SCENE - I

My heart pounded in my chest.

Did I do the right thing?

No.

But does it even matter anymore? I was going to win. I was going to destroy every single person who had wronged me.

The sacred fire crackled before me, its golden flames flickering in the dimly lit hall—a silent witness to the deception unfolding. The heavy veil over my face wasn’t just part of the ritual; it was a shield, hiding the truth from prying eyes. The whispers of mantras, the scent of burning incense, the delicate shower of rose petals—everything blurred into insignificance.

Except for the man beside me.

For a fleeting second, doubt gnawed at my resolve. Was I truly this heartless? Using him as a mere pawn in my game of revenge?

But before I could sink further into guilt, a hand extended toward me. His hand.

Hesitation gripped me, but instinct made me place my palm in his. The moment I did, his fingers curled around mine, firm, possessive—unyielding. A foreign warmth seeped through his touch, an unfamiliar sensation that sent a strange shiver down my spine.

Step by step, we circled the sacred fire. Seven vows. Seven promises. Each one binding me tighter to him, to a fate I thought I had orchestrated. Yet, why did I feel like the one caught in a web?

As the final chant echoed, sealing the marriage, I felt him shift closer. The warmth of his breath ghosted against my ear, freezing me in place.

"Welcome to my life, Mrs. Chauhan," he murmured, his voice laced with something dark, something knowing.

A chill slithered down my spine.

Did I just trap him… or had he trapped me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                        SCENE - II

"I love you! Can’t you see it?" His voice thundered through the silent room, raw with pain, rage, and something far more devastating—hopelessness.

"You’re selfish. Heartless. You were always meant to be alone."

The words slashed through the air, venom laced with agony. He hadn’t meant to say them, but drowning in his torment, he lost control.

Silence.

The dimly lit conference room bore witness to the wreckage between us. Shadows flickered against the polished glass walls, reflecting the storm raging within him. Within me.

I stood frozen, my heart.....no, my entire being numb. No feeling. No guilt. No love. That’s what I told myself. That’s what I had convinced myself to believe.

I didn’t choose him. I never would.

Then why did it feel like I was suffocating?

Why did the sight of his red-rimmed eyes, the silent tears slipping down his face, and the tremble in his fingers as he clenched his fists.......why did it stab through me like a thousand knives?

Wasn’t I the heartless one? Wasn’t I the girl devoid of warmth?

Yet, as if drawn by an unseen force, my legs moved before my mind could stop them. I knelt before him, hesitantly reaching out, desperate to grasp what was slipping away.

But he flinched.

The moment my fingertips grazed his skin, he recoiled. Jerking his hand away like my touch burned him. His eyes, once a pool of emotions, turned cold, empty, hollow, unrecognizable.

He stood abruptly, his footsteps echoing in the suffocating silence. Each step took him further away. Each step felt like the final nail in our coffin.

He reached the door, his fingers gripping the knob. One second. Two.

Then, without turning back, he whispered, "No one will ever love you like I did."

The door creaked open. A rush of air filled the space between us.

And then—he was gone.

I remained where I was. Kneeling. Trembling. Was this how our story ended?

Or worse, was this all it was ever meant to be?

~~~~~~~~~~~

                       SCENE  - III 

She hugged me tightly, her excitement radiating like the morning sun, illuminating the very chair she now sat on—my chair.

The CEO’s chair.

The position I had bled, fought, and sacrificed for. Mine.

But not anymore.

I remained still, my arms loosely wrapped around her, yet my heart was ice-cold, devoid of warmth. My fingers twitched, itching to claw back what had been snatched from me.

I let my gaze drift across the room, imprinting every smiling face, every glimmer of joy. I memorized them all.

Soon, those smiles would twist into screams.

Soon, that joy would drown in suffering.

Soon, I would make them weep until their very souls bled.

As I pulled away from the hug, my lips curved into a perfectly rehearsed smile, a mask concealing the darkness that coiled within me.

"I’m so proud of you," I whispered, my voice soft, dripping with false sincerity. "May God help you hold this position... for as long as you can."

Her eyes sparkled, oblivious.

"I will," she promised, her voice brimming with conviction. "I have you by my side."

Foolish. So, so foolish.

Her trust was my greatest weapon.

But just as I masked my intentions behind a smile, I felt it—a gaze burning into me.

I turned my head slowly, my eyes locking onto the man standing across the room.

Beside him was the woman.

The woman who was the reason for my pain.

For a fleeting moment, my fingers curled into fists. But I didn’t react, didn’t break my facade.

Not yet.

Because this was just the beginning.

And I never lost.

~~~~~~~~~~

                          SCENE  - IV

I knelt on the cold marble floor, my fingers tightening around the faded photograph I was never allowed to keep.

Her face smiled back at me—the only warmth I had ever known. But she was gone. Had been for 27 years. And yet, the ache never dulled. The longing never faded.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, my vision blurring as I traced the edges of the photo. Would she have recognized me today? Would she have been proud of the man I had become?

A hand rested on my shoulder, firm yet familiar. The only hand that had never let go.

The same hand that had once clung to mine when we were children, too young to understand loss, but old enough to feel the weight of being unwanted.

I exhaled shakily, gripping it, pulling it forward, pressing his palm against my forehead as the dam broke.

Tears slid down my cheeks, silent but endless. Pain, longing, loneliness—all of it pouring out.

A second later, he pulled me into a tight embrace, just like he had the first time I had cried for her.

"Bhai, I’m here," he whispered, his voice steady, unwavering. "You’re my superhero. Without you, I’d never be able to chase my dreams."

His words settled into the cracks of my soul, soothing an ache that had no cure.

In this world of competition, rejection, and ruthless survival… he was the only one who needed me.

And for that, I would burn the whole world down if I had to.

~~~~~~~~~~~