Maria noticed her at the door. “Ma’am? Why did you come here? You could have called me. Do you need something?”
Mishti gave a polite smile. “Is there a puja room in this house? I need to pray. It’s been my morning ritual.”
Maria immediately tensed. “Yes, there is one, Ma’am. But, I’ll speak to Sir before you can access it.”
Mishti was surprised that she would need to ask her husband for even that. But she didn’t argue with Maria. The poor woman had already seen a lot happening between the newly married couple since last night. Mishti walked back to the living room,hoping to talk to Karan herself, when her gaze fell on the small coffee table near the sofa with a file on it. In a room that looked like something out of a design magazine, where every object was perfectly placed, not a speck of dust in sight, this file felt out of place.
She quickly picked it up and opened the first page, only to read the same name again.
Kanika.
She turned to Maria, who had followed her out.
“Who is Kanika?”
Colour drained from Maria’s face.
“Ma’am, I’ll bring breakfast for you,” she murmured.
Mishti frowned as her confusion turned into frustration.
“Maria, what’s going on here? Why does everyone look so nervous all the time? I just asked a simple question. Who is Kanika?”
Before Maria could stammer out another excuse, a confident feminine voice rang out behind them.
“That’s me.”
Both women turned.
A young woman stood by the doorway, dressed in a tailored beige pantsuit. A leather folder rested under one arm as she walked closer. Her lipstick was flawless, her perfume expensive, and confidence oozed out from the way she smiled.
She looked like the kind of woman who belonged in Karan Wadhwa’s world.
“Hi,” she said brightly, extending a hand toward Mishti. “I’m Kanika Mathur.”
Mishti hesitated. There was something in the woman’s tone that made her skin prickle. She didn’t take the handshake.
Instead, she asked, “You and… Karan?”
“We’re partners,” she said, pausing just long enough to create doubt before adding smoothly, “business partners.”
Mishti blinked.
But Kanika wasn’t looking at her anymore. Her eyes had shifted to the stairs, and when Mishti followed her gaze, she saw Karan coming down.
Dressed in a charcoal three-piece suit, he adjusted his cufflinks as he descended.
His eyes met Mishti’s for a brief moment before shifting to Kanika.
Mishti waited for him to say something to her.Anything.
Instead, he walked straight to Kanika.
To her shock, he even greeted that woman with a brief hug, but it was far too familiar to bejust business.The sight burned into Mishti’s mind.
When he finally pulled away, he turned to Maria, still not sparing Mishti a glance. “Get your Ma’am ready by this evening. We’re attending the wedding reception at her brother’s house.”
Maria nodded quickly.
