“Riya, babe, come on! How much more time will you take? We'll miss the show.” Kabir called out for the hundredth time. His voice impatience, yet the warmth of his tone never flattered.

Riya is his most precious possession, the ultimate love of his life; or, we can say, she is the soft chaos in his already dramatic life, making it more beautiful and brighter with each passing day.

"I am coming, Baba! Coming. I was just grabbing my phone, and here you have already started your daily dose of craziness.” Riya said, standing in front of him with her hand resting on her waist.

Kabir looked up at her and grinned before wrapping his hands around her waist and tugging her closer.

“What else am I supposed to do, huh? I finally get some private time with you after so long, and here you are busy getting ready instead of being with me,” he pouted.

Riya chuckled and pulled his cheeks, leaning to place a small kiss on his lips.

“But Mr., I got ready for you, right? Don't you want me to look like a pretty girlfriend when we go out?”

Kabir grinned and tightened his hold around her waist.

“Absolutely not! My girlfriend's beauty is only for me to admire. Besides, you don't need these materialistic things to look pretty; your smile alone is enough to make you look like an angel.” Kabir smiled, kissing her button nose.

Riya felt shy and lightly chuckled to hide her blush.

“Okay, leave all this. Tell me, how do I look?” She asked, sliding out of his hold with a grin.

Kabir chuckled, knowing well how shy she can be when things go a bit romantic.

“You look cuter when you try to divert the topic. Especially that meant to be romantic.” He winked.

Riya felt shy and smashed his chest playfully.

“Don’t even try to tease me, or I will cancel our plan for the day”, Riya fake huffed

Kabir faked being feared and surrendered before her, raising his hands in the air.

“Easy lady, easy. I wouldn't even dare to tease my Koala. Let’s go.”

With a soft laugh, Riya nodded and followed him out. Settling behind him on his bike, she wrapped her soft hands around his shoulder, holding on him tightly. He smiled before roaring his bike out towards the main road.

“How are things between Maanvi and Abhiraj? ” She asked, her voice muffled due to the wind.

“Quite good, They are now in their progress phase, more like lovey dovey phase.” Kabir chuckled.

“Nice, looking like they are going to marry before us.” Riya teased.

“Maybe.”

Riya again started blabbering - her new office, the dresses she is going to buy online,  her assignment for upcoming week and so on. Kabir, though drifting in his own world, still listening to each and every world, feeling at home with her.

Only if you know what I planned for the upcoming week. He thought and smiled. You will be thrilled… or I can say You will become Mine.

And then…

STOP! STOP STOP STOP!!

The sudden scream made him slam the brake, instantly.
His body lurched forward.
But there was no bike.
No road.
No Riya.

All he could see around was a big mansion, decorated with strings of lights and marigold flowers. A place that had been home to him since his childhood.

And the reality poured upon him, cold and mercilessly. His vision almost steadied, emotionless.

He turned around only to feel a presence beside him. A girl with her veil covering her entire face ending just above her waist, red bangles and silver embroidered lehenga were acting like a horror to his heart. A horror of being married to a woman he never met or talked to.

His mother stood at the entrance with an aarti thali in her hand. Smiling brightly at her newly married son and daughter-in-law.

HER DAUGHTER IN LAW.

His eyes stiffed, slowly turning towards the girl settled beside him. Her face hidden behind the long red veil, ending just above her waist. The silver embroidered lehenga that his mother herself chose for her first daughter in law. Her red bangles slightly tremble on her wrist.

Or … her hands itself were trembling.

His heart dropped, deeper than the surface of the ocean.

The web of reality clutched his heart.

HE WAS MARRIED.

And that too with a girl he barely knows. He never met.
He never spoke.
Hell too.. didn't even know how she looked.

How could he? A man who can make a whole media company bankrupt was trembling while opening an envelope containing his future wife's photograph.

It wasn't his choice. But he still still said yes, for a father who saw his son losing his carefree nature and turning into a disciplined man. A distant one. And to a mother who tried to hold everything when her family was falling apart.

He never wanted to hurt them , but his grief shaken everything. His father's years of hard work was on the edge of crumbling, just because of his absence. But he didn't let that happen and just a few months later bought everything on the track, only to lose himself, brick by brick.

And when his parents asked him about the proposal, he couldn't refuse.

But did he regret?.
Maybe. A little. A lot. He didn't know what he felt.

But he knew one thing clearly.

No matter what his past was, this woman beside him had not done anything wrong. And he has no right to make her suffer just because he has a past.

He has decided to tell her everything from scratch, that too tonight. And after that everything about their life will be her decision, stay with him or walk away, he would respect her decision. And if she chooses to stay, he will try his 110% to keep her happy.

He smiled not knowing when he subconsciously walked out of the car with her and moved towards the entrance. The dhol beat grew louder while his mother performed their aarti, smiling brightly and happily he never saw before.

He too tried to smile, small, satisfied. But a fake one.

The ritual followed. Bride kicked the kalash lightly before pressing her kumkum footprint on the white cloth. A sign of prosperity and happiness. Her head bowed in respect, but her hands were telling a different story.

He noticed, but there was nothing his mind could think of at that moment.

All of the guests were already retired to their rooms since the wedding was delayed till midnight. It was just his parents, brother and them, here for the grah pravesh.

Maanvi and Abhiraj were there till late, but the mighty sprain on Maanvi's leg made them miss the grah pravesh ritual.

The main rituals came to an end, when his mother informed about the post wedding games being postponed for tomorrow. Kabir excused quickly , lying about using the washroom, even before his mother could lift his wife's veil.

As soon as the door of his small office shut behind, his heart raced. The sudden uneasiness crawled over his mind, trying to shut every possible way of keeping sane. His throat dried, palms dampened while the silence around him was ready to eat him up.

He needed something. Something that can sooth this pain. This ache. This breakdown.

His hands automatically opened the wooden cabinet. The bottle stood tall ready to pour his sins down his heart.

But even before his fingers could twist the cap away, Maanvi's tear stricken face came before him.

Kabir, if you really think of me as your sister, promise me that you will never touch that again.

He promised. And he meant it. But tonight.. it was a need. A need to tell his stranger wife about everything. He needed courage or numbness. Or he can say both. Just for the sake of the future.

His hands trembled with guilt, while his eyes shut with exhaustion.

“I am sorry bacche” he mumbled.

And he gulped down the whole bottle in one drink.
One fall. One guilt. One breath.

______________________

That night, the universe shifted.
A night that was meant to be a better start for the one, ended up drowning the other one with a guilt enough to destroy everything.

And between these guilt and hope. There was something they both needed. LOVE.

But the question remained the same. Will they ever find their forever?