The next morning, sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains of the Malhotra house. Meera woke early, as a new bahu was expected to. Rohan was still asleep beside her, one arm thrown across the pillow. She slipped out of bed quietly, her thin nighty clinging to her body from the night’s heat. Between her thighs she was still slightly sticky from the wetness that had not fully dried after Vikram’s stare the night before.

She went to the bathroom, washed her face, and changed into a simple cotton saree—soft peach with a thin golden border. The blouse was tight, the neckline modest but still showing the upper curve of her heavy breasts. She draped the pallu carefully over one shoulder, leaving the other bare. When she looked in the mirror, she saw a young wife who looked proper… and yet her nipples were already stiff against the blouse.