CHAPTER 36
Next Day – Roka Ceremony
It was Avni’s Roka that evening, marking the official sealing of the alliance between the two families. The ceremony was a public declaration that the bride and groom were now bound to each other, their union blessed and acknowledged by elders from both sides.
The ceremony was set in the resort’s garden area. Guests stood around in small groups, sipping drinks, nibbling on appetisers, and chatting excitedly as they waited for the to-be bride and groom to arrive. The auspicious mahurat was almost going to begin.
Inside, Mishti had just finished helping Avni get ready.
Avni was dressed in a pastel-toned lehenga, delicately embroidered with fine zari and floral motifs. Mishti stepped back, her eyes softening as she looked at her.
“You are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen,” she said honestly.
Avni smiled, a little shy, a little proud. “Then wait till your wedding rituals begin,” she replied teasingly. “I’ll be saying the same about you. You’ll make the most beautiful bride, too, Mishti.”
Once again, her words stirred memories in Mishti’s heart of her own wedding. But before she could sink into it, the door opened.
VK walked in, followed closely by Rajat. Mishti gently nudged Avni, reminding her of the ritual to touch VK’s feet. He was going to be her father-in-law now. And Avni obeyed immediately, smiling as she took his blessings.
VK laughed warmly, blessing her while Rajat couldn’t help tease his fiancée.
“Sanskari, Avni!” he teased. “Looks like Mishti is training you well.”
Avni straightened and shot back playfully, “You should hear about the other stuff she has taught me. No kissing and touching till the actual wedding.”
VK hid his smile while Rajat looked horrified at that thought.
“No way,” he said, looking at Mishti first, then back to Avni and raised his hands in mock surrender. “I’m already scared now,” he said, grinning. “Two women against me before the wedding even starts?”
VK chuckled, clearly enjoying the moment. Mishti watched them with her heart full. She quickly rubbed the kohl from her own eyes and dabbed a small smudge behind Avni’s ear.
Avni frowned. “What are you doing?”
“Just making sure,” Mishti said softly, “that you and Rajat always live like this. In love.”
Rajat smiled at her, in gratitude, but Mishti didn’t respond. She was still holding onto a quiet hurt. Rajat and Abhimanyu had once been the two men she trusted the most, almost family. They had known all along that Karan knew where she was, and stayed silent.
That betrayal hadn’t faded yet. That was when Karan and Abhimanyu walked in.
The moment Karan stepped inside, his eyes went straight to Mishti.
The admiration returned instantly. Ever since she had shopped for all the traditional outfits for the wedding-related events, he had been seeing her in a different light.
Today, she was dressed in a pastel pink lehenga.
Her hair was left loose over her shoulders, soft curls resting at the ends.
Minimal makeup, delicate jewellery. Nothing excessive, but as always, he found himself unable to look away.
Abhimanyu cleared his throat deliberately. “Bhai… Avni can notice your interest in her friend.”
Karan exhaled quietly and forced his gaze away, turning instead toward VK.
“Karan,” VK said, looking at him, almost casually. “There’s a small ritual you’ll need to do. It’s a family custom. The bride’s brother ties the sacred thread on her right wrist before the main ceremonies. It’s a blessing. A promise of protection.”
Karan froze. Before he could react, Avni spoke angrily. “No, Papa. That’s not happening.”
VK frowned. “But Avni, it’s a custom.”
“Then let’s skip this one,” she said firmly. “I don’t want him participating in anything related to my wedding as my brother.”
Her words landed hard. Karan felt it, even if he didn’t show it. But he chose to stay silent.
VK tried again. “You can’t skip customs like this. It’s your wedding, Avni.”
“I know,” she replied, nodding. “But I don’t like him. In fact, him being here and attending my wedding itself is already a lot for me to tolerate. And now you want me to let him perform rituals as my brother in my marriage? No way. He has no rights.”
Mishti didn’t like the way Avni spoke about Karan. She wanted to tell Avni to stop. The truth burned at her lips. To tell her that the story was not what she believed it to be. That Karan was not the villain she thought he was. But she stayed quiet and let VK handle it.
Before VK could say anything more, Karan stepped in himself.
“It’s okay, Uncle,” he said calmly. “If she doesn’t want me to participate, I won’t. Let’s not trouble the bride.”
Avni frowned and turned away, clearly done with the discussion. But this time, Mishti did not stay quiet.
