For Me Love Is Confusing

Chapter Thirteen: "Cruel Love"

The next morning, the air in the penthouse was thick with tension. Ishan strode into Mili's room, his expression hard and unyielding. He stopped at the foot of her bed, arms crossed, and fixed her with a cold stare.

"Get ready," he commanded, his voice like ice.

Mili looked up, confusion and fear mingling in her eyes. "Why?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"For the wedding again," Ishan replied, his tone sharp and devoid of any warmth.

Mili's heart raced. "Again? What do you mean by 'again'?"

Ishan's face remained impassive. "Just do as you're told," he said, ignoring her question entirely.

"I'm only seventeen!" Mili cried out, desperation creeping into her voice. "You can't force me to marry you."

His gaze turned even colder. "You forgot even your actual age. What and how can I tell you anything?" he retorted, each word dripping with disdain.

Tears welled up in Mili's eyes as she took a step back. "You're a devil," she spat, her voice breaking. "You can't force me."

Ishan's expression didn't waver. "You don't have a choice," he said, his tone final and dismissive.

"No!" Mili shouted, her voice shaking with anger and fear. "I won't do it. I refuse."

Her defiance seemed to amuse him briefly, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "You have twenty minutes to get ready," he said coldly, his eyes never leaving hers. "Don't test my patience."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked out, the door closing with a resounding click behind him. Mili sank to the floor, tears streaming down her face, her heart heavy with the weight of her despair.

In the solitude of her room, she resolved to find a way out of this nightmare. She couldn't let him control her life. She had to fight back. But for now, she had twenty minutes to figure out her next move.

Mili was curled up on the floor, her tears soaking into the plush carpet. Her mind was a whirlpool of confusion and despair. She couldn't marry Ishan. She couldn't betray Paul, who had been there for her through thick and thin. The last twenty minutes had been an agonizing blur of thoughts and emotions, each one more painful than the last.

When the door swung open, she looked up through tear-filled eyes to see Ishan standing there, his expression a mix of determination and pain. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

"Mili," he said softly, his voice a gentle whisper as he approached her. "Please, just listen to me."

"No!" she cried out, pushing herself further into the corner. "I don't trust you! I don't understand why all this is happening to me!"

Ishan knelt down beside her, his eyes filled with a sorrow that mirrored her own. He reached out, but she flinched away from his touch.

"Mili, you are everything to me," he said, his voice breaking with emotion. "I know this is hard to believe, but I am doing this for us. For you."

Her sobs grew louder, her body shaking with the intensity of her emotions. "For us? You kidnapped me! You can't force me to marry you! I love Paul! This isn't right!"

Ishan took a deep breath, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I know it seems like that. But please, Mili, you have to understand. There's so much you don't remember. So much that was taken from you."

She shook her head vehemently, her cries turning into gasping breaths. "I don't care! I just want to go back! I want things to be normal again!"

His heart shattered at her words. He moved closer, cautiously placing a hand on her shoulder. She tried to pull away, but he held firm, his grip gentle yet unyielding.