Meant to be yours

The talk

Ishika's POV:

It took more than two hours to convince Anamika to leave for office. That woman will surely be the death of me. As I laid down for a little nap, our room door opened.
" Mika, why are" Words died down in my lips as it was Riya.
" Uff, still expecting your wife. Didn't you had enough? " Riya sighed dramatically as I rolled my eyes.
" I I " I stopped as I pushed myself on the bed.
" I just saw your wife leave. So, I thought it's safe to enter the burrow." Riya came in as I leaned myself on the headboard of the bed.
" Yes. So, what's wrong? " I asked as I pat the space next to me. She gave me the ice cream tub with two spoons . She sat down beside me, letting the silence stretch for a while.

“You’re awfully quiet for someone who usually doesn’t shut up,” I teased gently, while taking a scoop from the tub.

Riya snorted, but it came out hollow. “Yeah, well. Not every day you catch your wife kissing someone else.”

I froze mid-sip, lowering my spoon. “Wait… what?”

Riya stared straight ahead, her jaw tightening. “Yesterday. Office parking lot. Payal and Jazz.” She let out a bitter laugh. “And no, I wasn’t hallucinating. I saw it with my own eyes.”

I blinked, shocked. I couldn't believe it. “Jazz… as in the Jazz? You knew Payal used to—”

“Yep.” Riya cut me off sharply. “The crush. The ‘old friend.’ The ‘don’t worry, Riya, it’s nothing.’” Her voice cracked with sarcasm.

For a long moment, I didn’t know what to say. I reached out, resting her hand gently on Riya’s arm. “Did Payal… explain?”

“Oh, she explained,” Riya said bitterly, taking a scoop like it was stronger than tea. “She said it was in the moment. She said Jazz was vulnerable. She said it didn’t mean anything.”

I tilted her head. “Do you believe her?”

Riya went silent. Her fingers drummed against the cup, eyes hard. “That’s the problem. A part of me wants to. A part of me really does. But then the other part—the part that watched my wife lean in and kiss someone else—won’t shut up.”

I sighed, leaning back against the chair. “ love isn’t easy, Riya. You of all people know that.” I know about how she's been waiting for Payal for years. Her perfectly plotted plan to marry her. Everything. She has done everything to make Payal fall for her.

“I thought I did,” Riya muttered. “I thought Payal and I… we were solid. But now…” She shook her head, her usual humor gone. “Now I feel like a fool.”

I stayed quiet for a while, letting the breeze fill the silence. Then I said softly, “You’re not a fool. You’re hurt. And you have every right to be. But… if she truly loves you, she’ll prove it. Not with words, but with actions.”

Riya finally turned to look at me, her eyes glistening. “And if she doesn’t?”

My expression hardened, my voice steady. “Then you’ll know. And you’ll decide if forgiveness is still possible. But don’t make that choice in anger. You don't go running back into her arms.” I need to talk with Payal.
" You're a total green forest, Riya. I like your love and sincerity for her. " I said as  she looks at me.

For the first time that day, Riya’s shoulders slumped, some of the fire giving way to exhaustion. She let out a shaky laugh. “You’re annoyingly wise, you know that?”

I smiled faintly. “Perks of being married to your sister. I’ve had practice calming down stubborn horny rabbit.”

That earned a real laugh out of Riya, short but genuine. She took a long sip of chai and sighed. “I still want to strangle Payal, though.”

“Totally valid,” Ishika said with a grin. “But maybe start with a serious talk before attempted murder. At least your wife talks. But mine, you know better.”

The two women clinked their spoons together quietly, the weight of Riya’s pain still heavy, but softened by the comfort of knowing she wasn’t carrying it alone.

They even dozed off.

Meanwhile in the office, Anamika entered with a smile on her face , shocking almost everyone. Jazz looks at her teasingly.
" Wow Ana, you look happy today. "
Anamika didn't say anything as she sat on her chair.
" By the way, Where is Ishika? Is she too sore from yesterday? " Jazz asked as she sat opposite to her.
" Yes. Pretty much. She's resting now. You know Jazz, I was extremely happy when she gave herself to me willingly. It's kinda of new feeling. For the first time ever, I don't want to be here working. " Anamika said causing jazz to look at her with a knowing smile.

The sun had dipped low, painting the balcony in a soft orange glow. The icecream tub sat abandoned on the small table, half-empty,  long gone.

Riya and Ishika had talked themselves into exhaustion—first about Payal and Jazz, then about marriages, then about silly things like who snores louder. At some point, words faded into silence, and silence gave way to sleep.

Now, Riya’s head rested against Ishika’s shoulder, her arms loosely folded, face softened in sleep. Ishika herself had tilted slightly, her cheek resting atop Riya’s hair, her breathing even and calm. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t dramatic. It just happened, the kind of unspoken comfort that comes from shared vulnerability.

That was when Anamika pushed the door open.

She froze in the doorway, blinking at the sight. Her wife and her sister curled up like children who’d fallen asleep after talking too long.

For a moment, she didn’t know whether to laugh or tiptoe away.

Instead, a slow smile tugged at her lips. Ishika—her Ishika, who is usually fun and charmed and filled the house with her fire—looked so peaceful, so unguarded. And Riya, who rarely stopped talking, who fought the world with sarcasm and sass, was quiet at last, leaning into someone she trusted.

Anamika stepped closer, careful not to wake them. She reached for the duvet lying on the edge of the bed and draped it gently over them.

“Unbelievable,” she whispered with a grin. “I leave you two alone for an hour, and you start your own nap club.”

Neither stirred. Riya mumbled something incoherent in her sleep, and Ishika sighed softly, leaning a little more into her.

Anamika shook her head, amused. “Fine. I’ll allow it. But only because you look cute.”

She lingered for another heartbeat, her expression softening, before quietly slipping back outside to let them sleep, a secret smile still on her face.
" Ana, we need to tell you something important. We think now you're ready to hear it. " Anamika's mom said as she came out.

Payal's POV:

" Mam, someone is here to see you. He says he is your long lost friend. He was one of the event sponsors. " My bodyguard said. I agree to see him reluctantly.
It's RD.
" You're alive! " I said as he smirks at me. I then told my bodyguard to go out until Rishi leaves.
" Payal, long time no see. You looks at me like I am a ghost" He sarcastically mocks me.
" Tell me what you came here for and leave. I have no time for your nonsense. " I said as I clenched my fists.
" Now, you don't get to be cocky. Remember I still have photos of you and Ishika in compromising position. So, if I were you, I would mind my mouth. " He said as he adjusted his glasses.
" I came here to tell you that I want Ishika and I won't stop till I get her. If you don't want the photos to go public, you need to bring Ishika to me in seven days. If you don't, then I will release these photos ruining both your and Ishika family. Just imagine how Modi family will react seeing their daughter in laws in leaning in that too when Ishika is a minor. What a big scandal it will become. " He stood up.
I looked at him in utter disbelief as he turned to leave.
" Remember seven days. "With that, he walked off.