Author's POV
The first morning in the Rathore Mansion arrived with golden rays slipping through the grand French windows.
The mansion slowly came to life.
Servants moved around with trays of tea and breakfast.
Some prepared fresh flowers.
Some laid out the dining table that could easily seat twenty people.
For the Rathores...
Breakfast was a family tradition.
No matter how busy anyone was, everyone gathered at the dining table every morning.
Today...
It would be Akshara's first breakfast with them.
Akshara's POV
Akshara stood in front of the mirror.
She was dressed in a simple white kurta and black palazzo pants.
Her hair was tied into a neat low bun.
No makeup.
No jewellery.
Just a black wristwatch.
She picked up the framed photograph of her late father from her suitcase.
For a few moments...
She silently looked at it.
"I hope you'rex happy wherever you are."
A faint smile crossed her lips before disappearing.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
"Come in."
Meera entered with a warm smile.
"You look beautiful."
Akshara smiled faintly.
"You're biased, Mom."
Meera laughed.
"I am."
She walked closer.
"Everyone is waiting downstairs."
Akshara nodded.
"I'm coming."
As they walked together, Meera gently held her hand.
Akshara looked at their joined hands.
She didn't pull away.
Author's POV
The entire Rathore family was already seated.
Raghvendra and Geetanjali sat at the head of the table.
Vikram sat beside Meera's empty chair.
Aaditya and Karishma were discussing work.
Aryan was reading the morning newspaper.
Veer checked business reports on his tablet.
Kabir answered a phone call.
Dev lazily stirred his coffee.
Aarav scrolled through his laptop.
Nitya sat between the brothers, laughing loudly just to grab everyone's attention.
The moment Meera and Akshara entered...
The conversations stopped.
Every pair of eyes turned towards them.
Geetanjali smiled lovingly.
"Come, beta."
Akshara politely nodded.
"Good morning."
Everyone wished her back except the five brothers.
Akshara didn't mind.
She quietly sat beside her mother.
Breakfast was served.
A servant placed different dishes in front of everyone.
Stuffed parathas.
Poha.
Fresh fruits.
Juices.
Tea.
Coffee.
Akshara looked at her plate.
She quietly picked some fruits and plain toast.
Nothing else.
Geetanjali noticed.
"Beta, why are you eating so little?"
Akshara smiled politely.
"I'm not very hungry."
Before Geetanjali could insist...
Dev chuckled.
"Dieting kar rahi hongi."
Translation: She must be dieting.
Nitya giggled.
"Ya phir rich log sirf fruits hi khate hain."
Translation: Or maybe rich people only eat fruits.
A few servants lowered their heads awkwardly.
Akshara continued eating as if she hadn't heard anything.
That irritated Nitya even more.
Vikram watched everything silently.
He noticed something others didn't.
Akshara wasn't ignoring them out of arrogance.
She simply didn't react.
Whether someone praised her...
Or insulted her...
Her expression barely changed.
He looked at her untouched breakfast.
She had eaten only two pieces of fruit.
Nothing more.
"Akshara."
She looked up.
"Do you not like the food?"
She shook her head.
"No, Mr. Rathore."
"It's good."
"Then why aren't you eating?"
There was a brief silence.
"I usually eat light in the morning."
Vikram nodded slowly.
He didn't force her.
But somewhere deep inside...
He made a mental note to ask Meera about Akshara's eating habits.
If she was living under his roof...
He wanted to make sure she was healthy
The silence was broken by Nitya.
She looked at Akshara with a fake smile.
"Waise Akshara, tum karti kya ho?"
Translation: By the way, Akshara, what do you do?
Everyone looked at her.
Meera's fingers tightened around her spoon.
Akshara calmly drank a sip of water before answering.
"I work."
Nitya smiled sarcastically.
"Kahan?"
Translation: Where?
Akshara looked at her for a second.
"A private company."
It wasn't a lie.
Nor was it the complete truth.
Aryan looked up from his newspaper for the first time.
He studied Akshara carefully.
She answered every question politely...
Yet never revealed more than she wanted.
There was something unusual about her.
But before he could think further...
His phone rang.
He stood up.
"I have a meeting."
One by one, the brothers left the dining hall.
Nitya followed them.
The table became quieter.
Geetanjali sighed.
"They'll understand one day."
Akshara looked at the elderly woman and gave a small smile.
"I'm not waiting for that day, Dadi."
The word slipped out naturally.
For a moment...
Time seemed to stop.
Geetanjali's eyes filled with tears.
It was the first time Akshara had addressed someone in the family with affection.
She gently held Akshara's hand.
"I'll wait for the day you call this house your home."
Akshara didn't reply.
She simply looked away.
Because she wasn't sure...
If she would ever be able to call any place home again.
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