CHAPTER 69! VOICE NOTE #3
The chaos from the breakfast table felt miles away now. Even the huge windows overlooking the gardens, letting in the pale morning light, couldn't make the room feel any less suffocating.
I sat on the long leather sofa, my knees pulled slightly toward me, trying very hard to look calmer than I actually felt.
Shourya Bhai, on the other hand, looked like a man waiting for his punishment. He sat in the armchair opposite me, his fingers constantly twisting together, tapping against his knee, then repeating the whole sequence whenever his nervousness became too obvious.
Aryav, meanwhile, sat behind his mahogany desk, looking completely unaffected. He had one hand resting beside his coffee cup while the other lazily turned the pages of a file, as if none of us were even in the room.
The door clicked open.
Vivaan Bhai walked in, stopping short as his eyes swept over us. They landed straight on Shourya.
"Why did you call me?"
Shourya glanced at me, then at Vivaan, and pointed a finger in my direction. "She called you."
Vivaan's eyebrows rose. "Aadhira?"
"Hmm," Shourya grunted, avoiding his eyes.
Vivaan's expression changed immediately. He looked at me, back to Shourya, and finally toward the desk.
Aryav took a slow sip of his coffee and looked at Vivaan over the rim.
The message in his eyes was crisp.
Vivaan stared back at him for a second before muttering under his breath, "Joru ka gulam." ["Wife's slave."]
Shourya caught the silent interaction and glared at Aryav, his face contorting in pure betrayal.
I ignored both of them. "Sit, Vivaan Bhai."
He took the empty chair beside Shourya.
The second his weight hit the cushion, Shourya leaned forward, rubbing his palms together. "Okay, Aadhira. Now that Vivaan is here, tell us what happened. Did he do something?" He pointed toward Aryav.
Aryav slowly lowered his cup and looked at Shourya.
"What?" Shourya asked defensively." I don't trust you."
Aryav just shook his head and went back to his file.
I folded my arms, keeping my eyes fixed on my brother. "No."
Shourya let out a breath, his shoulders visibly dropping. "Thank God-"
"He didn't do anything," I added softly.
"See? I told you-"
"You did."
Shourya froze. Beside him, Vivaan immediately ducked his head, coughing into his hand to hide a smile.
Shourya stared at me, pointing a thumb at his chest. "Me? Aadhi, what have I done now?" He placed a dramatic hand over his heart. "Main tumhara sabse achha bhai hoon. Think carefully before accusing me." ["I am your best brother. Think carefully before accusing me."]
I didn't blink. "You'll tell me the truth?"
His confidence faltered. "Yes."
"Properly?"
He hesitated. "...Yes."
"And don't try to escape halfway through."
"Aadhi-"
"Bhai."
He swallowed hard. "Fine. I'll tell you. Ask."
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on my knees. "Are you the one who asked Aryav to enter into a contract marriage with me?"
Shourya stopped breathing.
Vivaan's smile vanished instantly, his eyes widening.
Behind the desk, Aryav didn't move. He simply set his pen down and watched.
Shourya slowly turned toward Aryav. The look on his face said everything: You told her?
Aryav just took another quiet sip of his coffee.
"Look at me, Bhai," I said, my voice cutting through the silence.
Shourya slowly turned back to me. His throat moved as he swallowed. "Yes."
The single word landed heavily between us.
I stared at him, feeling a sharp knot form in my chest. "So it was you."
He nodded, all his defensiveness draining out. "Yes."
"Why?"
"Aadhira-"
"Why, Bhai?"
He let out a long sigh and leaned back, suddenly looking exhausted. "What did you expect me to do?"
"You could have talked to me!"
"Yes you will listen like you are doing since childhood right aadhi?"
"It doesn't matter, you went behind my back and decided contract for me!" My voice cracked slightly. "You didn't even tell me, Bhai. You just... arranged it."
He winced, rubbing his forehead. "Aadhi, listen to me. I told you a hundred times not to marry him."
"And I told you I want to merry him!"
"Yes that's why I did it, I didn't trust him with you!" Shourya's voice rose before he caught himself. He threw a quick glance at Aryav before lowering his tone, looking directly at me.
"You trust people too easily, Aadhi. You always have. You see one good thing in someone and forget to look at everything else. I knew what the world said about him. I knew what kind of power he had. And I didn't trust him with you."
The sharp edge of my anger wavered, caught off guard by the raw fear in his voice.
"So you made a contract," I whispered.
"Yes."
"Behind my back."
"Yes."
I stared at him, my heart aching. "I was your sister, not a deal you needed to safeguard."
"I was terrified," Shourya said quietly, giving me a helpless look. "I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't let you walk into something that might break you without giving you a way out."
"You should have asked me."
He lowered his eyes. "You will reject."
Beside him, Vivaan shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat.
Shourya didn't even bother glaring at him this time.
"What were the real terms?" I asked.
"He wasn't supposed to touch you," Shourya said, his voice flat. "The contract was for one year. And if things went wrong, you could walk away without getting dragged through some ugly legal mess. No public spectacle, no financial ruin. A clean exit."
The heavy silence returned, thick and suffocating.
"Do you still have it?" I asked. "The contract?"
"Yes."
"Go home today and burn it."
Shourya straightened up. "No."
I frowned. "What?"
"No. I'm not burning it."
"Bhai-"
"Aadhira, there are fifteen days left," Shourya said firmly, pointing a finger between us. "Fifteen days until it expires. And after that, you're free."
The word hit my chest like a physical weight. "Free?"
"Free from the arrangement. If you want to leave this house and walk away, that paper means he can't pull a single legal trick to stop you."
Before I could process that, Aryav spoke up.
His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the room like a blade. "And you think I'm letting her leave just because of that stupid contract?"
Shourya snapped his head toward the desk. "That's not your decision."
Aryav leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes shifting to Shourya, cold and utterly unbothered. "It is if she's my wife."
"She won't be if she chooses to walk out!" Shourya argued, his voice rising. "That contract-"
"I don't care what that contract says," Aryav interrupted, his gaze moving back to me. His jaw tightened slightly. "If Aadhira wants to leave me, she'll tell me herself. I'm not letting a piece of paper make that decision for either of us."
My heart gave a strange, frantic thud against my ribs.
Shourya opened his mouth, clearly ready to throw another legal argument at him, but Aryav added calmly, "I'll deal with your that contract later."
Shourya immediately narrowed his eyes. "You touch that file and I'll kill you."
Aryav looked at him for a beat. "Try."
"Hey!" I snapped, turning on Aryav. "How many times do I have to tell you to respect him? He's my brother!"
Aryav's expression hardened. "He is nothing but aashole."
"And he's still my brother!"
"Aadhira-"
"Don't 'Aadhira' me!"
We stared each other down, neither yielding an inch.
Suddenly, Shourya threw his arms wide open, a giant grin spreading across his face. "Awww!"
I turned to him, instantly suspicious. "What?"
"That's my sister," Shourya said proudly, his eyes shining. "Defending me! Come here, give me a hug."
I recoiled into the sofa cushions. "HATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!"
["GET AWAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"]
Vivaan burst out laughing.
Shourya's sentimental moment evaporated. He turned in his chair and kicked Vivaan's leg.
"Ouch! Hey!" Vivaan yelped, clutching his shin.
"Don't laugh!" Shourya barked.
"You absolutely deserved that!" Vivaan wheezed. "She rejected you instantly!"