The Ranawat Palace looked even grander bathed in the golden hush of early morning. Sunlight poured through the carved jaali windows, casting delicate patterns onto the marbled corridors and shimmering across the domes, as if the palace itself was rejoicing. For centuries it had witnessed grandeur, royalty, vows and partings — and today, it welcomed a new daughter into its folds.

Inside the vintage ivory Rolls Royce, Eraya Sharma, now Eraya Vidhart Singh Ranawat, sat clutching the edge of her dupatta, her nerves fluttering like trapped butterflies in her chest. The soft hum of the engine barely reached her ears over the sound of her heartbeat. Her hands, decorated in deep brown mehendi and wrapped in glass red bangles, rested on her lap. Each movement made the bangles chime — sweet, delicate sounds that reminded her: she belonged to someone now. She had crossed a threshold no woman ever crossed the same way again.