The luxury sedan glided smoothly through the heavy evening traffic of New Delhi, eventually turning into the grand, illuminated gates of the premium reception venue. As the car slowed to a halt near the main red carpet, the bright, aggressive flashing of professional cameras instantly illuminated the tinted windows.

Kritika peered through the glass, her fingers instinctively tightening around the fabric of her pastel lehenga. The sheer scale of the media presence—paparazzi jostling for space behind velvet ropes, reporters holding microphones with prominent news logos—made a sudden wave of nervousness tighten in her chest. She had never been exposed to this level of public scrutiny.