A marriage for revenge

Chapter 3

Ananya was sitting alone silently shedding tears and not even noticing her teacher leaving the class when the bell rang.

"Hey.." The familiar voice of her best friend broke her out of her thoughts. "There is no use sitting here and crying, Anu.."

"I don't know what to do, Keerti. It hurts.." She expressed with a painful expression marred on her baby-like face.

"There is only one way to end this, Anu and you know what to do.."

Keerti whispered to her to avoid any of their classmates hearing them. Anu considered her to be her best friend, as a matter of fact, Keerti was Anu's only friend from childhood but Keerti wouldn't say the same. She had other friends with whom she would often hang out. Anu was no fun but Keerti was cunning enough to keep her around because she was great at studies and without Anu's notes Keerti would have never passed her exams. However poor Anu was too naive to understand what kind of a self-centered and cunning person her friend was.

"I can't do that to him, Keerti, no matter how much I love him.."

"Then, you don't love him enough.." Keerti concluded to her friend with narrowed eyes.

"I do, I do.." She argued back a little louder than necessary causing a few heads to turn their way, "God, I do love him a lot but I still can't do that to him. It will ruin him.."

"Then sit and watch him marry her. He would soon make you his children's caretaker.." She said with all the swag in her.

"Stop it, Keerti.." For the first time, Anu snapped at her. "If you can't comfort me, just leave.."

And just like that Anu had hurt her ego. Keerti stood up from her chair, making it screech against the floor before walking away.

Once school got over, Anu traipsed back home alone. All the way back, she kept pondering about Vinoth. The wedding was in two days. She hopelessly believed that some miracle would happen and stop the wedding but life was not a television drama. The odds of that happening were nil.

Anu had always believed that she was born in this life for Vinoth. And just like Anjali and Vikram, they would someday end up with one other. She was so optimistic that Vinoth would fall in love with her but the day she got to know from her sister that he was in love with a woman, she felt like she had died a million deaths. She still hoped that the love wouldn't reach till marriage but it did.

The first few days were punishingly cruel for her to accept the fact that he would never belong to her. She thought of confessing her feelings to him but what was the use of it now? She had met Kaveri during their grand engagement ceremony and Anu was instantly attacked by her inferiority complex. Why would a Billionaire like Vinoth ever want a girl like her when he had a beautiful, well-to-do, and educated girl for his fiance?

A few days later she made up her mind to give up on him, god knows she did with all her heart. She wanted him to be happy with the love he's found but the pain she felt inside was indescribable.

Every time she saw him, she only fell deeper and deeper for him. She couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep, she couldn't breathe. Basically, she understood she wouldn't be able to live without him and she couldn't think of another man in his place at her heart.

"Anu, why are you standing here?" She recognized the voice even without looking up. It was the voice that never failed to give her flutters. "Are you okay?"

Vinoth asked when he saw Anu standing in front of the main door of the mansion but not entering it.

"Y-Yeah.." She cleared her throat, "I-I'm fine.."

Instead of entering the mansion, she turned away and walked towards the servant quarters which was her home once before her sister got married into the family.

Something did not sit well with Vinoth. She had been behaving weirdly for the past few months. The girl who always carried a small smile on her face now looked like she had forgotten to smile. Her worry lines were deepening day by day, she also looked like she had lost weight. Was she being bullied again in school?

Since the time he fell in love with Kaveri, he'd almost ignored Anu and it prickled his insides with guilt. She had nobody except for her sister and Anu would never tell anything to Anjali to not worry about her.

Without thinking too much about it, he decided to follow her. She had already reached inside the small cottage and locked it behind her but that didn't stop Vinoth. Reaching the small place, he knocked on the door. As he waited for her to open the door, a few maids noticed him standing there but they only gave him a polite smile knowing what a gentleman he was.

Returning their smile, he knocked at the door again, not expecting the horror that was waiting for him inside. After a few seconds, Anu opened the door and her eyes evidently widened on seeing him there.

"What are you doing here?" She stuttered as always.

"Can I come in?"

She looked around and nodded, moving to the side to let him in. It was Vinoth who closed the door behind him.

"What's wrong with you, Anu?"

"Huh?" She blinked at him with her wide chocolate-brown eyes, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is why are you looking so lost for the past several days?" He elaborated taking a step near her.

"I don't know what you are talking about.." She tried to avert her eyes everywhere except him. For some reason, she couldn't meet his eyes.

Vinoth kept silently watching her before he sighed, "Is somebody bullying you again at school, Anu?"

