My eyes and mind were exhausted from trying to remain calm in the face of the approaching storm. It took a lot of energy to console my heart into believing that I had nothing to fear. I am scared; what if I have to marry Vikram against my will?

I have only ever dreamed of marrying one man in this Universe, in this life, in all of my 28 years on this earth.The man I trusted with my life, my hopes, and my dreams. Promises are meant to be broken, as people have said, and that is exactly what happened.

It is not easy for me to move on and that decision to marry someone other than him when I have completely drown myself in his caramel sweet love, surrendering my entire existence in his warmth embrace, forgetting all my troubles in his arms. Woh mere har dhuk aur sukh mein mera sath raha hai, meri humdard.(He has always been by my side, sharing my burden, whether I was happy or sad).

He was the first person to love and break me in such a way that I have never known. I have never cried for a man like I did for him. My tears have not been as intense as they have been for him. No one has ever touched me the way he touched me.

And I am still mourning for our unfortunate love, pata nahi kiski nazar lag gayi thi(Whose evil gaze has cursed our love, I wondered?)

He loved me so much that I am not sure how he decided he would live the rest of his life without me. What kind of heart could he have had to do that? What kind? I wished I could marry someone else and forgot about him as well, the way he had forgotten about me.

Lekin jab aap kisi se saacha pyaar karna ka paap karlete ho, toh bhulane ka khayal mauth se bhi battar ho jata hai( But when you commit the sin of loving someone truly and dearly more than your life, even the thought of letting go is much worse than death). Pyaar toh mera bhi saacha tha, lekin duniya aur samajh ne chaal aur kaapad ka naam de diya.( My love was genuine, but the world and society has named it 'lie and deception').

Duniya jaane prem kya hota hai. Samajh nahi.( The world may knows what love is, but society does not).

Our love wasn't a deception, it was a forbidden romance. Perhaps we could have gotten together for the rest of our eternity if he came from a normal family or if I came from a wealthy family. Money is the root of all my misery, I have lost so many precious things to it. And at this point, I have nothing to offer to anyone, nothing to offer right now. My life has become shallow and devoid of meaning. My problems have all stemmed from money.

I can't imagine getting married to anyone other than him. It will be the death of me. Because I had considered him the sun of my Universe. He had to abandoned our love, because he had no choive. But I am not bound by any promises, relations, or trust; I can choose to remain loyal to our love or abandon it, as he did.

I tried to move on, but the memories were too precious; forgetting him was like forgetting my youth. He made such a strong impression that it's impossible to forget someone like him. So I simply accept the fact that I still love him.

Many has come and gone ;walk past by me.

I continued to be his. My heart didn't change by any meters. None of them had the same effect on my heart as he did.

So I guessed, he is my last love.

Finally, my eyes gave out and closed, and my head leaned against Advit's back. His back protected me from the chilly breeze. I simply leaned my head against his back and tightly wrapped my arms ar ound his waist to ensure I did not fall off.

" Sun na, thak gayi ho kya?(Hey, are you tired?)"

" Yup."

"Phir bhi, sona mana hai( But still, you shouldn't sleep).Do not fall asleep. You will fall off."

"I know, idiot, just shut up. Let me rest for a moment. I am so worn out."

In a sweet voice, he said, "Shubh ratri, meri Jaanu( Good night, my beloved)."

"Same to you." I replied to him in a whisper.

After that, I was half unconscious for the rest of the ride.

💦

I am counting

one, two, and three.

Everything is going to be alright.

Calm down, Sapna. All you have to do is give a human his morning tea. Nothing else: you are not entering a monster's den, and your bones and muscles will not be crushed or chewed upon.

But he looks inhumanly cruel with his fierce eyes and authoritative demeanor.

He always gives the impression that if I disobey him, he will kill me.

Everything will be just fine.

"Do you plan to stand outside all day?"

Then I went straight inside without knocking on his door. Hopes he won't be furious for a silly reason. He was typing something on his laptop, when I was in his room. He had his glasses on. I hate to say it, but he certainly looks hot and nerdy with those glasses.I hate to admit it, but all the men in Greval Khandan are attractive. Advit, on the other hand, differs slightly from their beauty standards. Advit has an aesthetic beauty, that made him seems like he's the embodiment of an aesthetic filter. He is in himself an aesthetic filter.

Vikram's intense focus and concentration with which he approached his work brought back many fond memories of the man I had loved—and still love—even though he is the love of the life of another person, as of now. I used to watch him in secret during our college days when he used to work on his assignments in the library. I was working as a part time Assistant librarian at that time.

Breaking through my memory lapse, I came to my senses. I left the tray next to him on the glass table. I made the decision to  leave in silence.

