Shadowed Desires

Chapter-2

Note: This is not a slow-burn romance. I'm placing every event in such a way that you find something interesting in every chapter. But I request you not to compare it with my last book.

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Time skips…

She was lost in her own thoughts when a knock interrupted her. It was Riddhima and her sister-in-law, Aarushi (Abhinav's younger brother Om's wife).
Both of them entered the room.

Kritika passed an awkward smile to them. She didn’t know how to deal with his family now. She would love to tease her husband, but when it came to his family, she was a bit confused about how to behave.

Riddhima sat beside Kritika and spoke in a soft voice,
"We know this marriage occurred in a really strange situation, and even you would not have been able to process what happened, just like us. But I can assure you—you’ll be happy in this family, as long as you both decide to stay together. These rivalries and all that are just political drama for outsiders. What matters is that my son chose you as his life partner, and I wholeheartedly accept his decision."

Kritika asked,
"Aren’t you upset about not being a part of your own son’s wedding?"
Riddhima smiled,
"It’s alright. At least he’s married now. He rejected so many marriage alliances that we had nearly lost hope of ever seeing him settle down."

Aarushi added,
"And both of you complement each other so well. Honestly, we couldn’t have found a better bride for him. Right, Riddhima di?"
Riddhima nodded with a comforting smile.

Aarushi said,
"You can call me mausi (aunt) or chachi (paternal aunt)—whichever you prefer."
Kritika nodded, not knowing how to react to such warmth and affection. She had never experienced love like this, which made it even harder for her to accept or process it.

Some people find it easy to handle hate. But life has been so harsh on them that when love finally arrives, it feels more like a lie. They don’t know how to respond to it.

Kritika stayed silent.
Riddhima added gently,
"You’ll need time to get comfortable here—with him, with us. And I promise, we’ll give you that space. If you need anything, just let us know. For now, you can borrow some comfortable clothes from Palak. We’ll get a whole new wardrobe arranged for you soon."
Saying this, both women left the room.

Kritika murmured to herself,
"Even the women in this family are clever enough to sugarcoat things and trap me in sweetness. But I’m no naive little girl. Their façade won’t stop me from achieving what I came here for."

Palak later handed her a soft, comfortable kurta set. Kritika accepted it. She began to feel a slight comfort with Palak, simply because she had no one else to ask for anything.
Still, she felt caged in the house she had chosen for herself—but at least, it wasn’t as suffocating as the last one.

Atharv was passing by Palak’s room when she called out to him. He raised his eyebrow and said,
"Speak."
Kritika took a deep breath and said,
"I want to visit my home once."

Atharv responded strictly,
"That’s not possible right now. You’re not allowed to go there."
Kritika snapped back,
"Either you take me there, or I’ll go myself. I’m not asking you for permission."

Atharv’s voice was firm,
"I won’t go there—and neither will you. Get that clear."
Saying this, he stormed off, leaving Kritika visibly upset.

But she wasn’t done.

She silently followed him, hiding from everyone. Without his knowledge, she snuck into the backseat of his car while he was driving alone to the office.