The Neglected Wife

"“You don’t get to miss a wife you never noticed.” For three years, Vertika was the ghost in Rishab Rathore’s gilded fortress."

She learned the silence of his ancestral mansion. She memorized his routines, pressed his suits, kept his dinners warm, and absorbed his mother’s daily cruelty with quiet endurance. She convinced herself that even in an arranged marriage built on a dying grandfather's wish, love could eventually take root if she gave enough of herself away. Then came their third wedding anniversary. Rishab didn't just break their dinner plans, he forgot the date entirely. And behind the carved teak doors of his executive study, Vertika hears the brutal, unvarnished truth: to the powerful billionaire, she is merely an inherited responsibility. An obligation he fulfills in bank transfers. A helpless dependent with nowhere else to go. That night, Vertika blows out the anniversary candles alone and makes a promise to herself: no more begging. She cuts her hair. She stops waiting by the window. She reclaims her architectural drafting tools and lands a multi-crore heritage restoration project entirely on her own merit. For the first time in thirty-six months, Rishab finally looks at his wife, only to realize the quiet woman who once adored him has stopped caring about his existence. Rishab thought she stayed because she had no choice. He never understood that she stayed because she loved him. Now, her side of the wardrobe is empty. The silence in the mansion is deafening. And the ruthless titan of Rajasthan is on his knees in a dark bedroom, clutching three years of unsent anniversary cards, realizing that the greatest achievement of his life was the woman he starved to death. He wants her back. But Vertika is done living in the shadows. If the powerful Rishab Rathore wants a second chance, a private apology behind closed doors won't save him, he’ll have to dismantle his own pride and bleed for her dignity in the broad light of day.