Unveiled promises

.11.

×She is good at pretending×

|AARAV|

"Aarav, you should spend more time with Ruhi. Why do you both seem so distant from each other?" My mother asked as I sat down for breakfast, her voice light but laced with concern.

She looked around, then asked again, "Where's Ruhi?"

"She went to the office before I woke up," I replied, knowing full well my family would start piecing things together. They could already see the distance between us, even if they didn't know the full story.

"Is everything okay, Aarav?" she asked, her gaze probing deeper now.

"Maybe she's just struggling to adjust to the new surroundings," I said, offering an answer that sounded more like a question than a solution. I wasn't sure it even made sense anymore.

"You're right," my mother agreed. "I was thinking the same thing yesterday. She seems happy when it's just the two of you, but when the family is around, she looks lost...awkward. I don't think she expected to live with her in-laws." Her voice softened, and she looked at me, waiting for a response. But I had nothing to offer.

"Aarav, tell me the truth-does she want to live alone, or something?" She spoke gently, but her words carried weight. "See, there's no shame in that, if that's what she wants. You're her husband, you should listen to her. And if you think your father and I will feel hurt, don't worry about that. We just want her to feel at home here."

I looked down, avoiding her eyes. "No, Aai, it's not like that. She's told me...she said you and Dad are really good to her."

"Exactly," my mother said, her voice quieter. "But she still sees us as your parents, Aarav. She doesn't feel like she's part of this family."

I wanted to argue, but she was right. Ruhi had never truly felt like she belonged here, not with me, not with my family. I couldn't blame her for it. She had been forced into this life, and I was the one who had pulled her into it. I couldn't pretend that I hadn't known what I was doing.

"Don't overthink it, Aai," I said, trying to brush it all off. "She's new here, she's just adjusting. It'll take time."

"No," my mother said, her voice firm now. "I don't want her to just adjust. I want her to feel at home here, Aarav. I want her to feel like she belongs, not like she's just enduring this place. It's your responsibility to make her feel like this is her home, too. Promise me that?"

She reached out, her hand in front of me, and for a moment, I was stuck. How could I promise her something I knew I couldn't deliver? How could I promise to make Ruhi feel at home when I was the one who had placed her in a life that was never really hers?

I took her hand, feeling the weight of the lie I was about to tell. "Okay. I promise," I whispered.

She smiled, but I knew it was a smile that would be gone soon enough. Because deep down, I knew, I was the one who had forced her into a situation that wasn't right for her.

I loved her more than I had ever loved anyone. My love for her was deeper than anything, but that love... it was dangerous. She deserved someone who could give her the life she wanted, the life she deserved.

I was like the ocean-vast, powerful, able to pull her beneath the waves, and I could drown her too and I don't want that.

And though I loved her with every part of me, I knew I wasn't the right person for her. Because in the end, the ocean that could carry her to the shore could just as easily drown her.