lways been a quiet girl, content to live her life in the background, free from the drama that often plagued the more prominent families in the v

h the curtains, casting a soft glow across the room, but it did nothing to lift the heaviness that weighed on her chest. How had everything gone

e solemnity of his words echoing in her ears. "This is

t wonder-what about her ho

ock on the door, soft but firm. She k

alled through the door. It was Aria, h

trying her best to remain composed, but there was a storm inside her that was threatenin

d gently, though her voice

y. "Ready to marry a stranger because th

hand. "I know this isn't what you wanted, but... we have no choi

of this," Elara snap

with sympathy. "But we will get through thi

sure. She wasn't sur

ically, as if they were on autopilot, her mind spinning with every possible scenario, every possible way out of this mess. But there was no escape

aze fixed ahead, his posture tense, like a man about to walk into battle. He didn't look like someone who had been thrus

is village, its superstitions, or its traditions. She could see it in the way he stood, his arms cros

a could see the confusion, the hesitation i

owd gathered around them, their faces masked with solemnity as if they were witnessing the union of two people destined

ran spoke first, his voice steady but laced wi

Mahesa, to be my wife. Not by choice, but

chest, her mouth dry as the w

indra, as my husband. Not by desire, but by n

e of love or loyalty. And when the elder pronounced them husban

hey were both performing for the benefit of the watching villagers. But when their lips met, Elara felt a strange, unexpec

f maybe-just maybe-there was more to thi

had were quickly erased when t

ispered to her, his voice low and urgen

a beat. "What?" she wh

rmination. "My family cannot know about this. They can'

an so insistent on secrecy? What did

swept up in the crowd, and the res

eemed that the only thing they could do was play along and hope that

g much darker-something that neither she nor Kieran were prepared for. And no matter how much they tr