Chapter 33

Vihan's POV

"Vihan, please leave me alone," he groaned, rubbing his temples.

"Leave you alone? Why? We left you alone last night, but not now. You’re going to spill everything that happened!" I teased him.

Then, noticing Gauravi’s absence, Roohi asked, "Where’s Gauravi, by the way?? Oh, she must’ve gone to her parents' place for the pag phera."

"Ah, that makes sense," I said. "Is that why you’re grumpy? Don’t worry, she’ll be back tonight. Now, tell us about last night!"

Mihir looked at me with a mix of anger and frustration. "I don’t know where Gauravi is, and I don’t care. She won’t be back tonight or any other night. She chose another man and eloped with him last night."

We froze. Roohi and I exchanged a stunned glance before bursting into nervous laughter.

"What nonsense!" Roohi said before bursting into laughter.

“Good joke,” I said, though something about his expression made me uneasy. “One night with her, and you’re already cracking jokes about her leaving? Not bad! Looks like someone finally got some action last night!"

“I’m not kidding,” Mihir growled, his voice low and dangerous. “And stop laughing, or I swear I’ll break your jaw. She eloped with Shlok, and I had to marry Tami instead.”

The laughter died on my lips as his words sank in.

“What?” Roohi managed to croak out.

"No," I whispered, unable to believe it.

"Yes," Mihir said grimly, his voice was steady but lifeless when he told us everything.

Gauravi, the love of his life, had run off with her lover, Shlok, at the last minute. To save face, their families had pressured Mihir to marry Gauravi’s younger sister, Tami, who had been wearing a veil throughout the ceremony. No one except their immediate families had known the truth until now.

"You got married to Tami?" I asked incredulously, still struggling to process it.

He nodded, looking utterly defeated.

Roohi gasped. "Is that why she was wearing that veil?"

"Yes," Mihir confirmed.

“Oh, my God,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair. “How could Gauravi do this? She should’ve at least talked to you!”

“She didn’t,” Mihir said flatly.

Roohi looked equally baffled. "But she said she loved Shaurya, not Shlok."

"That was a misunderstanding," Mihir said bitterly. "Shaurya and Shlok are identical twins."

Great. Just great. This was like something straight out of a soap opera.

"So, you’re married to Tami now…" I said, still trying to wrap my head around it. "How are you handling all this?"

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, leaning back against the couch. “Just leave me alone.”

"Leave you alone? How can we leave you alone in this condition?" I protested.

"I’m fine," he insisted. "I didn’t sleep all night. Just let me rest. Please, Roohi, take him away."

I wanted to argue further, but the look in Mihir’s eyes stopped me. He wasn’t just tired; he was heartbroken.

Reluctantly, Roohi and I left, the weight of Mihir’s revelations settling heavily on our shoulders.

---

As we walked back to the car, I couldn’t stop replaying the events in my head. Gauravi’s betrayal, Mihir’s forced marriage, and the sheer mess of it all—it was hard to process.

"I can’t believe she did this," I muttered as we walked to the car.

"Me neither," Roohi said softly. "Mihir didn’t deserve this."

"No, he didn’t," I agreed. "And Tami… I mean, she’s sweet, but this isn’t what Mihir wanted."  My mind flashed back to Mihir’s defeated expression, and I felt an unexpected pang of guilt.

Roohi sighed. "It’s going to take him a long time to recover from this."

"Yeah," I said. "But he’ll get through it. We’ll make sure of that."

Roohi nodded, and we drove back in silence, both lost in our thoughts.

I couldn’t help but glance at Roohi. The thought of someone hurting her like Gauravi had hurt Mihir was unbearable. And the idea of her falling for some admirer—or worse, someone like Garv—made my chest tighten again.

I didn’t know what to make of these feelings, but one thing was clear: I wasn’t going to let anyone mess with her, not now, not ever.

This day started with a mystery admirer and ended with a shocking twist in Mihir’s life. If there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that nothing would ever be the same again.

We went back to the hospital, the hospital corridors buzzed with activity, yet my focus remained solely on Roohi as we walked toward her department. I wanted to know if that secret admirer sent something else too, so I accompanied Roohi to her department. I didn’t like the thought of anyone occupying her mind more than necessary.