We walked in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company. Then Papa spoke.
"Viya is a lovely girl, Armaan."
I smiled involuntarily. Just hearing her name made warmth spread through my chest.
"She is more than lovely, Papa. She is everything."
He glanced at me, and there was something knowing in his expression.
"I can see it in your eyes when you look at her. The way your entire face changes. You are genuinely in love with her."
There was no point denying what was so obviously true.
"I am. Completely. She is everything to me."
We reached the stone bench beneath the old banyan tree and sat down. Papa was quiet for a moment, choosing his words carefully.
"I know why you married her, son."
My stomach dropped. I looked at him sharply.
"Maa told me. About the kundali. About the prophecy. About the arrangement."
I let out a long breath and dropped my head into my hands.
"Papa, I—"
"I am not judging you, Armaan. I understand the pressure you were under. Maa’s health, the fear of losing someone you love. I know that fear intimately."
He was thinking about my mother. About the loss that had shattered him.
"It was supposed to be simple," I said quietly. "Marry Viya for a year to satisfy the prophecy, then divorce her quietly and marry Avija. That was the plan. But everything changed."
"Does Viya know? Does she know why you really married her?"
"No. She thinks I married her because I wanted to. Because I chose her."
Papa's expression grew serious.
"Then it is time you told her the truth. She deserves to know, Armaan. All of it."
"I know. But Papa, what if she cannot forgive me? What if knowing the truth destroys what we have?"
"Then you deal with that. But secrets like this destroy relationships anyway. Better she hear it from you than find out some other way." He paused. "What about Avija? Does she know how you feel about Viya?"
"No. I have been avoiding her. But I need to end things with her properly. She needs to know there is no future for us."
Papa nodded.
"Do that. Soon. Then tell Viya everything. Do not wait too long."
???
The next day, I sent the message I had been dreading.
“We need to talk. Meet me at Indigo Restaurant today at 2 PM.”
Avija's reply came quickly.
