Third Person's POV

Nandini peers at the jewelry sets she has spread over a small space on the bed.

Her parents had given her those sets on her wedding day.

It was not much, but it was all she had.

I'll take them to the jeweler tomorrow and ask how much money I can get after selling them.

Initially, she had felt slightly hesitant about selling them because they were given to her by her parents, but when she remembered how they handed them to her, she felt the last of her hesitation ebb away.

It was done just out of the formality to show their status to her in-laws and others. It was not done out of love.

That's why it won't hurt when I part from these. After all, a gift without love or thought has no emotional value or attachment.

Sighing heavily, Nandini clears the bed, keeping all the jewelry boxes inside her suitcase.

She hopes she will get enough money to at least cover the fees for her culinary classes.

She has wanted to learn to cook in a professional capacity for a long time, but she has never had the courage to ask her parents about it. She always hesitated because she thought they would not allow her.

But now, she doesn't have such hesitation. Perhaps it's because she now knows she is utterly alone in this world.

Her husband doesn't care about her.

Her in-laws are lovely, but they might also abandon her once they find out about their son's thoughts regarding this marriage.

She doesn't know why Vikrant married her. She only knows there is a reason, and he will divorce her once as soon as he gets what he wants from this marriage.

What after that? Where will I go? She wonders.

She has no one in this world, and she also has nowhere to go. She'll be homeless once she gets out of this house.

That's why I need to make something of myself soon. She decides.

She doesn't have any other choice too. She needs to get a job and save some money so she can at least rent a place to stay after she leaves this house.

A wry smile curves her lips as she thinks about her situation. She has her parents and her husband. Based on that, she should have two homes to call her own.

But she doesn't have even one. Neither her parents' house nor her husband's house is her own.

Shaking her head at her condition, Nandini walks to the window and looks outside, leaning on the window frame.

It had been raining a few hours back, so the earthy smell somewhat soothes her aching heart.

As it's already dark outside, she looks at her watch and notices it's already 11 pm.

But Vikrant has not returned home yet.

While having dinner earlier with his parents, they had asked her to call him and ask when he would return from office.

She hesitated because she knew she had no right to do that.

After all, Vikrant has made it clear to her that she is his unwanted wife to whom he will never give any rights.

So, keeping her phone on silent mode, she pretended to call him in front of them. Then, after some time, she told them his line was busy and that she would call him later.

She felt bad for lying to them, but what choice did she have?

Looking at her watch again, she notices the time to be 11:10 pm now.

She chews her bottom lip and twirls the edge of her shawl over her finger—a habit she has formed since her childhood whenever she is in a dilemma over something.

Now, too, she is in a dilemma about whether or not to call him. It's late, after all.

No, Nandini. Don't overthink and complicate things for yourself. Vikrant has made it clear he wants nothing to do with you. So, you should also do the same. Don't think about him. Since he has refused to accept you as his wife, it would be better if you also stopped considering him as your husband.

With that thought in her mind, she walks to the bed and lies down, hoping to get some sleep.

*****

Vikrant balances himself, breaking his fall as he stumbles over the threshold of his room.

Reaching the center of his room, he blinks his eyes rapidly, trying to focus his vision, but all he can see is everything in his bedroom floating in the air.

At the back of his mind, there is a realization that he is drunk.

After meeting with Myra today, all the hurt he had buried somewhere in his heart had burst forth.

And with that hurt, his anger had also re-surfaced. Seeing her happy while she fondly talked about Raghav fueled his rage and his need for revenge.

Along with the anger toward them, a newly formed guilt has also started taking place in his heart—the guilt of hurting an innocent girl and also burning her in the fire of his revenge.

So, due to these varieties of emotions constantly weighing him down, both his mind and heart had been in chaos, and that's why he decided to drink his chaos away.

But the only things getting drunk did to him were blurring his vision, slurring his speech, and breaking his balance.

Other than that, his hurt, anger, and guilt are still intact.

He can't do anything about his hurt and anger because they are due to Myra and Raghav's betrayal.

But his guilt...

"Nan..Nandini," He slurs, looking around the room.

"Nandini," he calls out louder this time, hoping she will answer.

Nandini frowns in her sleep as she hears a voice calling her name.

Still with the sleep clouding her mind, she tries to open her eyes to find the source of the voice.

But after a few seconds, she fully wakes up when she hears something shatter.

Immediately opening her eyes, she sits on the bed to see what shattered and who shattered it.

And the scene in front of her makes her eyes widen.

She sees Vikrant swaying in the middle of the room, trying hard to balance himself.

There were blue glass pieces scattered on the floor around him. Looking at those pieces, she figures out he must have knocked over the blue vase on the center table of the room.

Seeing his condition, she realizes he is drunk—so much so that he is having difficulty even standing straight.

She climbs down from the bed and walks to where he is standing, taking care not to step on the broken glass pieces.

Once there, she feels relieved to see Vikrant wearing the shoes.

Carefully, she holds his arm and pulls him toward the bed.

She makes him sit on the edge of the bed and stands in front of him. "Would you be able to take off your shoes?" She asks.

He nods his head. "Yes, I can," he replies, shaking his legs violently, causing his shoes to fly to the opposite corners of the room.

Nandini shakes her head in disappointment at his antics and makes him lie on the bed. After properly covering him with the blanket, she turns around, about to go and clear the glass pieces from the floor, but she stops when Vikrant suddenly holds her wrist.

Still not turning back to face him, she tries to free her hand from his grip.

"Leave my hand, Vikrant."

"Sorry," he says, still holding her hand.

Shocked, Nandini swivels to look at him. "Sorry for what?"

"For getting you tied to this.... unwanted marriage. You don't deserve this," Vikrant answers as clearly as he can in his inebriated state and passes out on the bed, leaving a stunned Nandini rooted to her spot.