Chapter 31
Samaira
We finally saw the bride and the groom. Tanya was extremely beautiful.
Samarth on the other hand looked a lot like Kartik in a sense.
I could see that they were related. Kartik introduced me to them.
BUt I didn’t feel jealous or insecure because of how he looked at me while introducing me to everyone present there.
He looked at me like I hung the moon and the stars for him like I was the only person in the room.
Tanya and Samarth were surely just after the money, and it did not make me sad to say that they would divorce in a year or two considering they had hurt Kartik in the process.
I had no idea what was next. But most of all I was summoned with the guilt of lying to everyone involved that this started off as a fake engagement.
We entered the dining room, and Kartik graciously pulled out a chair for me next to his grandmother, taking a seat on my right.
The dining table was set with his parents, Aarush, his Nani, and us.
As we settled in, Kartik's grandmother gave us a knowing look and subtly concealed a smile.
Kartik, Aarush, and his dad stood up to greet some relatives, while his mom went to fetch more food.
My mind wandered back to seeing Hriday. The way things transpired between us, left a lasting impact on me. I wanted to go home but I didn’t want to trouble Kartik.
All of a sudden, Kartik caught my eye for afar and gestured to me to follow him. I excused myself from the table and walked to him.
We walked away from the crowd in silence, past the fairy lights and clinking glasses, and into a quieter corridor outside the main hall.
“So you have been quiet.” He made an observation.
“You don’t have to say anything,” Kartik said, voice soft, like he already knew. That made it worse.
I blinked hard, but the tears were already threatening to spill. My throat burned. My stomach twisted.
And I hated that this still hurt.
“I’m fine,” I whispered. It was the worst kind of lie — the kind I wanted to believe myself.
He didn’t respond.
I turned to look at him, ready to say something, anything. But then I saw his face.
And the thing is... he wasn’t mad.
He wasn’t jealous.
He wasn’t even smug about what just happened.
He just looked quietly furious. Not for himself. But for me.
“Why did you do that?” I asked, voice low.
“Do what?”
“Step in like that. You didn’t have to. I could’ve handled it.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“I know you could have. But you shouldn’t have to. Not alone.”
And just like that, something in me cracked.
I’d spent so long pretending I didn’t care. Convincing everyone, including myself, that I was fine. That Hriday hadn’t broken me in a way I never acknowledged out loud.
But Kartik… he saw through it.
And he didn’t ask for explanations. He didn’t expect anything in return.
He just showed up.
“He never defended me like that,” I murmured before I could stop myself.
There. It was out.
He didn’t gloat. Didn’t smile. He just stood there, eyes locked on mine. “That’s probably because he never really saw you,” Kartik said quietly.
The words hit me like a wave. I looked away, blinking furiously. But a tear slipped out anyway. I turned, wiping it quickly.
He gently put his hand on my back, but didn’t pull me into a hug. He didn’t crowd me. He didn’t take over.
He just stood there.
Steady. And that moment right there? That was the beginning of the end. Not of me falling for him, that part had probably already started. But of my ability to pretend I wasn’t.
“Can you drop me home?” I needed to think. I needed space or else I would suffocate.
He nodded, called his driver, and the car pulled up moments later. We sat in silence, the kind that buzzed in your ears, as New York blurred past.
It was strange, how a place so alive could feel so empty.
So far from home.
He dropped me off. He seemed hesitant to ask something but decided against it. His car waited till I was inside my apartment, then it left.