After a few seconds of silence, she shook her head.

"You don't have to be scared, little one. Just tell me and I will beat the daylight out of them.." His voice was polite and threatening at the same time, how she wondered but yet again he proved to her that there was no way she could stop loving him in this lifetime.

Anu once again shook her head negatively but Vinoth was not going to take it anymore. He believed and knew that Anu was trying to hide something from him. Without any vile intentions in his heart, he touched Anu's arm, making her jump in her place, "Tell me, Anu. Is someone troubling you?"

Anu could never understand what possessed her in those few moments and she would never forgive herself for the chain of events that followed after that.

"It's you who is troubling me, Vinoth. You.." She cried out loud making him flinch back. "It is you who is making my life so miserable.."

"W-What are you sa.." He couldn't finish as she jumped into him and before he could fathom what was happening she joined her lips on his. His lips did not move against hers but they felt absolutely wonderful. They were warm, sweet, and everything that she had imagined them to be. To her disappointment, the kiss didn't last for more than a fraction of a second as he shoved her away forcefully.

"What the hell, Anu?" He looked at her like he was struck by a bolt of lightning.

Tears clouded her vision when she witnessed his anger toward her for the first time. He looked terrifying like never before but she also knew she would never get a chance like this in her life ever again. It was a now-or-never situation for her. She needed to say this to him, "I love you, Vinoth. I have always loved you.."

His anger slowly morphed into disappointment, "Are you crazy, Anu..? I am getting married in two days and moreover, you are very young. It is just infatuation that you have for me. You would find someon .."

"No.. Please don't.." She cupped both her ears with her palms to stop hearing his words. If he was going to assume that she would find someone she would love then he better stop there because there was no way she would ever find love with a man who was not him.

"I swear I tried to forget you but I couldn't. I can't imagine a life without you, Vino.." She cried into her palms, weeping like a child.

Vinoth sighed and pulled his hair in frustration, "You know what? I shouldn't have come here at all.."

He turned around to leave but she stopped him at his wrist. "Please don't leave me, Vinoth. I would die without you.."

Yanking his hand away from her grip, he opened the door to leave but found Anjali standing there looking shocked to find him there with her little sister. Alone

Without sparing a backward glance, Vinoth walked out of the house.

Anjali's heart started pounding when she saw the tear-stained face of her baby sister. The protective side of her overpowered all her reasoning.

"What was he doing here?" Her voice came out dripped with suspicion.

Anu was terrorized by her presence at first but she suddenly remembered Keerti's words from two days ago.

There is only one way to end this, Anu and you know what to do

Her tears started pouring out of her eyes furiously like there was no stop to it.

She was going to do it.

She had to do it.

"Akka.." She had no idea that her words were going to wreak havoc in everybody's life but at the same time, she didn't have the courage to live without Vinoth.

"What did he do to you? Why are you crying?" Anjali's words only gave her the encouragement she needed. The sharpness and loudness in her voice managed to attract several maids who were passing by there.

"H-He.. He.." Anu took a deep breath. "H-He..

"For God's sake, tell me what did he do to you, Anu?" Anjali shook her by the hold of her arms.

"He tried to misbehave with me, Akka.." Anu said it in one go and shut her eyes tightly.

A few gasps were heard making them aware of all the presence around them.

She slowly opened her eyes to see if her sister believed her words and the look on Anjali's face was evident enough that she had taken her words to be true.

"From how long has this been happening?" Anjali queried in her authoritative tone.

"Quite some time now, Akka.."

"Did he.." She didn't utter the word but Anu understood it.

"No.." She shook her head.

Anjali sighed but there was no relief in it, "Why didn't you tell me before, Anu..?"

"I-I thought you wouldn't believe me, Akka.."

Anu was immediately pulled into her sister's embrace as Anjali cried out loud. "I'm sorry for letting you go through this alone, Anu. I am so sorry. I didn't take him to be such a heartless monster.."

Anu had never lied in her life before but she couldn't believe she would make such a good liar.

The tears kept streaming down her face. It wasn't all an act. A part of her soul was chastizing her for betraying Vinoth like this, he was no monster and he didn't deserve to be called one but another part was adamantly refusing to let him go free. She was caught in between the two and even though she didn't want to do this, she couldn't stop herself from doing this. She simply loved him too much to give up on him.

"He will pay for this. He needs to give an answer to you before he plans of destroying another girl's life.." Anjali looked like a ticking time bomb as she stormed out of the house towards the mansion.