Seven years had passed since the four cousins had returned from their week at sea.
Seven years was long enough to change almost everything.
Tanya Joshi was twenty-eight now.
Dr. Tanya Joshi.
She had completed her medical education, established her own career and, most importantly, built an identity that belonged to her.
And now she was getting married.
To Dr. Varun Gupta.
Her boyfriend.
Her choice.
The very thing she had fought for seven years ago.
Vibha had once wanted to select her daughter’s husband herself.
Now she was planning the biggest wedding Rajasthan had seen in years.
A heritage palace had been booked for an entire week.
There would be Haldi, Mehendi, Sangeet, Cocktail Night, the wedding ceremony and finally the reception.
Vibha had taken charge of everything.
At fifty-two, she had also reinvented herself.
Her white hair was cut into a sharp bob. She wore sleeveless sarees, designer bindis, sunglasses and heavy makeup. Tattoos decorated her arms. She had even undergone a facelift.
She called it her “Diva phase.”
Everyone else simply called it Vibha.
And behind the Diva walked Sarvesh.
Carrying her purse.
Carrying her vanity.
Carrying her phone.
Carrying the responsibility of making sure nothing went wrong.
“Sarvesh Ji, I want everything perfect.”
“Of course, darling.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“If anything goes wrong…”
“Nothing will go wrong.”
“If something does…”
“I’ll fix it.”
“And if you can’t?”
“I’ll find someone who can.”
Vibha smiled.
“Good.”
Sarvesh muttered under his breath, “I should have become an employee instead of a husband.”
Vibha turned.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, darling.”
“That’s what I thought.”
The palace was magnificent.
Huge courtyards.
Carved balconies.
Long corridors.
Beautiful gardens.
And enough rooms for the entire extended family.
By the evening of Day One, the palace had filled with relatives.
Rishabh and Prerna arrived with their six-year-old daughter Dhairya.
Nirjara and Harsh arrived with their thirteen-year-old twins.
Apeksha and Jatin arrived together.
The four cousins met in the central courtyard.
For a few seconds, they simply looked at one another.
Seven years.
Then Rishabh grinned.
“We’re getting old.”
Apeksha laughed.
“Speak for yourself.”
Nirjara looked at him.
“You have grey hair.”
“So do you.”
“Mine is wisdom.”
“Mine is experience.”
Jatin looked at both.
“Mine is hereditary.”
Apeksha laughed.
“Your hair isn’t even grey.”
“I was preparing for the future.”
The first evening passed in laughter, old memories and introductions.
But beneath the laughter, each family carried something of its own.
Rishabh had become a father.
Nirjara’s twins were now teenagers.
Apeksha and Jatin had become empty nesters.
And Sarvesh and Vibha were about to watch their daughter leave home.
Nobody knew yet how much the week would reveal.
The next morning was Haldi.
And the palace lost all dignity.
The children started it.
Nirjara’s daughter stole a bowl of turmeric.
Her brother stole another.
“Put that down!” Nirjara shouted.
The children ran.
Harsh chased them.
“Come back!”
The boy turned around and threw turmeric at him.
It landed directly on his face.
Everyone burst out laughing.
Harsh stood frozen.
Nirjara covered her mouth.
“You find this funny?”
“A little.”
“You should be helping me.”
“I am emotionally supporting you.”
“You are useless.”
Across the courtyard, Dhairya was chasing Rishabh.
“Papa!”
“No.”
“Papa!”
“No.”
“Just one!”
“No.”
She smeared turmeric across his cheek.
Rishabh closed his eyes.
“Okay.”
He opened them.
“Now run.”
Dhairya screamed with laughter and ran.
Rishabh caught her.
She struggled.
“Papa, leave me!”
His patience snapped.
He slapped her.
Silence.
The laughter stopped.
Dhairya stared at him.
Rishabh immediately realized what he had done.
His face changed.
“Dhairya…”
She began crying.
Prerna rushed toward her.
Rishabh stood still.
He had lost his temper before.
But never like this.
