"Pain had never felt so tormenting, as if nothing could save her from breaking, again and again.
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Reaching home, she slumped on the bed and buried her face in her palms to stifle her tears. But nothing seemed to work as her vision blurred again and tears rolled down her cheeks. She choked back a sob and shook her head. This was not what she wished for.
She wanted a happy life. Arranged marriages were very common and she had seen couples fall in love with her own eyes. Her parents were one of the best examples. But unlike her relationship which was on the edge, they were immensely happy, still wrapped up in love. Her only fault was, she didn't think of meeting Atharva. She trusted her inner voice and her family. Courtship would have let her know the kind of person he was and it would have been so much simpler to reject the marriage proposal.
With a defeated sigh, she decided to take a bath. Grabbing her bathrobe, she walked to the bathroom and locked the door. She stood beneath the showerhead and opened the tap, letting the cold water cascade down her body. Her eyes closed and she thought about everything transpiring in her life; how she was before her marriage and what she had become. Gone was the bubbly, optimistic Aahana she knew, replaced by a gloomy and vulnerable girl she never wanted to be.
Her life had become a living hell.
She'd demystify Atharva but only if she could know him, everything about him.
Turning off the shower, she draped herself in the fluffy, black robe and stepped out of the bathroom. Nobody was home, so she didn't care about clothes. She quickly dried her hair, applied some moisturizer, and made her way to the kitchen to prepare her comfort drink, hot chocolate. Once she was done, she walked back to her room and grabbed her laptop, opening various clothing sites. She needed a distraction and shopping seemed the right thing to do. But nothing trendy caught her eyes and she was about to close it when a thought popped in her mind.
She typed his name and clicked on images. Atharva looked like a typical businessman, all smart and handsome with no smiles. Curiosity got the best of her and she went to the news section to read about him. Although he was successful, and on the front page of several business magazines as 'The Sexiest Billionaire', there was very little information about his personal life. He was never seen with women, no matter the parties or events he attended. He travelled to places only with Pranav or alone. A few articles questioned his sexual orientation. He was speculated to be gay but there was no response from Atharva. Aahana bit her lower lip and tried to not think about it but it kept coming back.
"Are they having an affair?" she muttered, swallowing the lump in her throat before mentally slapping herself for jumping to the conclusion. Maybe he was too busy handling business and never got around to begin a relationship.
But again, not a single woman? It sounded so surreal, for everyone had desires. There was no denying that she desired Atharva.
Or maybe something else was going on with him. She recalled the antidepressant and her fingers paused on the keyboard.
