His Arranged Bride

Chapter 55

Nitya

Sitting on the porch of the farmhouse, I watch the sky change as the sun slowly begins its descent. The soothing sound of ocean waves lapping gently against the shore in the distance matches the calmness I feel inside.

I feel tired—pleasantly tired—not only from the swimming earlier, but also because of the deliciously intimate moment Prathamji and I had right before the swim and also from what we did last night.

Looking at my watch, I wonder when Prathamji will return. He had left about an hour back, saying he needed to prepare yet another surprise for me. I had asked him what the surprise was, but he only told me that I would know about it tomorrow.

I lean back in the chair, letting out a soft sigh, a smile tugging at my lips.

This lightness in my chest, this sense of happiness—it's so surreal to feel this way when life had felt way too bleak just a few weeks back.

As I think about the bleakness, my mind wanders to that dark room where I had been kept captive. The time when I had been hopeless. The cruel words, the beatings, the way I was stripped of my clothes....

No. Stop.

I close my eyes, shaking my head to stop thinking about it.

For the first time in a long time, I'm truly happy. And I won't let anything steal this moment from me.

The anger for Uday is still simmering within me. For now, yes, I have stopped thinking, because I want to be in the moment with Prathamji, without the lingering shadow of that disgusting man.

But I for sure haven't forgotten anything. I can still feel the pain and humiliation I had suffered at the hands of that monster. And I know it won't go away, it won't let me rest, until I make him pay for what he did to me.

There will be justice and there will be time for me to get the closure I need. But that time is not now. For these few days, I want to spend some time with Prathamji and be happy with him without letting Uday taint it.

Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes and look out at the horizon, letting the steady motion of the waves soothe me.

It feels like a dream to not only be at this beautiful place, but also to be here with Prathamji.

There had been a time when I wasn't sure if we would ever be happy together, a time when I doubted when he even cared for me.

But things have changed now.

I can feel not only his care, but also his love from the way he looks at me and from the way he touches me.

A shiver runs down my spine when I recall the way he had touched me—so full of desire. It had ignited such emotions within me that I had completely surrendered to the haze of passion he built around us.

I bite my lips as my desires flare again from the memory of our intimate moments.

Later. Prathamji had said later.

I look at my watch again, feeling a strange kind of excitement run through me as I realize it will soon be time for that.

"You are being too wanton, Nitya. Control yourself."

Shaking my head, I stand up from the chair to go inside the house and make myself a cup of tea.

But as I reach for the door, something catches my eye.

I see a woman entering the courtyard. She seems familiar, though I can't quite place her.

As she draws closer, I see her face more clearly, and then it hits me like a wave of realization crashing over me.