The following day arrived with an uneasy silence. The air was thick with uncertainty, the kind that settled deep in the skin and refused to leave.

Arshiya sat in her office, the leather chair cold against her skin as she stared at the desk before her. Papers were scattered, some detailing strategies, others filled with notes on political alliances that she asked someone to bring from Aakshat's office. But none of them held the answer she sought.