Later, he sat alone.
Prerna came and sat beside him.
“I am sorry.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know what happened.”
“You were angry.”
“I shouldn’t have been.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“I think something is wrong with me.”
Prerna remained silent.
“I’ve been angry for weeks. Everything irritates me.”
“You’ve been under pressure.”
“That’s not an excuse.”
“No.”
He looked toward the courtyard where Dhairya was playing.
“I think I need help.”
Prerna took his hand.
“I’ll help you find it.”
Rishabh nodded.
Meanwhile, Apeksha and Jatin had completely abandoned adulthood.
Jatin stole Apeksha’s phone.
She chased him.
“Give it back!”
“Catch me.”
“You are fifty years old!”
“So are you.”
“Behave!”
“Never.”
Their sons watched them.
Naitik sighed.
“Are they always like this?”
Satvik nodded.
“Worse.”
Apeksha finally caught Jatin.
She grabbed his shirt.
“Give me my phone.”
“Say please.”
She kissed his cheek.
“Please.”
He surrendered immediately.
“That was cheating.”
“You started it.”
The two laughed.
Seven years of marriage had not destroyed their friendship.
It had made their friendship into something deeper.
The Mehendi ceremony on Day Three was peaceful.
For almost an hour.
Then a woman appeared.
She was crying.
“I need to speak to Varun.”
Tanya froze.
Vibha arrived immediately.
“Who are you?”
The woman looked at Varun.
“I am his girlfriend.”
The entire courtyard went silent.
Varun stared.
“What?”
“I thought you were marrying next month.”
Tanya looked at him.
“Varun?”
“I don’t know her.”
The woman produced a wedding invitation.
Everyone gathered around.
Then someone noticed the date.
The wedding on the invitation was for next month.
The palace had two weddings booked.
The woman had simply come to the wrong function.
There was silence.
Then Rishabh laughed.
Apeksha followed.
Soon the entire family was laughing.
Vibha was not amused.
She looked at Sarvesh.
“Sarvesh Ji.”
“Yes?”
“Verify every wedding guest.”
“Yes.”
“Twice.”
“Yes.”
“Especially the women.”
Sarvesh looked at her.
“Why?”
“You never know.”
He nodded solemnly.
“Yes, darling.”
Day Four was Sangeet.
This time, everyone had prepared a dance.
Rishabh was still feeling guilty about Haldi.
He barely spoke to Dhairya.
Prerna noticed.
She whispered something to their daughter.
Dhairya walked toward her father.
“Papa.”
He looked at her.
“Yes?”
“Mama said I can dance with you.”
Rishabh smiled.
“You want to?”
She nodded.
He knelt.
“I’m sorry.”
Dhairya looked at him.
“I shouldn’t have hit you.”
“You were angry.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
She hugged him.
Rishabh held her tightly.
Then the music began.
Father and daughter danced.
Prerna watched.
At the end, Rishabh hugged Dhairya again.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Prerna wiped her eyes.
The couple dances followed.
Nirjara and Harsh danced beautifully.
Rishabh and Prerna danced with Dhairya joining halfway through.
Then Apeksha and Jatin came onto the floor.
They hadn’t rehearsed properly.
They didn’t need to.
They moved naturally.
They laughed.
They teased each other.
At the end, Jatin leaned toward Apeksha and kissed her.
The audience erupted.
“Best Couple Dance!”
Apeksha laughed.
Jatin bowed.
Rishabh shouted, “This was rehearsed!”
Apeksha shouted back, “Jealous?”
“Never.”
Prerna laughed.
Day Five was Cocktail Night.
Vibha drank.
For the first time in her life.
One drink.
Then another.
Then another.
Sarvesh watched carefully.
“Vibha…”
“Sarvesh Ji.”
“Yes?”
“I am feeling very happy.”
“That’s good.”
“Very happy.”
“Excellent.”
“Come dance.”
“I don’t dance.”
“You do tonight.”
She pulled him onto the floor.
Vibha danced wildly.
