Together Forever

Chapter 23

Anika's POV

Her words felt like a punch to my heart, and I could barely breathe under the weight of their finality. My mother's face was stern, eyes cold as steel, and I could tell she meant every single word.

If I chose Uday, I'd lose them. My family. The people who had shaped my life, supported me, loved me-until now.

I felt a tremor run through me as I looked into my mother's face, searching for any sign of warmth, of understanding.

But there was nothing. Just a wall of unyielding expectation, a silent demand for obedience that I'd never questioned until now.

"You have to choose, Anika," she said, her voice laced with an icy finality that shattered the last threads of hope within me. "If you choose Uday, you will lose us."

"Mom," I choked out, my voice trembling, barely a whisper. "Why... why are you doing this?" I fell to my knees, the tears that I'd tried to hold back spilling over uncontrollably.

I clutched at her hands, desperate for her to see the pain in my eyes, the agony that her words were causing. "Please, Mom... don't make me choose. I love Uday. Can't you see that?"

My mother's gaze didn't soften. She simply looked down at me, her expression unreadable. "Anika, I am doing what's right for you," she said, her tone unwavering.

"No, Mom, you're not," I sobbed, my voice cracking under the weight of my sorrow. "I love him. If not him... then I won't marry. I won't marry the man you choose for me. I won't do what you wish, not if it means losing him."

My mother's expression flickered with something-anger, perhaps. Disappointment.

But before I could decipher it, I felt a sharp sting across my cheek, a sudden, harsh slap that sent me reeling. The impact echoed in the silent room, and for a moment, everything else vanished.

All I could feel was the burn of my mother's hand against my face, the shock of what had just happened.

She'd slapped me.

For the first time in my life, my mother had raised her hand against me.

I stared at her, my hand pressed to my burning cheek, feeling as though the ground had been pulled out from beneath me.

This woman, my mother-the person who had always been my strength, my anchor-was now the one breaking me.

My father looked away, his expression grim, offering no comfort, no understanding. It was as if the people I had trusted and loved my entire life had suddenly become strangers.

Without another word, I turned and ran upstairs, my vision blurred with tears. My heart felt heavy, broken, as I stumbled into my room, slamming the door behind me.

I locked it, twisting the key with a finality that made my chest ache even more. I collapsed onto my bed, burying my face in my pillow, and finally, finally let the sobs I'd been holding back escape.

The sound of my own crying filled the room, muffled by the pillow, but loud enough that I could still hear their voices outside my door.

My mother's voice was sharp, demanding that I open the door, while my father's was quieter, a low murmur of anger and frustration.

I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing the pillow tighter against my face, willing their voices to disappear, to fade away like a bad dream.

But they didn't. I could hear my mother banging on the door, her voice growing louder, her words harsh and biting. I didn't want to listen, didn't want to face the reality of what had just happened.