Soul Swap: Trapped Forever

"Hey, Tripti!"

Tripti turned toward the voice and immediately recognized the person standing there. It was Sneha, Manisha's cousin. Once upon a time, they had been friends, but that friendship had ended long ago.

Plastering a polite smile on her face, Tripti responded "Hi, Sneha."

Turning to Sarvagya, she introduced them. "Sarvagya, this is Sneha, Manisha's uncle's daughter."

Before Sarvagya could respond, Sneha giggled and said "Hello, jiju! I'm your sister-in-law, which technically makes me half your wife too."

Tripti's entire demeanor changed in an instant. Her smile vanished, and her eyes burned with irritation. But before she could say anything, Sarvagya smoothly shifted closer to Tripti and said "I have no need for a half-wife. I'm perfectly happy with my one and only wife."

Sneha's face turned slightly pink with embarrassment "Oh, I was just joking, jiju. No need to take it so seriously."

Before Sarvagya could reply, Tripti cut in. "Sarvagya doesn't like these kinds of jokes, Sneha. Don't say things like that again."

Sneha gave an awkward laugh. "I was just here for a coffee, but then I saw you two and thought I should say hello. We didn't get a chance to talk properly at the wedding, and I never got to meet jiju, so I figured I'd take this opportunity."

Tripti's smile was strained. "That's nice. Please, have a seat. Do you want to order something?"

Sneha pulled out a chair and sat down. "No, I just want to chat for a bit."

Sarvagya picked up a bite of food and fed it to Tripti. "Keep eating, sweetheart. The food's getting cold."

Tripti blushed again. "Okay, husband."

Sneha watched the exchange with slight annoyance. Trying to regain control of the conversation, she said, "You know, Tripti, you're so beautiful. But jiju... you're kind of average-looking."

Both Tripti and Sarvagya turned to Sneha with raised eyebrows.

Sarvagya smirked. "And did I ask for your opinion? Since when is there a rule that a beautiful woman can't marry an average-looking guy?"

Sneha stammered. "N-No... I just meant... In college, Tripti had a boyfriend. He was supposedly really handsome. I never saw him in person, but I saw his pictures. I just thought she would marry someone like that."

Sarvagya barely held back his laughter and turned to Tripti. "Really, sweetheart? You had an ex-boyfriend?"

Tripti tilted her head in mock confusion. "I don't know. Maybe Sneha can tell me his name and describe what he looked like."

Sneha's face paled. "Oh, um… I just remembered I'm getting late! My husband is waiting for me at home. I should go!"

Before anyone could say anything, she practically bolted from the table as if she had seen a ghost.

Tripti and Sarvagya exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.

Sarvagya shook his head. "So, you actually told her about me back then?"

Tripti sighed. "Yeah, I kept it a secret for a long time, but she was my best friend. She eventually got it out of me. Of course, she went around spreading rumors the moment she found out."

Sarvagya made a face. "She's seriously annoying. It felt like she was trying to start a fight between us."

Tripti huffed. "That's Sneha for you. And the way she was flirting with you even though she's married? If we weren't in public, I'd have smacked some sense into her."

Sarvagya chuckled. "Is someone feeling jealous?"

Tripti scoffed. "Damn right I am. You're mine."

Sarvagya smiled. "Fair enough. Now, let's eat. You still have to confront your parents tonight."

Tripti took a bite. "I don't care anymore. Let them be."

But while they laughed and ate, chaos was already brewing at home.

Something big was waiting for Tripti.

__________________________

As soon as Tripti and Sarvagya arrived home, Tripti stretched her arms and sighed, a wide smile on her face.

"I had so much fun today!" she exclaimed. "Time just flew by when I was with you!"

Sarvagya unbuckled his seatbelt and smirked. "You're absolutely right. If a simple shopping and dinner date was this enjoyable, imagine how much fun we'll have on a month-long honeymoon trip. We'll explore so many new places together."

Tripti's eyes lit up, and she practically bounced in her seat. "I can't wait! And to think Mrs. Sejal Agnihotri thought she was punishing you by sending us away. Instead, she gave us the best opportunity to enjoy ourselves!"

Sarvagya chuckled, shaking his head. "That's the irony, isn't it? She thinks she's making my life miserable, but in reality, she's making it better."

Both of them laughed, stepping out of the car. Tripti grabbed some of the shopping bags, while Sarvagya took the rest. There were too many to carry in one trip, so they decided to leave half in the car and return for them later.

As they entered the house, Tripti barely had time to register the tension in the air before something stung her cheek with a sharp crack!

A stunned silence followed.

