Chapter 26 An Unholy Marriage Praposal
Night falls over Rajput Mansion like a heavy, suffocating blanket. Darkness creeps into every corner, and even the faintest light seems to surrender to the grief thick in the air. The house, once full of life, now echoes with silence.
The guests leave. Family members retreat to their rooms, each trapped in their own sorrow.
Mrs. Shobha lies in her room, eyes swollen and red from endless crying. Ruhi and Neeti sit together, silent in their grief. Mr. Shekhawat sits alone in his study, staring blankly at the wall, his face numb with loss.
And I-I lock myself in my room. I curl up on the bed, clutching Samar’s photograph tightly to my chest. Fever burns through my body. Tears don’t stop. My breath comes in shallow gasps, but I don’t speak. I don’t move. My world has shattered, leaving behind an unbearable weight of sorrow.
And yet… in the heart of the mansion, where silence reigns, someone is still awake. It's Vihaan.
He sits alone in the grand hall, on the very spot where Samar used to sit. He is dressed in white like everyone else but his expression is disturbingly different. Where others carry pain, Vihaan wears a calm, satisfied smile.
There is no grief in his eyes. No guilt. No remorse. Just an eerie stillness. Darkness wraps around every room. The mansion feels frozen in time. Then, the soft echo of footsteps cuts through the stillness, Vihan’s footsteps.
He slowly steps toward my room, that same unsettling smile lingering on his lips. There is no sorrow in his eyes only burning obsession, a twisted intent. His steps are firm, deliberate.
He stops just outside my door, watching through the slight opening. I stand near the window, my back to the door. I feel hollow fragile like a shadow of who I once was. I wear a simple white suit and trousers, my long hair falling freely over my back. No jewelry. No strength. Just grief.
Suddenly, I sense something. I turn. My eyes widen in shock. Vihaan is inside my room. My breath catches in my throat as he closes the door behind him. The soft click of the lock sounds like thunder in the silence. He starts walking toward me.
I stumble back, fear trembling in my voice. “Stay away.” He doesn’t stop.
His eyes are dark dangerous, unreadable. In seconds, he’s in front of me. He grabs my waist and pulls me harshly against him.
I gasp, my body trembling in his grip. My hands go weak for a moment, then I try to push him away but he’s too close, too strong. He leans in, his breath hot against my skin, and whispers, “Your husband is dead now marry me instead. Say yes.” Horror floods my eyes. My body stiffens in shock.
He moves his face closer, inhaling near my cheek, his voice low and twisted. “You’re still so beautiful even now. Tell me”
Disgust floods me. Every breath he takes makes me sick to my core. My stomach turns, but in this moment, I find my strength. With all the force I can gather, I shove him hard, making him stumble back.
My voice rips through the silence like fire, “How dare you touch me? Who gave you the right?!”
My eyes burn, my chest rises and falls with rage and humiliation. Vihaan stares at me, unmoved, a dark, twisted smile curling on his lips, as if my resistance amuses him.
His eyes blaze with a strange fire as he spits bitterly, “He’s dead now, Ishani… are you going to live in his memory forever? Clinging to his photograph, drowning in his scent? Learn to live with the living.”
Anger rushes to my face, my blood boiling. I lock my eyes on his and say, my voice shaking with fury, “Choose your words carefully when you talk about my husband he’ll destroy you for this.”
There is pain in my voice the pain of a wife, the rage of a woman wronged. But Vihaan is unaffected. He steps closer again. I raise my hand immediately, stopping him.
I’m shaking, but my face now holds strength and defiance. I snap, “Aren’t you ashamed? Talking about your own Bro like this?”
For a moment, something shifts in his eyes. A faint smile appears but it isn’t joy, it’s hatred. His jaw clenches. His eyes darken as if some long-buried poison stirs inside him.
Then, in a low, cutting voice, he says, “He was never my Bro never. He was just my father’s illegitimate child. That’s it. And I ended him. Ended him with my own hands.”
His words stab straight into my heart. The ground beneath me feels like it’s giving way. I stare at him, eyes wide, mouth frozen in disbelief.
“W-what…?” is all I can whisper.
He steps even closer, looking straight into my shattered eyes. “Yes. Samar was a mistake and I erased that mistake.”
My hands fly to my mouth. My breath stops. My entire body goes numb. Silence crashes around me. Only one sentence echoes inside my head Illegitimate child whom I destroyed.
His venom pierces my soul but instead of breaking me, it ignites something wild and burning inside. My tears dry. My eyes blaze with fury. My heart pounds with grief betrayal.
Without thinking, I step forward, grab him by the collar, and slap him hard. The sound cracks through the room like thunder.
His face jerks to the side, but he doesn’t flinch. Slowly, he turns back to me. There is no shame in his eyes only a deeper, more dangerous smile.
I shout, my voice shaking with rage, “How dare you?! I’ll tell everyone! The whole world will know who you really are and what you’ve done!”
His smile only widens. He leans closer and murmurs coldly, “And how will you do that, Ishani? Do you have any proof?”
The words strike me like lightning. I freeze. My breath lodges in my throat. My mind races but the truth hits me hard. I have nothing, No proof, No witness, Nothing. He has erased everything.
He looks into my stunned eyes and whispers with toxic satisfaction, “You’ll end up in my arms anyway. Very soon, I’ll make you mine.”
Then he turns away and walks out, shutting the door behind him with finality like a hunter leaving his prey wounded, not dead.
That sound breaks me. I collapse to the floor, my body shaking violently as sobs tear out of me. My soul feels ripped apart not just for Samar, but for the horror now stalking my life.
After what feels like forever, I crawl to the door, lock it tightly, and sink against it, my back pressed to the wood.
Alone, shaking, I whisper to myself soft, “You will never touch me never.” Vihaan steps out and walks straight toward Neeti’s room.
Inside, Neeti is curled up, clutching Samar’s photograph to her chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Her body trembles with grief. For a moment, Vihaan falters.
He rushes to her, kneels, and pulls her into his arms. “Shhh.. that’s enough, Neeti. Don’t cry please.”
She clutches him harder, crying, “Bro Samar Bro is gone he left us.”
He strokes her hair, cupping her face gently. “If Samar were here, would he want to see you like this?”
She doesn’t know the monster holding her. Ruhi sits lifeless in the corner, eyes empty.
Vihaan calls softly, “Child come here.”
Ruhi lifts her eyes filled with rage. “Why are you pretending? You must be the happiest about Samar Bro’s death.”
Vihaan growls, “Ruhi!!”
But she steps forward, fearless. “You killed Samar Bro. I know it.”
Neeti gasps, shocked. Vihaan panics. “No I would never he was my Bro!”
Ruhi snaps, “You never treated him like one!”
Vihaan slaps Ruhi hard, Neeti rushes to her, hugging her tightly.