Arkana's question from last night still echoed in Nadira's mind.
“Are you jealous?”
Nadira had told herself countless times that the answer was no. She wasn't jealous. She was just annoyed.
At least, that was what she kept believing as she went downstairs to the dining room the next morning. Arkana was already there.
He was reading a report while enjoying his coffee. As soon as Nadira sat down, Arkana glanced at her. “Did you sleep well?”
“Very well.”
“Good.”
There was no mention of Laras. Nadira had no intention of bringing her up, either.
She was about to reach for some bread when she fell silent as Arkana pushed a plate toward her.
“Here.”
Nadira looked at the plate. “Is this for me?”
“You don't like eating a heavy breakfast.”
Nadira stared at him for a few seconds. “You remembered?”
“I remember a lot of things about you.”
Nadira's heart beat a little faster. Before she could respond, the sound of a car came from the driveway.
Arkana turned toward the window. “Grandpa.”
Nadira immediately fell silent.
A few minutes later, Arkana's grandfather entered with a middle-aged woman. Nadira recognized her at once. Arkana's aunt.
The woman who had given her a strange look on the night of their wedding.
“Good morning,” Nadira greeted them.
Arkana's grandfather smiled. “Good morning, Nadira.”
His daughter merely nodded. “Morning.”
They sat down at the dining table.
At first, everything proceeded normally. Arkana's grandfather asked about Nadira's job.
“Still enjoying your work at Astra?”
“I am, Grandpa.”
“Is Arkana giving you too much trouble?”
Nadira glanced at Arkana. “Sometimes.”
His grandfather laughed. “Good. That means the two of you are starting to act like a real couple.”
Nadira gave an awkward smile, until his daughter set her cup down a little too hard.
“I think we should discuss something important instead.”
The mood changed instantly.
Arkana looked at his aunt. “What do you mean?”
“The board meeting next week.”
“I know.”
“Some shareholders have started questioning your decisions.”
Arkana remained calm. “I can handle it.”
“Can you handle every problem on your own?”
Her tone was laced with sarcasm.
Nadira lowered her head, choosing to remain silent.
Arkana's grandfather sighed. “That's enough.”
His daughter looked at her father. “You always defend Arkana.”
“Because he's the heir I've chosen.”
“He's still too young.”
Arkana set down his cup. “If you have a problem with Grandpa's decision, take it up with him directly. Don't use my wife as an excuse to attack me.”
Nadira was startled.
His aunt looked at Nadira. “I'm not attacking anyone.”
“Then don't look at her like that.”
The tension grew until Nadira finally spoke. “It's okay.”
Arkana turned to her.
Nadira gave him a faint smile. “I'm fine.”
His aunt simply smiled. “At least you know how to make Arkana defend you.”
Nadira frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
The woman stood. “I have somewhere to be. I'll leave first.” She walked out of the dining room.
Nadira looked at Arkana. “Does she really dislike me?”
Arkana said nothing.
“Arkana.”
“She isn't used to change.”
“What change?”
“A lot of things.”
His answer only made Nadira more curious. “Including our marriage?”
Arkana didn't answer immediately.
His grandfather interrupted. “Not everyone in this family is happy to see Arkana married.”
Nadira looked at the older man. “Why?”
Arkana's grandfather gave a faint smile. “Because marriage can change a lot of things.”
Before Nadira could ask anything else, Arkana stood.
“Grandpa, I have to go.”
His grandfather nodded.
Arkana touched Nadira's shoulder. “Come on.”
Nadira followed him outside.
As soon as they were inside the car, Nadira asked, “Why is your family like that?”
Arkana started the engine. “Like what?”
“Like there's some old problem that was never resolved.”
Arkana was silent.
Nadira looked at him. “Does your aunt dislike me because I'm your wife?”
“That's not the only reason.”
Nadira waited.
Arkana finally said, “Keep your distance from my aunt for now.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't want you getting involved in family matters.”
Nadira frowned. “If I've already become part of this family, how am I supposed to stay out of it?”
Arkana didn't answer. The car began moving away from the house. Nadira stared out the window.
Arkana was hiding something. She could feel it.
Nadira was beginning to realize that the Pradipta family wasn't merely a wealthy family dealing with a minor disagreement. There was something deeper.
Something that made Arkana's grandfather so cautious.
Something that made his aunt look at Nadira as if her presence threatened something.
At the same time, a black car left the Pradipta residence in the opposite direction. Arkana's aunt sat in the back seat.
She hadn't said a word since leaving the house. Her hand gripped an old photograph.
A photograph of a young man. His face was indistinct, blurred by the photograph's age.
The woman stared at it for a long time. Her finger slowly touched the man's face in the picture.
“After all these years…” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Why did his son have to marry Arkana?”
The driver in front remained silent.
The woman looked at the photograph again. Her gaze turned cold. She remembered Nadira's face when she first entered the Pradipta family home.
There had been something in that woman's eyes that brought old memories rushing back. Something she had spent years trying to bury.
“If Arkana finds out everything…” She cut herself off. Her hand crumpled the photograph. “This marriage cannot last.”
The car continued speeding away from Arkana's residence.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Nadira still had no idea that from the very first day of her marriage, she had already found herself in the middle of an old secret belonging to the Pradipta family.
And the photograph that woman had just clutched held a piece of her father's past.
A past that would one day change the way Nadira viewed her marriage to Arkana.