S*X IN SAREE |18+

—SOHINI—

The first thing I registered was the overwhelming scent of his cologne.

Familiar. Sharp. Masculine. It clung to my skin. I blinked against the filtered daylight, realizing—I wasn't in my room. I was in his.

Vedant's shirt hung loosely off my shoulder, its fabric soft but cold against my bare skin.

I sat up slowly, the duvet falling off me, and rubbed my forehead. My skull was throbbing like a war drum.

"What the hell—" I whispered, my voice hoarse.

My head throbbed like it was punishing me for something I couldn't even remember. I rubbed my temples, trying to recollect through the haze in my mind. I remembered the bar. I remembered the pain in my chest when I saw Vedant and Simran laughing—too close, too familiar. And then—blank.

Panic clawed up my throat. What did I do? What did I say?

I fumbled for my phone. 12:14 PM.

Shit. I had slept through the conference. The one I'd rehearsed for weeks. Why didn't Vedant wake me?

I scrolled through my notifications until I found his message.

"When you wake up, I'll already be at the conference. I've left a medicine for your hangover on the nightstand.

And about last night—Wait till I come back. We have a lot to talk about."

Oh God. What did I do?

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to make the memory back into place. All I got was a pounding headache in return. I clutched my chest, breath hitching.

"I'll apologize," I whispered, mostly to myself. "I'll beg if I have to—Tell him I was drunk, it didn't mean anything— He'll understand. He always does."

But my own words felt weak. I couldn't even convince myself. The uncertainty was gutting. What the hell did I say to him?

A knock at the door made me jump.

I opened it and found him standing there—Vedant. But he looked—different. Worn out. His skin pale, dark circles beneath his eyes. He stumbled in, and his arms wrapped around me.

"Did I—did I do something last night?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, pretending I wasn't breaking.

He pulled back slightly. His jaw clenched.

"You don't remember anything?" he asked, almost disbelieving.

I shook my head slowly.

"You said—you love me."

His voice was cold. Flat. But underneath it—I could hear the hurt. He hated how much it mattered to him.

I turned my back to him quickly, swallowing the panic rising in my throat. "I was drunk. Please—just forget the bullshit. I didn't mean it."

I let out a hollow laugh. It sounded fake. Because it was.

I wrapped my arms around myself. Took a breath that burned.

"Vedant—" I closed my eyes. "Actually—I do love you. I never stopped."

I turned around to face him, my heart pounding—ready to say it, to finally admit what I'd buried for years.

But he was already gone.

"Vedant?" I called out into the empty room, voice shaking. But only silence answered.

I rang him—once, twice—no response.

So I waited. Waited for him to come back, to give me one more chance to say everything. Everything he never knew. How after he left, my world collapsed. We had to shift houses, cities. My parents couldn't bear to look at me. I was a disappointment, a fallen girl. Ruined. Unworthy because I was no longer a virgin. I was crushed beneath the weight of guilt and shame and was forced—literally forced—into marrying Ritwik, a man I didn't love.

And still, even then, I kept waiting for Vedant.

It was past 2 a.m. when a sharp knock startled me awake. I had fallen asleep on the couch.

"Vedant!" I rushed to the door, hope blooming recklessly.

But it was Simran. And behind her, Vedant—drunk, reeking of whiskey, his eyes vacant.

He pushed past me without a word and collapsed onto the bed.

"What are you doing here?" Simran asked, her voice dipped in sugar and poison.

"I—I needed to talk to him," I replied, forcing a smile, trying to look unshaken. I had to fake confidence or she'd crush me beneath her heels. She always had that power. She was everything I wasn't—poised, successful, beautiful.

I wrapped my arms around myself.

"So you're just his new plaything," she said with a scoff. "Let me give you some advice, woman to woman—"

"It's pointless. Vedant will never fall for your little innocent act. You should find someone more—suited to your class." she said, placing a cold hand on my shoulder.

I smiled back. Cold. Calm.

"Thanks, Simran for the advice. But I don't like free things."

She let out a soft chuckle, brushing her hair behind her ears like a goddess.

