She Was Forced to Marry a Man in Chains… But Destiny Had a Secret Plan

Episode 2: The Truth Hidden in Ashes

Anaya stood frozen in the doorway.
The man in front of her—her supposed “husband”—was no longer the bruised stranger lying in a coffin.

He was tall. Intense. Still pale from his wounds.
But his eyes were sharp now. Piercing. And full of something Anaya couldn’t name—grief… or maybe guilt?

She finally found her voice.

“Who are you?”

He stepped closer. Slowly. Cautiously.

“My name is Veer.”
He paused.
“I was your father’s friend. His most trusted aide. But more importantly, I was the only one who witnessed what really happened the night your mother died.”

Anaya’s eyes widened.

“My mother died in a fire. That’s what they told me.”

Veer nodded solemnly.

“Yes. But that fire… was not an accident. It was planned.”

He looked down at his bandaged wrists.

“I was locked up for trying to expose the truth. Your stepmother, Kamini, made sure I disappeared before you were old enough to ask questions.”

Anaya felt like the floor had vanished under her.

Kamini.
The woman who had raised her.
Who called her “beti” with fake sweetness.
Who cooked her meals, braided her hair, and told her bedtime stories.
She had been hiding something all along?

“Why?” Anaya asked, voice shaking.
“Why would she kill my mother?”

Veer sat down, pain clear in his posture.

“Because your mother, Meera, came from an upper-caste political family in Jaipur. Your father married her against tradition. Kamini was your father’s cousin—and his business partner. She was supposed to inherit everything if Meera had no child. But when you were born, everything changed.”

Anaya’s hands gripped the edge of the doorframe.

“You mean… Kamini wanted me out of the picture too?”

Veer nodded.

“Yes. But your mother kept you safe. She was planning to leave with you… the night the fire was set.”

The room swirled around her.
Anaya stumbled back, trying to breathe.

Veer stood, worried.

“You’ve lived in a house of lies, Anaya. I know it’s a lot. But you need to be strong. Because they haven’t stopped. They’re watching everything. And you—”
He hesitated.
“You’re the heir to something Kamini doesn’t want you to have.”

Later that night, Anaya sat alone in a massive guest room—one that didn’t feel like hers.

She looked at the ring on her finger.
Cold. Heavy. Still smelling faintly of gunpowder.

Her mind raced with questions.

Where was Aarav now?

Why had Kamini used her own brother as bait?

Was the wedding even real… or just a cruel trap?

Suddenly, the man with the scar—the silent one—appeared at her door again.

He didn’t speak, just handed her a folded note and nodded once.

She opened it.

“If you want answers, meet me in the temple courtyard. Midnight. Come alone.”
—V

Her hands trembled.

But she stood up.

Because whatever this was…
It was bigger than her.

And something inside her—the part that had always obeyed, always feared, always stayed small—was beginning to burn

Episode 3: The Diary of Fire and Ash

At exactly 12:01 a.m., Anaya tiptoed through the long stone corridors of the mansion. The silence felt alive—watching her, breathing behind her back.

She didn’t tell anyone.
Not even the silent guard with the scar, who now felt more shadow than man.

She clutched the note tightly, its corners damp with sweat.
“Temple courtyard. Midnight. Come alone.”

The heavy doors creaked as she stepped into the courtyard.

There it was.

An ancient temple—right in the center of the property. Hidden behind vines, wrapped in time.

At the steps stood Veer, cloaked in a long shawl. This time, his expression was different—not wounded, but determined.

“You came.”

Anaya nodded, her eyes scanning the darkened surroundings.

“Why here?”

Veer didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled out a key—golden, ancient-looking, engraved with the symbol of a lotus wrapped in flames.

He bent down and removed a square tile near the deity’s feet.

Beneath it… was a lock.

He inserted the key.

Click.

The stone platform rumbled. Then opened.

A cold gust of air blew from below.

“This,” Veer said, “is where your mother left the truth.”

Anaya descended the spiral staircase, the torch in Veer’s hand casting shadows against the walls.

They reached a small underground chamber.

It was simple.
A stone cot. A mirror. A box wrapped in red silk.

Veer placed the box on the table and slowly unwrapped it.

Inside…
A journal.

The cover bore her mother’s name:
Meera Rathore-Singh.

Anaya’s hands trembled as she flipped the first page.

“To my daughter Anaya—if you are reading this, then I am gone. But my voice lives here. In ink. In pain. In hope.”

Tears blurred Anaya’s vision as she read line after line.

Meera had documented everything:

The secret marriage with Anaya’s father, a powerful Dalit businessman from Hyderabad, which had been scandalous for their caste-divided family.

Kamini’s obsession with inheritance and power.

The threats. The poisonings. The fire.

“They think if they burn the house, they burn the truth. But truth survives in daughters like you.”

Anaya clutched the journal to her chest.

Veer stepped forward.
“You weren’t just forced to marry me, Anaya. You were chosen. Your mother and father built this place as a refuge. A legacy. For you. For justice.”

She looked up, confused.

“But why me? Why chain you? Why make me go through that horror?”

Veer’s eyes darkened.

“Because your stepmother knew I was alive. And she knew—if I ever spoke to you—I’d remind you who you really are.”

He paused, then added:

“She didn’t want to kill me. She wanted to make me a ghost. A living warning. So you’d fear the truth.”

Anaya’s fists clenched.

And for the first time since that terrible day…
She didn’t cry.

When they returned to the surface, the first rays of morning had begun to stretch across the sky.

Anaya stood at the temple threshold, the journal in her arms.

She turned to Veer.

“I’m done being afraid.”

Veer’s expression softened.

“What will you do?”

She looked toward the east wing of the mansion, where Kamini likely still slept soundly.

“I’m going to make her answer for what she did. Not just to my mother. Not just to you. But to me. To Aarav. To every girl who’s ever been silenced.”

Veer nodded.
“Then it begins.”

Episode 4 will reveal:

What happened to Aarav.

Kamini’s dark alliance with a corrupt political family.

And how Anaya starts building her power — not just as a wife… but as a daughter of fire