"Sometimes the truth doesn't arrive as a confession. Sometimes it appears quietly, in two letters written on someone's hand, and suddenly the heart has nowhere left to hide."

The morning of the Mehendi ceremony arrived with an entirely different kind of excitement at Malhotra Mansion. The courtyard had been transformed into a beautiful celebration of green, yellow and gold, with jasmine strings hanging from the balconies and colourful cushions arranged beneath a decorated canopy. Music played softly in the background while the women of the family moved around carrying jewellery boxes, flowers and trays of sweets. Clara and Sofia had once again taken complete control of Amaira's preparation, while Ariv had been assigned the extremely difficult task of staying away from Sofia for at least ten minutes. He failed within three. Devansh watched all of it from the balcony above, dressed in a deep emerald kurta, pretending to be interested in a phone call. But his eyes kept finding only one person.