The Wife He Forgot

The rain had started before Aanya reached the old house.

Three years.Three years since she had last stood in front of this gate.The iron gate still creaked the same way when she pushed it open. The old neem tree still stood beside the driveway. Even the faint smell of wet earth brought back memories she had spent years trying to bury.But the house no longer felt like home.It felt like a place where something terrible had happened.Aanya tightened her grip around the black umbrella and walked slowly toward the entrance.Her father's funeral had ended an hour ago.Everyone had already gathered inside.Everyone except her.She needed a few moments alone.She looked toward the upstairs balcony.That was where she and Reyansh had once stood on their wedding night, laughing while the entire family celebrated downstairs.She remembered his voice."Whatever happens, I'll never leave you."Aanya closed her eyes.That promise had lasted less than a year.A sudden sound behind her made her turn.A car had stopped outside the gate.A black sedan.Her heart skipped.She knew that car.No.It couldn't be.The driver's door opened.A man stepped out.Tall.Dressed in a dark suit.His hair was slightly wet from the rain.Aanya stopped breathing.Reyansh.After three years, she was looking at the man she had once called her husband.For a moment, neither of them moved.Reyansh looked at her.His expression was calm.Confused.Almost unfamiliar.Aanya felt something inside her break.He had changed.There were faint lines near his eyes now. His face looked harder, more serious.But his eyes were still the same.The eyes she had once loved.The eyes she had once believed would always recognize her.Reyansh took a few steps toward her.Aanya instinctively stepped backward.He stopped.His eyebrows drew together."Are you all right?"Aanya stared at him.Those four words hurt more than any accusation ever had.She swallowed."Yes."Reyansh looked at her for several seconds.Then he asked, "Are you a relative of the family?"Aanya's fingers tightened around the umbrella.She couldn't answer.He didn't recognize her.Not even a little.She forced herself to smile."No.""Then why are you here?""My father died."Reyansh's expression changed slightly."I'm sorry."Aanya nodded."Thank you."Silence fell between them.Rain continued to hit the pavement.Aanya wanted to walk away.She should have walked away.Instead, she whispered the name she hadn't spoken aloud in three years."Reyansh."He looked at her.Something flickered across his face.A strange hesitation.As if the name had awakened a memory he couldn't reach."You know me?"Aanya's eyes filled with tears."Once."Reyansh stared at her."Have we met before?"Her heart sank.She looked down at the wedding ring still hanging on the chain around her neck.She had never been able to throw it away.Not because she still believed he would return.But because a part of her had never understood how everything between them could disappear so completely.She covered the ring with her hand."Yes," she whispered."Where?"Aanya looked directly into his eyes."At our wedding."Reyansh froze.The color slowly disappeared from his face."Our... wedding?"Before Aanya could say anything else, a voice came from the doorway."Reyansh!"His mother stood there.The moment she saw Aanya, her expression changed.Fear.Real fear.Aanya noticed it immediately.Reyansh turned toward his mother."Mom, do you know her?"For a second, nobody spoke.Then his mother forced a smile."No."Aanya stared at her.The lie was immediate.Too immediate.Reyansh looked between the two women."But she says—""She's confused," his mother interrupted.Aanya's eyes hardened."Am I?"His mother stepped closer."Aanya, you shouldn't have come."Reyansh looked at Aanya sharply."You know her?"His mother didn't answer.Aanya took a slow breath.Three years ago, this woman had told her to leave.She had accused Aanya of betraying Reyansh.She had shown her photographs.Messages.Bank records.Evidence that had made Aanya look guilty.Reyansh had believed all of it.And that night, he had told Aanya he never wanted to see her again.She had left without defending herself.Because someone had threatened to destroy her father's life if she stayed.Now her father was dead.The threat no longer mattered.Aanya looked at Reyansh."I didn't come here to disturb your life.""Then why did you come?""To attend my father's funeral."Reyansh looked confused again."Your father?"Aanya nodded."He was my father."Reyansh's mother suddenly said, "You need to leave."Aanya looked at her."I will."She turned away.But before she could take another step, Reyansh suddenly grabbed his head.His breathing became uneven.Aanya turned."Reyansh?"He closed his eyes.A flash.A wedding hall.A red veil.A woman's hand in his.A voice laughing.Then rain.A car.A scream.And Aanya.Standing beside him.Crying.Reyansh opened his eyes suddenly."Aanya..."She froze.He had said her name.Not because she had just told him.Because somewhere inside his broken memory...he knew it.Aanya took one step toward him."Reyansh?"He stared at her as if seeing her for the first time.Then he whispered,"I remember your face."Aanya's breath caught."But..."He looked terrified."I remember being afraid of you."Aanya's eyes filled with tears."Why?"Reyansh looked toward his mother.His expression changed.Because suddenly, he remembered something else.A locked room.A bloodstained photograph.And his mother's voice saying:"If Reyansh ever remembers her, we're finished."Reyansh stared at his mother."Mom..."She went pale."What did you do?"The lights inside the house suddenly went out.And in the darkness, someone upstairs whispered:"She should never have come back."Aanya looked toward the staircase.Someone was standing there.Watching them.Then the figure disappeared.