Sitting in front of a mirror clad in a red bridal lehenga and a whole lot of jewelry, she looked at her reflection with no emotion whatsoever. This emotionless face was not something new for her but this sadness creeping in her soul was making her lose breath now and then. Panic attacks were not new for her but this kind of feeling is new. Ever since she met Aashrit, ever since he told her that her last hope for love was destroyed, ever since she accepted that she was going to be alone forever, she has had that weird feeling in her heart.
And yet again sitting in her room, ready for her marriage, she is again feeling those emotions, she rubbed her heart to breathe in some air, she was feeling like some emotions were fighting to get out of her body but she was not able to do that, her another hand tightly clutched chair. All of this stopped as the door of her room opened and Revati, Shivansh, Abhishek, and Anu entered the room with smiles on their faces.
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Aashrit was sitting in Mandap doing all the rituals with a famous blank face of his when Pandit ji asked to call for the bride. He looked up to notice his siblings excitedly following Meera's bhabhi to bring Meera to Mandap.
He didn't know what would be his and Meera's relationship but one thing he knew well is that she already mingled well with his family, which he was grateful for. While waiting for Meera, Aashrit's thoughts went back to their first and last call before this day today
Aashrit was lying on his bed ready to go to sleep when his phone rang. He shut his eyes in frustration, ready to lash out at the person who is disturbing his sleep. He sat up on the bed, taking his phone from the nightstand, and saw Meera's name flashing on the screen. For a second he wondered why she was calling him that late at night?
"Don't tell me she wants to talk the whole night with me like those newly engaged couples. Man!!! I can't handle that shit. Should I cut the call ?? But I wanted to hear her voice which was so soothing. Wait!!!! Am I getting obsessed with her voice? Hell Naah !! I can't lose my control over someone's voice." He was having all these thoughts in his mind and while lost in his thoughts, instead of cutting the call he attended it.
He heard a faint voice and put the phone on his ear.
"Hello????" He heard a nervous, scared voice and he lost his voice. He opened his mouth to speak but no words seemed to come out when he again heard that voice "Kunwar ji??"
Aashrit put his hand on his heart and fell back on the pillow.
"Are you there , Kunwar ji??"
He took a deep breath and spoke "Hmm"
"Good evening Kunwar Ji"
"Good evening" He replied
"I forgot to ask you something important today. It's really important for me." She said and waited for his response.
"What is it?" He asked curiously.
"After marriage, Can my Jugnu come with me to your house?" She asked stuttering in her words more than once.
Aashrit furrowed his brows "Jugnu??" He said unconsciously.
"I mean I can't leave him here. He has no one apart from me. You don't need to worry about his expenses though, I'll take care of that. It's just only if you could allow him to stay with us." She said in one breath.
"May I know who is this 'he'?" He asked curiously
"My dog."
Aashrit smiled unconsciously and said "Jarur. Hme koi presani nhi h." (Sure. I don't have any issues.)
On the other side, Meera smiled and said a "Thank you" to him and cut the call in excitement without thinking much of it.
Aashrit looked at the phone as he heard a ping and realized she disconnected the call.
He put his phone aside and looked at the ceiling thinking about how he shouldn't be distracted from his goal of achieving global success, reminding himself that this attraction might be a hindrance for him. He closed his eyes but her doe eyes, plump lips, long hair, honey clad voice kept him awake all night.
His thoughts came to a halt when the whispering around him increased in pace. He looked up and saw his bride entering the mandap. His eyes met hers which she averted instantly but his eyes didn't seem to leave her. He kept ogling at her until she settled beside him. He scanned her face for any sign of emotions but there was none. Neither she was happy nor sad. She seems detached. If Aashrit thought he was best at making those faces, his wife seemed to leave him. His staring came to a halt when he felt a nudge on his arm.
"Bhai I know Bhabhi is looking beautiful but you should listen to Pandit Ji right now. He is asking for your hand." Shivansh said in a loud voice making the guest giggle.
Although Aashrit wanted to tape his mouth and throw him in a dark room, he looked at his bride to maybe see a smile but there was none, no emotions whatsoever.
While the case was not much different for Meera. When she entered the venue, her eyes fell upon her groom and it almost took her breath. Her eyes didn't seem to leave him. She looked at the creases on his forehead signaling him to be deep in some thoughts. The eyes she fell in love with were busy looking at the fire lightening in Mandap. She couldn't believe that she was marrying such a handsome man and she pinched herself to come out of her dream if it was one. A smile was threatening to come out on her lips when her eyes met his and she averted her eyes.
Soon, she settled beside him. While sitting there, she thought about the day they met and he told her that it was not going to be a normal marriage but a marriage of convenience which soured her mood. Her thoughts soon came to a halt when she heard some chuckles around her and saw her husband glaring at his youngest brother.
Later, they both did all the rituals as asked. Throughout the rituals, Aashrit felt like just looking at her, and it was getting hard for him to resist his desires. For now, he just wanted to sit in front of her and look at her. He so wanted to make everyone else disappear and look at her, capture that beauty in his eyes, listen to that voice................. He closed his eyes remembering how it's a marriage of convenience and nothing else.
"Now fill Sindoor in bride's hair partition." Pandit Ji said.
Aashrit took a pinch of Sindoor in between his thumb and middle finger. His eyes met Meera's eyes finally, he tried to find any resistance but there was none. Her eyes filled with sadness, maybe sadness of leaving her family behind. But little did he know she was leaving her last hope of love behind.
He leaned forward and filled her partition with Sindoor while some of it fell on her nose and a drop of tear fell from her eyes.
"It's a good omen. Their married life is going to be full of love." Pandit Ji said.
It made Meera chuckle inwardly at her fate which always gives her hope and then breaks it so bad she forgets to even handle herself.
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