RULES FOR FALLING SOFTLY

I was happy for a moment.

Happy because I married the man I had loved silently for two years.

But the circumstances under which we got married destroyed every beautiful dream attached to that happiness.

That night, I sat alone at the edge of the massive bed wearing the same heavy bridal lehenga that now felt more like punishment than celebration.

The room was suffocatingly quiet.

Outside, guests still laughed downstairs. Relatives still celebrated what they thought was a perfect wedding.

But inside this room- everything already felt broken.

And he never came.

With every passing minute, the fragile hope inside my chest shattered a little more.

Maybe he hated me that much now.

Finally unable to breathe inside those heavy clothes anymore, I walked toward the bathroom with trembling hands to change into something comfortable.
But even there- his words followed me.

Sharp. Cold. Unforgiving.

"You knew from the start."

"You risked my reputation."

"Damn it, Siya..."

"Whatever I felt was nothing but attraction."

That one destroyed me the most.
Because once upon a time- those feelings had been the only thing keeping me alive.

And then came the final blow.
The sentence that kept echoing inside my head even now.

"I hate this."

"I hate you for this."

"Don't show me your face right now... please."

And for the first time since the wedding rituals ended-
being his wife no longer felt like a dream.

It felt like heartbreak wearing sindoor.

I'm nothing but a replacement..

GRUMPY X SUNSHINE

PROFESSOR X STUDENT

SLOW BURN ROMANCE

OPPOSITE ATTRACT

ARRANGE MARRIAGE

REPLACED BRIDE