10

The first thing I felt was warmth soft and heavy like a blanket, but shifting—the sun. Then came the sting of salt on my lips, and the coarse scrape of sand against me hit my cheek. My fingers twitched, sinking slightly into the cool grains beneath me. Somewhere nearby, waves curled and crashed, their rhythm slow and endless.

I  opened my eyes.

For a moment, everything was just light. Pale blue sky. A blur of white clouds. I squinted, bringing a shaky hand to my forehead to shield my face. The sun was high, midday, maybe. The air smelled of salt and driftwood, with a hint of something green, like seaweed or leaves.

I  sat up slowly, my body stiff. Hair tangled and damp clung to my skin. My dress, what was left of it was wrinkled, clinging in places as though it had once been soaked. A trail of tiny shells led down the beach, like a path drawn by the tide.

Where was I?

I glanced towards the blue sea, and memory came like a crashing wave.

Beach.

I was sitting on the beach the whole night and drifted here. I calmed my racing heart, smoothing my wrinkled dress, I got up feeling an ache all over my body.

Take that Anaya that's what happens when you sleep on the beach.

My eyes followed the intricate design covering my hand. Mehandi. Marriage. Aadit.

Fuck.

A hot wave of tears pierced my eyes, it's been five days. Five days of Anaya becoming Anaya Aadit Pratap Singh. I cannot believe I am married. I am someone's wife now, someone's daughter-in-law, and someone's sister-in-law. I have an identity now. I have a family.

Which I can never run to.

I will never forgive Diya for this mess, she isn't picking up anyone's call. Ahana called me yesterday and informed me how heartbroken and angry everyone back in Udaipur was. But she never mentioned him. Is he fine with me gone? He will be. He seemed so detached during the whole ceremony. The only rush of emotions I felt running in him was when I tried to run away, the way he grabbed my hand and threatened to shoot me I can never forget that moment. My whole body was paralysed. Yes, I wanted to die, I am suicidal, but not like this.. not this soon.

I have a brother to look for. The reason for my existence.

What a life you have Anaya, left by her mother, rejected by her father and after all this when I had one person to live for my brother, life seized him. And when I thought this all ended, I fucking got married and have to leave my husband on the same day.

Husband. This seven-letter word itself makes my whole body shiver with different kinds of sensations.

A husband I left, A husband who hates me. A husband who would probably kill me if I ever crossed his path.

But how will know it's me, he never saw my face. At least I am safe somehow.

What a beautiful wrecked fate you have Anaya.

I looked around. Just sand. Ocean. Palm trees in the distance. So much chaos. So many people are just lost in their guilt, their own sorrows. And despite the chaos surrounding me all I felt was, Alone. Like I have my whole life.

My cell phone rang making me aware of my situation. I rubbed my blurry eyes once before glancing towards the screen.

Saina is calling.

Why the hell she is calling early in the morning? My brows shoot with confusion.

Wait.

Fuck me.

I am screwed.

I glare at the time, 9:00 AM. I am running late for my office. I was here last night because my heart felt heavy, the burden was almost insurmountable to carry, so I ran to the only place which felt like a home. But now I am late, and my manager will chew me alive because he doesn't even like me. He is always trying to come up with reasons to get me fired, but he never has enough ground to do so.

Punching the green button with my finger, I ran for my life.

As soon as I picked up the call I was met with a series of curses thrown my way.

"Where the hell you are? Do you want to get unemployed so bad Anaya?" Saina gritted I almost heard her palm hitting the table.

"I am so sorry, I just dozed off. I am just coming to the office directly now."

"Directly? You were not home last night? Where the fuck were you Anaya, wasn't getting fuck over by Diya enough for you so now you will stay up all night at the cost of your safety." She yelled at me for what felt like an hour, pushing a series of questions one after the other. I did not tell her what happened in Udaipur, but she knew that Diya just run away from her wedding landing me in some trouble. No one should know what happened there. The day I left Udaipur, I promised that I would bury the memory of him in the deepest part of my heart.

