Page 19 of Twisted Alliance

Oh God, it can’t come out!

Sucking in a deep breath, she went to the room where her brother was waiting for her.

“What took you so long?” he asked with a frown.

“I was checking on Ma.”

Devraj continued to frown. “Ma will be fine. I will take care of her.”

Although Devraj was Ishani’s half-brother, and her mother wasn’t his biological parent, Ishani knew her brother would take care of the woman who brought him to the Gujjar clan when the rest of the clan members wanted to abandon the illegitimate child.

“Get your things ready, Ishani. We are leaving for the Thakvar mansion.”

Ishani shook her head. “Please. Let me be here and you go and explain to Mihir Thakvar.”

Her brother didn’t agree. “No. It has to be according to tradition. We have to go to the Thakvars three nights after the wedding.”

But there is no groom! The groom is dead!

Ishani wanted to shout those words, but she held back.

Ishani had no idea what Devraj had done to her husband. And now, she was expected to go to the Thakvar mansion as the newlywed bride.

Oh God.

Mihir Thakvar was known to be a peace-loving philanthropist. But what would the older man do if he found out his supposed son went missing on his wedding night, and the son’s bride played a part in it?

***

The sun was just beginning to set, and the sounds of conch shells and drums filled the air.

Ishani’s hands trembled as she sat inside the palanquin that was led by a group of men from her clan. A dozen camels carrying several bags of wedding gifts followed behind.

They were at the gates of the Thakvar mansion.

The mansion, which was more of a palace, was much bigger than her family home—nearly four times as big. She had read about its history in detail. Under normal circumstances, she would have been looking forward to visiting the place. But now, she trembled in fear.

The gates opened, and the palanquin was taken inside and carefully lowered in front of a huge water fountain. Taking a deep breath, Ishani got down using the silver step ladder.

Her brother stood next to her. “Remember what we discussed,” he told her softly so only she could hear. She knew Devraj must be smiling, making it seem like an affectionate moment between the siblings.

She nodded in acknowledgment.

She followed her brother a short distance at the bottom of the wide, marble steps where a group of people stood to receive the newlywed bride.

A tall man with visibly graying hair stepped forward with a smile.

For the first time, she was grateful that her face was covered with a thin veil as she didn’t think she could face Mihir Thakvar and lie to him about his son. She respected the older man immensely. Although she hadn’t met him before, she had heard a lot about him. He was a noted philanthropist who propagated girl-child education and built many schools and hospitals around the Singoor lands that were used not only by the Thakvar clan but also the other clans.

“Welcome, my child,” Mihir Thakvar greeted warmly.

Ishani bent forward, touched the older man’s feet as required by custom, and then stood up.

Her brother began to speak.

“Mr. Thakvar. I regret to announce that your son Shivay left my sister after the wedding night.”

The older man frowned and nodded. “Yes, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think Shivay would do that. My son didn’t grow up here, so he is not completely aware of our customs.”

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