𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑨: 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐞 - Yours With All My Heart

|59|•ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀʟɪᴢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ•

BONDITA

"Boudi? Why so lost, huh?"

I snapped out of my thoughts, my mind still spinning as I looked up at Batuk. He was staring at me with a big, mischievous smile, his silver eyes gleaming with amusement. And beside him was Mishti, her expression… completely unreadable. She looked—confused? Unaware? As if she had no idea what had just unfolded between me and Anirudh?

But none of that was my biggest problem right now.

No.

My biggest problem was me.

I was a fucking idiot! An absolute stupid, brainless idiot! I—who claimed to know Anirudh better than anyone—had doubted him. Not just doubted, but fucking accused him! Thought that he had cheated on me! Mujhe sharam aani chahiye apne aap pe! How could I—UGHHH!!

"Boudiii??"

Batuk’s voice snapped me back, and I quickly shook my head, trying to clear the storm raging inside me. I forced a smile, even though I knew it was weak, pathetic. I couldn’t let them see what I was actually feeling. Not now. Not after everything.

"Haa-haan..." I mumbled, swallowing hard. "So-sorry... I was just, uh, shocked! You both look... look the same."

Batuk tilted his head at me, his expression unreadable for a second. Then, suddenly, his silver eyes widened, and he burst into laughter.

"Oh fuc—" he stopped himself just in time and corrected, "I mean... you didn’t know that I look the same as Big D?"

Big D?

I frowned in confusion. "Big D?"

"Big Dada," he clarified with a smirk.

Oh.

I glanced at Anirudh’s retreating back, my heart twisting painfully. What the fuck have I done?

I stood there, my mind a complete mess, still trying to piece together everything that had just happened. My body felt stiff, my hands cold, and my heart heavy with guilt. I had screamed at Anirudh, accused him, thrown my pain at his face like a weapon—only to realize that I had been wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong.

As I struggled to gather my thoughts, I noticed Mishti moving toward Batuk, a t-shirt in her hands. Her face remained neutral, but her eyes... her eyes were something else entirely. There was a sharpness, a hard glare buried beneath the surface, as if she were silently telling me something. Warning me.

I swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling uneasy. Would I ever be able to leave from here?

The thought came out of nowhere, but it settled deep inside me. Mishti had been acting strange from the moment I stepped inside. Why was she here with Batuk? What was their relationship? Was this all part of some twisted game? Was she playing with me again?

I didn’t know. And that scared me.

"At least wear a shirt, Batuk," Mishti finally spoke, her voice steady, though there was something clipped about the way she said it. "You shouldn’t be standing shirtless in front of anjan (strangers)."

Anjan.

That one word made something sting inside me.

Stranger?

I wasn’t a stranger here. I was Bondita Anirudh Roy Choudhury. I was this family’s daughter-in-law, Batuk’s Boudi, Anirudh’s wife.

And yet, Mishti’s words made me feel like an outsider.

Batuk, however, didn’t seem to care. He took the t-shirt from her hands with a grin and turned toward me instead, his silver eyes gleaming with mischief.