Broken Vow – 4

Her hands trembled as she finished reading. She looked up, her voice cracking, "You think you can trap me like this and I'll just obey?"

He stepped closer, voice sharp now, cutting through the air like a blade. "I don't think, Aditi. I know."

She clenched her fists, her heart pounding. "You're cruel."

His eyes flickered — just for a second — with something dark and bitter.

Then came the final blow.

"Don't even mistake me," he said, his voice low, deadly, "for the boy I was seven years ago. The one who used to look at you like you hung the stars."

Her breath hitched.

He leaned in, eyes cold as steel.

"That boy died the day your father destroyed my family."

His voice dropped further, like a curse.

"All that's left...is the monster you created."

......................

The First Night

The room was too quiet.

Even the silence had sharp edges.

Aditi stood by the window of the master bedroom, her bridal dupatta clinging to her shoulders, eyes fixed on the dark skyline beyond the glass. The mehendi on her hands hadn’t even dried, but the dreams she once had — of love, of marriage, of a future — had already burned to ash.

Vihaan stood by the bed, removing his watch with slow precision. The expensive click of metal echoed in the room.

“You can stop standing there like a statue,” he said, his voice void of any warmth. “Go change. You’re not sleeping in that costume.”

She flinched slightly at the word. Costume. That’s what it was to him — a show.

She turned away without a word, stepping into the bathroom with clothes the staff had kept ready for her.

......................

Inside, the moment the door shut, her back hit the wall and the dam broke.

Silent sobs escaped her chest, her hand covering her mouth as she slid down to the cold tiled floor. The weight of it all finally crashed — her father in jail, her home lost, her forced marriage to a man who once loved her… now using her to destroy everything she had left.

She didn’t even know how long she cried. The sound of running water covered most of it — but not all.

Vihaan, outside, sat on the edge of the bed.

He heard her.

Every broken sob. Every muffled gasp.

He closed his eyes briefly, jaw tight. His hand curled into a fist on his knee.

But he didn’t move.

Didn’t knock.

Didn’t speak.

......................

When she finally emerged — eyes red, face pale — he didn’t look at her. He just pointed to the small couch near the bookshelf.

“You’ll sleep there.”

Her heart twisted again, but she said nothing. She walked over to the couch and sat down, folding the blanket over herself without complaint.

Vihaan turned off the main lights, leaving only the dim lamp glowing in the corner.

He climbed into the bed.

Back to her.

Cold.

Unbothered.

But long after Aditi’s breathing settled, Vihaan lay wide awake, staring at the ceiling.

Haunted not by guilt — but by the sound of her breaking behind that bathroom door.

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