Chapter Forty Eight
Author's POV;
The celebration slowly died down into silence. Laughter faded into distant murmurs as the last guests began leaving the Rathore mansion. The music that had filled every corner hours ago was now gone, leaving behind an eerie quiet that made the house feel larger... emptier.
Outside, the night had settled completely. The sky stretched endlessly above, dark and deep, dotted with faint stars that flickered softly like distant memories.
On the balcony, Ria sat alone. She hadn't moved for a long time. Her hands rested lifelessly in her lap, her shoulders slumped, her back against the cold wall. The evening breeze brushed past her face, gently lifting loose strands of hair.
But she didn't notice.
Her eyes were fixed on the sky, yet they weren't really seeing it. They were seeing something else.
His face.
His words.
His voice.
"This marriage is a joke."
The sentence kept replaying inside her head like a cruel echo that refused to fade. Every time she tried to push it away, it returned sharper.
"And it's good that you finally understood that."
A tear slid down her cheek. She didn't wipe it. Another followed. Then another. Ria didn't bother stopping them anymore.
At that moment, all she wanted-just for a moment-was to forget.
Forget every memory of him.
Forget the way his eyes looked at her.
Forget the way her heart betrayed her every time he stood close.
Forget every touch.
"Why can't I just stop feeling?" she whispered brokenly to the empty sky. Her voice was barely audible. She closed her eyes. Maybe if she stayed here long enough, the pain would fade.
Maybe if she stayed quiet enough, her heart would finally listen to her mind.
But hearts were stubborn things.
And hers... refused to cooperate.
A soft hand touched her shoulder. Ria startled slightly. Instinctively, she wiped her tears quickly with the back of her hand before turning around.
Avantika stood there. In her hands was a soft blanket. For a second, Ria forced a small smile, trying to act normal.
"Oh... bhabhi," she said softly. "Did you need something?"
Avantika didn't answer. Instead, she quietly wrapped the blanket around Ria's shoulders before sitting down beside her. The balcony fell silent again.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Avantika tilted her head back slightly, looking up at the stars above.
"Don't do that," she said gently.
Ria frowned.
"Do what?"
Avantika finally turned toward her.
"Pretend."
The single word landed heavily between them. Ria froze. Avantika's eyes softened.
"I know we're not very close," she continued calmly, "but I promise you something, Ria."
She reached over and gently took Ria's hands in hers.
"You can share anything with me, even in this situation."
Ria looked down at their joined hands.
"I was sitting in this exact spot four years ago," Avantika added quietly.
Ria's brows furrowed.
"My situation?" she asked slowly. "What do you mean by my situation?"
Avantika gave a small smile, though it carried a hint of sadness.
"There was a time," she said softly, "when I used to sit here for hours... staring at the sky... wondering if my marriage would ever work."
Ria blinked.
Her confusion deepened.
"The only difference," Avantika continued, "was that everyone in this house loved me."
She paused briefly.
"Except my husband."
Ria turned her head sharply.
"You mean... you and bhaiya didn't have a love marriage?"
Avantika chuckled softly.
"No."
She shook her head.
"Not even close."
Ria's eyes widened.
"But you two... you look so happy," she whispered.
Avantika's gaze softened.
"That didn't happen overnight." Ria searched her face carefully. "Ria," Avantika said gently, squeezing her hands. "Please don't give up yet."
Ria's throat tightened.
"Bhabhi..." she murmured weakly. "You don't understand."
"Oh, I understand more than you think," Avantika replied. Ria hesitated before finally asking the question that had been sitting heavily inside her chest.
"Was he always like this?"
Avantika looked up at the sky again.
For a moment, her expression changed.
"He wasn't."
Ria frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Avantika's voice grew distant, as if she were remembering someone who no longer existed. "Aansh wasn't always like the man you see today."
Ria stared at her.
"He used to laugh," Avantika said quietly.
The words felt strange.
Almost impossible.
"He used to smile... a lot."
Ria's lips parted slightly in disbelief.
"He used to tease everyone in this house. Even Dadaji used to say Aansh brought life into the mansion."
Ria shook her head slowly.
"That... doesn't sound like the man I know."
Avantika smiled sadly.
"I know."
Ria swallowed.
"So what happened?"
Her voice came out softer than she intended. Avantika took a deep breath.
For a moment, she didn't answer. The silence stretched. Finally, she spoke.
"He was in love."
The words hit Ria like a sudden wave.
Her heart skipped.
"In love?" she repeated faintly.
Avantika nodded.
"He loved someone very deeply."
Ria's chest tightened unexpectedly.
"And she loved him just as much."
Ria didn't know why, but something about hearing those words hurt. Her fingers curled slightly.
"So what happened?" she asked quietly.
Avantika's voice dropped to almost a whisper.
"She died."
The world seemed to stop. Ria's breath caught in her throat.
"She passed away... on their wedding day."
The sentence landed like thunder. Ria felt like the ground beneath her had suddenly cracked open. Her mind struggled to process what she had just heard.
Aansh...
In love...
A wedding...
Her heartbeat started pounding loudly in her ears. He almost got married. Her thoughts spun wildly. There was someone before me.
Someone he loved.
Someone he wanted.
Someone who held his heart.
Her chest tightened painfully.
All this time...
She thought he hated love.
But he didn't.
He just lost it.
Avantika slowly stood up.
"That's all I'm going to say," she said gently.
Ria looked up at her.
"It's not my place to tell you the rest."
Avantika gave her one last understanding look before quietly walking back inside the mansion.
Leaving Ria alone.
Completely alone.
The night air suddenly felt colder.
He was in love.
The words echoed loudly inside her mind.
He was in love.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Ria wrapped the blanket tighter around herself. Her heart felt heavier than before. Not because of what Avantika told her. But because of what it meant.
If Aansh had loved someone like that once...
Then there was no space left for her.
Not now.
Not ever.
Ria looked up at the sky again, her vision blurring with fresh tears.
"Now I understand," she whispered quietly.
Her voice trembled.
"Why your heart feels so unreachable."
Another tear slipped down her cheek.
Because it was never empty, it was just buried with someone else. And am not going to try again because u once belonged to someone.