Only For Her

AUTHOR'S POV: Chapter 40

AUTHOR'S POV

That night, Yash and Jivika's car ride to home had been long, with both lost in their own thoughts.

Yash sat quietly in the car, his face turned toward the window gazing out into the night, but his mind was elsewhere—lost in a whirlwind of memories and emotions.

Sitting in the car, Yash stared out of the window, his mind miles away from the present moment. He barely registered the quiet hum of the engine or the occasional passing headlights. Emotionally exhausted, he felt a heaviness pressing down on him that he couldn't shake.

Introducing Jivika as his wife had been a constant reminder of the life he should have had, but never would. With every handshake, every smile he forced, the words "my wife" cut deeper into him, like a fresh wound reopening each time. The pain was sharp, almost unbearable.

He had braced himself for the reception, knowing it wouldn't be easy, but the reality of it had been far worse than he imagined. Standing there, pretending to be someone's husband, felt like a betrayal to Janhvi, to the love they had shared, to the future they had planned but never got.

Yash tightened his jaw, a flicker of frustration crossing his face. The emptiness inside him was overwhelming, and tonight, it felt even more pronounced. Every smile Jivika offered the guests, every time he saw her standing by his side, it reminded him of all that he had lost—and how incomplete he felt.

As the car moved through the quiet streets, Yash continued to look out the window, trying to push the painful thoughts away. But the memory of Janhvi was too strong, refusing to fade, even for a moment.

Here for Jivika, the conversation with the stranger at the reception replayed over and over in her mind. His cryptic remarks about Yash's past and the dark warning about not daring to love him haunted her. Who was he, and how did he know about Janhvi?

She glanced at Yash, his expression distant, his posture rigid. She could tell that something was wrong, but Yash remained silent, staring out of the window as if the passing scenery might somehow help him escape from the turmoil inside.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Jivika spoke up softly, her voice tentative, "Yash... are you okay?" Her words hung in the air, filled with concern.

Yash didn't respond immediately. His jaw clenched, and he took a slow, deep breath before replying, his voice low and almost hollow. "I'm fine."

But he wasn't fine, and Jivika could hear it in his tone. She knew that something deeper was going on, but she wasn't sure how to approach it. She hesitated, then tried again. "It... it must have been hard tonight, right?

Yash closed his eyes for a moment, the tension in his body visibly increasing. The truth was, it had been very hard. Every time he called Jivika his wife, it was like reliving the loss of Janhvi all over again. It hurt in ways he hadn't been prepared for.

He let out a bitter chuckle, devoid of humor. "Hard doesn't even begin to cover it."

Jivika looked at him, her heart aching for him. "Yash," she started carefully, "I know... I know this isn't easy. For either of us."

Yash turned slightly, his gaze still fixed out of the window, but his voice carried the weight of his pain. "You don't know what it's like, Jivika," he said quietly, his tone sharper than he intended. "Every time I introduced you as my wife tonight... it was like betraying her."