"Tukdon mein tum thay, tukdon mein main bhi, tukde mile toh hum banay"

~ Author ~

Jaipur, India

The day was set. The sun had risen, and its glaze was soothing today. The wind was blowing gently, giving life to the white lilies that were hung in the garden where the Haldi ceremony was taking place.

Meher, dressed in a pale yellow chiffon saree, her hair tied in a bun, loose strands of her hair falling over her face which was devoid of any makeup, sat across Kabir, with a thin wall of transparent yellow cloth separating the two. The mogra earrings dangled from her ears, the smell of it was bringing a wave of freshness in the air.

Kabir, who was across from her, looked like he was dumped in Haldi. His crisp white kurta no longer looked white, the yellow had spread all over the cloth.

Arya who was dancing finally went over to her best friend as the married ladies were done with applying the haldi. Taking a little bit of haldi, she gently applied it over her cheeks, the last bit of haldi in her hand was over now on Meher's nose. They giggled at Arya's silliness until Arya hugged her tightly.

Meher could sense a tense Arya in her arms. She tightened her arms around her and patiently waited if she had anything to say to her.

"I love my brother a lot, Mehru. And, I love you too," she clarified, breaking the hug. "I will do anything for you— you're just not like my sister, you are my sister but," Arya turned to look at her elder brother, who was busy arguing with Aryan over something, "he's my brother too. I just have one request, or maybe two— please while you're tied to him, stay together in this relationship as if you mean it, you respect it. The second one is, please make him happy." Arya's voice had become heavy, "I know it's not your duty but as a sister, I can just ask you."

Meher looked down, without saying anything. She had no idea what to say. This was a request she knew she would have difficulty in fulfilling her request. So she did what she was best at— cover it all with a small smile.

Meanwhile, Aryan was on Kabir's side, caught in a similar situation.

"I know you don't like Meher," Aryan said, drawing his attention.

"So?"

Aryan looked at his brother and then his gaze switched over to Maan. He sighed. "Treat her well." The words pricked Kabir. It was Aryan, the best friend who was speaking, not his brother. At the end of the day, they always went back to her.

"Yes, fight any time you want but don't treat her as if she's not a woman. Respect her presence," Maan crouches over to his level, patting his shoulder over the advice.

And Kabir too, didn't say anything.

And neither did he smile.

Because one should never promise things they can never do— false promises only promise a long time of hurt and anger over a situation.

* * *

Meher looked at herself in the mirror.

She was the star of the evening.

The bride, the one who was going to breathe life into this union anytime soon. The red lehenga choli hugged her as if it were made for her. Tailored to perfection, it accentuated every shape, every curve of her body, it looked as if it was unreal.

The dupatta was neatly pinned to her blouse and over her head to keep it stable, its ends went over to one corner and was tucked and pinned to her hip, covering her abdomen. The veil, made especially for the wedding, covered her face. The veil was the best part— intricate patterns of flowers and leaves with some mandala art were sewn in gold, but that was not it. It was Kabir's name, sewn at the center, oh so beautifully that no one could ever take their eyes off it.

She had the green emeralds embedded in the gold kundan choker necklace, which was the only neckpiece she had adorned. The large set of earrings dangled over her ears, the similar matha patti covered the edges of her forehead, the centrepiece lying on the center of her forehead. The red bindi was placed a little above the center of her brows, highlighting her kohl rimmed eyes.

A nose ring was added to accentuate and elevate her beauty, an heirloom passed on by her mother to her. She looked no less than a princess.

She kept on blinking to herself. Her heart thudded a little faster than usual, she kept on wiping her palms with the tissue.

In the next two hours, she would be sitting in front of the holy fire, promising a lifetime to Kabir Raizada.

And not Abhimanyu Tripathi.

She picked up her phone from the dressing table and opened her gallery. There was a folder dedicated to him— mine, she had named it. As the file opened, thousands of pictures flowed in, so many pictures of Abhimanyu and her, so many pictures of him which she had secretly taken and when she was caught clicking, she had waved it off as a joke to put it on Instagram.

But that was when they were friends or at least of the time where they had not confessed, yet.

One picture stood out the most, for it was their last one. The corner of her lips tugged, she knew the story behind the smiles, the shine in their eyes and the look of love.

God knew that if Abhimanyu Tripathi would have been alive, he would have never left Meher Mathur.

