“Necessary,” Yagini corrects. “You passed the test.”
“Test?”
“To see if you’d cry, run, or talk your way through it.”
I blink again. “And?”
She grins. “You talked. So you’re definitely perfect for my brother.”
Heat creeps up my neck. “Oh, please.”
“No, really,” she says, laughing. “He’s the serious one. You’ll keep him human.”
Rajmata nods, a small approving smile tugging at her mouth. “You have a good heart. I can tell.”
I can feel my chest tighten—not from fear this time, but something warm, almost like relief.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
Just then, the door opens behind me.
I don’t even have to look to know who it is.
That steady presence, that quiet confidence that fills a room before he even speaks—it’s him.
“Am I interrupting?” Dhruv’s voice is calm, low, and somehow… amused.
Rajmata smiles faintly. “Perfect timing. We were just evaluating your bride.”
He raises a brow, walking in. “Evaluating? Should I be worried?”
“Only a little,” Yagini chirps.
Dhruv’s gaze slides to me, eyes glinting with something soft. “And how did she do?”
Yagini smirks. “She survived.”
Dhruv chuckles. “That’s impressive. Not everyone survives Ma’s first interrogation.”
Rajmata sighs. “You make me sound like a villain.”
“Only slightly,” he says, leaning down to touch her feet. She blesses him, brushing his hair affectionately, and then he straightens to look at me.
I wish he wouldn’t.
Because the way he’s looking at me right now—like I’m the calm after his storm, like I’m something fragile and steady all at once—makes my stomach twist in ways I don’t understand.
“You look beautiful, Sitara,” he says quietly.
I blink. My mouth opens before my brain catches up. “I know.”
He laughs—a low, warm sound that melts into the air. “As you should.”
Yagini gasps dramatically. “Did you just flirt? In front of us?”
Dhruv gives her a mock glare. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be, Rajkumari-ji?”
She grins. “Nope. This is way more fun.”
