CHAPTER 6
Wadhwa Mansion – The Next Day
Mishti sat in the backyard garden, wrapped in a pale blue shawl, watching the slow sway of the trees around her. Her bruises were lighter now, but the soreness within her heart remained raw.
The sudden sound of footsteps made her turn.
“Madam, Mrs Divya Goel is here to meet you,” Maria announced softly.
“Send her in, Maria.”
Divya entered, worry clouding her face as soon as she saw Mishti.
“Mishti…” She walked straight up to her and held her hand. “How are you doing?”
Mishti smiled faintly, squeezing her hand. “I’m fine now, Bhabhi.”
Divya brushed her thumb gently over Mishti’s knuckles. “Still, you should’ve been more careful. No more driving for you, especially at night. Tell Karan too.”
“I will,” Mishti promised softly. “How’s Bhai?”
Divya hesitated for a second before replying, “He is fine. He wanted to come here… but there was an urgent meeting, so he had to leave. He asked me to convey his wishes, though.”
Mishti’s smile didn’t falter, but her eyes betrayed a soft ache. She reached out and held Divya’s hand tighter.
“You don’t have to lie to me, Bhabhi,” she said gently.
“I’ve grown up with him. I know he doesn’t care about me.
He never has. So, obviously, despite knowing about my accident, he wasn’t going to come here.
I was just a burden to him all this while…
and now he’s passed that burden to someone else… Karan.”
“Mishti!” Divya scolded softly. “Don’t say that. You’re not a burden. You’re—”
“It’s okay,” Mishti interrupted, smiling again, the kind of smile that hurt to see. “I’ve accepted it long ago. I always wanted Bhai to see me as family, but I suppose that’s too much to hope for.”
There was a silence between them before Mishti looked up. “Bhabhi,” she said slowly, “I… got to know from Karan that Bhai’s company was about to be taken over by Karan’s company. You knew about it?”
Divya’s eyes flickered with guilt. She hesitated, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie any further.
“Yes.” She nodded. “I came to know only when your marriage proceedings had already begun. Daksh told me everything… how Karan himself suggested that he would stop the takeover, but in return, he wanted to marry you.”
“What?” Mishti froze. The words didn’t register at once. “Karan… proposed the marriage?” she whispered. “Not Bhai?”
Divya nodded, slower this time. “That’s what Daksh said. Even I was surprised. It’s not as if you and Karan were in love before, or that he used the situation to confess his feelings. It made no sense to me either.”
“Are you sure, Karan proposed?” Mishti asked again to be sure.
“Yes, Mishti,” Divya placed her hand over hers. “Daksh swore on me that Karan gave him that offer. Daksh thought it was the only way to save the company, and Karan seemed… determined.”
Mishti’s heart pounded as she tried to make sense of it.
“But… why?” she murmured. “Why would he want to marry me? I thought Bhai offered my hand in marriage to save his company, and Karan agreed out of spite or arrogance… but if he was the one who proposed it…” She trailed off, her mind trying to connect dots, but failed.
Nothing about Karan Wadhwa made sense anymore. He wasn’t using her for gain; he never had. He didn’t seem interested in her as a wife, nor did he appear to want anything in return for this marriage. So, what had driven him to it?
Her fingers gripped the edge of her shawl, her lips parting slightly in confusion, “Why would a man like him want to marry someone like me?” she whispered, almost to herself.
Divya watched her with concern, torn between pity and helplessness. Mishti’s innocence, her pure heart, was something Divya had always admired. But looking at her now, bewildered and hurting, she could only reach out and stroke her cheek gently.
“What’s not to like in you?” Divya asked softly. “Any man would want you as his better half, Mishti. You are a different wife breed altogether. So innocent, dutiful and loving. But if you still want to know, then maybe you should ask Karan that someday.”
Mishti gave a faint nod, but deep down, she knew she never would. Some truths were far too dangerous to seek, especially when they came wrapped in the name Karan Wadhwa. And even if she asked him that, would he give her the truth? Probably not!
*****************
Night
Maria came down the stairs, balancing the food tray with care.
Since Karan had returned from the office, Mishti had insisted that Maria take the dinner into his room.
He had refused to come downstairs. He had even refused to look at the food she’d cooked and warned Maria in front of the whole staff that if he was ever served anything made by Mishti again, he would fire every servant in the house.
