### Chapter 7: The Truth He Never Spoke
502 Words
The room was dimly lit, the air thick with silence.
Anjali stood frozen, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if she needed something to hold her together.
Aaryan moved to the window and looked out at the dark sky.
Then, he spoke.
“She was my first love. My only love.”
Anjali didn’t interrupt.
“She was vibrant, fearless, beautiful… and stubborn.” He gave a faint smile. “Rhea never took no for an answer. That’s how she made her way into my life. And eventually, my heart.”
Anjali’s fingers tightened around the edge of the dresser.
Aaryan’s voice changed—lower, heavier.
“But then… she started noticing things I didn’t want her to see. She became suspicious. Of me. Of my business. Of my... meetings with Kiara.”
Anjali’s eyes widened. “Kiara? The woman in red?”
He nodded once. “She was Rhea’s best friend. From college. I knew her through Rhea. But after marriage… Kiara and I crossed a line.”
Anjali felt like the floor beneath her had cracked open.
“She came to me after Rhea’s accident,” he said, his voice almost hollow. “Said we could try again. That we had a second chance now that Rhea was... gone.”
Anjali’s stomach turned.
“You’re saying she died in an accident,” Anjali asked slowly. “But... was it?”
He didn’t look at her. “They ruled it an overdose. Sleeping pills. Rhea had anxiety. She used medication occasionally, but never like that.”
“So, you think she… took her own life?” Anjali whispered.
“I don’t know anymore,” Aaryan replied. “What I do know is—she found out about us. About Kiara and me. The night before she died, she confronted me.”
Tears welled in Anjali’s eyes.
“What did you do?”
“I denied everything,” he said bitterly. “I lied to her face. And then I left. I was too much of a coward to admit what I’d done. The next morning, she was gone.”
A deep silence followed.
Anjali’s voice cracked. “Do you still love her?”
Aaryan turned to her slowly.
“I will always love her,” he said, pain etched in every word. “But loving her didn’t stop me from destroying her.”
Anjali’s breath hitched.
“Then why did you marry me?”
He looked her in the eyes for the first time that night. “Because I thought if I gave someone else the life Rhea wanted... maybe I could find forgiveness.”
Anjali stepped back, stunned.
“You didn’t marry me for love. Or companionship. You married me to erase your guilt.”
Aaryan didn’t deny it.
She turned away, heart aching.
The man she had married was broken. Haunted. Dangerous—not because he meant to hurt, but because he already had.
And now, she was trapped in a mansion that still whispered Rhea’s name.
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- Writer
