Page 55 of His Arranged Wife
"Dramatic?" Nimisha laughed, the sound edged with hysteria. "Convenient, isn't it? You want me to play the doting, obedient bahu to perfection all the damn time, but I won't even get basic respect in return. I'm supposed to smile when I'm ignored, accept being second best, pretend I don't notice when my own husband can't stand to be in the same room with me except when he needs—"
She cut herself off, too aware of the audience.
Samarth's expression had gone dangerously cold. "Upstairs. Now."
"Why? So you can remind me of the rules? Tell me again that this is just duty, nothing more?" She shook her head. "I'm done with that conversation."
"Nimisha—"
"You shouldn't have married me when you already had an almost-wife." The words came out sharp, bitter, aimed directly at Kritika. "You should have fought harder against the arrangement. Because this? This half-life where I exist in the margins of your world? It's not fair to either of us."
Kritika's face crumpled. "Nimisha, I never wanted to—"
"I know." And that was the worst part. "I know you're not trying to hurt me. But you are. Every time you bring him his favorite sweets, every time you finish his sentences, every time you share memories I'll never be part of—it hurts. And I can't keep pretending it doesn't."
She turned to Samarth, forcing herself to look at him even though it felt like her heart was shattering. "I needed one night. One night to remember who I was before I became the unwanted Mrs. Ranawat. Before I started measuring my worth by how little space I could take up in your life."
"You're not unwanted," Samarth said, his voice rough.
"Aren't I?" She smiled sadly. "Then why does it feel like I'm fighting for scraps of your attention? Why does Kritika get your kindness while I get your cold indifference? Why do you touch me in the dark but can't look at me in the daylight?"
He had no answer.
Of course he didn't.
"I'm going to my room," she said quietly. "I'm going to shower and change and pretend for one more day that this is sustainable. Because I made vows, and unlike some people, I take them seriously."
She walked past him, her shoulder brushing his, and headed for the stairs.
"Nimisha," he called after her.
She paused but didn't turn around. "What?"
"Where were you last night?"
"Somewhere safe. Somewhere I could breathe without feeling like I was suffocating." She glanced back at him. "Don't worry. I was alone. Your possession remains untouched by other men."
She continued up the stairs, leaving three shocked people in her wake.
When she reached their bedroom, she closed the door, locked it, and finally let herself break.
10:23 AM - The Library
After showering and changing into comfortable clothes, Nimisha had retreated to the one place in the estate that felt semi-private—the library.
It was a beautiful room, two stories of books lining dark wood shelves, with comfortable reading nooks and large windows that let in natural light. Most of the family never used it. Raghbir preferred his study, Saroj didn't read for pleasure, and Samarth... well, Samarth had his own private library in his wing.
This space was functionally hers by default.
She'd set up her laptop at her favorite spot—a window seat overlooking the back gardens—and was trying to write. The words weren't flowing, her mind too chaotic, but the routine of it helped.
A soft sound at the door made her look up.
Bruno.
The massive dog stood in the doorway, his dark eyes fixed on her with that uncanny intelligence that always made her feel like he understood far more than a dog should.
Despite everything, she smiled. "Hello, Boo."
