arranged marriage · ceo · cold exterior · introvert · sweet smile · corporate setting · romance · protective · indian · emotional healing
The ballroom glittered under chandeliers that cast a thousand tiny stars across the marble floor. Music and laughter wove through the air as silk-clad guests mingled, each conversation a symphony of success. I stood at the edge near a pillar, the champagne flute cold in my fingers, watching the wives of Vedant's friends—lawyers, doctors, CEOs—laugh with a confidence I had never known. Seven months. Seven months of silence in a mansion that felt like a gilded cage. I built my bakery with pennies saved from age seventeen, and now I am nothing but a tag: "rich husband's wife." Vedant is somewhere in the crowd, probably discussing mergers. Then one of the women turns to me, her smile polite but piercing. "So, you are the wife of Mr. Vedant, right?" The question hangs in the air, and I fee…