She stepped in, looking at Karan. “You or Avni don’t get to overrule rituals like this.”
Both Karan and Avni looked at her, a bit surprised.
“What do you think a marriage is?” she continued, in anger. “It’s not a joke. It’s sacred. Every ritual has meaning. Every custom that’s fulfilled becomes a blessing for the bride and groom.”
She turned to Avni, unable to hold back anymore. “And what’s the point of having this wedding here, in our cultural way, if you want to skip rituals as and when you like?”
Karan watched her, surprised by how fiercely she was fighting for this. He hadn’t expected anything less from her either. Mishti had always been like this. Rooted in tradition, guided by values, someone who followed the unspoken rulebook of culture and faith.
But this felt like more than just tradition. It felt as though she was stepping into the role of his wife again, standing up for what was right. Standing up for him.
Avni looked conflicted, unable to decide.
That was when VK spoke. “She’s right, Avni. Otherwise, we could have done the wedding in London itself. Why bring it here if you don’t want to follow the customs?”
Avni exhaled slowly, having no real argument left. “Fine,” she said at last. “But ask him first. I don’t want to force him either.” She paused. “Someone who was always so distant from me might not want to be part of something so… pure.”
Every gaze shifted to Karan. But he only held his sister’s eyes as he answered. “I’ve missed being there for you in many ways,” he said. “If doing this is so important for your wedding, I’ll do it.”
Avni didn’t respond, but something in her expression eased in the way he said it.
Mishti let out a breath of relief. She glanced at VK, who immediately met her eyes with a small smile and a knowing nod. Karan noticed the exchange and soon connected the dots. So this was Mishti’s idea.
Soon after, VK guided Avni and Rajat outside to begin the ceremony. And Abhimanyu followed close behind.
As Mishti moved to follow them, passing Karan, he caught her hand and stopped her. The others were already outside now. It was just the two of them.
“So, this was your doing?” he asked.
She didn’t answer and tried to look away, but he stepped closer, pulling her gently toward him. “You don’t want me to call you my wife,” he said in a low voice, “but you seem to be playing that role very diligently.”
“Yes, I am,” she replied, giving a humourless smile. “But don’t flatter yourself. I’m not doing this to revive our marriage. I’m doing this to protect a sibling bond that was destroyed because of my father’s actions.”
Her eyes hardened, not with anger, but memory. “Because I know exactly how it feels when a sibling hates you for something you never did. I know that feeling far too well.”
“I’m doing this for Avni and you,” she added. “For that pure, innocent bond between the two of you that never even got the chance to grow.”
She tried to pull her hand free. But Karan tightened his hold, not letting her go.
“You don’t get to fight my battles,” he said sternly. “Not when you no longer have the courage to stay in this marriage.”
Her eyes flared. “I always stayed, Karan,” she snapped.
“I wanted the best for us. But you were the one who pushed me away. All because of that one name I carried. My father’s.
Only because his blood runs in me.” Her voice trembled.
“My innocence didn’t matter. The fact that I had no idea what he had done to you and your family didn’t matter.
That I didn’t even know he was alive didn’t matter either.
What mattered to you, when you chose to hurt me, was that I was a Goel. ”
She stepped closer, close enough that he could feel the heat of her breath.
“So don’t tell me I didn’t stay. Or that I ran away. You pushed me out, Karan. And I left only because staying would have destroyed both your sanity and mine.”
Her gaze hardened.
“You know what the real irony is?” she continued. “There was no need for a villain in our story. You played that part perfectly yourself. The husband who hurt. The hero who became the reason the heroine left him forever.”
Karan didn’t answer immediately.
His nostrils flared, still holding back how much her words hurt him.
“Maybe I did become the villain,” he said, nodding. “But villains don’t stand there, owning what they broke.”
He stepped closer, just enough for his fingers to brush her wrist.
“I won’t let our story end divided into two worlds.”
She gasped, trying to decipher what he meant.
“If there’s an ending left to be written,” he added softly, “it will be in the same world. We will be in the same world. Whether you want that yet… or not.”
Before she could respond, they heard footsteps approaching, and soon Abhimanyu walked in again.
“Bhai… uncle is calling you both outside. The ritual is about to begin.”
Mishti didn’t look at Karan again. She turned and walked out first. But Karan stayed back, just for a few seconds.
His eyes shut, fists clenched as he tried to regain control and only then he followed her out.
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