Chapter 1 : Tara
I watched my husband from across the room.
The glow of his laptop illuminated his face while the rest of the room sat in silence. His attention belonged to quarterly reports, business calls, and numbers on a screen.
Not me.
Funny, considering I was exactly what everyone expected me to be.
Digvijay Malhotra's beautiful wife.
His trophy wife.
The woman photographed beside him at charity galas and corporate events. The woman strangers envied and magazines loved.
If only they knew.
A dozen staff members worked in this house. We had chefs, decorators, housekeepers—people who could have arranged tonight in minutes.
But I hadn't let them.
Because this wasn't about dinner.
It was about us.
I had spent the afternoon in the kitchen despite the chef's protests. My hands still smelled faintly of spices and vanilla. The dining table downstairs was decorated with flowers I'd arranged myself. The candles had been placed one by one, exactly the way I used to do years ago.
Back when Digvijay wasn't Digvijay Malhotra, billionaire entrepreneur.
Back when he was just Di.
The boy who used to steal bites from my plate.
The boy who would spend hours talking to me about impossible dreams.
The boy who promised that no matter how successful he became, he'd always make time for me.
Sometimes I wondered if success had kept its promise.
Because he certainly hadn't.
"Di?" I called softly. "Are you done working, honey?"
For a moment, hope flickered inside me.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
"Not yet. You should sleep."
The words weren't cruel.
That was the worst part.
He wasn't mean.
He wasn't angry.
He simply didn't see me anymore.
My gaze drifted to the staircase leading downstairs, where a candlelit dinner waited untouched.
His favourite food.
His favourite dessert.
His favourite flowers.
His favourite perfume clung to my skin.
I had surrounded myself with every single thing he once loved.
