~: MANAV'S POV :~

The next day, the house buzzed with the usual pattern of chores and familial banter, the sun casting a warm embrace over the courtyard. The scent of freshly cooked food wafted through the corridors, mingling with the faint scent of wet earth from the recent monsoon shower. Roop, now the object of my burning obsession, moved with the grace of a gazelle, her every step a silent promise of untouched innocence. As the afternoon grew languid, the heat of the day clung to the air, making every movement feel like a dance through honey. The door to the bathroom creaked open, and there she was—my sister-in-law, drenched in water, her clothes sticking to her body like a second skin.