The Wedding Whisperer

Chapter 12: Beneath the Surface

"Raise your hand if you are ready for this," Anisha laughed, pointing at the two rolling closets filled with wedding outfits for herself and her family.

The small group of family members gathered cheered enthusiastically.

"Me too!" Neeraj called out, making the entire group laugh. Akshara accompanied Neeraj and his team for the dress rehearsals with Anisha's family. The large living area was occupied by close family members, and once Anisha was done with her fittings, her parents and other family members were to dress up and take pictures that would be used during the wedding for display.

Anisha bounced with energy with every trip to one of the bedrooms designated as the fitting room. Halfway through the outfit trials, Akshara saw a beautiful deep purple outfit made out of silk. The intricate thread work with bright pink made the outfit look dreamy and magical. She smiled, remembering a similar outfit she had seen at the boutique in a different color combination.

"Neeraj, how come Anisha isn't trying this outfit?" she asked.

"That's not for Anisha." Neeraj brushed away her question.

"What? This is so beautiful. Why aren't you letting Anisha have it? Don't tell me you made this for another client."

Neeraj pressed his fingers to his temple. "This outfit was not supposed to be here; it made it here accidentally."

"Okay. Big deal. Have Anisha try it on."

"No. It's a special order for someone else." Neeraj shook his head.

Akshara narrowed her eyes at him. "You were supposed to exclusively work on Anisha's outfits. And now you tell me you took a special order?"

"Akshara, please. Can we talk about it later?"

"Sure, but I need to know who you made this for? Another client?"

Neeraj looked at her for a long moment. "This outfit was ordered for you."

"What? By whom?"

Neeraj shook his head. "This is not how it was supposed to go."

"Neeraj?"

"Anisha's brother's assistant called and put in the special order for you."

"You are kidding." She glared at him.

"No. I was told to make the dress and deliver it with Anisha's clothes. Now I need to attend to Anisha."

"Fine. Go. I will deal with you later." She let out a growl before stepping out of the room to process the information she heard from the designer. She stepped onto the balcony that was off of the living area and took out her phone to text Abhimanyu.

**Akshara:** WE NEED TO TALK.

**Abhimanyu:** Hi, Akshara. Your caps lock is on...

She let out a huffed breath.

**Akshara:** Mr. Birla. We need to talk now, please.

She stared at the phone as the three dots danced, indicating that he was typing a response.

**Abhimanyu:** At the gym. Top floor. Take the elevator to the fourth floor.

She looked around the house and saw the elevator to one side of the house. She discreetly walked through the elevator doors and rode up to the top floor, her mind a whirlwind of questions.

Why was such an expensive outfit ordered for her?

She stepped out of the elevator and stopped to take in the view on the top floor. The mini sanctuary of plants she had seen outside Abhimanyu's place was recreated throughout the floor, with different kinds of seating areas set up all around the open terrace.