The haldi ceremony was scheduled for the evening—perfectly placed between last night’s sangeet and tomorrow’s wedding, the most important day of all. The mansion had been awake since morning, humming with chaos. The air smelled of flowers, turmeric, and nervous anticipation. Servants rushed from one corner to another, relatives shouted instructions, laughter mixed with stress, and beneath it all lay an unspoken urgency: tomorrow changes everything.

It was almost 5 p.m.