The tenth night the air inside the haveli felt heavier than ever, thick with the scent of sex that still lingered from the night before. Priya had barely slept. She had lain beside Rohan in the open-door bedroom, thighs sticky, both holes aching, the thick load Vikram had left inside her slowly leaking onto the sheet between them. Rohan had not touched her. He had not spoken. He had simply lain on his side facing the wall, breathing unevenly, the memory of what he had seen clearly replaying behind his closed eyes.

By morning the tension in the house was sharp enough to taste. Rohan left for the office earlier than usual, face pale, eyes avoiding hers. Priya moved through the day in a daze of residual arousal and dread. Every time she sat she felt the lingering soreness. Every time she walked she felt the faint stickiness that no amount of washing seemed to fully remove.