Page 104 of Since You Stole My Heart

Swayam went still. ‘What does that mean?’

Each word scraped her throat on its way out. ‘It means this isn’t exactly the life either of us chose for ourselves. In a few months, this will be over, and we’ll go back to our own lives. So there’s no reason why you shouldn’t start looking at other options.’

Swayam let out a short, incredulous breath. ‘Other options? What are you even saying right now, Kash?’

‘Before all of this, you must have had an idea of the person you would marry. I took that away from you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find your way back to it. I want you to have a happy life, Swayam,’ she said, relieved to finally say something real.

‘I want that life with you, baby,’ he said, gently grazing her cheek with the backs of his fingers.

The warmth of his touch and the sincerity in his words sank deep into her. Her chest ached with how right it felt.

Then she wrapped her fingers around his wrist and gently pushed his hand away. ‘I can’t give you that.’

‘You don’t have to do anything extraordinary to make me happy. All you have to do is be with me.’

‘I can’t do that either,’ she whispered, each word another step away from him, even within the confined space of the car.

‘That means you won’t,’ Swayam said quietly, hope dimming in his eyes. He dragged a palm over his face. ‘I know this marriage took you by surprise, but I thought things were going well these last couple of weeks. I thought we were settling into our new life.’

He glanced away, his jaw clenched. ‘I don’t understand what changed.’

Kashvi braced herself, forcing her emotions down. ‘I love spending time with you, and I owe you for last night and everything else you’ve done for me. But I’m not the right person for you, and we can’t ignore that this can’t last forever.’

‘You know this because you know me so well?’

The way he scoffed pricked at her nerves. She insisted, ‘I do know you.’

‘If only you did,’ he muttered under his breath.

‘Don’t you dare. I know you even better than Di does, even though you’re her best friend.’

His eyes searched hers. ‘Is that why you introduced yourself as her sister? Because you see me only as her friend?’

The question slammed through the fragile wall she had built between them, leaving it in tatters.

How could she tell him he was the one person who made her feel safe in this cruel world?

How could she tell him he had become the one constant light in her life when everything else threatened to collapse into a black hole?

How could she explain that the idea of a life without him felt like being dragged into the last circle of hell?

Instead, she settled for, ‘No, you’re my friend too. I care about you… a lot. And I don’t want you to end up paying for helping me by being alone for the rest of your life.’

‘The only way I’d end up alone is if my wife decides to leave me.’

A fine sheen of tears filled his eyes, and her lower lip quivered before she bit down on it.

‘That’s why I want you to think ahead. I really think it’s a good idea for you to meet that girl tomorrow.’

‘Do you?’ he asked, an undercurrent of sarcasm in his voice.

‘Yes,’ Kashvi choked out, the word lodging painfully in her throat.

‘And you’d be okay with that? Because all you see me as is a friend, right?’

If she held on to him, everything would fall apart. If she let him go, she would lose him, but at least he would be safe.

It was a painful but simple choice, even if it meant there was no place for her in his life, as long as it was a happy one.