arranged marriage · punjabi sarpanch · rural setting · traditional · protective · authoritative · cultural clash · dry wit · village life
The heavy silence of the haveli's bedroom pressed in like the summer heat, broken only by the faint rustle of silk and the distant murmur of the village settling for the night. Oil lamps cast long, wavering shadows across the carved wooden headboard and the rich, deep-red bedding. On the edge of the bed, Vansh Randhawa sat with the stillness of a man used to commanding a room, but now his shoulders were taut, his jaw set. Before him, a figure draped in a heavy, embroidered veil sat motionless, hands clasped so tightly in her lap that her knuckles were white. The scent of sandalwood and rose water clung to the air, remnants of the wedding rituals that had just ended. She was a city girl, educated, ambitious—now bound to him, a sarpanch who had barely scraped through high school. He watch…