa Mansion
Mishti and Komal sat together in Mishti’s bedroom. Komal had arrived a while ago, after Abhimanyu had given her a brief idea of what had happened the previous night at the Goel mansion. She was already seething with anger at Abhimanyu, having finally understood the real reason behind Karan’s marriage to Mishti. It was not something she was willing to accept lightly, but that confrontation could wait. For now, her priority was Mishti, and that was why she was here.
What Komal had not expected was the version of Mishti she found today. This was not the fragile, vulnerable woman she had always known, the one who wore her emotions openly and spoke of her husband with unfiltered affection.
Instead, Mishti seemed withdrawn and surprisingly calm. Yes, she looked wounded too, the pain visible in her eyes and on her face, yet she was holding it in, refusing to let it spill the way Komal had assumed it would.
They sat on the couch, and Komal reached out, gently touching Mishti’s arm. “Are you really okay, Mishti?”
Mishti offered a faint smile, one that barely reached her lips.
Komal took a breath and continued softly, “I know finding out that Karan used you to bring down your own brother must have been the biggest shock of your life. And on top of that, learning about the past…” She shook her head. “Even I, knowing nothing about it before, feel shaken. I can only imagine what you’re going through. I know you’re not fine, Mishti, and you don’t have to pretend with me. Let it out. Say whatever you’re feeling. It might ease the weight, even if just a little.”
Mishti nodded slowly before speaking. “Some grief never gets lighter, Komal. Truths like these, about a past this bitter, stay with you for a lifetime. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to move past this.”
Komal squeezed her hand. Anger flared in her eyes as she spoke. “When Abhimanyu told me everything… when I realised this was the reason Karan married you,” she said, “for revenge… I swear, Mishti, I wanted to storm into the office and give both those brothers a piece of my mind.”
Mishti remained silent.
“What does Karan even think of himself?” Komal continued bitterly. “I am not denying his pain or his loss. It is real, and it is devastating. But to drag an innocent life into it, to ruin your entire future for the sake of revenge, is not justified. He had no right to do this to you, Mishti. You didn’t even know anything about that past.”
Mishti’s eyes brimmed with tears, but she did not interrupt.
Komal continued. “And Abhimanyu supporting this? I can’t believe it. A man like him can support something so bitter?”