"You're so young." She leaned against the doorframe. "I knew him before you were even born. I was his first love. First wife. First everything."

Her eyes slid past me to Vedant's still body on the bed.

"You think you can replace me that easily?" She laughed, turned away. "Anyway—take care of my Vedant."

She left. And I stood there, trembling. My fists clenched.

What was I to Vedant?

I sat beside him on the bed. He was halfway falling off. I reached to shift him—and suddenly, he grabbed my arm. Rough. Unaware.

"Simran—stay away from me," he mumbled, shoving me back.

"Vedant—it's me. Sohini."

His eyes opened, squinting. Blurry. But then—they softened.

"Sohini?" he whispered, touching my face. "Is it really you?"

I nodded, tears threatening to fall.

"Are you going to leave me too?" His voice cracked, raw and exposed. "Sohini—I promise—I promise I'll be better. I won't make you cry. I won't hurt you. I'll take care of everything. Just trust me. You still trust me, right?"

I nodded. Helpless.

And yet, it hurt—so much. Because I knew what I had to say.

"Vedant I'm married."

His face collapsed like a house built on sand.

"No. No, Sohini. You can't do this again," he said, gripping my arms so tightly it hurt.

"Let me go, Vedant—please," I said, struggling.

"You can't do this—not again." His hold tightened. "Not again."

"You're hurting me!" I screamed, wrenching away.

He shouted too. "Sohini, when I fucked you two days ago—did you forget you were married then? Why now?!"

I sobbed. "I care about you—but I am married."

"Then leave him! I'll talk to your parents. I'll give your husband everything I own! Let him go! Just stay with me, Sohini!"

"You're out of your mind!" I shoved him back. "You're drunk!"

But suddenly, he hugged me. Tighter than ever. His sobs soaked through the cotton—he was crying. My hand instinctively rested on his head as he cried like a boy who had been abandoned too many times.

"Please—I love you. I'm so alone, Sohini. Don't leave me again. Please— just come back."

I couldn't speak.

Maybe it was my own sobs that choked me.

"Sohini—I love you," he whispered again and again.

Until he passed out in my arms.

I hadn't slept a wink that night. How could I, after everything that happened between me and Vedant?

I sat beside him, brushing a hand softly across his cheek. He looked peaceful. So undeservingly peaceful—after a storm I had caused.

"I need to set you free," I whispered, barely able to speak without choking on the lump in my throat. My fingers trembled against his skin. "Be happy without me."

Because all I ever brought him was pain. I wrecked him with my confusion, my cowardice, my broken pieces I never learned how to hold together.

I got up slowly, one foot already out of his life—again—when his hand grabbed my wrist.

"Please," Vedant murmured, voice heavy and raw, "stay with me."

I couldn't turn around. If I did, I'd crumble. "I need to go, sir," I said, using that word—sir—as a shield. As distance. As a lie.

He sat up, his face still bruised from the night before, exhaustion clinging to his skin. "Sohini," he said, "I'm sorry for last night. But I meant it. Every damn word I said—I meant it."

"No," I shook my head hard, trying to keep the tears from falling, "you deserve someone better than me."

"But I love you."

"You should love Simran," I said, my voice hollow.

He stared at me, disbelief all over his face. "Where is this even coming from? Me and Simran—we're done."

"You should love her," I repeated like a mantra. Like if I said it enough, it would become true. "She's the one for you."

"I don't want her, Sohini. I want you." His voice broke like glass, shattering between us.

I clenched my jaw, forcing out the words I thought would save him. "I'm a married woman."

He let out a bitter laugh, raking his hand through his messy hair. "So this is it? This is what you want? For me to just let go? Walk away like none of this meant anything?"

"Yes," I whispered, even though every part of me screamed no. "I want you to leave me alone. Forget everything between us. All of it."

He nodded slowly, eyes dull like dying stars. "Alright," he said after a long pause. "If that's what you want—"

I didn't wait to hear the rest. I couldn't. My feet moved before my heart could change its mind. I opened the door and walked out of the room, tears blinding my vision.

But I kept walking.

"I'm setting you free," I whispered to the empty hallway.