CHAPTER 34 #2
She pushed those thoughts aside, forcing them back, and looked at herself one last time in the mirror before stepping out of the dressing room for Avni to see her.
The moment she stepped out and said, “Avni, here I am,” her eyes lifted, and she froze. Standing there, with his back turned toward her, was Karan. Not Avni.
The instant her voice reached him, Karan turned around. Until then, he had been busy with his phone, typing quick messages, sending out last-minute replies to important emails, postponing work until he could return to the resort and continue from there.
Rajat had taken Avni to the other side of the boutique to shop for honeymoon wear, somewhere Karan obviously couldn’t follow, which was why he had been left behind, patiently waiting for the chaos to end so he could leave. And then he heard her voice.
The moment he turned and saw Mishti dressed as a bride, the world… stopped.
For a split second, his mind dragged him back to their wedding day when she was dressed like this, looked like this. She had probably even waited for him in something like this on their wedding night, while he never showed up.
Seeing her now, dressed so similarly again, her head covered, her face hidden beneath the veil, Karan lost whatever hold he had on his emotions. He couldn’t stop himself anymore. The pull toward her was too strong, too consuming, and before he could think better of it, he moved.
The way she held herself when she was nervous, the way her hands curled at her sides when she wanted to run, he could read every bit of her reaction at the moment as he made his way towards her.
Mishti, on the other hand, couldn’t move a single muscle as she watched him approach her.
Even though the translucent veil covered her face, she didn’t need to see his expression to know what he was feeling.
His slow, almost predatory walk toward her was enough to make her body tremble. Why was he here? Where was Avni?
The moment he came closer, she instinctively stepped back and was about to retreat into the dressing room to change, when Karan caught her arm and pulled her back to where she stood.
For a few seconds, they remained like that, facing each other through the veil, her heart pounding wildly, his own screaming at him to do something he had denied himself all this time.
To unveil that beautiful face of his bride. His wife.
The very next moment, he released her arms. His fingers lifted toward the veil covering her face. Gently, slowly, inch by inch, he drew it back, uncovering her face, not stopping until her face was fully revealed to him.
And Karan lost whatever control he had left.
Mishti trembled, unable to meet his gaze.
Her chest rose and fell unevenly as memories flooded her mind…
the morning after their wedding, when he had stormed into the bedroom, furious to find her sleeping on his bed.
The way he had brutally ordered her out, warning her never to step into his space again.
And now that same man was looking at her like he wanted to kiss her.
Yes. He looked exactly like that.
His eyes traced every inch of her face with a fascination she had seen many times before, back when they lived together. But every time he had closed that distance between them, it had ended the same way…with hurtful words, with emotional wounds she carried alone.
She couldn’t let herself fall into that trap again. Not this time. So the moment he stepped further closer, Mishti shoved him. Her palms hit his chest, pushing him back.
“Don’t,” she snapped.
Karan staggered half a step back, stunned.
“Let me remind you, Mr Karan Wadhwa, you married me for revenge. You’re not supposed to come this close to me because you hate me. You may choose to forget that truth whenever it suits you, but it’s carved into my heart forever now. So don’t you ever cross that line with me again.”
Karan clenched his jaw. Her words were already bitter, but what angered him more was his inability to control what had just happened.
A single tear slipped down her cheek as she continued.
“This could just be another way of yours to toy with me, to manipulate me into agreeing to live with you again. Whatever reason you want me back for, it doesn’t matter anymore.
Because for me, it’s over. I don’t want your hatred, and I don’t want your love either.
Just stay away from me. As far as possible. ”
The words pierced straight through his chest, hurting as if someone were slowly tearing the life out of him.
Mishti wiped the tear away and turned toward the changing room. She wasn’t going to stay there a moment longer, even though a small part of her heart whispered, what if this time… what if Karan truly wanted to change something in their marriage?
No.
That hope was wrong, and she wouldn’t allow herself to cling to it anymore. She walked into the changing room to rid herself of the lehenga immediately.
**************
Throughout the drive back to the resort, Karan remained grumpy behind the wheel, while Mishti pretended to be exhausted, staring out of the window.
