Prologue

Sisodia Mansion

Silence filled the hall. Everyone present was tense, gazing at the hall entrance repeatedly.

Near midnight, the screech of tires shattered the stillness outside the mansion and every head snapped up, alert.

Kanishk staggered in, his steps unsteady, eyes bloodshot red, clothes stained.

He almost collapsed, but Eshvir rushed forward, caught him by the shoulder and guided him towards the single seater sofa.

Kanishk who was fully drunk smiled at him. Before Eshvir could react, a commanding voice of Uday ji cracked through the hall

“ What the hell is this? How can you be so careless, Kanishk ? We are waiting for you, worried for you and here you are coming home drunk?”

Hearing his dadu, Kanishk didn't even flinch, he just tried to stand.

Seeing this, Uday ji spoke again, his tone ruthless.

“ I know that you are the hukum sa of Aryavarta, that you are superior, but you are still answerable to us , to your family.”

Kanishk ignored his words and pushed himself up, heading for the staircase.

Upstairs, Aarvika was looking after the sleeping children. Because of the voices coming from the hall she made her way downstairs.

Her face was pale, her eyes were red because of crying and her mind was a mess.

On the stairs she saw that Kanishk was coming towards her, bluntly ignoring his dadu words. Before Kanishk could climb the stairs she stopped him by standing in front of him.

Before Kanishk could say anything she said in her authoritative voice which was trembling because of crying for hours. "Do you have any idea what happened here in the morning ?”

Kanishk who was utterly intoxicated, looked at her, he knew he couldn't escape from Aarvika. She was his wife and she has every to know everything

“ I don't know”

He lied easily, knowing very well what she was asking about.

“Don’t act, Hukumsa. I know that no matter how drunk you are, you won’t be so intoxicated that you can’t answer my questions.” Aarvika said, her voice steady with confidence, anger was visible on her face.

Hearing her, Kanishk snapped back, irritated, faking anger,“ I don't know anything, I am not interested in your drama.”

“ You are not interested in our drama.” Tanishq, who was silent since morning, finally spoke, his voice dripping with sarcasm,“but you are interested in sleeping with your ex after being betrayed by her. After being married, you still go to warm her bed.”

His words cut through the hall, making sure his brother knew that he was deeply hurt, that he never expected all this from his brother.

Hearing his brother, Kanishk froze where he stood. His fake anger, his intoxication —— both gone in a second. Silence spreaded in the hall once more. He didn't answer , he didn't defend himself, his silence hurting everyone, slicing Aarvika's heart into pieces.

“ Answer me Thakur sa, tell me the truth. That what she said in the morning was all a lie. She was playing with all of us once again. I trust you more than I trust myself. I know it's a lie but I want to hear it from you once. Just say once —— that it was a lie.”

Aarvika who was holding herself together until now, spoke with a trembling voice, her heart shattering because of Kanishk silence.

“ No, it was not a lie.”

The slow, steady whisper slipped from Kanishk’s mouth, breaking everyone’s last hope that this was just another game.

Gasps echoed around him—and a heartbeat later, the entire hall rang with the sharp sound of a slap.

[ There's no cheating in the book so don't take it in a wrong way without knowing the backstory. It's a request]