Chapter 27: The Altar of Defiance
(Vihaan's POV)
The silk of my sherwani felt like a shroud. Every time I caught my reflection in the polished marble of the mansion, I didn't recognize the man looking back. I looked like a CEO. I looked like a Malhotra. I looked like a liar.
My father's voice had been a constant drone in my ear all morning, talking about "market stability" and "merger optics." He had no idea that while he was counting his shares, I was counting the seconds until I could destroy everything he'd built.
I slipped away into the bride's dressing room, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Sofia was there, sitting motionless. Her heavy gold jewelry clinked as she turned to look at me.
"Everything is ready," I whispered, my voice thick. "The car is by the service entrance. Aman is waiting at the safe house. Have you got your phone?"
Sofia nodded, her eyes fierce despite the bridal veil. "My father thinks he's sold me to the highest bidder. He has no idea I'm about to go bankrupt on him." She paused, looking at me with genuine pity. "Have you talked to Janvi?"
The name was a physical blow. "No. She won't take my calls. She thinks I'm a coward. And honestly, Sofia... up until ten minutes ago, I was."
The Walk to the End
The "shehnai" music began to play—a sound that was supposed to be celebratory but felt like a siren. I walked down the aisle, my father's hand heavy on my shoulder, a proprietary grip that told me I was his finest achievement.
I saw the guests—the elite, the powerful, the people who lived for a scandal. I searched the faces, half-hoping, half-fearing I'd see Janvi. But she wasn't there. Why would she be? I had broken her twice.
Sofia and I reached the mandap. The priest began the sacred chants, the smoke from the "hawan" fire stinging my eyes. Or maybe it wasn't the smoke.
"Perform the exchange of garlands," the priest instructed.
This was it. The point of no return. I looked at Sofia. She gave me a microscopic nod.
I stood up, but I didn't reach for the garland. I turned toward the crowd—toward my father.
"Stop," I said. My voice was low, but in the silence of that hall, it sounded like thunder.
"Vihaan, sit down," my father hissed, his smile never wavering for the cameras, though his eyes were daggers. "Don't make a scene."
"The scene is already made, Dad," I said, stepping off the platform. "You didn't want a daughter-in-law. You wanted a business contract. Well, the contract is void."
"What are you doing?" Marcus D'Souza roared, standing up.
Sofia stood beside me, pulling off her heavy dupatta. "I'm going to be with the man I love. And it isn't your business partner's son."
The room erupted. Shouts, gasps, the frantic clicking of cameras. My father moved toward me, his face purple with rage. "You will lose everything, Vihaan! The company, the name, the inheritance!"
"Keep it," I spat, the words feeling like the first clean breath I'd taken in years. "It's a small price to pay for my soul."
I grabbed Sofia's hand and we bolted. We ran through the kitchen, past the stunned catering staff, and out into the humidity of the evening. We dove into the SUV. I floored the accelerator, the tires screaming as we left the Malhotra legacy in the dust.
The Last Chance
I dropped Sofia at the safe house where Aman was waiting. The look on their faces—the raw, messy happiness—made my chest ache. I wanted that. I needed that.
I drove to Janvi's apartment like the world was ending. I didn't care about the speed limits. I didn't care that I was still wearing a thousand-dollar wedding outfit.
I pounded on her door. "Janvi! Open up! Janvi!"
The door swung open. Janvi stood there, looking exhausted, her eyes red-rimmed. Behind her, Priya stood like a sentry, ready to swing a heavy vase at my head.
"Go away, Vihaan," Janvi whispered, her voice breaking. "Go back to Sofia."
"There is no Sofia," I panted, stepping past her into the room. "I left, Janvi. I ran. Sofia ran. The wedding is a disaster, the stocks are probably tanking, and my father likely has a hit out on me."
I grabbed her hands. They were ice cold. "I know I'm a mess. I know I've spent my life choosing the wrong things. But standing there, looking at a woman who wasn't you... I realized I'd rather be a nobody with you than a king with anyone else."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the weathered notebook I'd given her. "I meant every word in here. I've lived in the shadows for five years, Janvi. Please... don't send me back there."
Janvi looked at me, her gaze searching mine, looking for the ghost of the boy who had made her a bet. She didn't find him. She found a man who had finally burned his bridges to get back to her.
"One more chance, Vihaan," she breathed, her voice a fragile thread. "But this is the last one. If you break me again, there won't be enough pieces left to find."
I didn't waste a second. I pulled her into me, my face buried in her hair, the scent of her finally silencing the chaos in my head. "I've got you," I murmured. "And I'm never letting go again."
Priya cleared her throat from the corner. "I'm still keeping the vase handy, just in case."
I laughed, the sound raw and real. For the first time in my life, I wasn't a CEO. I wasn't an heir. I was just a man who had finally come home