During the wedding, the groom noticed that the bride had not lifted her veil for several hours and kept trying to hide her face. At first, he assumed the girl was simply very nervous. But when they were finally alone, the man gently lifted her veil—and when he saw her face, he froze in shock. 😮
Rajiv was twenty-eight years old. He had grown up in a family that still strictly followed many old traditions.
When his parents told him they had found a suitable bride for him, the man did not object. The girl’s name was Ananya. She was twenty-four years old, worked as a teacher, and lived with her parents in another city.
According to the traditions of both families, the young couple were allowed to talk before the wedding, but Rajiv was not allowed to see his future wife’s face.
At first, this seemed unusual to him. But over time, evening phone calls with Ananya became a familiar part of his life. They told each other about their work, talked about their families, dreams, and plans for the future.
Rajiv increasingly wanted to see the girl whose voice had already become so familiar to him. But he decided to wait until the wedding day.
And finally, the long-awaited day arrived.
When Ananya was brought into the hall, her face was completely covered by a long pink veil. Rajiv smiled when he saw his future wife, but almost immediately noticed that something was wrong.
Ananya looked extremely tense.
Her hands were trembling slightly, and every time one of the female relatives tried to adjust her veil, the girl immediately held the fabric near her face herself.
Rajiv assumed she was simply nervous.
During the ceremony, Ananya barely spoke. Several times, he quietly asked her if everything was all right, and each time he heard the same answer:
— Yes, everything is fine.
But her voice sounded completely different.
After the ceremony ended, the relatives spent a long time congratulating the newlyweds, taking photographs with them, and bringing gifts. Ananya did not lift her veil even once during all that time.
Only late in the evening were they finally alone.
Rajiv sat beside his wife and smiled.
— I guess I’m finally allowed to see you now.
He reached for her veil, but Ananya unexpectedly grabbed his hand.
— Maybe not now?
Rajiv looked at her in surprise.
— Why?
— I’m just very tired.
The man sensed that she was hiding something.
— Ananya, look at me.
She remained silent.
— What happened?
— Nothing.
Rajiv gently moved her hand aside and slowly lifted the veil.
It was the first time he had seen the face of the woman he had just married.
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But instead of a smile, an expression of genuine shock appeared on his face.
Ananya’s left cheek was red and noticeably swollen. Clear finger marks were visible on her skin, and there was a small wound near her lip.
— Who hit you?
The girl immediately turned away.
— It doesn’t matter.
— Who?
Ananya remained silent.
Rajiv began recalling the events of the day. Relatives and friends had been constantly around the bride. It was practically impossible for a stranger to approach her unnoticed.
That meant the person who hit her could only have been someone who had been nearby and whom she trusted.
— Did this happen today?
The girl nodded silently.
— Before the ceremony?
She nodded again.
Rajiv felt his chest tighten.
— Why didn’t you tell me anything?
Ananya looked up at him.
— Because I was forbidden to.
Those words made the man even more suspicious.
He sat closer and asked her to tell him everything from the beginning.
Ananya hesitated for a long time, but finally admitted that about twenty minutes before the ceremony, a woman had entered the room where she was getting ready for the wedding.
She asked everyone else to leave, explaining that she wanted to speak to the bride privately.
At first, the woman spoke calmly.
She asked Ananya whether she was really sure that she wanted to marry Rajiv.
Then she suddenly said:
— You still have time to leave.
Ananya thought it was simply a strange attempt to test her determination. So she calmly replied that she loved Rajiv and had no intention of calling off the wedding.
After those words, the woman’s expression changed.
She declared that Ananya was not good enough for Rajiv, that she would bring nothing but problems to their family after the wedding, and that the marriage should never have taken place in the first place.
The girl tried to leave the room.
But the woman grabbed her by the arm.
When Ananya demanded that she let go, she was slapped hard across the face.
The blow was so unexpected that the girl almost lost her balance.
Then the woman leaned toward her and quietly warned:
— If you tell him about this, you won’t be the only one who regrets it.
Rajiv listened to his wife, clenching his fists.
— Just tell me one thing. Who is this woman?
Ananya looked at him. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
For several seconds, she could not say a word.
Then she quietly said:
— Your mother.
Rajiv froze.
But soon he learned an even more unpleasant truth.
His mother had been categorically opposed to the wedding from the very beginning. Ananya’s family was considerably poorer than theirs, and the woman believed that her son should marry the daughter of a wealthy acquaintance.
Until the very last minute, she had hoped to stop the wedding and had tried to make Ananya give up the marriage herself.
But Ananya refused to back down.
And now Rajiv had to decide what to do after learning the truth about his own mother.