She had lied to Avni, telling her that the lehenga hadn’t fit her properly and that she’d stopped trying it halfway.
Since they weren’t supposed to buy it, she claimed she didn’t want to try another one in her size.
Avni, though disappointed, was convinced.
The moment they reached the resort and stepped out of the car, Avni walked toward the back, heading for the boot to take out the shopping bags.
Rajat told her the staff would handle it and have everything delivered to her room, but she refused to listen.
When she couldn’t pull out one specific bag she was searching for, Karan walked over to help, while Mishti waited quietly nearby for Avni so they could go inside together.
When Karan assisted Avni in pulling out the pink bag she was struggling with, Avni snapped at him.
“Who asked for your help? Just go away. I don’t need you. I can do it myself.”
Karan was seething now, but he didn’t let her struggle alone. He spotted the bag first, tugged it free from the pile, and handed it to her.
“Don’t spoil your mood over such silly things,” he said.
Avni scoffed. “Really? You know what the biggest mood spoiler is? Knowing that you’re going to attend my wedding.”
Mishti felt the sting of those words. Rajat immediately stepped in, scolding Avni.
“What is wrong with you, Avni? He’s your brother. He has every right to be there.”
“Wow. How convenient.” Avni shrugged. “As a brother, he had many other responsibilities to fulfil too. When he didn’t care about those, why does it matter now?”
Karan didn’t respond. He simply exhaled, forcing down every emotion raging inside him.
Mishti recognised that look instantly, the one that appeared when something cut him deeply. She felt a pang of empathy, unable to understand why Avni was so cold toward him. What had happened between them to create such distance? She really needed to know.
But Karan didn’t wait any longer. As soon as the staff arrived to unload the luggage, he handed over the car keys and walked inside.
Avni turned to Rajat. “You always take his side.”
“I don’t know about other times, but right now, you were rude,” Rajat replied firmly.
“Fine.” Avni shrugged again. “If you think everything is my fault, then so be it.”
She walked into the hotel, leaving Rajat and Mishti standing there, both unhappy with what had just transpired with their respective partners.
Although Mishti had decided she wouldn’t interfere, she couldn’t stop herself this time.
“Why is Avni so bitter toward Karan?” she finally asked Rajat. “She behaves as if she genuinely hates him.”
Rajat nodded. “That’s because she does hate him. She always has. And she’s wrong, terribly wrong. She has no idea what Karan has done for her.”
Mishti’s interest was instantly piqued.
Rajat shrugged, about to leave, but Mishti stepped in front of him, blocking his way.
“I want to know everything.”
He looked away, clearly conflicted, unsure whether he should speak. But Mishti was adamant this time.
“Look,” she said quietly, “I know you would never betray your best friend. All this time, when I wanted to know why Karan married me, when he didn’t even want to accept me as his wife, you and Abhimanyu stayed silent.
You never told me the truth. But now… now I think I at least deserve to know what’s so broken between Karan and his sister.
Why did he keep her hidden in London? Why did he never tell me about her existence even once? Why?”
That was when Rajat finally spoke. “Because of Dilip Goel, your father, Mishti.”
Mishti stepped back in shock.
“Yes,” Rajat nodded. “Once again, only because of him.”
And what he told her shook Mishti to her core.
He told her how, after their mother’s death, Karan stopped being just an elder brother and became a shield, one willing to take every blow if it meant his sister stayed untouched.
He explained how Dilip Goel’s reach extended far beyond prison walls, how threats lingered despite him being behind bars.
He told her about that specific incident when Avni was almost abducted, and how Karan was then forced to make a decision he had never wanted to make.
Of sending her away to safety. Under a different surname. A different life.
Mishti felt the ground slip beneath her feet as Rajat went on. He told her how Avni never got answers. How she had believed, because everyone let her, that her brother had chosen power, money, inheritance… everything except her.
Mishti felt a helpless, choking guilt rise in her chest.
“Every threat. Every shadow. Every reason Karan turned into the man you know today leads back to Dilip Goel,” Rajat added.
She felt sick.
Once again, the trail of destruction led back to the same man… her father.
The man sitting in prison. Still alive, still breathing.