Chapter 3 The Woman Behind The Veil

...━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━...

...🤍 ANIKA SHARMA 👀...

...Age: 24...

...Interior Architect...

..."She wasn't fearless......

...She simply refused to let fear decide her fate."...

...━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━...

...The first rays of sunlight slipped through the sheer white curtains, casting a warm golden glow across the spacious bedroom....

Anika slowly opened her eyes.

For a few peaceful seconds, she simply stared at the ceiling, trying to remember where she was.

The room felt unfamiliar.

The luxurious king-sized bed.

The elegant crystal chandelier hanging above her.

The faint fragrance of fresh lilies drifting through the room.

Then reality settled in.

She wasn't in her apartment anymore.

She was inside Raichand Mansion.

Mrs. Anika Raichand.

The thought made her sigh softly.

Everything had changed in less than twenty-four hours.

Her surname.

Her home.

Her future.

Yet the man she had married still felt like a complete stranger.

She sat up slowly and walked towards the balcony.

The cool morning breeze greeted her immediately.

From the balcony, the entire Raichand estate stretched endlessly before her.

Beautiful gardens surrounded the mansion.

Fountains sparkled beneath the morning sunlight.

Rows of colourful flowers bloomed perfectly, as if every single petal had been carefully arranged.

It was breathtaking.

Yet...

No matter how beautiful the mansion appeared...

It never felt like a home.

Instead...

It felt like a place hiding countless secrets.

Anika rested both hands on the marble railing.

"What exactly happened in this family...?"

A gentle knock interrupted her thoughts.

"May I come in, Madam?"

"Come in."

The door slowly opened.

A young maid entered, carefully pushing a breakfast trolley.

She looked no older than twenty-two.

Her uniform was perfectly pressed.

Yet her hands trembled slightly.

"My name is Meera, Madam."

"I'll be taking care of you from today."

Anika smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Meera."

Unlike the other members of the household, Meera looked genuinely kind.

As she arranged breakfast on the table, Anika noticed something.

Meera never looked directly into her eyes.

She appeared...

Afraid.

"Is everything alright?"

The young maid froze.

"Y-Yes, Madam."

"You don't seem alright."

Meera forced a smile.

"I'm just new."

Anika knew she was lying.

People often revealed their emotions without saying a word.

Before she could ask another question...

A loud voice echoed through the hallway.

"Breakfast is ready."

"The entire family is waiting."

Meera's expression changed instantly.

Fear flashed across her face.

"We shouldn't keep them waiting, Madam."

She hurried out of the room.

Anika looked after her thoughtfully.

"What are you hiding...?"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A few minutes later...

Anika walked downstairs.

The dining hall was larger than most banquet halls.

A long table stretched across the room.

Every chair was already occupied.

The Raichand family had gathered for breakfast.

The atmosphere was...

Silent.

No one spoke.

No one smiled.

The only sound was the gentle clinking of cutlery against porcelain plates.

Anika immediately noticed Aditya.

He was already seated at the far end of the table, reading the morning newspaper while sipping black coffee.

He didn't even look up.

Not until she reached the empty chair beside him.

Without saying a single word...

He quietly pulled the chair out for her.

A simple gesture.

Yet somehow...

It surprised everyone at the table.

Several family members exchanged silent glances.

Anika noticed them immediately.

She thanked him softly.

"Thank you."

He simply nodded.

Nothing more.

Breakfast continued in complete silence.

Anika glanced around the table.

Everyone seemed...

Careful.

Almost as if they were afraid of speaking.

Suddenly...

The doors opened.

An elderly woman slowly entered the dining hall with the support of a walking stick.

Every family member immediately stood up.

Every member...

Except Aditya.

He remained seated.

His expression didn't change.

The old woman's eyes searched the room.

Then...

They stopped on Anika.

For several long seconds...

She simply stared.

Tears slowly filled her eyes.

The walking stick slipped slightly from her trembling hand.

Anika instinctively stood up.

"Are you alright?"

The old woman stepped closer.

Her wrinkled fingers gently cupped Anika's face.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

Then, in a trembling whisper...

"You finally came home..."

Anika's heartbeat quickened.

She had never met this woman before.

Then why...

Did those words feel strangely familiar?

Before she could ask anything...

The old woman suddenly looked toward Aditya.

Her gentle expression disappeared.

"Protect her this time."

The entire dining hall fell silent.

Aditya slowly lowered his coffee cup.

For the first time...

Something flickered across his emotionless face.

Guilt.

Then it vanished.

As though it had never been there.

Anika looked between the two of them.

Questions filled her mind.

Who was this woman?

What did she mean by...

"This time?"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

To Be Continued...

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***