Chapter 4: Broken Promises

I stared at the thick envelope, the legal jargon blurring as the pressure cooker shrieked from the kitchen.

“Arjun, what’s the meaning of this?” My voice trembled, hands gripping the table until my knuckles whitened.

“You don’t trust me?”

He wouldn’t look at me. "Meera, it’s not about trust. It’s a family rule—we have to sign a prenup."

My throat burned. “If you trust me, why do you need this? We’ve dated for three years, not three months, not three days. If you still don’t trust me, maybe we shouldn’t get married at all.”

My voice caught, eyes stinging. Dadi’s old warning echoed in my head: Beti, shaadi ke baad sab kuch badal jaata hai. I slammed the agreement down and stormed out, blinking back tears.

The corridor felt cold, the ancestral portraits judging me in silence.

That night, Arjun found me. He brought hot chai, sat beside me, and apologised in that quiet, sincere way only he could. "Sorry, Meera. I messed up."

He promised never to mention the prenup again. I let my anger melt, convincing myself that love could fix anything.

I thought it was just a bump in the road. I didn’t know the real test was yet to come.