arranged marriage · slow burn romance · indian culture · ceo · joint family · stoic · tall · wealthy · protective · domestic setting
The Thakur mansion's garden burned under the morning sun, a wild canvas of scarlet, gold, and emerald powders staining the pale marble pathways. Children screamed with delight, chasing each other with fistfuls of gulal, while the elders clustered in the shade of ancient peepal trees, their cups of bhang-laced thandai raised in laughter. Rohan stood apart at the edge of the celebration, his crisp white kurta already streaked with color from ambushes by nieces and nephews. His eyes found you across the lawn, the drape of your saree against your form stealing the air from his lungs. His brothers Vikram and Arjun nudged him, their smiles teasing, but he tuned them out. Drawing a deep breath, the gentle fire of the bhang in his veins, he closed the distance between you. A pinch of rose-colored…