Our first wedding anniversary— I can't believe it.
My joy and happiness felt boundless.
Tara's elegant red saree, her anklets jingling,
Her bangles chiming—she stole my heart.
She prepared my favorite sweets
For me, on this auspicious day.
But I was a fool,
Too blind to offer the praise
Her effort deserved.
I had earrings for her—
But my pride, my stubborn ego,
Refused to give them.
Truly, I am an ogre.
And she? A fairy.
My fairy.

-Ishaan's diary written after first anniversary of marriage 

Ishaan's POV

I confessed my feelings to Tara for the first time. I missed her badly. Those three days when she left my mansion felt like three thousand years.

Tara was an amazing wife. She always respected me, but I didn't treat her. At the beginning of our marriage, I distanced myself from her. We rarely spoke.

If I talked to her for five minutes, she would speak to me for five hours. I pretended not to listen, focusing on my laptop or phone, but I keenly heard every word from her mouth.

I admired her speech. Sometimes, I even recorded her voice on my laptop or phone.

But after a year, she changed. No, she changed because of me. She began distancing herself slowly, and I assumed she hated me.

Every day and night, she confirmed I ate and slept on time. She prepared delicious meals and took care of my every need.

She was flawless. She was a perfect wife.

But when she left the mansion, I felt lonely. I hate the moments of being aloof in my life again. I couldn't hear or feel her presence anymore.

I hated myself for not stopping her. I couldn't stop her because of my past life.

I hadn't prepared my heart or mind for the moment Tara would leave. I assumed we still had one month, but I never imagined she would celebrate a divorce party and leave me alone in the mansion.

I hated coming home after work. She was my home. Tara was my home.

I learned from the servants that she spoke to everyone in the Divan mansion over the phone except me.

I made my plan with Aunt Malini's help. Mrs. Malini Pathak immediately agreed to send Tara to my office. I overheard her conversation with Mahira in the office. With no other choice, Tara decided to enter my cabin.

I liked seeing Tara wait for me outside my office. When she glared at the CCTV camera, I called her in. Inside, she didn't even look at me.

Karma is a boomerang. She was treating me the way I had treated her. She hesitated to even glance at me.

I spoke to Tara and insisted she have lunch with me. I enjoyed every second she was with me. My happiness turned to anger when I found out she was going on a date with Dhruv.

I shared my pain with Mahira who is my friend and sister. We devised a plan to switch Tara's date to one with me. I never expected the car to stop in the middle. That was part of Mahira's plan.

Mahira knew Dhruv would find out if we went to any restaurants. So she planned even a surprise date for us.

It turned out to be one of the best nights of my life. Tara hugged me, and we sat together and ate on the swing. She even fell asleep on my shoulder.

I wanted to kidnap Tara and take her back to the mansion, but I pretended to be a gentleman and dropped her off at Rivan's house.

Returning to my empty bedroom made my frustration rise.

I had the wildest dream that Tara would keep her distance from me again.

I called Mahira. She told me Dhruv had a hockey match tomorrow. I was confident Tara would come to the hockey match.

I didn't come to see the game. I came for Tara. I hoped that spending time with her would make me feel better.

We argued. We made challenges, but nothing worried me.

My dopamine levels peaked every time she spoke to me. 

After the match, I got a message from Mahira. She successfully distracted Rivan, so it was my turn to take Tara to the exhibition.

But Tara was busy chatting with Dhruv. I hated him. I saw with my own eyes how he was trying to get close to my wife.

Don't think I'm jealous.

Maybe I'm just obsessed with Tara.

When Dhruv's lips touched Tara's knuckles, I wanted to burn Dhruv's lips off. I controlled my anger and pulled Tara close, pushing Dhruv away.

Finally, I brought Tara to the exhibition. I wanted to cherish every minute with her before our divorce.

"Did you miss me?" Tara asked, making me come out from my contemplation.

I didn't respond.

"Did you truly miss me?" Tara's astonishment made me speak.

"Yeah," I hummed as she fell silent.

"We should get used to being far away from each other," Tara said after a moment.

"I want to live in the present. Right now, you're still my wife. We're going to find Rivan and Mahira," I said, holding her arm.

