Avni looked conflicted, unable to decide.
That was when VK spoke. “She’s right, Avni. Otherwise, we could have done the wedding in London itself. Why bring it here if you don’t want to follow the customs?”
Avni exhaled slowly, having no real argument left. “Fine,” she said at last. “But ask him first. I don’t want to force him either.” She paused. “Someone who was always so distant from me might not want to be part of something so… pure.”
Every gaze shifted to Karan. But he only held his sister’s eyes as he answered. “I’ve missed being there for you in many ways,” he said. “If doing this is so important for your wedding, I’ll do it.”
Avni didn’t respond, but something in her expression eased in the way he said it.
Mishti let out a breath of relief. She glanced at VK, who immediately met her eyes with a small smile and a knowing nod. Karan noticed the exchange and soon connected the dots. So this was Mishti’s idea.
Soon after, VK guided Avni and Rajat outside to begin the ceremony. And Abhimanyu followed close behind.
As Mishti moved to follow them, passing Karan, he caught her hand and stopped her. The others were already outside now. It was just the two of them.
“So, this wasyourdoing?” he asked.
She didn’t answer and tried to look away, but he stepped closer, pulling her gently toward him. “You don’t want me to call you my wife,” he said in a low voice, “but you seem to be playing that role very diligently.”
“Yes, I am,” she replied, giving a humourless smile. “But don’t flatter yourself. I’m not doing this to revive our marriage. I’m doing this to protect a sibling bond that was destroyed because of my father’s actions.”
Her eyes hardened, not with anger, but memory. “Because I know exactly how it feels when a sibling hates you for something you never did. I know that feeling far too well.”
“I’m doing this for Avni and you,” she added. “For that pure, innocent bond between the two of you that never even got the chance to grow.”
She tried to pull her hand free. But Karan tightened his hold, not letting her go.
“You don’t get to fight my battles,” he said sternly. “Not when you no longer have the courage to stay in this marriage.”
Her eyes flared. “I always stayed, Karan,” she snapped. “I wanted the best for us. But you were the one who pushed me away. All because of that one name I carried. My father’s. Only becausehisblood runs in me.” Her voice trembled. “My innocence didn’t matter. The fact that I had no idea what he haddone to you and your family didn’t matter. That I didn’t even know he was alive didn’t matter either. What mattered to you, when you chose to hurt me, was that I was a Goel.”
She stepped closer, close enough that he could feel the heat of her breath.
“So don’t tell me I didn’t stay. Or that I ran away. You pushed me out, Karan. And I left only because staying would have destroyed both your sanity and mine.”
Her gaze hardened.
“You know what the real irony is?” she continued. “There was no need for a villain in our story. You played that part perfectly yourself. The husband who hurt. The hero who became the reason the heroine left him forever.”
Karan didn’t answer immediately.
His nostrils flared, still holding back how much her words hurt him.
“Maybe I did become the villain,” he said, nodding. “But villains don’t stand there, owning what they broke.”
He stepped closer, just enough for his fingers to brush her wrist.
“I won’t let our story end divided into two worlds.”
She gasped, trying to decipher what he meant.
“If there’s an ending left to be written,” he added softly, “it will be in the same world.Wewill be in the same world. Whether you want that yet… or not.”
Before she could respond, they heard footsteps approaching, and soon Abhimanyu walked in again.
“Bhai… uncle is calling you both outside. The ritual is about to begin.”
Mishti didn’t look at Karan again. She turned and walked out first. But Karan stayed back, just for a few seconds.
