Niharika - The Game of Lies

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧!

✧.* 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 ✧.*

"Marry me instead."

Three words. Simple, logical, even reassuring. But when they came from a stranger, Vyansh Raichand, they sounded like a lifeline. My no-show groom had left me stranded at the altar, humiliated in front of everyone.

Saying no wasn't an option.

With two broken engagements already haunting me and whispers of disgrace growing louder, I made a decision that changed my life.

I married him.

We made a deal-no expectations, no interference, no questions about each other's lives. A transactional arrangement, bound by silence.

It should have been easy.
It should have been safe.

But nothing about Vyansh was safe.

The cracks in his perfect exterior appeared quickly. Beneath his calm, composed demeanor lay something else-something dark, something that made the hairs on my neck stand on end.

He warned me not to dig into his past. He warned me to leave the whispers about his late wife alone.

I didn't listen.

The more I uncovered, the more I saw her everywhere. In the choices she made. In the shadow she left behind. In me.

The reflection wasn't mine-it was hers.
Her life.
Her fears.
Her end.

And then I heard the rumor, the one that made my blood run cold: Vyansh killed his first wife.

I told myself it couldn't be true. But if it wasn't, why did I feel like I was following the same path?

I thought I was uncovering his secrets. I thought I was in control. But the more I learned, the more I realized the truth: I was never in control. I was a pawn in his game.
His rules.
His lies.
His trap.

Some marriages are built on love. Ours was built on secrets.

Now I know the truth: Vyans