We started walking. Tara was searching for Rivan, but I was focused on her being by my side. We bumped into a small boy, and he waved.

The boy we met in the park.

"Hi, Ogre!" the boy beamed.

"Don't call me that," I snapped.

"Don't be rude to an innocent kid," Tara scolded, brushing his forehead gently.

"Tara, I need your help," the boy pleaded, and she immediately agreed.

"I want that blue teddy bear," the boy pointed at a stall in the exhibition.

"How much? I'll pay for it," I said, reaching for my wallet.

"You need to win the game to get the teddy bear," the boy confessed.

I glanced at the stall again. It was an archery game. Tara blinked at me continuously.

"You should play it yourself to win," she encouraged the kid.

"I'm not allowed to play. Only adults can play," the boy whined.

Tara felt sorry for him as his eyes welled up with tears. She decided to play and win the teddy bear for him. I decided to watch and admire her.

We were both stunned when we saw a sign in front of the stall: Couples only. The stall owner approached us.

"Are you the parents of the kid? He was torturing us," the stall owner confessed as we refused.

"He is our friend," Tara said, before inquiring about the rules.

"Rule no. 1: One bow and three arrows will be given to you. You should aim for the balloons on the board before you. For each arrow, you are provided 30 seconds only."

"Rule no. 2: The balloons will not be static. The balloons will be moving. The board can spin in any direction."

"Rule no. 3: Your eyes will be covered with a blindfold. So, you won't be able to see," the stall owner explained, making the game more intriguing for me.

"Then how will someone hit the balloon?" Tara asked, bewildered.

"It's a couple's game. One person will be the instructor, and the other will hold the bow and arrow. In the middle of the game, we will disturb the instructor," the stall owner elucidated.

"What is the process to get the blue teddy bear?" I inquired.

"It's simple. Just burst two balloons on the board. If you burst a balloon with golden sparkles inside, then you'll win a special prize too. But if you don't win, the person holding the bow and arrow must drink gooseberry juice and accept defeat," the stall owner smirked, which I hated.

"Hey kiddo, I'll get you a huge teddy bear or more than 100 teddy bears. Let's skip this crazy game," I advised him.

"Please, Tara, play for me," he pleaded with Tara without even listening to me.

Tara pleaded with her eyes, and I couldn't say no after adoring her doe-shaped eyes pleading to me.

I agreed, handing my phone to the boy. I whispered in the boy's ears. He understood quickly.

I decided to be the instructor since Tara and I don't like gooseberry juice.

"Okay, I'll be the instructor," Tara said, making me wear the blindfold.

How could I deny it when I notice Tara's cute antics towards me?

The stall owner gave me a bow and 3 arrows and spun me around. I couldn't see anything. I waited for Tara to speak.

"You're not facing the stall. You're showing your back to the board," Tara confessed.

I turned around, then I heard people around us clapping for me and Tara. I placed an arrow on the bowstring and stretched it to create maximum force. In such a way that the arrow reaches its destination correctly.

"Ishaan, stop. The board is moving in the anti-clockwise direction, and you're not focusing correctly. Your hand position must be at a 30-degree angle to the right," Tara instructed me.

I did as I was told by the love of my life.

"You're perfect. Aim now!" Tara beamed.

I released the arrow from the bow, and I heard the sound of a balloon bursting. The crowd clapped, but I could still hear Tara and the kid screaming in tremendous joy.

"Now, the board has changed. It's moving vertically," I heard Tara giggling.

I remembered the rules. It must be a disturbance for Tara. I stood silent, waiting for her response.

"Your hand position must be 10 degrees down from the current position," Tara suggested, still laughing.

I positioned myself, stretching the bowstring and arrow, creating maximum effort.

"Stop it," Tara giggled as I froze.

"Stop brushing the quill on my neck!" Tara's chuckling voice made me smile.

"Ishaan, why did you stop aiming? We don't have much time. Aim now!" Tara screamed, still laughing.

I released the arrow with some doubt, but the sound of another balloon bursting made me sigh with relief. I was about to remove the blindfold.

"Don't do that. We have one more arrow. Let's try to burst three balloons," Tara said as I grabbed the next arrow. Music started playing as a disturbance.

"The board has changed again. It's moving horizontally," Tara was still laughing.