Mishti’s heart had stuttered when she heard it. She could not let it be. She would not be the kind of woman who let words push her back into a corner without answering.
“Give it to me,” she told Maria softly, reaching for the tray.
“Ma’am… sir will shout again. Please don’t force him.”
“I know what I have to do, Maria. I need to sort this out, once and for all.”
Maria hesitated, then nodded, worry creasing her brow. “I’m only saying this because I care, Ma’am. Sir can be… worse than usual. Please be careful.”
“I will handle him,” Mishti said, and, carrying the plate from Maria, she went toward his room.
The door was slightly ajar. Mishti paused for a breath before stepping inside.
Karan was standing by the window, his back to her. The moment he saw her in the reflection, he turned around.
“You are not welcome here in this room. How many times should I remind you of that?”
She set the tray down on the side table and met him without flinching.
“I cooked this for you,” she said simply.
“And that’s exactly why I don’t want to eat it.”
“But you ate the gajar halwa I made yesterday,” she said quietly.
“That’s because Rajat tricked me into eating it,” he snapped. “I would’ve never done that otherwise. And next time…” he warned, “stop playing such tricks through others.”
“If you have so many problems with me, if I’m not allowed in your room, if I can’t cook for you, if you don’t even look at me as your wife, then why did you propose to Daksh Bhai for my hand in marriage?”
He hadn’t expected her to know. For a second, the room held only his breathing before he snapped. “Out.”
Mishti’s frustration rose the same instant.
“I will not leave until you answer me,” she replied before she could hold back.
“If you were so desperate to marry me, if you could almost blackmail my brother so he’d agree to hand over his sister to you, then why are you throwing me away?
Why make me suffer? Until now, I thought this marriage had been forced on you by my brother.
Maybe Daksh Bhai had done the bargaining, maybe you only agreed.
But now I know you proposed. For what, Karan?
Why would you take a woman you did not know, who you do not look at with love, who you refuse to touch with kindness, and make her your wife? Why?”
He did not answer with words. Instead, he strode to her, held her arm and dragged her to the door. She fought his grip with stubbornness, but he was stronger.
She stumbled out into the corridor the moment he let go of her hand.
“I married you to watch you walk on thorns, every single day,” he finally told her.
“You’re here because I want you to be. You’ll stay because I decide so.
You don’t get to question my choices or my reasons, Mishti.
This—” he gestured between them, “— our marriage is exactly how it’s meant to be.
Cold, untouched and without any feelings involved.
So, get that into your head. And don’t you dare ask me this again. ”
Karan shut the door in her face, locking himself in.
Mishti sobbed at the cruelty of his words.
She stared at the door, wondering if she could be brave enough to be kind to the man who had vowed her ruin.
All these years, her brother treated her the same way and now she had one more man added to that list. The one who had vowed to protect and cherish her for the next seven births.
Could life get any more cruel than this?
***************
Next Day
Karan came downstairs the next morning, all set to leave for work. He remembered every word he had said to Mishti the previous night, how he had told her he wanted her to live with the sting of rejection, to drown in the pain he believed she deserved.
But there was no remorse in him. That wasn’t who he was. He was Karan Wadhwa, a man who never took his words back, no matter how cruel they were or how deeply they cut into the other person.
Like the last two days, he expected to see Mishti around the kitchen or waiting at the dining table, ready to serve him breakfast with that quiet devotion of hers.
But today, when he reached the living room, she was nowhere to be seen.
For a second, confusion flickered through his mind. Then he brushed it off.
She must be in her room, he thought, crying over her fate of being married to me.
He took his usual seat at the dining table and began to eat as Maria started serving him. The house was quiet, except for the clinking of cutlery. Then suddenly came the soft sound of footsteps descending the stairs.
He looked up, and there she was.
Mishti appeared in a simple pink churidar, her hair tied into a bun, holding a puja thali in her hands. She looked innocent, almost fragile, as she walked past him, heading toward the living room without even glancing in his direction.
Her ignorance pricked him unexpectedly.
“Where are you going?”
She paused, but didn’t turn to face him. Instead, she spoke to Maria, who was around.
“Maria, I’ll be late. Make sure you don’t cook anything for me today.”
Maria blinked in surprise. “Sure, ma’am. But won’t you have your breakfast?”
“No. I’m fasting.”