Chapter 9 The Man She Didnt Choose
Chapter 9
The Man She Didn't Choose
The rain suddenly felt colder.
Arjun stared at Aadhira like he had heard the words wrong.
"He was what?"
Aadhira looked away first.
Big mistake.
Because now Arjun's mind was already spiraling into places he hated.
"You almost married him?" His voice came out dangerously calm.
"Yes."
The honesty hit harder than if she had lied.
For a few seconds, Arjun said absolutely nothing.
But inside him-
Something dark and irrational twisted violently.
He looked toward the mansion gates where Vivaan's car had disappeared moments ago.
That man.
That calm, polite man.
Had once almost become Aadhira's husband.
The thought alone made his chest burn.
Arjun laughed once quietly, but there was no humor in it. "Interesting."
Aadhira instantly recognized that tone.
The colder Arjun sounded, the angrier he actually was.
"There's nothing interesting about it."
"No?" His eyes locked onto hers sharply. "Because I'm suddenly very interested."
She sighed tiredly. "It was years ago."
"How many years?"
"Arjun-"
"How many?"
"Before you."
That answer only irritated him further.
Of course it was before him.
But what bothered him wasn't the timeline.
It was the possibility.
Another man could've had her life. Her love. Her smiles.
Another man could've been standing beside her every night instead of him.
And judging by the way Vivaan looked at her-
He probably would've worshipped her.
The realization tasted poisonous.
Aadhira wrapped her arms around herself as cold wind brushed against her skin. "Vivaan and I were family friends. Dadi liked him."
Arjun's jaw tightened instantly.
Dadi too?
Wonderful.
Apparently everyone in her life had approved of another man for her.
"What happened?" he asked sharply.
Aadhira hesitated.
That hesitation alone nearly destroyed his remaining patience.
"He left for London," she answered finally. "His father got sick. Things changed."
"And?"
"And nothing."
Arjun stepped closer slowly.
"You expect me to believe a man drives here in the middle of the night just because of old friendship?"
Aadhira frowned immediately. "Not everyone thinks relationships are transactional like your world does."
The sentence landed perfectly.
Arjun's expression hardened.
"You're defending him."
"I'm explaining."
"No," he said coldly. "You're protecting him."
Aadhira stared at him in disbelief.
This man ignored her emotionally for years.
Now suddenly he wanted explanations about every man in her life?
The hypocrisy almost made her laugh.
"You don't get to act possessive now," she whispered. "Not after everything."
Arjun's eyes darkened immediately.
"Careful."
"There," she pointed at him angrily. "That tone. That control. You only react when another man enters the picture."
Because before that?
He barely noticed her loneliness.
The truth cut deeper because it was accurate.
Arjun suddenly grabbed the bracelet from her hands before she could react.
Aadhira blinked in shock. "Arjun."
He stared down at the silver bracelet silently.
He remembered buying it during their first year of marriage after she spent twenty minutes admiring it secretly in a jewelry store window.
She wore it almost every day afterward.
And he never realized when she stopped.
The guilt mixed horribly with jealousy inside him now.
"You kept this?" he asked quietly.
Aadhira's anger faltered slightly.
"Of course I kept it."
Something dangerous flickered across his face at that answer.
Because despite everything-
Despite the pain, the neglect, the divorce papers-
She had still treasured his gift.
Arjun suddenly looked up at her sharply. "Did you love him?"
The question stunned her.
"What?"
"Vivaan." His voice turned rougher. "Did you love him?"
Aadhira stayed silent for too long.
And Arjun hated every second of it.
Finally, she answered honestly.
"I could have."
The words punched straight through his chest.
Could have.
Meaning if Arjun hadn't entered her life-
She might've belonged to someone else completely.
A woman like Aadhira didn't love halfway. He knew that now.
If she had chosen Vivaan...
She probably would've loved him fiercely.
Faithfully.
The same way she once loved Arjun.
Something irrational and territorial exploded inside him at the thought.
"You don't get to stand there jealous," Aadhira said softly. "You lost the right."
Arjun looked at her for a long moment.
Then suddenly-
Very suddenly-
He stepped forward until her back nearly touched the pillar behind her.
Aadhira's breath caught instantly.
Too close.
Way too close.
Rainwater dripped slowly from his hair while his grey eyes burned into hers with dangerous intensity.
"And who said I gave up that right?" he asked quietly.
Her heartbeat stumbled violently.
"Arjun-"
"You were mine before he came back." His voice dropped lower. "You're still wearing my name."
Aadhira swallowed hard.
God.
Why did he suddenly know exactly what to say?
"Don't do this," she whispered shakily.
"Do what?"
"This." Her voice cracked slightly. "Act like you care only because someone else might."
For the first time that night-
Arjun looked genuinely wounded.
Not angry.
Wounded.
Because maybe a part of him feared she was right.
That maybe he only realized her value when another man reminded him she had options beyond him.
But another darker part of him knew the truth too.
No man had ever truly threatened Arjun Oberoi before.
Until tonight.
Because Vivaan looked at Aadhira like she was precious.
And suddenly Arjun couldn't stop wondering-
What if someone else learned to love his wife better than he ever did?