"Saina calm down, let me catch a taxi first. We can later talk about this, for now just try to hold onto our dearest manager. Even by any chance he knows I am not in office yet, he will make me unemployed right away. You know how much he loathes me. Please" I pushed the last word with whatever air I had left in my lungs.

"Taxi." I yelled and jumped in from that poor driver probably scaring the living shit out of  "Bhaiya Whitefield please, fast." The driver glanced at me annoyed. His gaze filled with pity when he saw my wrinkled dress, disoriented face and eyes which I know for sure were swollen with an insane amount of tears running from them. He nodded and started driving.

"Spill," Saina spoke in what I assume is a flat tone.

I clenched my eyes shut, summoning the courage. "I was just lost yesterday, I was in no mood to stay at home so I just came to the beach after the office and I did not realise when I passed out. I am still in yesterday's clothes so I am just coming to the office. It will probably take an hour."

"Are you nuts? You risked your safety because you just wanted to be alone. Wow, Anaya."

"Stop yelling, I know I messed up. But luckily nothing happened."

"Yet." Saina finished my sentence leaving me all confused.

"What do you mean? Daksh know that I am still not in office?" Panic seized me thinking about ways my manager will come to humiliate me before kicking my ass out.

"No, he won't." Sparks of relief washed over me.

"But, the president of the branch is visiting the building today. Daksh wants all the employees to be present for half an hour."

My relief was short-lived indeed.

"Shit."

"Exactly, if you are not here in 30 minutes. Daksh won't spare you Anaya, and you know how much you need this job."

"Yes," My teeth sank into my lower lip so hard that I might draw blood. "I can make it in 30 minutes."

"Please do."

A comfortable silence settled between us, and for a moment I hesitated, before unleashing the restless horses of my mind. "Why is the president so interested in the branch suddenly? Wasn't his brother overseeing this."

"I don't know, maybe he found someone or something to run to here. Now hurry fast."

I hummed hanging up.

I also found someone to run to, but instead, I chose to run away.

It's going to be a hell of an adventure. But even through the fog of confusion, one thing was clear I was alive.

⋆˙⟡

Wedding Mandap

The flames in the havan flickered violently as if they, too, could sense the chaos cloaked beneath the silks and saffron.

We sat down side by side, close in appearance, galaxies apart in reality. His shoulder barely brushed mine, and yet it felt like we were chained together.

I couldn't breathe.

Every ritual felt like a slow suffocation. Every mantra, a verdict. And yet, through it all, Aadit's gaze never found me. He was silent, way too silent. The air around us felt thick with anticipation although people around were loud, damn too loud. Still, all I felt was a blanket of silence covering us. Aadit was stoic and aloof, it was clear from the way he was clenching and unclenching his jaw he didn't want this marriage. He was forcing himself to sit here beside me, just like me. Even his silence felt way too loud.

It's the silence before the storm.

Had someone told him the truth? I could not stop my mind from wandering. Why did Diya put me in this mess, when she very well knew this was not gonna end well? Why is not Ahana doing anything? My gaze wanders towards her frequently.

Stop this Ahana, before it's too late. My eyes begged her.

Why was Aadit not stopping this madness?

Or was he simply punishing me for showing up?

I could not stop my mind from throwing all kinds of questions endlessly. How to stop this? How can I stop this? Think Anaya, think. I punched my mind with all kinds of possibilities and all ended up with me being married to this stranger who would never consider me his wife.

What kind of sick joke is my fate playing with me?

My hands trembled inside my lap, fingers clutched so tight they hurt. The vermillion box sat tauntingly at the edge of the mandap, like a sentence waiting to be passed. The mangalsutra just lying beside me as if mocking my turmoil. This is really happening. The cold bucket of reality washed over me, turning me icy from head to toe. I was cold, too cold. I could feel the needles or anxiety prick my whole body.

The priest chanted something, but the words fell deaf on my ears. The air felt too heavy. My breath came short, shallow. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. My throat was parched, begging me to say something. To speak out the words which can stop me from walking onto this path.

Run Anaya.

Run if you want to get away. By now I was sure Diya wasn't back coming, and Ahana wouldn't stop this. It's me who has to put a stop to this.

