Ishq hua

Chalter 3: The charade

Arsh:

I have often wondered what's worse - the fact that I would never go back to her or that she will never allow me in.

I stared outside the huge glass window, my eyes fixed on the staff running here and there to check the last minutes arrangements while sipping coffee from the cup.

It's my wedding today but will it still be a wedding if they find out that I am already married.

I could smell roses and jasmine everywhere, it is  suffocating, almost nauseating. My mother always favored an excess of flowers for special occasions, as if they could mask the monster beneath my face.

I adjusted the cufflinks on my sherwani, the smooth gold catching the light of the crystal chandeliers overhead.

Everything in this room was polished to perfection, reflecting an image of the power and control I held. But beneath it, everything was cracking. And theonee holding the hammer was getting on my each damn nerves. Aira Arsh Oberoi - the woman I claim as mine behind the curtains but refuse to give her my name in front of the world.

I have warned her - she won't shed tears unless she dares to smile. Watching her suffer has become my twisted luxury, a satisfaction that is only mine. I have caused more damage than anyone could ever heal.

My bride-to-be, Varya Rai Singhania, is someone I have known since childhood.
A good match, that's what everyone said.
Varya Rai Singhania is an epitome of perfection and they are right because she will make a perfect partner.

But they don't see the truth. Varya and I are bestfriends but never a good match - our egos clash too violently for that.

This marriage is a formality, a way to have more influence in society. Varya needs this as much as I do, for Adhikrit and Adira.

Since Noor bhabhi left us, Adhikrit has changed so much that even I barely recognize him anymore. Noor bhabhi's family is the only connection he has to his late wife other than their little girl Adira.

Varya being her little sister is the only one who can get through to him, and she is the only one our little Adira - Noor and Adhikrit's daughter, listens to.

We both knew how to handle it all and the headlines labelling us as childhood sweethearts were totally ridiculous when I know where her heart lies.

Honestly I couldn't care less about this marriage but my brother wouldn't hesitate before slicing my throat if I hurt Varya.

And still I ended up burying a secret that if came out threatened to turn my life over. My intention was to get revenge on the Agnihotris for everything they have done to us especially Noor bhabhi.

But my family wouldn't go well with my ways.

The front yard was buzzing with guests, and I wondered if they would still smile if they knew the truth. If they knew that just last night, I stood in the shadows outside another woman's window, watching her as she slept. A woman who bore my name in secret. A woman who was the daughter of our enemy.

My hand tightened around the cup I held, the crystal almost cracking under the pressure. I married her to destroy her family, to hold Vijay Agnihotri's reputation in my hand and I clearly have it - it lies in the ruins.

But somewhere along the way, my plan twisted into something more. I shouldn't have involved her because now she is messing up my whole mind. I couldn't even tell if I was stalking her out of strategy or obsession. Maybe both.

But no one could know. Not my family, who believed in doing the right things even after being immersed in the dark. They couldn't know that I already belonged to someone else, even if I could never truly have her.