CHAPTER 10 #2
Aanya reached for her hand, clasping it affectionately. “Thank you, Di. I was actually thinking of surprising Reyansh with something tonight… but you’ve definitely gone above and beyond anything I had in mind.”
Reyansh glanced sideways at her, surprised by how effortlessly she played along.
“Well then,” Radhika smiled. “I’ll have your dinner sent to the room. And I don’t want to see either of you until morning. Enjoy the night, both of you.”
“Good night,” she added with a teasing grin as she stepped out.
As soon as she left, Aanya sighed. “Such a royal mess.”
Reyansh turned the lock and leaned against the door. “Still better than the disaster you pulled on our wedding night,” he said sharply. “Nothing tops that.”
He hadn’t meant to go there, not tonight, but the words slipped out before he could stop them.
Aanya’s expression froze.
“Wow,” she said, her tone tight, brittle. “So we’re doing that now? You’re putting the entire failure of that night on me?”
Her eyes burned with frustration, but underneath it, there was too much hurt.
“Maybe you should’ve told your staff not to stock the room like a bar,” she snapped. “I didn’t even want the wedding, Reyansh. I was drunk out of my mind. I don’t even remember when I passed out.”
He crossed the space in seconds and grabbed her arm.
“You didn’t just pass out. You passed out n*ked when I walked in, Aanya. What kind of stunt was that? What were you trying to prove?” he demanded.
Aanya swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry.
“It wasn’t some stunt,” she said, voice shaky. “I was going to take a shower. I was exhausted, so I undressed… but I must’ve passed out before I made it to the bathroom.”
Reyansh didn’t look away. He was studying her, trying to read the truth behind her words.
She scoffed suddenly, breaking the tension. “But really, what’s the point of digging this up now?”
He took a step back, jaw tightening.
“Yeah, great question. Why now, right? You did what you had to that night. And then you vanished. No message. No explanation. Nothing.”
“That’s because you insulted me, Reyansh Chopra,” she exploded. “Do you even remember what you said to me the next morning?”
He blinked.
“You said you weren’t like those so-called desperate guys from my past—the kind who’d take advantage of a drunk woman.”
Her voice trembled with rage and hurt as she stepped closer.
“You made me feel cheap. Like I meant to trap you. You didn’t even flinch before passing judgment on your own wife.
One night—that’s all it took for you to tear down my character like it meant nothing.
Did you ever ask if I’d even had boyfriends?
Did you try to know me, even once, before marrying me?
No. You didn’t. But you still had the audacity to label me, to assume I was the kind of woman who’d sleep with just anyone.
So tell me, Reyansh Chopra, what exactly did you expect me to do?
Stay and swallow your filthy assumptions?
I left because your arrogance left no space for my dignity. ”
Reyansh stood frozen, silenced by the truth in her words. So that was the wound she had carried all along. That was the moment their fragile relationship had shattered.
A knock interrupted the rising storm. Aanya turned and composed herself instantly, opening the door for the maid, who brought in their dinner.
“Leave it there,” Aanya instructed the maid, who wheeled in the dinner cart and silently exited.
Without another glance at him, she marched to the recliner where their shopping bags were and grabbed the nightdress she’d bought and turned toward the bathroom.
“I’m not hungry,” she said flatly. “You can have it all.”
And without another glance, she disappeared into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.
She splashed cold water on her face, as if it could wash away the bitter memories of the morning after her wedding.
But they clung to her like scars. No matter how much she tried to bury them, they resurfaced—his words, his accusations, the way he made her feel that day.
She had kept her pain locked away for too long.
Reyansh had never earned her explanations… nor would he ever believe them.
Flashback - 18 months back
The harsh morning light pierced through the hotel curtains, stinging her eyes.
She groaned and turned to the side, hoping to steal a few more minutes of sleep, but the throbbing pain in her head forced her upright.
Nothing about this felt normal. As her gaze swept across the unfamiliar space, realization struck that it was a hotel room.
Her clothes lay scattered on the bed like discarded fragments of a forgotten night.
An empty champagne bottle rested ominously near the bed.
Aanya clutched the duvet tighter around her bare body, her heart racing. What the hell had happened?
It had been her wedding night. Shouldn’t he have been here? Did he walk in, see her in that state, and walk right back out? Or had he never come at all?
Surely no man, least of all her husband would resist a woman like that on their first night together... would he?
Frantically, she dialled reception.
“Hello… I—I’m looking for my husband, Mr. Reyansh Chopra. Could you check if he’s still in the hotel? Ask him to return to the room, please?”
The receptionist responded with practiced calm.
“Ma’am, he left early. But he left a message for you. We were instructed to deliver it once you woke up. Please hold, I’ll have it brought up to your room.”
He left a message?
Her chest tightened. She threw on whatever she could find and rushed to open the door when the bell rang. A hotel staff member handed her a folded note.
“Thanks,” she murmured before shutting the door.
