Arunika glanced at the screen, the phone buzzing insistently in her hand. The name flashing across it made her brows knit for the briefest second. Her jaw tightened, the faintest muscle twitching near her temple. Without a word, she declined the call and slipped the device into her clutch, her composure settling back into place. There were bigger things at hand tonight than voices that didn’t belong within these walls.

Her eyes swept through the corridor — chandeliers spilling golden light across the marble, silk sarees rustling like whispers — until they landed on a familiar figure standing at the far end.