chapter 13
Ishni pov
After I broke, he didn't ask me to stop.
He didn't offer hollow words.
He just waited.
Patient. Steady.
Like a lighthouse for someone drowning.
Then, without a word, he picked up the spoon again and gently fed me one bite at a time, in silence.
Not forcefully. Just... lovingly.
And I let him.
When the tray was finally empty, he wiped my lips softly with a napkin and said,
"Rest now... jaan."
But I wasn't ready to go back to bed.
Not yet.
I reached for his hand, fingers trembling slightly, and tugged it gently.
He followed me without hesitation.
We stepped out onto the massive balcony. The cool air kissed my skin and sent a chill through my spine, but I welcomed it-it was the first time I'd felt anything in days.
The city lights sparkled below like stars had fallen to the ground. The silence wasn't heavy here. It was peaceful.
I stood there, breathing in the night, his hand still in mine.
"It's beautiful," I whispered.
But even then, I wasn't looking at the view.
I was looking at him.
The man who didn't ask me to explain.
Didn't try to fix me.
Just stayed.
He wasn't looking at the view.
He was looking at me.
And for the first time, I didn't look away.
His eyes didn't hold pity.
Or judgment.
Just a quiet knowing, like he was seeing every scar beneath my skin and still choosing to stay.
I used to be scared.
Terrified, even.
To tell him about my past.
The trauma. The darkness. The parts of me I never wanted to name out loud.
But now...
Now I knew something deeper.
He didn't just know me.
He understood me.
Not just my voice, but my silence.
Not just my face, but my soul.
"Rudra..."
My voice trembled, but I didn't hold back.
"I know you want to ask a million questions about me. About that night. About what triggered the panic."
He stayed silent, his eyes fixed on mine-steady, patient, like always.
"But you didn't," I continued, swallowing the lump in my throat.
"You held back, just to make me feel safe. To let me breathe."
I stepped closer, and with both hands, I gently cupped his cheeks. His skin was warm, his stubble soft beneath my fingers.
"But I want to say it."
"To you. Everything."
His breath hitched, just slightly-but he didn't move.
The world behind us was vast, glittering, and cold. But here, in this small space between us, I had never felt warmer.
"Not because I have to," I whispered, my thumbs brushing his cheekbones.
"But because I want to. You deserve to know me... all of me."
He leaned into my touch, closed his eyes for a brief second like he was grounding himself.
And then he opened them again.
"Then tell me, jaan," he said, voice low and steady.
"Whatever you give me, I'll carry it with you. Not against you."
We slowly sank to the ground, the cool marble beneath us grounding the whirlwind inside.
He pulled me closer, cradling me gently between his legs.
I rested my head against his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my ear-strong, calm, unwavering.
For a long moment, we didn't speak.
The silence between us wasn't empty it was filled with unspoken promises and healing.
"Rudra..." I whispered softly, my fingers tracing slow circles around the buttons of his shirt.
He didn't say anything-just tightened his arms around me ever so slightly, as if to say I'm here.
My breath hitched. I could feel the weight of it building in my chest.
The past. The pain. The pieces I had kept locked away for too long.
_______________
And then-
Back.
Two years ago.
Our wedding was simple.
Not extravagant, but full of smiles. At least from my side. I thought I was stepping into a new beginning.
But soon after, everything changed.
His parents? Cruel.
They didn't say it outright, but every gesture, every glare, every silence screamed-I wasn't enough.
And Karan?
He grew distant.
Barely home.
Barely present.
He always had work. Always had an excuse. And I-I held on, thinking maybe it was just adjustment, pressure, deadlines.
But love shouldn't feel like waiting.
Like begging.
Like disappearing in your own home.
Until the day I discovered...
He was cheating on me.
I found the messages. The photos. The proof.
And that night, something in me snapped.
"Karan!! What the fuck is this!!!"
I screamed, clutching his phone in my trembling hands, my voice echoing through the cold walls of our house.
He barely flinched. Just looked at me like I was some noise he wanted to silence.
"Don't create a scene," he muttered, like I was the one ruining everything.
No guilt. No remorse. Just that same arrogance he wore like a second skin.
"You lied to me! You promised me love, you made me believe-"
My voice broke.
And all he said was-
"I never asked you to believe anything."
I thought maybe his parents would understand
When I told them about the affairs, I was shaking. I could barely speak. I thought maybe... maybe they'd be angry for me.
"But they barely reacted."
Their faces were calm. Unbothered. Like I had just told them about the weather.
Their faces were calm. Unbothered. Like I had just told them about the weather.
"It's normal," his mother had said casually, sipping her tea.
"Men will be men. Just don't embarrass the family by making a fuss."
And when I did try to speak-when I raised my voice, tried to hold on to some dignity-
They shut me down.
Mocked me.
Treated me like I was the one who brought shame to their home.
But everything changed......the day I saw him. With a woman,
"He was with her. In our bed."
"Naked. Tangled in our sheets. The ones I had picked. The room I had decorated hoping we'd build a life together..."
"And he looked at me... like I was interrupting."
That image-it never left.
Her red lipstick smudged on his neck.
Their laughter.
The way they didn't even scramble to hide.
"It didn't even feel real. I felt... frozen. Like time stopped, but everything inside me shattered at once."
My self-respect screamed that night,
It said-fight for yourself. You're not trash. You're not someone to be thrown away.
And I listened. I reminded myself-I'm a lawyer. I wasn't just someone's wife. I knew the law. I knew what he did to me was wrong.
I gathered evidence. Messages, screenshots, recordings. I prepared a case. Not just for the infidelity... but for the mental cruelty. The emotional abandonment. Everything.
But...Fate... didn't choose my side.
Money. Influence. Power. Karan's family had it all. I was just a 'disgruntled wife'-jealous, unstable, 'dramatic.' That's how they painted me in court.
"And they did it so well... the blame landed on me."
"The media dragged me. Said I had 'mental issues.' Said I was trying to ruin a successful man's life because I couldn't handle being left behind."
"After I lost everything in court...
Even my family turned their backs on me.
I wasn't their daughter anymore.
Just a shameful headline to them."
I had no place to go. No money. No roof. No name.
I closed my eyes, remembering the weight of that loneliness.