" Where are going ? Sit."

As you can see, he was giving me orders rather than requests; he was treating me like a slave would be treated by a master. Bro thinks he's my master.

But, remembering Advit's piece of advice, I decided to submit at his feet. I can't have it my way all the time. I sat down in silence. My toes curled up, and I was restless and nervous, looking at the door continuously. I never imagined that I would be so drawn to a simple door. I want to get out so bad. He shut down his laptop and removed his glasses to look at me. His piercing gaze instantly made me shiver.

"Did you have fun with him last night?"

"With who?"

" Don't act smart with me, you exactly know who I am talking about."

"What kind of fun can we have? We only went to get medicine."

"You should stop lying before I use other means that you will not like."

"He took me to watch the sunset."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Are you close to him?"

"No, I only met him for the first time yesterday."

"I will not tolerate seeing you in another man's arms the next time. I will let you off because this is your first offense."

I gave a simple nod.

"So, how is your headache from last night? Is it any better?"

"Yes, I am feeling much better."

"Avoid stressing your brain. It will only make your headache worse."

Says the person who is the cause of my headache.

" Stay hydrated; drink at least eight glasses of water per day. And yes make sure to get quality sleep...."

That was the only thing he said that I could understand before moving on to say other things. I didn't understand the other word he said. All I did was nod after he pauses every moment. In the end, he is a doctor, afterall. He does care about his patient.

"You can't get sick and ruin your health before our wedding."

Fuck you!

Eat my middle finger.

" Why are you still insisting on marrying me? Marrying me will not benefit your family. I have neither power nor money. There's so many girls out there who can be beneficial to your family's business."

"I want a wife, not a commodity on which I can count my losses and gains. Mein koi vyapaari nahi hu( I am not a merchant)."

I gave a smile.

Well, I had no idea he thought that way.

Kitne naek and accha vichar hai inka( He has such a good and pure intention).

I misjudged him.

He is not what I thought he was.

I said with all my heart,"What a hypocrite you are!"

He glared at me. You can glare at me all you want, you mad Dog, but I will not back down. I am going to give you my piece of mind.

No, Sapna, get hold of yourself.

Don't loose your composer.

But I can't tolerate him any longer.

Fuck it.

I don't give a damn.

"How dare you say you don't want a commodity? While you treat me like one, refuse to listen to my opinions, ignored my decision and impose authority on me over which you have no right to do so. You are quite shameless for a well-educated man, Mr Doctor." I sneered.

He tightened his jaw and said, "Listen carefully to what I am saying. Next time, I won't tolerate your behavior. I swear to break your bone and make you crawl under my feet if you dare to treat me disrespectfully in front of my family."

Look at this, this man does not care about my opinion. Whatever I said did not reach his ears, but he only got the impression that I disrespected him by telling the truth.

This man doesn't care about what I think.

All he think about is himself.

"It sounds like you don't want a wife; instead, you want a puppet who will listen to your every demand, fulfill your every wish, and meet your expectations."

He narrowed his eyes at me.

" You won't find that in me. Remember that."

I got up to leave the room.

Vikram got up from the sofa.

" Fine, I am sorry." He yelled.

Bhaisahab aise chil laya jaise ki mei ek buddhi aurat hu, Jisko kam sunnai deta hai( Bro yelled at the top of his lungs as if I were an old woman who has trouble in hearing).

" Stay, don't leave."

I looked back at him. Not knowing what to make of the situation.

"For what reason should I stay?

It took him a few moments to finally open his mouth and say the words.

" I want to spend some time with you."

" What?"

" I mean it."

" Not happening, never, over my dead body. I am sorry, but I am not sorry. I don't want to spend a single sec with you. I am not interested in spending time with you."

I was about to quickly leave the room. But Vikram's sudden shift in attitude caught me off guard. He brushed his long fingers through his jet black hair, and gave me a menacing look and cursed under his breath.

" Fuck." this was what I heard.

" Aap sidhe sidhe baat maane walo mein se nahi ho( You're not the type to listen when told directly)."

His words were the same as Advit, they are indeed, brother. But their tone was very different. Advit sounds playful and harmless, while Vikram's tone conveys irritation and an unknown danger.

"Hence, don't blame me, my soon-to-be dharampatni, if I use a method you dislike."

Sapna, I told you to hold your tongue.

Now you had provoke the devil.

" Aap kya Karne wale ho?( what are you going to do?)"

" Since I can't use straight method, you forced me to apply unstraight method. Brace yourself, wifey."