Sarvesh tried to keep up.
Everyone was cheering.
Then Vibha grabbed his face.
She kissed him.
Publicly.
And for a very long time.
The entire family screamed.
Sarvesh stood frozen.
Vibha smiled.
Then her eyes closed.
She collapsed against him.
“Vibha!”
Sarvesh caught her.
Later, he carried her back to their room.
By the time he reached the bed, he was sweating.
He put her down.
She opened one eye.
“Sarvesh Ji.”
“What?”
“You carried me.”
“Yes.”
“Good husband.”
She went back to sleep.
Sarvesh wiped his forehead.
“Good wife.”
She didn’t hear him.
Across the hall, Rishabh sat with Prerna.
“I need therapy.”
She smiled.
“I know.”
“For my anger.”
“I know.”
“Don’t look so happy.”
“I’m not happy.”
“You are.”
“A little.”
Day Six was the wedding.
The palace transformed overnight.
Tanya wore her bridal clothes.
Varun waited.
The family gathered.
Vibha had tears in her eyes.
Sarvesh stood beside her.
Their daughter was leaving.
Not because she was being taken away.
Because she had chosen to build a new life.
During the late-night celebrations, the children organized Joota Chhupai.
Apeksha and Jatin joined them.
“How much?” Jatin asked.
“Twenty thousand,” Naitik said.
“Five.”
“Fifteen.”
“Seven.”
“Twenty.”
“Ten.”
“Done.”
Apeksha stared at him.
“You’re terrible at bargaining.”
“I just wanted the shoes back.”
“You’re ruining the game.”
Rishabh and Prerna watched them.
They remembered their own wedding.
The nervousness.
The excitement.
The promises.
Now they had a daughter.
Their lives had changed.
But they were still standing together.
Nirjara and Harsh had already gone to sleep.
The twins had stayed awake.
Their parents had surrendered.
Vibha and Sarvesh sat quietly together.
They watched Tanya leave the wedding stage.
Vibha held his hand.
“Sarvesh Ji.”
“Hmm?”
“Our daughter is leaving.”
“She isn’t leaving us.”
“I know.”
“But?”
“I’ll miss her.”
Sarvesh squeezed her hand.
“Me too.”
Day Seven was the reception.
The newly married couple stood in the center.
Everyone raised their glasses.
Vibha spoke first.
“As Tanya’s mother, I want to say something.”
She looked at Sarvesh.
“I want to thank Sarvesh Ji.”
He smiled.
“For thirty years, he has stood beside me.”
She paused.
“My father abandoned our family.”
The room became quiet.
“I grew up with the fear that people leave.”
She looked at Sarvesh.
“When Sarvesh Ji once threatened to leave, that fear became stronger.”
Her voice trembled.
“I became stricter because I was afraid.”
She took his hand.
“But now I know he will never leave.”
She smiled.
“We have been married thirty years.”
She looked at him.
“Perhaps we’ll spend thirty more.”
Then she surprised everyone.
“For the next thirty years, I will follow my husband.”
Sarvesh shook his head.
“I don’t agree.”
Everyone laughed.
“I followed Vibha because she was a better decision maker.”
Vibha smiled.
“I have terrible dressing sense.”
Laughter.
“Poor judgment.”
More laughter.
“If I hadn’t followed her decisions, I don’t think I would be the man I am today.”
He looked at his wife.
“We built everything together.”
He paused.
“I don’t want to lose what we built.”
Then he smiled.
“And if Vibha leads for another thirty years, perhaps I’ll become a billionaire and appear in Forbes.”
Vibha laughed.
“Still making jokes.”
“Always.”
Rishabh stood next.
He looked at Prerna.
“I have been a pain in the ass.”
Prerna nodded.
“Correct.”
Everyone laughed.
“Anyone else might have left.”
He looked at her.
“I honestly don’t know what good deed I did to deserve her.”
Prerna took the microphone.
“Rishabh thinks he doesn’t deserve me.”
She smiled.
“But he doesn’t realize how much he has given me.”