"You should raise your hand higher now." I adjusted my position as she instructed.

"Not... this... much... Lower... just a bit," Tara stammered while speaking.

"Aim now! We only have five seconds," she screamed as I stretched the arrow on the bowstring and aimed.

In a panic, I didn't hear the sound of a balloon bursting, and the music was loud.

After a moment, there was silence. No one spoke. I couldn't see anything. I didn't know whether I had burst the balloon or not. I hadn't spoken a single word from the start of the game until now.

Someone collided with me with a greater force in the front.

I felt a pair of arms hugging my chest and caught a familiar fragrance. I realized it was Tara. My Tara.

"Tara!" I removed the blindfold.

"You aimed at three balloons correctly. You won!" Tara declared with a smile.

"You even burst the balloon with golden sparkles inside," Tara said as I embraced her, glimpsing at the burst balloon.

This moment was special. The boy got his blue Teddy Bear, and I got a hug from my wife.

"We won!" I confessed as Tara pulled herself away, detaching from me.

The stall owner handed us a pink teddy bear as a surprise gift. The boy wasn't interested in the pink bear. The boy was happy with his blue teddy bear. The crowd cheered, making Tara and me feel a bit embarrassed.

The boy's parents arrived after searching for him in the crowd. They hugged him and scolded him for roaming alone.

"What's your name?" Tara inquired.

"Aravind!" He beamed, holding the blue teddy bear.

His father tried to pay me, but I refused.

"We won it together," Aravind grinned as he returned my phone.

"Bye, Ogre!" he waved, and I gave him a playful glare.

Carrying the pink, gigantic teddy bear and holding Tara's hand, we searched for Mahira and Rivan.

Tara spotted Mahira and Rivan standing together at the cotton candy shop. I was surprised to see a devil headband on both of them.

"Rivan, I've been searching for you for an hour," Tara exhaled.

"Tara, I was also searching for you," Rivan said, gazing at me and Tara.

Brother and sister communicated through their eyes. They decided to go home, but Mahira stopped them.

"Let's spend a little more time together," Mahira suggested, pointing toward the arcade game section.

"No, we need to go," Tara uttered, removing her hand from mine.

"Okay, let's take a selfie before we leave," Mahira said, and we agreed.

Mahira raised her phone and gestured for everyone to come closer. We took pictures with smiles on everyone's faces.

"I don't look good in this photo," Tara whined jokingly.

"Same pinch!" Mahira raised her phone again and gestured for us to come closer.

Mahira used a selfie stick to get a better picture. Holding the pink teddy bear in one hand, my other hand snaked around Tara's waist, pulling her closer.

Tara didn't expect that from me. Her eyes widened but Tara started to blush suddenly creating a heart flip inside my chest.

I saw Tara blushing in the picture.

"Now the photo looks good," I teased as Tara blushed even more.

Suddenly, I felt Tara's change of expression in her eyes. She panicked, attempting to get away from me.

I noticed the direction she looked. It was him. My enemy from my childhood stood with disappointment in his eyes.

"Wow! Tara and Rivan, did you come to watch my match or to enjoy the exhibition with the solar squad?" Dhruv's voice made Tara pull away from me.

"Dhruv..." Tara began, but Dhruv cut her off.

"I'm not important to you anymore. Keep enjoying yourselves with Mahira and Ishaan," Dhruv yelled and stormed off.

Tara had tears in her eyes for Dhruv, which I hated. Tara and Rivan decided to follow Dhruv.

Dhruv has been an attention seeker since my childhood.

Tara didn't even bother to say goodbye to me.

I hoped she would turn around and look at me, but she didn't. Mahira chased after her brother, Dhruv.

Tara left me alone in the middle of the exhibition with the pink teddy bear, making my night feel glum.

The night felt colder. I stood there, rooted in place, watching her disappear into the crowd.

She was my home. And once again, I was just the ogre outside the fairy tale.

Let me know your views on the sixth chapter in the comment section. First time, I wrote in Ishaan's point of view. Are you okay with it?

Feel free to interact with me. Your comments and votes will motivate me, so don't forget to press the vote button and type a comment on this chapter.

The seventh chapter will be out tomorrow. Bye. Good Night.