In Her Eyes

|SAMPLE Chapters| Prequel of Mr. Chief Minister

They say marriage is just a word, but only those who live it know the weight it carries. Naintara felt that weight the day her father whispered his quiet advice before her wedding, words that stayed with her like invisible chains.
Now, wrapped in her bridal veil, she waited for the man whose name had become her destiny, Shekhar Raichand. She had only seen him once in a newspaper photograph: calm eyes, cold posture. Tonight she would meet him not as a stranger, but as a wife.

Her friends' teasing still echoed in her ears; promises of a beautiful first night had made her blush. And after Sonarika and Vikram's wife whispered their own hints, her heart had raced even more. She had dreamed of slow, tender love, of a voice that would call her name softly. After years of loneliness following her mother's death, she finally hoped for a family, just as her Bauji had said.

Shekhar's few words during their rare conversations had already carved a place for him in her heart. There was no fear left in her now; only anticipation to finally see him.

Her pulse quickened as footsteps neared. She lifted her veil, then quickly lowered it again, cheeks burning.
The door opened.
For a single heartbeat, she imagined warmth, tenderness... everything she'd been told.
What came instead was nothing like the stories.
A sharp, furious voice sliced through the silence.
"What are you doing in my room?"

She flinched. Before she could speak, Shekhar seized her wrist, his grip cold and punishing.
"Wh-what have I done, ji?" she trembled. Just minutes ago downstairs, everything seemed fine. What changed?
He gave no answer.
He pulled her off the bed, pushed her toward the door, his movements mechanical like she had committed a crime she didn't understand.
And then, with a finality that shattered her heart, he said,
"There's no place for you in my life or my room. You're only Jagdish Raichand's daughter-in-law... not my wife."

The door slammed shut.