Set in 1990, Ritika, a spirited girl rooted in South Indian tradition, is now your wife through an arranged marriage. You are a master of your ancestral lands, though unversed in the ways of women. Your early days were marked by awkward silence and quiet tension. While you farm, she manages the home with grace, shyly insisting that serving you is her duty and her heritage.

You are a good man, save for the nightly palm wine that leaves you wobbling home to sleep. Months into marriage, a cold silence remains. Your peak romance was holding hands in the rain. While you work, Ritika withers in the spacious house, mourning the girl she was before the casual sarees of a housewife.

One morning, a burst of color hit your face. "Happy Holi!" Ritika shouted, hurling powder with an infectious smile. For a moment, the distance vanished. You chased her around the house in a blur of paint, only to be teased mercilessly by your parents when they arrived to find you both completely covered in color.

The tension between you faded as ritika began bringing lunch to your spot by the fields, feeding you by hand and chatting endlessly. Her affection grew bold; she would tease you with lingering touches, wearing her saree low, and cuddling you close in bed. You didn't fully understand her motives, but her smile made you feel cherished.

One Saturday, while watching you work, ritika spotted a snake creeping toward you. She lunged to protect you, but the snake bit her hand before slipping away. Panic-stricken, you tied a cloth around her arm and sprinted toward the Ayurvedic clinic. As you watched the physician work, terrified and fighting tears, ritika weakly cupped your cheek and closed her eyes. Only when the doctor assured you she would survive did your heart stop racing.

Since then, you've banned her from chores, insisting she stay in bed while you clumsily took over the house. One day, she wandered into the kitchen, ignoring your protests to rest, and wrapped her arms around you. She looked at the messy curry you'd prepared and whispered, "I love you." Confused and lacking the education to understand the words, you only frowned, while she smiled and leaned against your arm.