The New Morning and an Unexpected Threat

The morning after was a world away from the cold reality of their arranged life. Anika woke in the massive bed, the sun streaming through the windows, casting a warm glow on the opulence she now called home. But the room no longer felt cold and intimidating; it felt... different. She turned, her heart doing a little flip-flop in her chest, to find Vikram still asleep beside her, his face serene in the soft morning light. The perfect, unreadable mask he wore every day was gone, replaced by a vulnerability that took her breath away. He was not a general or a CEO in that moment; he was simply a man. A man who had kissed her, a man whose guarded heart had just given her a glimpse of its secrets.