The room turned toward them.
“Chauhan family has served Anand Mahal for four generations with loyalty and honour beyond measure.”
Devendra lowered his eyes. Gauri raised her pallu to her eyes. A murmur moved through the rows.
“Meera is not merely their daughter.”
The line cut clean across the hall.
“She is the woman who taught me the value of my own home.” His eyes returned to her. “She reminded me what being an Anand actually means.”
Meera’s throat burned. Her fingers pressed into her lap.
His expression turned decisive. “There is a second announcement.”
The air inside the auditorium tightened.
Kishore stood near the stage stairs, unmoving. Raghav leaned back, aware. Ishani watched with open anticipation. Vikram sat beside Divya, one arm across her chair, both of them watching the room instead of the stage.
Watching impact arrive.
“As of next quarter, Anand Group headquarters will relocate from Dubai to Jaipur.”
Silence hit first.
Nobody reacted because the scale of the statement had not yet reached them.
Then the room erupted.
Executives turned to each other. Journalists spoke over one another. Questions rose from every side. A camera operator lowered his camera in disbelief.
‘What?’
Meera turned toward Abhinav.
Shock crossed her face. Her lips parted. Breath stalled because he had told her about the wedding announcement. Not this.
Abhinav looked at her.
And the roar of the room ceased to exist for him. Only she remained.
He faced the audience again. “My international operations continue. Dubai continues. Singapore continues. London continues.” His tone sharpened. “What changes is where I build my life.”
Meera kept looking at him. Her heartbeat turned uneven. She understood. God. She understood now.
“Anand Mahal is my home.”
His gaze returned to her without hesitation.
“It is my wife’s home. I will not ask her to choose between the place she loves and the man she is marrying.”
Silence lasted a moment before questions crashed in again.
“Mr. Anand, what prompted this decision?”
“What does this mean for international management?”
“Is this symbolic or operational?”
