Nitya

Sitting on the porch of the farmhouse, I watch the sky change as the sun slowly begins its descent. The soothing sound of ocean waves lapping gently against the shore in the distance matches the calmness I feel inside.

I feel tired—pleasantly tired—not only from the swimming earlier, but also because of the deliciously intimate moment Prathamji and I had right before the swim and also from what we did last night.

Looking at my watch, I wonder when Prathamji will return. He had left about an hour back, saying he needed to prepare yet another surprise for me. I had asked him what the surprise was, but he only told me that I would know about it tomorrow.

I lean back in the chair, letting out a soft sigh, a smile tugging at my lips.

This lightness in my chest, this sense of happiness—it's so surreal to feel this way when life had felt way too bleak just a few weeks back.

As I think about the bleakness, my mind wanders to that dark room where I had been kept captive. The time when I had been hopeless. The cruel words, the beatings, the way I was stripped of my clothes....

No. Stop.

I close my eyes, shaking my head to stop thinking about it.

For the first time in a long time, I'm truly happy. And I won't let anything steal this moment from me.

The anger for Uday is still simmering within me. For now, yes, I have stopped thinking, because I want to be in the moment with Prathamji, without the lingering shadow of that disgusting man.

But I for sure haven't forgotten anything. I can still feel the pain and humiliation I had suffered at the hands of that monster. And I know it won't go away, it won't let me rest, until I make him pay for what he did to me.

There will be justice and there will be time for me to get the closure I need. But that time is not now. For these few days, I want to spend some time with Prathamji and be happy with him without letting Uday taint it.

Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes and look out at the horizon, letting the steady motion of the waves soothe me.

It feels like a dream to not only be at this beautiful place, but also to be here with Prathamji.

There had been a time when I wasn't sure if we would ever be happy together, a time when I doubted when he even cared for me.

But things have changed now.

I can feel not only his care, but also his love from the way he looks at me and from the way he touches me.

A shiver runs down my spine when I recall the way he had touched me—so full of desire. It had ignited such emotions within me that I had completely surrendered to the haze of passion he built around us.

I bite my lips as my desires flare again from the memory of our intimate moments.

Later. Prathamji had said later.

I look at my watch again, feeling a strange kind of excitement run through me as I realize it will soon be time for that.

"You are being too wanton, Nitya. Control yourself."

Shaking my head, I stand up from the chair to go inside the house and make myself a cup of tea.

But as I reach for the door, something catches my eye.

I see a woman entering the courtyard. She seems familiar, though I can't quite place her.

As she draws closer, I see her face more clearly, and then it hits me like a wave of realization crashing over me.

Sandhya.

I stand frozen for a moment, wondering why she is here. Before I can open my mouth to ask her, she speaks first in a sharp and cold voice.

"It's you," she says, her eyes narrowing as she looks me up and down. "You are the one who stole my Pratham from me."

I blink, stunned by her words. "Excuse me?" I feel my voice faltering from a rush of anger that surged through me due to her words.

She glares at me and steps closer to me. "Pratham was mine. No. He is mine. And he will always be mine. I won't let you snatch him from me."

If I was shocked earlier by her sudden appearance, now, I am absolutely livid.

Who does she think she is, barging in like this and telling me that my husband is hers?

I straighten my back, refusing to let her intimidate me. "Prathamji is my husband," I say firmly. "He is not—"

I'm interrupted by her bitter laugh. "You might be his wife, but I am his first and only love."

My chest feels tight with my rising anger, but I keep my voice calm. "If you are his love, why isn't he with you? Why is he here with me instead?"

For a brief second, her expression falters, but she recovers quickly, her lips curling into a sneer. "I'm sure he'll soon push you out of his life. He will leave you once he realizes I am the one who has always been ruling his heart."

I almost laugh at how ridiculous she sounds. But as infuriating her words are, I can't help but also feel pity for her. After all, she is clinging to something that is no longer hers, desperate to hold onto a past that has already slipped through her fingers.

"Prathamji won't push me out because he loves me," I tell her. "I hope you'll understand it soon. But even if you don't, you can't barge into our house like this. I won't allow it the next time."

I notice Sandhya grit her teeth as she looks at me with nothing but rage marring her face. For a moment, I wonder if she'll lash out at me, but instead, she reaches into her purse and pulls something out—a diamond ring.

"Pratham gave me this ring," she says, holding it up as if it's some kind of proof. "He told me I was his future. That we would be together forever."

I stare at the ring, feeling no jealousy or insecurity because I remember how Prathamji had looked at me when he said he loved me. I know he meant every time he said those words to me.

I trust him.

"That's just a ring, Sandhya," I say, my voice steady. "I have all of him. You can keep that ring if it means so much to you. But I won't be showing anything to you to prove his love for me. He shows it to me every day, and that's enough for me."

At my words, when her face twists into fury, I realize she had wanted to see a reaction from me after seeing that ring. Perhaps anger and disbelief at what Prathamji did.

I only shake my head, feeling as sorry for her as I felt angry for coming here with the purpose of driving a wedge between my husband and me.

Sandhya opens her mouth to say something else, but before she can, I see Prathamji approaching from behind her. His face a mix of shock and anger, his steps quickening when he realizes who is standing in the courtyard.

"What are you doing here?" He asks Sandhya once he reaches us. His voice cold and angry.

"Pratham, I came to—"

"She was just leaving," I interrupt, reaching out to slip my hand into Prathamji's.

He looks at me, silently asking if I'm fine, and I give him a small, reassuring smile.

"Sandhya was saying some nonsensical things," I continue, "But hopefully, I have put some sense into her. She'll be leaving now."

Her face turns red with fury. "I'm not leaving," she shouts at me. "How dare you try to push me out of his life?"

Then, she looks at Prathamji. "You still love me, right, Pratham? Tell Nitya you still love me. Tell her!"

My patience—which was already running thin since I started talking with her—finishes after listening to her.

Not seeing any point in trying to talk sense to her, I turn to Prathamji. "Let's go inside?" I ask him.

He doesn't hesitate and immediately nods, leading us inside the house, ignoring Sandhya shouting at him to talk with her and take her back in his life.

Once inside the farmhouse, I close the door behind us, slumping against it for a moment. I let out a long breath, trying to shake off the tension that had built up within me during the confrontation.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with her," he says, his voice low and laced with irritation. "I had no idea she would show up here."

"It's not your fault." I step toward him and take his hand in mine. "You don't need to apologize."

He looks down at our intertwined hands for a second before raising my hand up to his lips and placing a kiss over my knuckles. "Please don't believe anything she told you, Nitya."

I cup his face and smile at him. "I won't," I tell him. "She can say whatever she wants, show me whatever ring she has, but that won't shake my trust in you."

"What ring?" He asks, frowning.

"The diamond ring you gave to her," I answer. "She showed it to me."

"But I never gave her any ring. She kept nagging me about it, but I never bought the ring for her."

"It means she lied." I sigh, shaking my head. "I wonder what she was hoping to achieve with that lie."

"We don't have to think about her and her motives anymore," Prathamji says, cradling my face. "Let's not ruin more of our time here by talking about her." He places a kiss on my forehead. "Just know that I love you. More than anything or anyone in this world."

I lean into his touch, feeling that warmth of his hands against my skin. "That's all I need to hear," I whisper, closing my eyes as he presses his forehead against mine.