The Malhotra wedding was over. The lights came down, the marigold garlands wilted, and the farmhouse that had pulsed with laughter for days now stood quiet.

For Aarav, the silence was unsettling. His elder brother had left with his bride, and though the family was still buzzing with post wedding chatter, he found himself oddly restless. The past few days replayed in his head like film scenes the clamor of the varmala, the dance floor chaos, and a certain girl in a pastel peach lehenga whose laughter had slipped under his skin.