After some time, Meher reached home. The sharp screech of tires caught her attention as she was about to step inside. She turned around just in time to see Vikram stepping out of his car, his face set in its usual cold, unfeeling expression.
Their eyes met—hers filled with burning anger, his cold and unreadable. Neither said a word for a moment, the tension between them crackling like electricity. Without exchanging a single word, they turned in opposite directions—Meher heading inside the house, while Vikram strode toward the garden area.
As Meher entered, she noticed Vikram's mother sitting on the couch. She walked toward her, her expression softening a bit.
"Maa-sa,where is aarvi,dadi and dadu-sa?" Meher asked, keeping her voice steady.
"They went to the mall for Aarvi's shopping," Vikram's mother replied with a straight face without even looking at her.
Meher hummed in response, nodding before making her way toward her room. After freshening up, she walked back downstairs, her mind still racing from the earlier confrontation with Vikram.As she descended, she noticed Vikram's mother standing precariously on a stool, dusting the large photo frame of Shanaya that hung on the wall. No servant was allowed to touch it—Vikram had been insistent, afraid the frame might break. A lamp stood nearby, right in front of the picture.
Meher frowned, concern etched on her face. "Maa-sa, please come down. Let me help you."
But before she could do anything, Vikram's mother tried to take the picture off the wall, and in an instant, the frame slipped from her hands. It crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces, and the lamp toppled over, hitting the frame. Within seconds, the picture caught fire.
Without thinking, Meher rushed forward, dropping to her knees to extinguish the flames. She patted the fire with her bare hands, ignoring the sharp pain as the heat began to burn her skin. But just as she was about to stop the fire, someone grabbed her harshly and yanked her to her feet.
Before she could register what was happening, a stinging slap landed across her face.
Her vision blurred for a moment, and when she looked up, she saw Vikram standing there, his eyes filled with rage.
"How dare you!" he roared, his chest heaving with anger.
At that moment, Dadi-sa and Dadu-sa walked in, holding a sleeping Aarvi. They froze in shock, witnessing Vikram slapping Meher. Dadi-sa gasped and handed aarvi to the care taker and ask her to take her in thier room,while Dadu-sa's face hardened.
Meher stood there, her cheek stinging from the slap and her hands aching from the burns, her head bowed in shock. But in the very next second, the sharp crack of another slap echoed through the mansion.
This time, it was Meher who struck Vikram. Her eyes were blazing with fury, and she shouted,
"How the hell do you dare to raise your hand on me?!"
Vikram was taken aback, his face burning not just from the slap but from the raw challenge in her eyes. Meher stepped closer, her teeth clenched as she hissed,
YOU ARE READING
Bound by a Promise
General Fiction"Bound by Promise" is a story of betrayal, resentment, and an unexpected bond. Vikram Singh Rathore, a successful businessman, is trapped in a marriage of convenience with Meher, the best friend of his late wife. Blaming her and their daughter, Aarv...
