Prologue
1060 Words
The sacred fire crackled softly, its golden flames rising and falling as if breathing life into the moment.
The mandap was adorned with marigolds and roses, their fragrance filling the air. Soft music echoed in the background, wrapping the entire venue in a dreamlike aura. Everything was perfect—exactly how it was meant to be.
Except…
The bride wasn’t there.
He sat at the center of it all, dressed as a groom, looking like a man straight out of a promise. His ivory sherwani shimmered under the lights. But nothing shone brighter than the quiet happiness on his face.
His eyes were fixed on the entrance.
Waiting.
Always waiting.
Every second that passed only deepened the curve of his smile, because in his heart, there was no doubt—
She would come.
After all, this wasn’t just a wedding.
This was ten years of love.
Ten years of knowing each other’s silences. Ten years of stolen glances, late-night calls, whispered dreams, broken fights, and healing apologies. Ten years of choosing each other… again and again.
She had promised him.
“No matter what happens, I’ll be there… with you.”
And she never broke her promises.
Never.
Minutes slipped by.
Then more.
The priest cleared his throat awkwardly, glancing at the entrance every few moments. The music faltered, then resumed, then faltered again. Guests began exchanging uncertain looks.
Something wasn’t right.
But he didn’t notice.
Or maybe… he chose not to.
His fingers absentmindedly played with the ring in his hand—the ring he had chosen after weeks of searching, the one he had imagined sliding onto her finger a thousand times.
He could already picture it.
Her walking towards him… her eyes lowering shyly… her lips trembling into that small smile she only gave him…
His chest tightened with emotion.
Just a little more.
Just a little longer.
Then—
A whisper.
Soft at first.
Almost unnoticeable.
“Did you hear…?”
Another voice joined.
“They’re saying the bride—”
”—ran away.”
The words spread like wildfire.
From one corner to another.
From hushed tones… to undeniable murmurs.
“She left.”
“She’s not coming.”
“She ran away.”
The world seemed to pause.
But he didn’t react.
He couldn’t.
Because his mind refused to process it.
No.
This was wrong.
This was absurd.
This was impossible.
A faint, almost disbelieving smile touched his lips as he shook his head slightly.
They don’t know her.
They don’t know us.
She loved him.
Not in a fragile, fleeting way—but in a way that had survived years, distance, misunderstandings, and storms. He had seen her fight for them when everything else tried to pull them apart.
She couldn’t leave.
Not like this.
Not today.
Not him.
The whispers grew louder.
The tension thickened.
And slowly…
His smile faded.
The silence inside him became deafening.
He stood up.
The movement was sudden enough to draw everyone’s attention. Conversations stopped. Eyes followed him. But he didn’t care.
He stepped down from the mandap.
Each step heavier than the last.
Each breath sharper.
His heartbeat echoed loudly in his ears as if warning him—
Something is wrong.
But still…
He walked.
Through the crowd.
Through the stares.
Through the doubt.
Until he reached the corridor leading to the bride’s room.
The world behind him blurred.
The music faded.
All that remained was the sound of his own footsteps.
And his breaking certainty.
The door to her room was slightly open.
He paused.
For the first time since the whispers began… fear crept into his chest.
Real.
Cold.
Unforgiving.
His hand slowly pushed the door open.
And what he saw inside…
Shattered something within him.
Her parents sat on the floor, broken beyond recognition.
Her mother’s sobs filled the room, raw and uncontrollable, while her father stared blankly ahead, as if the weight of reality had crushed him completely.
The moment they saw him—
Guilt.
Pain.
Helplessness.
All of it flooded their faces.
“I… I’m so sorry…” her father’s voice cracked, barely audible.
Her mother folded her hands, tears streaming endlessly. “Forgive us… please forgive us…”
But he didn’t respond.
He couldn’t.
Because their words didn’t matter.
Nothing mattered.
Except one thing—
Where was she?
His eyes moved slowly around the room.
Searching.
Hoping.
Begging.
For a sign.
For an answer.
For her.
And then—
He saw it.
On the bed…
Lay her bridal veil.
Untouched.
Abandoned.
As if she had vanished in the middle of becoming his.
Beside it…
A photograph.
Their photograph.
He walked towards it like a man being pulled by something invisible.
His hands trembled as he picked it up.
It was them.
From years ago.
Laughing.
Carefree.
In love.
The kind of love people envied.
The kind of love that wasn’t supposed to break.
His thumb brushed over her face in the picture.
His breathing grew uneven.
“This… doesn’t make sense…” he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.
“She wouldn’t do this…”
“She wouldn’t leave me…”
But the room remained silent.
Cruel.
Unanswering.
No explanation.
No letter.
No goodbye.
Just…
Absence.
A hollow emptiness that screamed louder than any truth.
His grip tightened around the photograph.
His eyes slowly lifted, scanning the room one last time—as if expecting her to appear, to laugh and say it was all a mistake.
But she didn’t come.
She never came.
And in that moment…
Something inside him broke.
Not loudly.
Not visibly.
But deeply.
Irreversibly.
Ten years of love…
Reduced to a veil on a bed.
And a memory in his hands.
He walked out of the room without another word.
Without looking back.
Without knowing—
Was she gone?
Or was she taken?
Did she leave him?
Or was she forced to?
Was their love a lie?
Or was it stolen?
The fire at the mandap still burned.
But now…
It felt like it was burning him instead.
And somewhere, far away…
A truth waited to be uncovered.
A truth that would either bring her back to him—
Or destroy whatever was left of him.
Because this wasn’t just the end of a wedding.
This was the beginning of a story filled with love, betrayal… and a darkness no one saw coming.
- Writer