And then her gaze went over to another picture, it was her, Sahil, and Abhimanyu from that day. Her thumb ran over their pictures, her eyes were almost welling in tears.

"Bless me, Sahil," she watched his gleeful smile, reminiscing over the time when he wasn't what he used to be today. "I am doing this for you, all in the name of friendship."

The door knocked and it opened, revealing Arya. Meher looked at her and smiled, Arya looked pretty. She wore a teal lehenga, the one sleeved blouse and the skirt fitted her perfectly, it was devoid of any dupatta. She truly looked like a fashion designer.

"You look stunning," Meher complimented as her best friend strutted inside.

"And you look otherworldly," Arya held her by her shoulders and squeezed it. Even the little worry she had was slowly fizzing out, the presence of her best friend calmed her down.

They smiled at each other through the mirror. So many words, unspoken, it was a decision that would change just not theirs, but everyone's today. Akash Raizada and Vikas Mathur won't be just best friends anymore, the bond, and the relationship now have cemented into something very concrete in the name of Kabir Raizada and Meher Mathur.

"I know, you must be all jittery, I can feel the tension," Arya gently rubbed Meher's shoulders, "let me tell you one thing, Meher— whatever is the fate of this relationship, our friendship would be above all, you are my best friend and it will stay that way until the very end."

Meher wanted to cry. The tears threatened to fall out of her eyes but she didn't as her make up would be ruined, disappointing a lot of people. Getting up, she turned to Arya and hugged her. "Me too," she whispered.

"Let's go," Arya squeezed her one last time before breaking the hug. She held Meher by her shoulders and was about to escort her out of the door when Meher's phone started ringing.

"Must be one of the parents, we are a little late," Arya pulled Meher out of the room before she could go back and grab it to check who the caller was.

The two slowly walk over to the place where Meher was supposed to walk down the steps. "I will leave you here," Arya bids her goodbye. Meher was left all alone, with a few staff on her trail.

Get your act together and smile like a bride, Meher chastised herself and smiled like a blushing bride, putting on the act. On cue, the big doors opened and Meher started walking down the stairs holding her veil which covered her face. The trail of the veil was around twenty metres long, it gently flowed behind her as she took every step towards Kabir.

As Meher walked down the grand staircase towards the mandap, she was in awe of its grandeur. The entire palace was lit up with diyas, making it glow in the dark. A gentle breeze was blowing which made her feel at peace she wouldn't sweat anymore. The mandap was set outside, near the mini pond, in the centre of the palace. It was one of the best locations for the wedding.

When she neared the stairs of the mandap, a hand came into her view. She looked up and saw Kabir, her groom, giving her his hand.

People— the guests, her friends, and their parents watched them in happiness, so she smiled even wider and gave her his hand. Kabir helped her up and they went to sit in front of the holy fire. Kabir looked very different, handsome even.

It was an off-white sherwani, which had patterns made from pearls and small mirrors with a red pashmina shawl over one arm, the print similar to Meher's veil. In between those intricate patterns, Meher's name was sewn on it. The pagdi rested over his head, completing his look, he was no less than a king.

Arya helped Meher remove the veil, as she sat on the mini chair in front of the sacred fire. Kabir and Meher joined their hands in prayer as the priest started to chant the mantras. It went on for a while until the priest asked them to stand up to exchange garlands.

Aryan helped Meher get up and face Kabir, and then that's when she saw his face, glowing under the lights of fire. She passed him a weak smile.

Arya came over to the mandap holding the tray of garlands. Looking at the garlands, she looked at Kabir in surprise. The flowers weren't roses. They were pink lotuses.

"The bride should make the groom wear the varmala first," following the priest's instructions, Meher took one garland and clutched it tight, pausing to take a breather. She tiptoed, moving closer, and put the garland around his neck. Loud hoots and cheers followed, the feeling was nothing but making her want to crumble.

It was now Kabir's turn. Kabir took the garland and gently hung the garland around her neck and that's when the fireworks went off. In a surprise, Meher turned to look towards the sky, hundreds of fireworks going off all at once. The surprise was unimaginable. That moment itself was so beautiful that she wanted to capture it forever. It was one of the things she really wanted to happen in her wedding— a teen Meher's to-do list for her dream wedding.

She had never told anyone.

