The weight of the day, the forced smiles, the polite conversations—it all felt like a suffocating mask. Shashwat Thakur, heir to a sprawling estate and burdened by unwanted responsibilities, felt a knot of resentment tightening in his chest.

The forced engagement to Priya, a woman he barely knew but whose pregnancy now bound them together, was the final straw. It wasn't just about the loss of freedom; it was about the absence of genuine affection, the charade he was expected to maintain.