The Bride they burned

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"Three men, one couch, and me—eating pasta like I'm not the problem."

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NYRA VORA

If anyone had told me I'd be sitting in the same room with Rehaan, Kai, and Celeste—eating lasagna and pretending this wasn't a disaster waiting to explode—I would've slapped them.

But here we were.

Three wolves.

One queen.

And a whole lot of unresolved tension on the menu.

---

> "So, Nyra," Rehaan began, mouth full of garlic bread, "how do you choose who gets to stand behind you like a protective statue every time you breathe in public?"

Kai stabbed his fork into the table.

> "I don't stand behind her. I walk beside her."

Celeste sipped her wine, completely unfazed.

> "You two keep barking. I'm the only one she's actually kissed this week."

> "Do it again and you'll wake up toothless," Kai muttered.

Rehaan grinned at her.

> "You kiss good?"

> "Better than you f***," Celeste shot back without missing a beat.

I dropped my fork.

> "Can we maybe not turn dinner into a battlefield over my dating resume?"

> "Who said anything about dating?" Rehaan winked.

> "I will literally stab you with this butter knife," I warned.

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AFTER DINNER – THE COUCH WARS

Me: sitting in the middle of the couch, sipping wine.

Kai: sitting to my left, tense, stoic, way too close.

Rehaan: sprawled on my right, legs wide open, one arm behind me.

Celeste: sitting on the armrest behind the couch, judging everyone.

> Rehaan: "I used to lie on this shoulder. Now he's drooling on it."

> Kai: "One more word and I'll rearrange your jaw."

> Me: "I'm five seconds away from kicking both of you onto the floor."

Celeste tossed a popcorn kernel at Kai.

> "Loosen up, soldier boy. You look like your spine forgot how to bend."

> "Keep throwing things," Kai muttered. "I dare you."

> "KAI," I snapped, "no murder during wine night."

Rehaan leaned in with a teasing smirk.

> "You like it when they fight over you, don't you?"

I sipped.

> "No. I love it."

---

AND THEN IT HAPPENED.

Rehaan said:

> "You ever think maybe I was the only one who actually knew Meher?"

Kai stood.

> "Say that again."

> "She told me everything," Rehaan continued, smug. "You were just a hired bodyguard."

Boom. Fist. Jaw. Crash.

Kai punched Rehaan so hard he flew into the side table, knocking it over with a crash.

Celeste clapped.

> "Finally. Violence. I was getting bored."

Rehaan groaned from the floor.

> "Hot damn. I think I broke a fangirl."

Kai growled.

> "Don't ever speak about her like that again."

---

ME – STANDING BETWEEN THEM

Hair messy. Eyes blazing. Holding a wine glass like a weapon.

> "Everyone SIT. DOWN. Or I will personally bury each of you in alphabetical order."

Silence.

Rehaan staggered to the couch.

Kai sat.

Still glaring.

Knuckles bleeding.

Celeste tossed me the ice pack with a grin.

> "Your men are so entertaining."

> "They're not my men," I said.

> "Sure they're not," she whispered, kissing my cheek. "That's why they'd die for you."

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ME – LATER, IN MY ROOM

I stared at myself in the mirror.

Lip gloss smudged.

Sweat on my collarbone.

Three people outside my door—each pretending they didn't want to knock first.

And my heart?

Still aching for the boy I left behind.

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MEANWHILE – AARAV

He sat with his teacher, clutching a drawing.

> "Miss?"

> "Yes, Aarav?"

> "Is it possible to dream about someone you've never met?"

She paused.

> "Why do you ask?"

He pointed to the picture.

A sketch of me.

> "Because I keep seeing her.

And she feels like home."

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🔥 End of Chapter 18

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