Aryan and Arya.

Her eyes immediately found theirs, she smiled like a fool. The twins smiled wider, knowing that it was Meher being the happiest on her big day, that genuine broad smile elevating her face.

Kabir in that moment, blinked as he watched Meher in that moment, up close. The range of emotions that he saw her going through in that one moment he couldn't explain in that moment. So happy, he thought at first.

Meher looked like a child at that moment, who had finally got their favourite toy. The smile, the twinkling eyes, it was all new to him. He had never seen her like that. He hadn't realised how long he was staring at her, smiling even, until he heard awes in the background.

The two composed themselves, not before awkwardly gazing at each other before they sat back down for the ceremonial prayer.

Vikas and Shikha came forward for the kanyadaan. Before they gave away her hand to his, Vikas smiled at Kabir. Kabir saw his now father-in-law's eyes almost welling up in tears, how he was controlling himself not to break down. "She's my everything, my most prized possession. I am giving my treasure to you. I hope you treasure her the way I did for all these years." Kabir nodded solemnly, the hand was finally over his, and Meher was officially given to Kabir.

Meher sniffed, holding back her tears as she heard her father speaking. The priest started chanting the mantras, his voice getting louder with each second. "Please stand up for the pheras." the couple got up following the instructions. "Now, the groom must be ahead of the bride for the first four pheras, and then the bride should lead the groom for the last three pheras."

Kabir took his position in front of Meher, and on cue, as the mantras started to be chanted again, Kabir led Meher around the fire for the first four rounds.

I won't promise you anything Meher. But, I would try my best to fulfil the purpose of this relationship— the reason why we got into this alliance. I would help you in every step, providing you with all the information you need, but I can never promise you companionship. My heart always belonged to Radhika, you know that. It can never be you instead of her. But one thing that I could do is I would try to hate you a little less, I think I could do that. I hope, whatever we are doing is fruitful and that we see the result of it to the end.

It was Meher's turn to come forward.

I have done a lot of wrong things, especially to you Kabir. I think I would never let myself live that down, I am genuinely sorry. I really hope that during the course of our marriage, I will gauge the courage to come and confess to you, and apologise to you— I know you are waiting for it. Our marriage isn't normal, but I will do my best. But, I will never give my heart to you— we may be the perfect couple to the world but behind the closed doors, you must know that Meher Mathur's heart died the day heavens had called Abhimanyu Tripathi. I know you must feel the same, considering Radhika. I promise to do everything that will help you take over as the CEO in the future, you will have my unconditional support.

They sat down as the pheres were completed. "Please make her wear the sindoor and mangalsutra," the priest instructed the last bit of the ceremony, making them go still.

It was finally the time, there was no way out.

As Kabir held the little amount of sindoor over the silver coin, he could feel Radhika's voice everywhere. It was supposed to be her but see the game of fate, it was Meher. His promises came back to life as he recalled the last few moments he had spent with her. He tried hard to control his tears as he finally filled her hairline with the vermillion.

Meher watched him silently, still putting on the smile, Kabir too, was feeling emotional.

Kabir picked up the mangalsutra and put his hands around her neck to clasp it around her neck. It was a simple gold mangalsutra with a few black beads at the end, with a diamond solitaire. Meher could feel his sweaty and shaky hands around her neck. A tear fell from her eye over his wrist before he could pull out. In that moment of fragility, they looked at each other, the raw emotions swirling in their eyes.

That was it.

The wedding was done.

Meher was no longer a Mathur. She was Raizada.

As of today, she was Meher Mathur Raizada, wife of Kabir Raizada.

And Kabir Raizada, the husband of Meher Mathur Raizada.

As the cheers erupted at the end of the ceremony, the two watched each other in a daze, taking in the events that led to this day.

It was the most beautiful wedding ever.

The stars had now finally aligned.

Kabir and Meher got married. And damn, writing a wedding is a task. I wanted to focus more on the wedding, the haldi sequence was hence a little shorter. I went through a range of emotions as if it was my wedding. There were so many instances and I practically wrote what I had imagined it to be, so I really hope that you see the same as I do. Please do comment on your thoughts on it.

How's the weather at your place? Hot, cold or hottish-cold?

Do VOTE, SHARE and COMMENT. Comment a heart letting me know that you enjoyed reading this chapter.

With Love,

Akii.