His silence only fuelled her.
“And youknew,” she went on, her voice shaking with disbelief. “You knew all this time where I was. Didn’t you?”
Mishti laughed bitterly through her tears. “Mr Karan Wadhwa has the power to trace his missing wife from any corner of the world. How could I forget?”
Her eyes burned as she looked at him. “So you were watching me? All this time? And I didn’t even know?”
She shoved him again, not as hard this time, but with every ounce of betrayal she felt.
“What should I call it then?” she demanded. “Another one of your smart power plays?”
Karan grabbed her arms and pulled her closer again.
“If I wanted to show you a power play, Mishti, we wouldn’t be standing here like this after eleven months. This would have happened months ago. I would have come to London and dragged my wife back home with me, to where she rightfully belongs.”
Mishti’s nostrils flared. Even now, he dared to say that.
“You ran away from me, Mishti. Without thinking about the consequences. Without thinking about what I was supposed to tell the world, why did my wife leave? Where did she disappear? It was so easy for you, wasn’t it? When you couldn’t handle the truth of our marriage, you chose to run instead of facing it.”
His jaw clenched as he continued. “What did you expect me to do? Sit quietly and gloat? Wait patiently for you to return? Let people mock me, saying I couldn’t keep my wife happy or safe?”
Mishti let out a slow breath, her eyes flashing. “Since when did Karan Wadhwa start caring about what people say about him?” she asked. “You’ve never been a man anyone dares to question, let alone mock you.”
Karan stared at her. But she didn’t back down.
“And what didyouexpectmeto do, if not run away?” she asked.
There was complete silence, except for their harsh breaths and sharp gazes at each other.
“I can’t live my entire life drowning in guilt. For what happened in the past…to your family…to your mother. Because of my fa—”
She stopped herself, unable to complete the word. Hatred flashed through her expression at the thought of even calling him that.
She looked down once, her grip on his shirt loosening, before she lifted her eyes to meet his again.
“If I could undo the past, I would,” she said quietly, dropping her tone. “If I could pray for God to take my life and give your mother back to you, I would do it in a blink.”
Her voice trembled, but she didn’t look away. “But it’s not possible. And that’s what hurts the most.”
She drew in a breath. “Seeing youhateme hurts. Watching you destroy my brother, my bhabhi, and their child’s life like this was painful.”
Her shoulders squared. “So I chose to leave. I don’t regret it. And I still prefer it that way.” Her jaw clenched as she decided. “I am here for two weeks. And after that, I’m going back to London. Back to the world I’m building for myself. A world that has no place for our marriage in it.”
Her eyes hardened, but his gaze didn’t waver as she continued, “You couldn’t stop me then, you cannot stop me now either.”
“Do you really think I’ll let VK uncle allow you to keep working at that NGO?” he scoffed and went on. “Avni may not know who you are to me, but VK uncle does. He knew you were my wife from the very first day you stepped into thatorganisation. If he stayed silent, it was only becauseIasked him to. One word from me now, Mishti, and he won’t let you continue there for a second longer. Don’t test my patience.”
Something inside her snapped. VK uncle knew who she was all this time? So, even he betrayed her.
All this while, she had believed that at least that space was hers. That one corner of the world where she wasn’t Karan Wadhwa’s wife. Where she was just Mishti. But here he was, breaking her illusion yet again. Every time she trusted someone, they betrayed her.
“Of course.” She laughed bitterly. “I expected nothing else from you.” Her eyes burned as she looked at him. “It’s so easy for you, isn’t it? To trample over people’s lives. Their work. Their wages. Their hearts. To ruin them completely and walk away untouched?”
She moved closer, defiant despite the tremor running through her. “Fine. If not the NGO, I’ll work somewhere else. I don’t care what you do after this.”
Her chin lifted. “And I don’t even care if you tell Avni the truth. Which I know you eventually will. So, go ahead. Do it. Because that’s what you’ve always done. You snatch people away from me. One by one. Anyone who comes close.”
Her throat tightened, but she didn’t stop. “Avni was the closest I’ve had in a long time. And I won’t be surprised if you destroy that too. Our friendship, that sisterly bond, just to prove that you still have control over me and my life.”
