The world suddenly fell silent.Not from shame.Not from the pain of the blow.But from what I felt.My hand rested on Rohan’s back… and it was not a lifeless body.
There was tension in it. Strength. An immediate response that shot through my arms like an electric current.Rohan moved.Not an involuntary twitch. Not a weak, trembling motion.
It was a clean, deliberate, controlled movement.I froze above him, my heart racing wildly, every beat thundering in my ears.—You…? —I whispered, unable to finish the sentence.
His eyes, those dark, cold, piercing eyes, finally dropped the pretense.For the first time since the wedding, there was life in them.Rohan held my wrist tightly.
—Ananya —he said softly, but firmly—. Stand up. Now.I straightened immediately, stepping back as if I had touched fire.He inhaled deeply… and then the impossible happened.
He planted his feet on the cold floor.At first with difficulty, with effort.Then slowly, balancing himself.And finally… he stood.I felt the walls around me begin to spin, the world blurred, my heart pounding in my throat.
—But… —I stammered, my voice shaking—. They said you were paralyzed…A bitter, bitter smile crossed his face.—For five years —he replied, his voice carrying both anger and fatigue—. I pretended not to be able to walk for five years.
—Why? —I asked, my voice breaking, tears already welling in my eyes—. Why would you lie about something like that?Rohan turned toward the window; the moonlight outlined his silhouette: a man who had never been weak.
—Because this family does not forgive strength —he said solemnly—. It only knows how to control.Then he looked at me again. His gaze now revealed something else: a truth he had hidden for years.
—And because your stepmother knew the truth.A chill ran down my spine, my stomach tightened.—W-what… what are you trying to say? —I whispered, my voice barely audible.
Rohan stepped toward me. There was no distance between us anymore. His presence drowned out every thought in my mind.—She didn’t give you away to a disabled man —he whispered, his voice almost brushing my ear—.
You were married to a man who survived by pretending.My mind filled with memories.The rushed wedding.The desperate clinging.The sentence that had haunted me for years:
“You don’t need love. You need stability.”—How much did they get for it? —I asked, my voice trembling, tears streaming freely now.Rohan didn’t answer immediately. In his eyes, I saw a pain he had hidden for years.
—More than a house is worth —he finally said slowly—.But less than you are worth.My legs trembled.I had thought I was forced to marry a broken man.
In reality… I had been traded as part of a dark bargain between two families.And that was not even the worst part.Because Rohan leaned toward me, his gaze burning, his voice striking straight to my heart:
—Ananya… tonight was not an accident.You were married off because you were the missing piece.My heart pounded so hard I thought it would leap out of my chest.
For a moment, the entire world froze around me, and I just stood there, completely helpless, as the secrets and lies slowly crumbled before me. And finally, I understood: it was never weakness, but the truth that had always kept us from freedom.