Rohan entered the bedroom as the evening light faded through the thin curtains, the air already thick with the expectation he had built over the past weeks. Priya sat on the edge of the bed in the simple cotton nightgown he preferred for these sessions, her hands folded in her lap, eyes lowered. She knew what was coming. Every evening now followed the same pattern, and the weight of that knowledge settled in her chest like a stone.

He closed the door behind him and locked it with a soft click. The sound alone made her shoulders tense. Rohan walked over without hurry, his gaze fixed on her as if she were already his property to arrange as he wished. He reached out and took her chin between his fingers, tilting her face up so she had to meet his eyes.