Chapter 5 The Punishment
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“You will remain my wife.”
Edward said it without emotion.
He stood at the head of the study table, a folder tucked beneath one arm, as though he were about to finalize a business deal rather than decide the future of the woman sitting across from him.
Arora stared at him.
For a foolish second, hope stirred.
He believes me.
Maybe keeping the marriage meant he wasn't completely convinced she was guilty. Maybe he was giving her time to prove what had happened.
Then Edward continued.
“The marriage stays.”
He placed the folder on the table and pushed it toward her.
“Ending it now would create another scandal. The wedding photographs are already everywhere. The press will tear this family apart if we announce an annulment the morning after the ceremony.”
Arora's fingers tightened around the edge of the chair.
“So I'm still your wife?”
“Yes.”
Something inside her loosened.
Then he added, “But don't mistake that for acceptance.”
The relief vanished.
Edward opened the folder.
“You will have the title. Nothing more.”
He turned the first page toward her.
“No access to Sterling accounts. No family trust. No public appearances with me. No board dinners. No social events unless I specifically approve them.”
He paused.
“You'll remain in this house because I won't have people saying I threw my wife onto the street the day after our wedding.”
Arora looked at him.
“And what exactly am I supposed to do here?”
“Stay out of my way.”
The answer was immediate.
“You'll have a room. Food. Security. Whatever basic necessities you require.”
His gaze dropped to the ring on her finger.
“You'll wear the ring when you're in public. The marriage needs to look intact.”
She gave a quiet, humorless laugh.
“So I get to be your wife whenever someone is watching.”
“You get to keep the name you wanted.”
“I never wanted it.”
His eyes hardened.
“You're still denying everything.”
“I have denied it all morning because it's the truth.”
Edward slid the folder closer.
“This is a formal waiver.”
Arora looked down at the thick document.
“What am I signing?”
“You'll give up any claim to Sterling assets, now or in the future. Any inheritance rights that might come with being my legal wife. Any spousal support if this marriage ends.”
Her eyes moved over the pages.
“And in return?”
“You remain here.”
She looked up.
“That's it?”
“Yes”
The words settled between them.
Arora stared at the papers.
Her mother had cried without shedding a tear.
Her father had looked everywhere except at her.
Eve had lied while barely managing to meet her eyes.
And Lilian…
That smile.
Arora closed her eyes briefly.
Every person she had expected to stand beside her had abandoned her before she'd even had a chance to understand what was happening.
Now Edward was asking her to sign away whatever protection she might have as his wife.
She opened her eyes.
“You want me to give up everything in exchange for a room in a house where everyone thinks I'm a liar.”
“I want you to understand your position.”
Edward's voice remained calm.
“You wanted to be Mrs. Sterling badly enough to take your sister's place. Now you have the title.”
“I didn't take anything.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
Arora looked down at the document.
“Not anymore.”
Edward said nothing.
She traced the edge of the folder with one finger.
“I've told you the truth so many times that I've stopped expecting you to hear it.”
She looked at him.
“You've already decided who I am.”
He didn't deny it.
Instead, he nodded toward the pen.
“Sign.”
Arora stared at it.
A black pen.
Nothing remarkable.
Yet somehow it felt heavier than the entire folder.
She thought of her sister's smile.
The recording.
The maid's trembling voice.
Her mother's carefully chosen words.
None of it was random.
Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to put her here.
And if she signed this, she'd make it easier for them.
Arora closed the folder.
“No.”
Edward's eyebrows lifted.
“No?”
“I won't sign it.”
He stared at her.
“You don't understand what you're refusing.”
“I understand perfectly.”
She stood.
Her legs felt weak, but she kept her hands at her sides.
“You can take away the accounts. You can keep me out of your meetings. You can make sure everyone knows you don't consider me your wife.”
Edward's expression remained unreadable.
“But I'm not signing a document that makes it look as though I accept what you've accused me of.”
“This isn't an admission of guilt.”
“It feels like one.”
“It's a formality.”
“Then you won't have a problem finding another way to handle your assets.”
His jaw tightened.
“You're being difficult.”
“Maybe.”
She met his eyes.
“But I'm not signing.”
For several seconds, Edward simply watched her.
Something shifted in his expression.
Not warmth.
Not forgiveness.
Just a brief hesitation, as though he hadn't expected her to refuse.
Then he walked around the table.
He stopped in front of her.
“You misunderstand something.”
His voice had dropped.
“I'm not asking you to agree with me.”
He leaned closer.
“I'm telling you what your life is going to look like.”
Up close, Arora could see the exhaustion in his face. He hadn't slept. Neither had she.
But unlike her, he still seemed certain he knew exactly what had happened.
“You wanted to become Mrs. Sterling,” he said. “Now you get to learn what that costs.”
Arora held his gaze.
The fear was still there.
So was the confusion.
But underneath both was something she hadn't felt when she'd first woken beside him.
Resolve.
“Then I'll learn.”
Edward's eyes narrowed slightly.
“But I'll learn it standing up.”
She glanced at the folder.
“Not on my knees signing whatever you put in front of me.”
Neither moved.
The study was quiet except for the faint ticking of the clock on the wall.
Edward finally straightened.
The folder remained closed between them.
He picked it up.
“We'll see how long that lasts.”
He walked toward the door.
Arora watched him leave.
Only after it closed did she allow herself to sit again.
Her hands were shaking.
She pressed them together until they stopped.
She had lost her family.
She had been accused of stealing her sister's wedding.
She was trapped in a marriage she couldn't remember entering.
And now Edward had made it clear that being his wife would come with a price.
Fine.
If this was the life someone had arranged for her, she would survive it.
But she wasn't going to make it easy for them.
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