But my legs refused to move, glued by fear, shame, and the eyes of a hundred people who believed this was what I wanted.

And it didn't even look at me. His jaw was clenched, posture stiff, like I was some obligation being shoved down his throat. For him, I did not even exist here. This was just a duty for him which I very easily contemplated by his weary actions. He was tired, just like me.

I looked up at the sky, a desperate plea forming silently on my lips.

If anyone up there is listening—please, please get me out of this. Just one sign. One moment. I'll take it.

But no miracle came.

I waited and waited for Diya to rush in from the door. For Ahana to tell everyone the trust but nothing happened.

The voice of the priest grew louder and swifter, suffocating me. I just wanted to put my palms on my ear to stop any kind of voice let alone this mantra, which is like a cruel reminder of what is going to happen with my life in the coming ten minutes.

Suddenly everyone went silent, like they never existed. The voices faded and just the heavy sound of my breathing could be heard. I bet he can hear me.

In a flash of a moment, the sound of the priest saying, "Stand for the pheras." echoed in the hall. My breath became shallow, my spine tinged with fear and my eyes burned with different kind of passion.

One minute it was cold now suddenly everything was burning.

I cannot do this, I don't want to do this. So many lives will be ruined if I act cowardly. I need to get away from here, maybe run. Yes, I can just run towards the room and lock myself. It will buy me some time from this charade.

I was shaking, burning with shame and guilt. No one noticed—yet.

My heart thundered so loud it almost drowned the sound of my conscience screaming Run. Now.

But then my gaze shifted and met his.

Aadit.

Stone-faced. Unreadable.

Like he had already erased me from his story. Before letting me in. It hurt. God, it hurt in places I didn't know could ache.

I don't know why but it did hurt. My eyes captured his face greedily, as a reminder that this is the last time I am seeing him.

Aadit will only haunt my dreams from now on, not my reality.

I bit down the scream clawing up my throat.

No. I won't give him the satisfaction of seeing me break. Not now. Not here.

The priest repeated himself louder, his voice slicing through the silence.

"Stand for the pheras."

The audience stirred again, rustling like dry leaves before a storm. My knees trembled. My limbs turned cold.

"Anaya," someone whispered behind me, Ahana maybe. Or my guilt. I didn't know anymore.

This wasn't just a wedding. This was a sentence. And I hadn't even committed the crime. I looked at the seven steps laid out in front of me. They look scared. Something pure.

My mind screamed one last time: Run.

So I did.

Or what I thought I did, before I could even move a step back something firm and jagged grabbed my wrist pulling me towards a solid wall. I raised my eyes which were met by the cold steel pair of grey ones. Aadit was glaring, no scratch that his gaze was icy cold which melted my resolve and turned them to ashes. I was numb, weak and frozen.

I tried to pull my hand away, desperate to reclaim some part of myself, but his grip only tightened. Iron fingers curled around delicate bones, digging in deeper with every passing second.

It hurts.

God, it hurts.

But I didn't cry out. Not in front of him. Not when I knew he wouldn't care. Or maybe worse, he would care, just enough to twist the knife deeper.

"Aadit," I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper, "let me go."

He didn't answer. Instead, he leaned in, slow and deliberate, until I could feel his breath against the side of my face, warm and ice-cold all at once.

His lips hovered near my ear, so close they brushed the skin. His voice was low. Controlled. Dangerous.

"Run, sweetheart..."

A pause. A breath.

"And I'll have to shoot you."

The words weren't loud. They didn't need to be. They slithered under my skin like poison, paralysing every nerve in my body. My heart stopped beating. Or maybe it was beating too fast to count. I couldn't tell.

My legs, which were ready to bolt moments ago, turned to stone. My lips parted, but no sound came. My entire body, once filled with panic and rebellion—went silent.

His grip didn't loosen.

His face didn't soften.

He meant it. Or he didn't.

But the terrifying part was, I couldn't tell which would be worse.

At that moment, something inside me cracked, not loudly, not visibly. Just a small, quiet snap.

I wasn't in control anymore.

I was trapped.

Not in the mandap. Not in the palace.

In him.

And the cruellest part?

He knew it.