My feet moved towards the door on their own, as if they had sensed danger ahead of the clock. However, before I could reach the door, he grabbed my arm; his grip was so strong that I was unable to break free, and his sturdy and tall stature as well as good physique were something I could not overcome with strength alone. And he drew me closer to him, intensely locking his eyes with mine as if he was trying to communicate through them. Like saying something through his eyes.

But the pain throbbing in my arm diverted me from looking into his eyes.

"Stop struggling, or I will do something worse."

He is telling me to simply surrender to his will. Bro is delulu, mental hospital is the only solulu. Why shouldn't I fight for my very life. Khud ne aaine mein aapni shaakal dekhi toh khud bhi bolega mein toh Ravan se bhi bhayankar dikhta hu( If he had seen his face in the mirror, he himself will admit that he looks uglier than Ravan( A demon in Ramayana). He's one hell of a bastard. Rich, ignorant dickhead.

" Let go of me." I yelled.

" Don't shout in front of me, I am not deaf. I can perfectly hear you."

" Oh you, poor deaf man, you still can't hear what I said."

Then I bite his hand.

"Fuck you, damn it." he cursed, staring at me with bloodshot eyes. But he didn't let me go, and next he pinned me to the sofa. The sofa rebounds from my forceful fall as it collides with my body weight. My eyes widen in horror was Vikram was towering me, he was on top of me. Blocking all escape routes. In simple words, he trapped me and I am trapped. Tears were about to flow from my eyes, and I was struggling not to break down in front of this monster.

" Don't blame me, you ask for it."

I shook my head, "No, I didn't ask any of this."

The next thing he did shattered my soul completely. If I had seen that coming, I would have remained silent and endured all of his torment. He pressed his cold lips against mine. He forced his tongue into my mouth, exploring it like a goddamn cave. I dug my nails into the sofa as his tongue collided with mine. As I tried to turn away, he grabbed the back of my neck and yanked it back to square one, forcing me to face him. I felt tears streaming down my cheeks. I tried to push him, but the differences in men's and women's bodies left me feeling powerless. It hit me hard, the feeling of being helpless and powerless to do anything. Helplessness is such a heavy burden to bear. Once again I experienced this feelings.

So I simply closed my eyes and accepted my fate.

I hope it ends soon.

Please, God, end it quickly.

After a few minutes, he released my grip and gasped for air. After feeling me off like a leech. And he stood up, adjusting his shirt. And I was still on the sofa, unable to move; what comes next? What should I do? My senses and legs went completely numb. My mind was completely blank.

"From now on, every time you disrespect me, you will face punishment. Did you hear me?"

I dug my nails into my palm, a sharp pain followed. I just gave a nod.

" Answer me, don't just nod."

I wiped away my tears and murmured, "Yes."

" I didn't hear you."

My voice became heavy and hoarse, but I still managed to say "Yes."

" Sapna." I heard a familiar voice. And my tears threathed to spill from my eyes, hearing the soft voice that calls my name.

I turned towards the door and saw Shobha standing there. Our eyes locked briefly, and I looked away in horror. Wiping my tears away, she can't see my tears. I do not want to cause her any trouble. After all, the Vikram family is part of their in-laws. And what kind of friend would want to disrupt their friend's married life?

She entered the room and fixed her gaze on Vikram and me. She shifted her gaze from me to Vikram, as if she was observing something. Vikram kept a calm and composed expression, as if nothing had happened. Tormenting people must be his hobby, as he has become accustomed to it. He show no remorse.

" What's going on here?"

" Nothing." I replied.

" Bhabhi, what are you doing here?"

" I came to get Sapna."

" Why?" he questioned, furrowing his brows.

" Because she's needed in the kitchen."

" Oh." he muttered.

" Sapna, you just came to delived his tea right? Why did it take so long?"

" Because we were having a pleasant conversation." Vikram replied.

Shobha frowned and looked at me with surprised eyes," You were chatting with him? Seriously?"

I nodded frantically.

" Is something wrong with that?" he enquired.

"That is correct, my Sapna; as far as I know, you are not the type of person she will enjoy talking to."

Vikram narrowed his eyes and then covered his annoyance with a smile.

"Oh, Bhabhi, I am not so bad, speaking to me is not so unpleasant."

Shobha managed to a forced smile." I was joking."

" Shobha let's go, we have to prepare the breakfast." I said.

And I walk out of the room, hiding my tears from them, from the one who caused them and from the one who pacified them.

****************

Writing this chapter was heartbreaking 😢..

I was screaming from my mind, 'Advit

Come save your Sapna'. But as a writer, you can only write their story; interfering with the plot's flow is a sin I refuse to commit. Not every story is a fairytale.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

See you next ch.