She smiled as she walked farther inside, taking everything in. Soft golden lights were strung between tall palm trees, their glow spilling gently across the lawn where the celebration had been set up. The sound of the ocean rolled softly in the background, waves breaking against the shore just a few yards away.
A guitarist played smooth, easy music while glass lanterns and candles flickered throughout the space, casting a warm, inviting glow.
The highlight, though, was the long table arranged for dinner along the edge of the beach. Crisp white linen draped gracefully over it, set with polished silverware, crystal glasses, and low, artful arrangements of tropical flowers nestled among tall candles. Several people were already seated, the table alive with laughter and conversation, the ocean stretching endlessly beyond them under the starlit sky. It was all very beautiful.
“Shauna, you’re here.”
She looked to the side at the sound of Keya’s voice and broke into a smile, crossing the lawn in quick strides.
“Happy anniversary,” Shauna said, wrapping her arms around her. Keya hugged her back without hesitation, then pulled away to study her briefly.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” Keya said. “I honestly wasn’t sure you’d make it. Lately, all I hear is that you’re constantly working.”
“I agree. You work too much,” another voice said from behind her.
She turned, as her eldest cousin, Kabier, came near. He drew her in a hug.
“Happy anniversary, Kabier,” Shauna wished, kissing his cheek. “It feels like yesterday we were dancing at your wedding. I can’t believe it’s been five years already.”
Kabier grinned, looking at his wife. “Five years, two beautiful kids, and here we are.”
Shauna’s chest warmed on seeing the look of adoration on her cousin’s face.
“I haven’t seen you in ages,” Kabier said, facing Shauna again. “I’m so glad you could make it here for our anniversary.”
“I couldn’t miss your special day. And since Rhea and Nirvaan couldn’t make it, one of us sisters had to make an appearance.”
“I miss Rhea, though,” Keya said. “I was very disappointed when she cancelled.”
“She’s sad she’s missing this too,” Shauna explained. “They were supposed to fly here from Delhi. But Vayu came down with a fever, so she and Nirvaan are now extending their stay there with his mother.”
“Yes, of course, I understand,” Keya said warmly. “I hope Vayu recovers soon.”
Shauna smiled, thinking of her eighteen-month-old nephew, her twin Rhea’s son. He was adorable, and Shauna loved him to bits.
“So, where are you coming from?” Keya asked. “Delhi? Singapore? London? Honestly, I’ve lost track.”
Shauna chuckled. “London. I flew in from there.”
“Sameer told me you’ve been traveling for work a lot,” Kabier said. “He worries about you. We all do. In fact, Sameer, Rishi, and I were just talking about you, and here you are.”
Her heart warmed. Her grandfather, her father, her elder brothers Sameer and Rishi, and her cousin Kabier… these men had always looked out for her, and she adored them all. They kept telling her to slow down and not push herself as much as she was. But Sehgal Media was her future. She’d always imagined herself running it one day, and that dream was why she worked so hard.
“Tell me honestly, how are you doing?” Kabier asked. “Is the workload putting too much strain on you?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “You know how much Sehgal Media means to me.”
Kabier exchanged a quick look with his wife before saying, “You don’t have to carry everything on your shoulders, Shauna.Sehgal Media is just one chapter, not the whole story. Sometimes I think you’re meant for something beyond it… and it wouldn’t hurt to slow down long enough to see what that might be.”
“Not this again, Kabier,” she said.
“He’s right, Shauna.”
She spun around at the sound of her elder brother, Sameer’s, voice. “I’ve told you often enough, there could be a life beyond Sehgal Media. You just refused to accept that.”
She grimaced. Ever since she’d turned twenty and decided she wanted a place at Sehgal Media, they had tried steering her elsewhere. Her father. Her brothers. Even Kabier. All of them, in their own way, had discouraged her. They had nudged, persuaded, and insisted she look beyond it and build something of her own. And she still didn’t understand why. They all knew what she wanted. They always had.
She could still remember the day her father had sat her down during one of her visits to India from London and offered her an internship under him instead, hoping she’d take an interest in the legal side of Sehgal Corp. Hoping she’d choose to study law going forward. He’d even gone so far as to map out a future for her there, explaining how she could one day take over that division of Sehgal Corp. from him. She’d tried for his sake, but it had never been what she wanted. She couldn’t understand why they all wanted something else for her when everything she’d ever wanted was right in front of her, barely a hand’s breadth away. She’d never listened to them. Instead, she’d listened to her heart and chosen to work at Sehgal Media.