She looked at him.
“A man without male ego.”
Rishabh smiled.
“A man who always stood up for me.”
She held his hand.
“A man who tolerated my shortcomings.”
She paused.
“Why wouldn’t I return that love?”
Apeksha came next.
She looked at Jatin.
“I thought I knew love.”
She smiled.
“Then I met Jatin.”
Jatin looked embarrassed.
“With him, the rest of the world disappears.”
She laughed.
“Sometimes I feel like we’re still in school.”
Jatin took the microphone.
“Naitik and Satvik left for college three years ago.”
Apeksha looked at him suspiciously.
“Since then, I am the only person receiving all her motherly attention.”
Everyone laughed.
“She dresses me.”
Apeksha protested.
“No.”
“She makes my tiffin.”
“Jatin.”
“She checks whether I’ve eaten.”
The laughter grew.
“She even fixes my shoelaces.”
Apeksha covered her face.
Jatin smiled.
“For three years, I’ve been her child.”
He looked at her.
“And I’ve realized something.”
He took her hand.
“Eight hours of office without her feels too long.”
Apeksha looked at him.
“I don’t want to be separated from my wife even for a breath.”
They kissed.
The room applauded.
Nirjara stood next.
She looked at her children.
Then Harsh.
“I cannot believe I got this man.”
Harsh smiled.
“I thought I was lucky.”
She looked at her daughter.
“That’s why I became strict.”
She paused.
“I wanted my daughter to study.”
“Build a career.”
“Learn skills.”
“Learn to cook.”
“Never depend entirely on luck.”
Her voice softened.
“But I learned something.”
She looked at her daughter.
“Everyone deserves unconditional love.”
Her daughter started crying.
“Even when they make mistakes.”
“Even when they disappoint us.”
“Even when they don’t become exactly what we imagined.”
Nirjara smiled.
“I want my daughter to be independent.”
“But I also want her to know she never needs to earn my love.”
Harsh took the microphone.
“Before I say anything about my wife, I want to say something about her.”
He looked at Nirjara.
“Her eyes.”
She smiled.
“Her simple makeup.”
Laughter.
“And her macho spirit.”
More laughter.
“She is stronger than me.”
Then his expression changed.
“I have been too strict with my son.”
His son looked at him.
“Because I thought he was the man of the family after me.”
He paused.
“But perhaps I forgot that he is still a boy.”
Silence.
“There is something else.”
Nirjara looked at him.
She knew what was coming.
“I have a heart condition.”
The children froze.
“I’ve been receiving treatment.”
He looked at them.
“Your mother is the only one who knew.”
His daughter began crying.
His son stood.
“Papa…”
Harsh opened his arms.
Both children ran to him.
He held them.
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to live in fear.”
Nirjara was crying now.
Harsh looked at her.
“For years, she has carried this fear with me.”
He took her hand.
“She is the strongest person I know.”
The cousins stood together.
The children cried.
The parents cried.
Even Vibha wiped her eyes.
For a moment, the palace was completely silent.
Then Tanya stood.
She looked at everyone.
“This wedding was supposed to be about me.”
Everyone laughed softly.
“But I think I’ve learned something.”
She looked at her parents.
“Marriage doesn’t mean losing yourself.”
She looked at Varun.
“It means building something together without making the other person disappear.”
Varun smiled.
She took his hand.
“And that’s what I want.”
The reception eventually ended.
The guests began returning to their rooms.
The palace grew quiet.
But the four cousins remained in the courtyard.
The same four people who had once sat together at a farmhouse.
The same four people who had crossed the sea together.
Now older.
With families of their own.
Rishabh looked at the others.
“I’ve decided something.”
Prerna smiled.
“Therapy.”
He nodded.
“I’m going.”
Apeksha smiled.
“Good.”
Rishabh looked toward the palace.
“I don’t want Dhairya to remember me as the father who lost his temper.”
Prerna held his hand.
“She’ll remember you as the father who realized he needed to change.”
Rishabh nodded.
