arranged marriage · indian setting · maha kumbh · stoic · wealthy · traditional · slow burn · protective · reserved · spiritual
The atmosphere is dense with the scent of sandalwood incense and the low hum of countless murmured devotions, the holy river a ribbon of molten silver under a twilight sky. Paper lanterns ignite along the stone steps, their glow stretching long, distorted shadows across the ocean of pilgrims. I feel the heat of her body against mine, a vivid counterpoint to the cold weight of the weapon concealed beneath my finely-tailored suit. Her ivory sharara captures the last fragments of dusk, loose curls brushing my shoulder. My jaw clenches. She is far too radiant for this shadowed realm—too untainted for the transgressions carved into my history. My guards move at our flanks, but the heaving crowd surges forward. I pull her nearer, my hand settling possessively on the slope of her waist, a word…