Tripti staggered back from the force of the slap, her vision swimming. If Sarvagya hadn't been right beside her, steadying her, she would have collapsed to the ground.

Her hand flew to her burning cheek as she blinked in shock. She looked up to see her father, Rahul, standing before her, his face twisted in fury.

"What the hell?!" she spat, her voice trembling with both pain and anger. "You just slapped me? What gives you the right—"

"You lied to Avinash!" Rahul's voice boomed through the room.

Tripti's breath hitched. Avinash?

A cold realization settled over her. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.

"I didn't lie" she snapped. "I told him the truth. The truth that you tried to keep hidden. You fixed my marriage behind my back and didn't even have the decency to tell me. And even now, you're mad at me for exposing your deception?"

Rahul's lips curled in disgust. "I don't need your permission to make decisions about your life! I had every right to arrange your marriage! And after your wedding, the right belongs to your husband! You had no business telling Avinash anything!"

Tripti scoffed in disbelief. "Wow. So now I don't even have the right to speak the truth? You didn't just take away my choices, you expected me to lie to keep your secrets?"

Sarvagya, who had been silent until now, took a step forward, his voice cold and controlled. "If Tripti's life decisions are now my responsibility, then tell me, uncle, how did you just raise your hand on my wife?" His gaze was sharp as a blade. "And let's get one thing straight—she didn't lie to Avinash. She told him exactly what happened. It's not her fault if the truth is inconvenient for you."

Rahul hesitated. A flicker of guilt crossed his face before it was quickly masked with rage.

The room felt suffocating. Tripti's mother, Manorama, stood by Rahul's side, her lips pressed into a thin line, as if she, too, supported his anger.

Tripti's heart pounded. She hadn't expected things to escalate this way.

Sarvagya turned to Tripti, his voice softer now. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, though the sting on her cheek still lingered.

Rahul exhaled sharply. "You don't understand the full picture. I promised Avinash that you would marry him!"

Tripti's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"Avinash came to me today, furious." Rahul continued. "He accused me of betraying him. Do you know how humiliating that was for me?"

Tripti took a step closer, her voice low but filled with rage. "And whose fault is that? Yours! You made a promise without even telling me! You expected me to blindly follow whatever you decided. And when Avinash realized he was played, he lashed out at you—and now you're taking it out on me?"

"Mind your tone, Tripti!" Manorama interjected. "You could have at least handled the situation more delicately. Avinash deserved some respect!"

Tripti let out a bitter laugh. "Respect? Respect?! What about my respect, Maa? You both treated me like a thing—a commodity—to be given away whenever it suited you. And now you have the audacity to be mad at me?"

Rahul's jaw tightened. "Watch how you speak to your parents."

"No, you watch how you treat your daughter!" Tripti shot back. "You keep talking about how I should have handled Avinash better. Well, tell me, what exactly should I have done? Should I have apologized for marrying someone else when I didn't even know you were planning my wedding with him? Should I have lied to make him feel better? Should I have begged him for forgiveness for not being his wife?"

Sarvagya crossed his arms. "And let's not forget" he added, his voice laced with sarcasm, "Tripti didn't even get a say in her own wedding. The decision was made for her twice—once when you chose Avinash, and again when she was forced into the marriage because her cousin ran away. She never had a choice either way."

Rahul's face flushed with anger. "It was an emergency! We had to save the family's honor!"

Tripti took a step closer, staring him dead in the eyes. "No, you had to save your ego. If it had truly been about family honor, you wouldn't have hidden your plans from me. You knew I would never agree, so you went behind my back. But guess what? Your secret's out now."

A tense silence filled the air.

Manorama, however, refused to back down. "After everything we've done for you, this is how you repay us?" she hissed. "We raised you, fed you, clothed you—"

Tripti let out an exasperated groan. "Oh, please, spare me the 'we fed you' lecture! You had a child, so you took care of that child. That's parenting, not some debt I have to spend my life repaying! If raising me was such a burden, maybe you shouldn't have had me in the first place!"

Manorama looked genuinely taken aback, her lips parting slightly, but no words came out.

Sarvagya gently placed his hand on Tripti's arm. "That's enough," he murmured. "You've said what you needed to. Let's not waste more energy on this."

Tripti inhaled deeply. Her entire body was shaking, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

"Just one last thing" she said, her voice lower now but still sharp. "From now on, don't expect me to blindly obey you. I'm not a puppet, and I refuse to be treated like one. My life is mine to live."

She turned to leave, but before she could take a step, Rahul called out "You may think you've won, but mark my words, Tripti—you have no idea what's coming next."