introduction part 1

🕯️ Scene: “The Dinner Table Isn’t Just a Table”

Setting: Malhotra Mansion, Lucknow – 8:15 PM

Weather: Slight drizzle outside; warm lighting inside

POV: Aarav Malhotra (Age 30)

There’s something sacred—and slightly suffocating—about the dining table in the Malhotra mansion.

It’s not just a piece of carved mahogany. It’s a stage. A courtroom. A shrine.

And tonight, like every other night, it’s also a quiet battlefield.

I slide into my usual seat at the far end, half-heartedly loosening my tie. My phone buzzes with unread messages—three directors, two models, and one influencer crisis waiting to explode. But right now, none of that matters.

This is family time.

Across from me, the general sits like he’s about to debrief us after a mission.

Rajendra Malhotra. 55.

Retired Army General. Founder of Malhotra Vogue, India’s most influential fashion empire—and the only man I know who can command silence with just a glance.

> “You’re late again,” he says without looking up from his soup.

“So is half the country,” I mutter, picking up my spoon.

To his right, already halfway through her wine, sits my mother, Prisha Malhotra. 53.

Ex-runway queen. Now reigning fashion designer. The force behind Anahita Originals—a label that once ruled Paris, Milan, and Dad’s patience.

> “Aarav,” she sighs, “your hair. It's giving post-breakdown CEO, not powerful tycoon.”

“Thanks, Ma. That’s exactly the aesthetic I was going for.”

She rolls her eyes, clicks her tongue, and goes back to her salad like she hasn’t just wounded me deeper than any PR disaster ever could.

Next to me, there’s an empty chair.

Still set. Still untouched.

It’s been two years, and no one’s moved Karthik bhaiya’s plate.

Not even once.

He was 35. CEO of Malhotra Vogue. The older son. The ideal son.

Then one rainy night, he left for a “quick meeting” in Delhi.

Never came back.

No ransom. No body. No goodbye.

Just a broken phone call. A scream. And silence.

Beside the empty chair sits his shadow—Raghini bhabhi. 35.

Award-winning author. Brilliant. Composed.

Still wears his ring. Still signs her books as R.K. Malhotra.

Still hopes. Even if she doesn’t say it aloud.

> “Kaira, darling. Just one more bite?” she says softly.

At the corner of the table, seated like a doll misplaced in a glass cabinet—

Kaira. Five.

Our niece. Our fragile heart.

She hasn’t spoken to a soul outside the family since that night.

Doctors called it selective mutism.

Ma calls it trauma.

I call it proof that she knows something.

Something none of us do.

She flinches when thunder cracks outside. Her little hand grips her father’s old cufflink like a charm.

She still wears it on a red thread like a bracelet.

Like it can protect her.

Like he’s still here.

She looks up suddenly—right at me.

And for a second, I think she might speak.

Might say something. Anything.

But instead, she gently shakes her head and hides her face in her bhabhi’s dupatta.

> “Nightmares again?” I ask quietly.

Raghini nods without looking at me.

I hate how helpless that makes me feel.

The room falls quiet again.

Only the clink of cutlery and the weight of things unspoken remain.

Then, Ma breaks the silence.

> “So, Aarav. Any updates on your marriage plans?”

“Any updates on your therapy sessions?” I shoot back, half-grinning.

Dad glares.

Ma gasps.

Raghini lets out the tiniest laugh.

Even Kaira...smiles. Just a flicker. But real.

> And just like that, the storm outside seems a little softer.

But inside... we all still sit in the shadow of a man who never truly left the table.

💫 Character Introduction Recap:

Character Age Role Personality

Aarav Malhotra 30 ML, CEO of Nova Entertainment & holder of Malhotra Vogue Witty, responsible, carrying hidden emotional weight

Rajendra Malhotra 55 Father, Retired General, Founder of Malhotra Vogue Stern, commanding, emotionally restrained

Prisha Malhotra 53 Mother, Fashion Designer Glamorous, dramatic, sharp-tongued

Karthik Malhotra 35 Missing elder brother, former CEO of Malhotra Vogue Ideal son, vanished mysteriously

Raghini Karthik Malhotra 35 Sister-in-law, mystery writer Calm, emotionally composed, quietly grieving

Kaira Malhotra 5 Niece, daughter of Karthik & Raghini Silent since trauma, only talks to close family, suffers nightmares

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