short tales - Chapter 18: Chapter 18
You are reading short tales, Chapter 18: Chapter 18. Read more chapters of short tales.
The college trip announcement had created a buzz across the campus. Students were giddy with excitement, busy forming groups, choosing roommates, and dreaming of freedom away from lectures and curfews.
But Aanya sat quietly in the back row, lost in a memory that never left her.
It was the memory of a night when the world outside was asleep…
…and she had become a wife in secret.
Six Months Ago — Flashback
It was raining heavily that night.
The sky roared above the city, as if it knew two souls were about to defy every law written for them.
Aanya stood outside a small, ancient temple on the outskirts of town. Her simple blue kurta was soaked through, and her glasses fogged up from the steam of her nervous breath.
He came.
Aarav, in his usual black shirt, no umbrella, no hesitation. His gaze locked onto hers with the same intensity that had made her heart stumble the first time he flirted with her.
“Are you sure?” she asked, voice barely above the sound of the rain.
“I’m sure of you,” he said, stepping closer. “I might not know what love is supposed to feel like... but when you’re near me, I don’t feel lost anymore.”
She blinked back her tears. “You’re a mafia heir. And I’m… just a girl from an orphanage who hides in the library.”
He smirked slightly. “Then maybe this world needs rewriting.”
They had no grand ceremony. Just a pandit who didn’t ask questions, a fire that flickered like their trembling hearts, and a mangalsutra Aarav had brought — custom-made, delicate, with her initials carved next to his.
As he tied it around her neck, their fingers brushed, and for the first time in her life, Aanya felt claimed — not by power, not by money — but by love.
“From this moment,” Aarav whispered, “you’re mine. No matter what comes… I’ll protect you. I’ll fight the world, even myself, if I have to.”
Aanya closed her eyes, letting his promise wash over her like a lullaby. She never thought she would belong to anyone. But in that moment, under a stormy sky, in a quiet temple — she belonged to him.
Present Day
She snapped out of the memory as someone called her name. Her roommate was waving the trip form in her face.
“Are you even listening? I said we’re all going to the hill station for three days! You’re coming, right?”
Aanya gave a small nod, her mind already elsewhere.
Because she knew something no one else did…
This trip wouldn’t just be a trip.
This trip would bring them close in ways they had only dared to dream.
This trip… might finally break the silence they’d been hiding behind.
And her heart whispered a quiet truth:
She was ready.
But Aanya sat quietly in the back row, lost in a memory that never left her.
It was the memory of a night when the world outside was asleep…
…and she had become a wife in secret.
Six Months Ago — Flashback
It was raining heavily that night.
The sky roared above the city, as if it knew two souls were about to defy every law written for them.
Aanya stood outside a small, ancient temple on the outskirts of town. Her simple blue kurta was soaked through, and her glasses fogged up from the steam of her nervous breath.
He came.
Aarav, in his usual black shirt, no umbrella, no hesitation. His gaze locked onto hers with the same intensity that had made her heart stumble the first time he flirted with her.
“Are you sure?” she asked, voice barely above the sound of the rain.
“I’m sure of you,” he said, stepping closer. “I might not know what love is supposed to feel like... but when you’re near me, I don’t feel lost anymore.”
She blinked back her tears. “You’re a mafia heir. And I’m… just a girl from an orphanage who hides in the library.”
He smirked slightly. “Then maybe this world needs rewriting.”
They had no grand ceremony. Just a pandit who didn’t ask questions, a fire that flickered like their trembling hearts, and a mangalsutra Aarav had brought — custom-made, delicate, with her initials carved next to his.
As he tied it around her neck, their fingers brushed, and for the first time in her life, Aanya felt claimed — not by power, not by money — but by love.
“From this moment,” Aarav whispered, “you’re mine. No matter what comes… I’ll protect you. I’ll fight the world, even myself, if I have to.”
Aanya closed her eyes, letting his promise wash over her like a lullaby. She never thought she would belong to anyone. But in that moment, under a stormy sky, in a quiet temple — she belonged to him.
Present Day
She snapped out of the memory as someone called her name. Her roommate was waving the trip form in her face.
“Are you even listening? I said we’re all going to the hill station for three days! You’re coming, right?”
Aanya gave a small nod, her mind already elsewhere.
Because she knew something no one else did…
This trip wouldn’t just be a trip.
This trip would bring them close in ways they had only dared to dream.
This trip… might finally break the silence they’d been hiding behind.
And her heart whispered a quiet truth:
She was ready.
End of short tales Chapter 18. Continue reading Chapter 19 or return to short tales book page.