Jatin looked at Apeksha.
“I’ve decided something too.”
Apeksha knew immediately.
“The hill station?”
He nodded.
“I’m retiring.”
She stared at him.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“We go.”
“Where?”
“That little hill station we have been talking about for years.”
Apeksha smiled.
“The house with the garden?”
“And the mountain view.”
“And your tea?”
“And your books.”
She leaned against him.
“Let’s do it.”
Nirjara looked at Harsh.
“We need to change something too.”
Harsh nodded.
“Our children.”
“We’ve spent years trying to prepare them for life.”
“And perhaps we’ve forgotten to live with them.”
Nirjara smiled.
“No more interrogations.”
“No more lectures.”
“From now on, friends.”
Harsh looked at the twins.
“They may not tell us everything.”
“They don’t have to.”
“They just need to know they can tell us anything.”
Their daughter smiled.
Their son nodded.
For the first time in years, the family conversation did not feel like a parent giving instructions.
It felt like four people talking.
Finally, Vibha looked at Sarvesh.
“I have a decision too.”
Sarvesh became cautious.
“What is it?”
“I’m starting a business.”
He blinked.
“What business?”
“Event management.”
Sarvesh stared.
“Of course.”
“We’ve just organized a seven-day destination wedding.”
“Yes.”
“And it was perfect.”
“Mostly.”
She ignored him.
“We can do this professionally.”
Sarvesh thought for a moment.
“You want me to join?”
“Obviously.”
He smiled.
“What will my designation be?”
She thought.
“Managing Director.”
Sarvesh looked surprised.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“And yours?”
“Chairperson.”
He laughed.
“So after thirty years of marriage, I finally get promoted.”
“Don’t get excited.”
“What if I make a mistake?”
“I’ll correct it.”
“What if I disagree?”
She smiled.
“Then we’ll discuss it.”
Sarvesh stared at her.
“Discuss?”
“Yes.”
He smiled.
“Thirty years ago, I never imagined I’d hear that word from you.”
She held his hand.
“Thirty years ago, I didn’t know how to say it.”
They sat quietly.
The palace was almost empty now.
The wedding was over.
The children had gone to sleep.
The music had stopped.
The decorations remained.
And four couples had made four different decisions.
Rishabh would seek help and work on himself.
Apeksha and Jatin would finally pursue the hill-station life they had postponed for years.
Nirjara and Harsh would stop treating their teenagers only as children and start treating them as young adults and friends.
And Vibha and Sarvesh would begin another chapter together, building an event-management business from everything they had learned through thirty years of marriage.
Four decisions.
Four families.
Four different futures.
Sarvesh looked at Vibha.
“So, darling, when do we start the business?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“We just finished a seven-day wedding.”
“I know.”
“Shouldn’t we rest?”
Vibha looked at him.
“Sarvesh Ji.”
“Yes?”
“We have a business to build.”
He sighed.
“Of course.”
She smiled.
He smiled back.
Then she rested her head on his shoulder.
For once, there was no order.
No argument.
No fear.
Just two people sitting together after thirty years of marriage.
The palace stood silently beneath the Rajasthan night sky.
Their week was over.
But their lives were beginning another chapter.
And perhaps that was the real lesson of the palace.
Life never stopped changing.
Children grew up.
Parents learned to let go.
Husbands and wives discovered new versions of each other.
And sometimes the greatest decisions were not the ones made at the beginning of life.
They were the ones made after you had already lived most of it.
The four cousins looked at each other one last time.
Rishabh smiled.
“So… where are we going next?”
Apeksha laughed.
“Don’t start planning another holiday.”
Nirjara smiled.
“Please.”
Harsh shook his head.
“Let them.”
Vibha immediately turned toward Sarvesh.
“Sarvesh Ji, if they plan another trip, make sure you check the arrangements.”
Sarvesh laughed.
“Here we go again.”
Everyone burst out laughing.
And the palace echoed with the laughter of four cousins who had grown older together, but had never really grown apart.
The Week at the Palace
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