Ani stood near the massive bed still dressed in her bridal saree the sindoor fresh in her hairline . The weight of mangalsutra around her neck felt like chains . She hadn't spoken since the ceremony.
Veer entered , his step measured, his expressions are unreadable . The black kurta clung to his frame , his hair dramp from the rain . He shut the door with a soft click that echoed through the room like a gunshot.
"You haven't said a word since we left the mandap ", he said quietly.
Ani looked at him , her voice laced with a cold fire .
"What do you want me to say ?" Congratulations, husband ?"
He smiled faintly - dark , hollow .
" Say whatever you want . You're mine now . That's all that matters".
She turned her back to him , fists clenched .
"You forced me into this".
Veer stepped closer , his voice lowering.
" No ,my love . I gave you a choice . And you choose your brother's life".
"You call that a choice ?" She snapped , spinning to face him.
" You held a gun to my soul and called it a weeding ".
Veer didn't flinch . Instead , he reached out and gently ran a finger down her cheek .
"And yet here you are . Wearing my name , sleeping my house, breathing my air ".
His voice dropped.
"Do you feel it ? This ... Tension between us ? It's not just hate . It's something else , something deeper . you feel it too " .
Ani stepped back .
"I feel disgusted ".
"Lie to yourself if it helps you to sleep ", he murmured .
" But tonight , you're mine . I won't touch you... Not until you ask . But you'll break , Ani . And when you do , it won't be hate you'll Whisper - it'll be my name ".
He turned walking toward the couch , pouring himself a drink .
Ani stood trembling in the silence . Rage - boiled inside her - but beneath it , something else stirred , something else she hated even more than him : the way her skin still remember his touch . The way his voice crawled under her skin and settled in her bones .
She didn't sleep that night .
Neither did he .
They were two flames trapped in the same room - waiting to see which one would burst first .