Chapter 11
KAVYA
"I should leave now. Saurav bhai will be here any moment, and I don’t want to disturb your night," Rhea said with a playful wink.
"I don’t think Saurav will come. Why don’t you stay with me the whole night?" I asked, but instantly regretted it when I saw her expression. "I mean...the villa is so big, and I don’t know anyone here. Saurav is busy with his friends, so you …"
"You’re talking like you’re afraid of your husband, Kav?" Rhea raised her brows. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just wanted to spend more time with you," I said with a sad smile. "I was missing my family. I’ve never been away from them before, so …"
"Kav, it’s okay." She squeezed my hand softly. "I’ll stay, but not in this room. I have my room downstairs. If you need me, just call and I'll come. But now it’s your and bhai’s time, so I should go."
I heard her footsteps moving toward the door. I had to bite back the urge to scream for her to stop… to not leave me alone. I was scared. I was scared of my husband.
I looked around Saurav’s room, now mine. It was a stylish bedroom with a dark, cozy atmosphere. A large bed with black sheets and pillows sat on a thick rug. Beside it, a small table held a lamp and a bottle of wine.
On one side, an open closet displayed neatly arranged clothes on glowing shelves.
A nearby shelf showed off trophies, a basketball, and personal items, with a small hoop fixed to the wall.
A black armchair and a low table stood in front of tall curtains covering the window.
To the right, a doorway led into a modern bathroom with dark tiles and bright lighting.
Everything was black and brown.
I walked to the table and picked up the wine bottle, scanning the label. My heartbeat rose in my chest as I glanced at the clock. Would Saurav want to have sex with me? Probably not. He found me unattractive.
I uncapped the bottle and poured a little wine into a glass. I didn’t know how it would taste, but I needed it. I drank, wincing at the sharp bite on my tongue and the sting in my throat. I coughed, setting the glass down and wiping my mouth.
It tasted slightly sour but okay. Maybe I needed more. I poured another glass and drank without wincing.
"Wow!" I smiled, suddenly feeling excited.
I felt my head spin as the wine warmed my veins. The room seemed to sway, shadows stretching longer than they should. I stumbled toward the door, clutching the wall for balance, my heart pounding with a strange mix of fear and excitement.
The villa’s corridors were silent, except for the faint hum of night insects outside. I pushed open the back door and stepped into the garden, the cool air brushing against my skin.
My eyes scanned the space and there he was. Saurav sat casually on a stone bench under the dim garden lights, his laughter soft and familiar.
I was about to smile, seeing him happy, but then I saw her. Tanya. She sat beside him, her posture graceful.
"You remembered how you saved me from that snake. It was about to bite me, then you quickly grabbed a stick and pushed it away before it could strike," Tanya said, looking at him like he was the only man left in the world.
They were lost in their childhood memories, so focused it was as if the world around them didn’t exist. They didn’t even notice me.
Maybe I should walk away. I should pretend I never saw them. But Tanya leaned closer, laughing softly. Her eyes sparkling at Saurav’s words, and something sharp ignited inside me.
Jealousy.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I stepped forward. "Tanya!" My voice was sharp, bitter, and painful. "What the hell are you doing with my husband?"
Her smile vanished. She looked at me as if I were the same snake Saurav had saved her from years ago. Straightening her posture like a model, she stayed silent, refusing to dignify my accusation.
"Stay away from my husband!" I hissed, grabbing her arm and pushing her away.
"Kavya, what the hell are you doing?" Saurav’s brows furrowed as he shot out his hand, grasping me roughly. "Stay away from her!"
"No!" My anger flared, words tumbling out raw. "You sit here laughing with her while I… while I’m alone, terrified in that room! Do you even care about me?" My voice shook, but my eyes burned with fury. "You forgot it’s our first night."
Tanya lowered her gaze, lips pressed tight, saying nothing. "She's taking my place!" I pointed angrily at her.
Saurav rose abruptly, his jaw clenched. "Enough." His voice was cold, slicing through the night air. He grabbed my wrist, his grip firm, and dragged me back toward the villa.
I stumbled, my protests echoing in the hallway. "Let me go! Why are you defending her? Why do you always make me feel like this?"
He shoved the door open, pulling me inside. His face was dark with anger, his voice rising. "Do you even hear yourself? You embarrassed me in front of Tanya! You act like a child. Wasn’t it enough what you had already done to me? Now you’re playing another dirty game?"
My chest heaved, tears stinging my eyes. "I’m scared of you, Saurav. Do you even realize that? I’m scared every time you look at me like I’m nothing."
"Yes, you’re absolutely nothing to me, Kavya.
" He snarled. "You’re poison in my life, making everything toxic.
What did you just say?" He stepped closer, glaring at me.
"It’s our first night, huh?" He sneered, moving in until his minty breath fanned across my face.
He grasped my chin, forcing me to meet his furious eyes.
"You want to officially become my wife?" He pulled me closer, his mouth near mine, and a shiver ran down my spine. I gasped when he began unhooking my blouse. "Let’s do this, okay. I expect you won’t be filing a complaint against me this time."
My heartbeat thundered in my chest as his fingers slid down my back. I sucked in a sharp breath when he stripped it away in one stroke. I tried to cover my breasts, but he shoved my hands aside.
"Don’t… " he warned, his voice low, before moving to my saree. He removed it slowly, deliberately, with an edge of anger. His eyes burned into my skin, making me want to crawl under the bed. Those eyes told me how worthless I was compared to Tanya.
The air in the room grew heavy, suffocating under the weight of his furious gaze. Saurav looked at me like a judge inspecting evidence he found utterly revolting.
I stood trembling, my hands hovering uselessly at my sides. The silence was louder than his shouting had been.
"Look at you," he whispered as he circled me like a predator who had already won. "You screamed at Tanya? You actually had the audacity to compare yourself to her?"
"Saurav, please… " My voice was small, broken.
"Tanya is graceful. She is disciplined," he said, stopping in front of me. His finger trailed mockingly over the curve of my waist before pinching the soft flesh with a sneer. "And you? You’re just… soft. Unrefined. You take up so much space, Kavya, yet you have no presence."
He stepped back, his eyes raking over me with slow, deliberate cruelty.
"Did you think the wine would give you courage? Or make you more appealing?" He let out a dry, humorless laugh. "All it did was make you bloated and loud. You look at these dark walls, this stylish room, and you think you belong here?"
The tears spilled over, hot and blurred my vision. His words struck like blows, stripping away the last shred of dignity I had clung to.
"You want your ‘first night’?" He stepped into my space again, his face inches from mine. I could see the disdain etched into his jaw. "I look at you and feel nothing but obligation. It is an obligation I wish I could vomit out. You’re not a woman to me. You’re a chore. A heavy, clumsy chore I’ve been forced to bear my entire life. "
He gripped my chin, forcing me to face the long, dark-tinted mirror across the room.
"Look at us," he commanded.
In the reflection, he looked like a god carved from obsidian—sharp, lean, perfect. Beside him, I looked broken, pale, my posture slumped, my body feeling twice its size under the weight of his judgment.
"Do you honestly think," he hissed into my ear, "that I could ever want this? That I could ever choose this over someone like her? You’re a child playing dress-up in a woman’s body, and frankly, it’s pathetic."
He released my face with a flick of his wrist, as if he’d touched something oily. Turning his back, he walked toward the closet, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Cover yourself up. You’re an eyesore."
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