The sprawling Rathore mansion had grown unusually quiet. Following the departure of Advay, Adrijay, and Meera, and with Anika and Ishanth wrapped up in college admissions work, the estate felt half-empty. Rukmini had departed for the ancestral village, accompanied quietly by Srishti and Vidyut, leaving behind a sudden vacuum of matriarchal authority.

In the vast, silent kitchen, Shivanya stood over the stove, her fingers moving rhythmically as she stirred the evening meal. Her mind, however, was miles away, drifting back to the impossible conversation she’d had with Abhimaan about studying. The thought of college, of books, of a world outside these suffocating walls, warred constantly with the terror of his unpredictable moods.