Her hands trembled as she unfolded the paper and read:
I trust you slept well alone. Your behaviour last night made it clear you have little regard for this marriage. My driver is waiting downstairs. Leave the hotel and get into the car without further damaging my reputation. He will take you either to your home… or to me. Your choice.
Her fingers crumpled the note as rage surged through her.
Yes, she had ruined the night—drunk, out of control. But did that give him the right to write her off like this? Was he not bound by the same vows? Did marriage mean so little to him?
She stormed downstairs and climbed into the waiting car.
“To the Chopra Mansion,” she ordered curtly.
The drive felt endless.
She wasn’t about to let him discard her like a failed investment. She made a mistake, sure. But he wasn’t some martyr either. If anyone needed a reality check, it was Reyansh Chopra.
As soon as the car stopped at the Chopra Mansion, she stepped out, storming toward the entrance, only to be blocked.
“Don’t take a step further,” a sharp voice rang out.
Aanya turned and saw an older woman standing stiffly in her path. It didn’t take long to guess that this had to be his grandmother.
“I’m your grandson’s wife,” she stated firmly.
“I know that,” the woman snapped. “And I wasn’t thrilled about his choice in the first place. That’s why I didn’t bother attending your little court wedding. But after the spectacle you created last night? I have no reason to ever change my mind.”
The venom in her tone stung more than Aanya cared to admit.
“Where’s Reyansh?” she demanded, trying to hold her ground.
“Why?” the woman sneered. “Got another dose of humiliation to throw at him?”
Aanya bristled.
“I’ll find him myself.”
She stepped forward, but the old woman blocked her path again.
“I truly pity you, child. What was it that drew you to my grandson? His wealth? His looks? His status?”
Aanya snapped.
“Don’t push me,” she growled. “I’ve been civil so far, but that’s not going to last if you keep provoking me.”
“And what exactly will you do?” the woman stepped closer, not the least bit intimidated.
Before Aanya could retaliate, another voice sliced through the tension.
“Enough, Nani.”
As Reyansh descended the stairs, Aanya took a sigh of relief.
“Thank God,” she muttered. “I was about to lose my mind here.”
“Reyansh—” Nani tried to intervene, but he cut her off with a sharp gesture.
“I need to speak to her. Alone.”
He grabbed Aanya’s wrist and pulled her into the drawing room.
“Ouch! Can you not drag me around like that?” she snapped, rubbing her wrist.
“What do you want me to do?” he growled. “Applaud your behaviour last night? Congratulate you for turning our wedding night into a circus?”
Her heart hammered in her chest.
“I know I messed up,” she admitted, trying to stay calm. “But—”
“I don’t need your excuses,” he interrupted. “You are who you are, Aanya. Wild, impulsive, reckless. No one can change you, not even a marriage.”
That did it.
“I don’t give a damn what people expect from me,” she snapped. “I’m done trying to meet everyone’s demands. I’m not some display piece or your personal property.”
Reyansh listened silently, though his clenched jaw betrayed the storm simmering inside him.
“And what the hell was that note?” she continued, eyes blazing.
“How could you even offer me that kind of choice. To go back to my home? Why?” She took a step closer, her voice dropping into a fierce scowl.
“You married me lawfully, Reyansh, not leased me like some commodity you could return when the purpose was served.”
He gripped her forearms roughly.
“Don’t give me that marriage crap,” he spat.
Her eyes narrowed.
“Oh, so that’s what you think of this? Crap?”
He scowled. “You didn’t make it feel like heaven either.”
“It’s been ONE night!” she shouted. “And you think that’s enough to condemn our entire future?”
They stood in silence, eyes locked in a blazing standoff.
“Or wait,” she hissed, stepping closer. “Is this tantrum because you didn’t get what you expected? Is that it?”
That infuriated him further. His expression darkened.
“You’re insane,” he bit out. “I’m not one of your other boyfriends, ready to take advantage of your drunken state.”
Her heart cracked. Did he just say that? The words stung worse than a slap.
“So that’s what you think of me,” she said, her voice low. “That I’m just some girl who hops from man to man, waiting to be used. Wow.”
He didn’t respond. He didn’t have to.
“If this is what you think about me, I don’t need to give you any further explanation,” she concluded.
“Neither I want one.”
Aanya’s nostrils flared with fury. This marriage had been her final leap of faith…a desperate hope that, if nothing else, the man she married would at least try to want her, or pretend to. But once again, she had misjudged. She wasn’t one of the lucky ones. She never had been.
Without another word, she spun on her heel and headed for the main door.
Just as she was about to exit, Nani’s cold voice sliced through the silence behind her.
“Characterless.”
Aanya froze. Her spine stiffened, and for a moment, the urge to turn around and unleash the storm she’d kept bottled for years burned hot in her veins.
But what was the point? Nothing she said would change their perception.
This family wasn’t looking for the truth.
They were looking for a reason to condemn her.
And she wasn’t about to plead for their understanding anymore.
Yes, she had made a mistake last night but she had owned it. The people whose forgiveness she sought didn’t even deserve a place in her life.