5 YEARS LATER
"will you marry me?"
His voice was calm, almost as if he were asking something as simple as whether she had eaten dinner.
But to Anika, those words held a weight so heavy that her heart pounded in her chest.
For a moment, she just stared at him.
And then, before she even realized it, she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.
"Yes... yes... yes!" she whispered against his shoulder, her voice trembling with emotion.
Vikram stood still for a second, as if taken aback by the sudden contact. He had never expected her to embrace him like this.
They were never the type of couple to be overly physical, never the kind to lose themselves in passionate gestures.
Their love had always been quiet, gentle, patient.
That same night, they went to their house and announced everyone about their relationship, and soon after that the house wasn't the same.
Vikrant had destroyed it, almost literally.
Furniture overturned, glass shattered, walls vibrating with his voice, his rage.
"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?"
His voice had roared through the house, shaking every foundation, both of the walls and of the relationships within them.
His parents stood frozen, his relatives looking away, the servants pretending not to hear.
"You knew!" he had spat at Anika, his eyes wild, his breath heavy.
"You knew, and you hid it from me. You lied to me for FIVE YEARS!"
Anika stood there, her hands trembling, unable to meet his gaze.
Vikram was next to her, calm as ever, standing like a wall between her and Vikrant.
But even Vikram's silence couldn't pacify him this time.
"And you..." Vikrant turned to his twin, his hands curling into fists.
"How long were you planning to play this game, Vikram? How long were you going to stand there, watching me make a fool out of myself?"
Vikram remained quiet. He never reacted to Vikrant's anger. He never raised his voice. He simply stood there, unmoving.
But that only made Vikrant angrier.
He stepped forward, closer, his voice dropping to something more dangerous.
"You were laughing at me, weren't you?" he hissed.
"All these years. You let me believe" He cut himself off, his breathing ragged.
Anika swallowed hard.
She knew what he wasn't saying.
He had believed she was his.
She had always been his.
At least, in his mind.
"I did everything for you, Anika," he continued, his voice quieter now, but no less dangerous.
"I was there. Every single time. Every single moment. And you, you gave it all to him?"
Anika opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Because what could she say?
What could she possibly say to a man who had already made up his mind?
"You should have told me."
