The Wrong Woman

61. Mouna

Dhruv didn't speak to me that night. I wanted him to believe me, but how would I convince a man that his wife wasn't me? That the person living in his house was another woman? What sane person would believe such a thing? Which was why I didn't blame him when I saw the divorce papers on the coffee table.

I did not sign them. That was not a decision for me to make. If I never changed, I didn't know how I was going to prove to Dhruv the truth.

When I woke up, however, it seemed as if that was not going to be an issue. The bed I was laying on was not filled with bouncy, soft foam; rather, it was the straw bed frame with the thin foam mattress I bought online. Draped over me were the thin blankets I used to love to wrap around me and grandma's arm.

My legs got caught in the folds of the covers as I ripped them away from me. I stumbled toward the small mirror attached right out the scratched, creaky brown doors of the bathroom. I was looking right back at myself.

The real me.

Mouna.

The man had granted my wish! I was...I was Mouna again! Seeing the tears gather and run down my full, dusky brown cheeks was a joy I didn't think I would ever see again. The bracelet was gone, no mark or trace left on my skin to even suggest it had been there in the first place. I was truly back. Without any shame, I ran my hands down my arms, my chest and my legs—flawed and all, I loved every part. I wiped my cheeks, thinking about how this happened and then I stopped.

Believe love conquers.

The man...the man wasn't talking about fixing Rani and Dhruv's marriage or their love. Believe love conquers, I repeated.

Only when I begged him that I wanted to be myself again did I show that loving myself truly did outweigh the wish I made to be Rani.

He was talking about self love.

That was what I needed to learn.

It was such a simple thing but so profound in a manner I couldn't explain with words or understand. I ignored the twinge that grasped my heart in a tight hold when I thought about Dhruv and how Rani would possibly make things better where I completely ruined it. It was my naivety, thinking that I could fix someone else's life and problems, that got me too deep into a mess I couldn't get out of.

Except, now I was physically out of the mess, despite causing emotional scars in another. Was it worth it? Was learning to love myself by hurting another worth all of this? I didn't know. Nor did I want to answer.

But seeing my grandma slowly sit herself up and watch me with that wrinkled frown made me rush over and jump onto the bed. It creaked dangerously under me, warning that if I did it again, it would not be able to withstand the weight. But who cared? I had my life back again!

I wrapped my arms around her neck and squeezed, relishing in the warmth of her and the soft, pillowy skin of hers against mine. She smelled like spices and cardamom. She smelt like home.

"Finally," she mumbled, placing a kiss atop my head. "Where've you been this entire time?" Where have I...wait, what? I pulled away and stared at my grandma's face, her lips carrying a haughty smirk. She winked at me. "What, you think I don't know my own granddaughter?"

"But—"

"I told you the tale of the blood moon was true. Magic is real." She slapped my arm. "Didn't I tell you not to make a wish that night?!"

I laughed, both in disbelief and wonder, burying my head into the crook of her neck again. Yes, magic was real, a realisation both Rani and I, and my grandmother, knew. Even if others called us crazy, at least I wasn't alone in thinking this, in knowing the truth.

This was the truth.

And now this was my reality.

I shouldn't have made that wish, but I would have never learnt this about myself. I would have never met Dhruv.

Go check on Dhruv and Rani...how would they be? Are they talking? I thought. That wasn't a right thought. For so long, as long as I was Rani, all I had were bad thoughts. Selfish thoughts. Rani and Dhruv had their own life and I was the one intruding. He wasn't my husband so what right did I have to worry?

I got my wish and I would fully embrace the new lessons I'd learnt.

"Come, Mohi," I said, standing up. "We're going out today."

"Out? You never want to go out."

"Well, your magic has taught me that there is more to life outside than staying cooped up inside. Come! I'll take you anywhere you want."

So long as I had Mohi beside me, I would soon forget about Dhruv.