Vows Of Replacement

Yukdha, with tears streaming down her face, whispered to Iraa, "Rithvik is marrying someone else tonight."

Iraa looked at her in shock and asked, "What do you mean, Yukdha?"

Yukdha's voice trembled with desperation as she replied, "He is being forced to marry, but he loves only me, Iraa. He belongs only to me."

Determined, Yukdha grabbed Iraa and rushed toward the wedding venue. The place was heavily guarded, so they had to sneak in from the back. In the chaos, Yukdha sustained some injuries while climbing the wall, but she paid no attention to the pain. All that mattered was her love, Rithvik.

Reaching the bride's room, Yukdha acted quickly. She made the bride drink juice laced with sleeping pills and then, without hesitation, dressed herself as the bride. Moments later, other women arrived and guided Yukdha to the mandap. Sitting on mandap, she whispered to herself, "You are mine, Rithvik."

Suddenly, she felt a hand touch her waist and heard a familiar voice say, "Little one." Her eyes widened in shock-this wasn't Rithvik's voice.

She turned to see Rithvik beside his bride, performing the wedding rituals happily. Panic surged through her as the hand on her waist tightened, and the voice whispered again, "Little one."

It was then she realized-it wasn't Rithvik at all. It was Ariyan.

Before she could react, she saw Iraa standing nearby, and someone pressed a knife against her neck.

It felt like the walls of the mandap were closing in, the chanting priest's voice fading into nothing but a dull hum.

I turned my head slightly, veil shifting, and looked at the man beside me.

My tears spilled freely, blurring my vision, but even through the haze I saw the truth in his eyes-the dark certainty, the dangerous calm.

The hand on my waist tightened again, dragging me closer. His lips bent toward my ear, his whisper a brand searing into my skin.

"Don't even think of running, little one... or your precious Iraa bleeds