DREAMY WEDDING
Everything fell into silence after that.
He didn’t push the question further.
And I… stayed quiet.
“Never been in a relationship?” he asked suddenly.
My legs dangled off the edge of the bed as I stared at the floor, my fingers loosely intertwined. A small, almost meaningless smile touched my lips.
“Too ugly to experience that,” I said.
The words came out light. Casual.
Like a joke.
But they weren’t.
He didn’t say anything.
And maybe that made it easier.
Because if he had replied… I might not have been able to continue thinking.
My mind had already drifted somewhere else.
Somewhere I never liked going.
Since childhood… since that one incident… something inside me had shifted.
Broken.
After what my own father did…
The world didn’t feel safe anymore.
Not even my own home.
Not even the people who were supposed to protect me.
I used to scream if anyone tried to touch me. Even my own brother… even my grandfather. I didn’t understand the difference back then. All I knew was fear.
The only person I allowed near me… was the female maid.
Years passed like that.
Locked inside walls that were meant to protect me… but only reminded me of what happened.
I was homeschooled.
Kept away.
Hidden.
As if the world was the problem… not what had already been done to me.
When I finally went abroad for my degree, things changed… a little. I met people. Girls. I spoke. I laughed. Slowly… I started breathing again.
And for a while… I thought I was the only one.
The only broken one.
The only unlucky one.
But then… we started talking.
Sharing.
Secrets that were never meant to be said out loud.
And that’s when I realised something terrifying.
Not a single one of us was untouched.
Every girl had a story.
Different faces. Same pain.
And most of the time…
It wasn’t strangers.
It was uncles.
Cousins.
People who were called “family.”
Something inside me hardened that day.
Turned cold.
Turned… angry.
I didn’t just hate what happened to me anymore.
I started hating the entire system that allowed it.
The entire gender that kept repeating it.
Even when my sister-in-law asked for a divorce from my brother… my first instinct wasn’t to question her.
It was to question him.
Because in my head…
Men didn’t need a reason to be wrong.
They just… were.
I don’t know what men are capable of anymore.
I don’t want to know.
Because to me…
They were never humans.
Just monsters… wearing human faces.
I turned slightly and looked at him.
He was sitting beside me, his gaze fixed on the window, like the world outside mattered more than whatever was happening inside this room.
For a moment, I just watched him.
Strange… how easily I was sitting next to a man. Talking. Existing. Breathing normally.
There was a time I couldn’t even stand that.
I let out a slow breath.
“I hate men,” I muttered.
His eyes shifted to me.
“You’re a lesbian?” he asked.
I blinked.
Then let out a small chuckle.
The way he asked that… so genuinely confused, like he was trying to understand instead of react—it almost caught me off guard.
“No,” I said.
He hummed, like that answered everything.
“Men are trash,” I said again, this time watching him closely.
Carefully.
Waiting.
Waiting for that reaction.
The anger. The defensiveness. The ego.
The usual.
But nothing came.
His expression didn’t change. Not even slightly.
I narrowed my eyes a little.
“Not getting ragebaited?” I asked, genuinely curious now.
He shook his head slowly. Said nothing.
That annoyed me more.
“Don’t try to act like a green flag,” I said, rolling my eyes.
He exhaled quietly.
“I can’t defend your statement,” he said. “The hatred women have for men… it’s valid.”
I scoffed immediately.
“Don’t try to impress me,” I shot back.
He didn’t react to that either.
And somehow…
That silence felt louder than any argument he could have made.
“Why do I need to impress you?” he asked, turning to look at me, his brows slightly pulled together.
I let out a scoff, the words slipping out before I could even think twice.
“So that you can make me fall in love with you.”
It sounded ridiculous the moment it left my mouth.
Even to me.
A humorless laugh bubbled up in my throat at my own logic.
He stared at me for a second… and then his nose scrunched up, his expression twisting into pure, unfiltered disgust.
Like I had just said the most absurd thing in the world.
I raised an eyebrow.
“What?” I challenged.
“That’s your conclusion?” he asked, still looking at me like he couldn’t believe what he just heard.
I shrugged lightly.
“Isn’t that what people do? Impress, pretend, manipulate… fall in love, get married, ruin each other’s lives?” I said casually, like it was the most normal thing to believe.
“Do people really get married to ruin both of their lives?” he asked, like he was genuinely trying to understand where my logic even came from.
“Oh yeah,” I said without missing a beat. “Just like how we both did.”
He rolled his eyes immediately.
“Listen… we didn’t fall in love and get married,” he said.
“Oh yeah,” I muttered.
“You forced me to marry you,” he continued, his voice tightening slightly. “Literally threatened my family. So just imagine how cruel you are—”
“Oh please,” I cut him off before he could finish. “I know I’m a piece of shit. Don’t remind me again and again.”
The words came out faster than I expected. Sharper too.
He exhaled slowly, like he was too tired to argue anymore.
“So our marriage ruined both our lives,” I said after a pause.
He hummed.
Silence followed again, but this time it didn’t feel heavy. Just… there.
I stared ahead for a moment, my thoughts drifting somewhere unexpected.
“What is your dream kind of wedding?” I asked suddenly.
He turned his head toward me, clearly confused.
“Why are you always asking ridiculous questions?” he asked.
I shrugged slightly.
“Answer,” I said.
“I won’t owe you an answer. Why should I share my thoughts with someone who forced me into a marriage?” he said.
I scoffed.
The same line. Again.
And yet… it still stirred something inside me every single time.
“I’m bored,” I muttered, looking down at my hands. “I can either talk to you… or scroll through my phone.”
He didn’t reply.
Silence settled between us again—filled only by the slow humming of the ceiling fan and the quiet ticking of the wall clock.
Time felt louder than us.
Then, after a while—
“I actually never thought of any dreamy wedding,” he said.
I looked at him immediately.
His face was blank. Too blank.
“Never?” I asked.
He shrugged slightly.
“Hmm… I don’t know.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, studying his expression, trying to see if he was joking.
He wasn’t.
“Like… sometimes I even wonder if someone would ever marry me,” he added quietly.
The words were simple.
But they didn’t feel light.
They felt… real.
“Why?” I asked, turning slightly toward him.
He hesitated for a second, like he wasn’t sure if he should answer.
Then he did.
“Uh… because I have a lot of commitments,” he said, his voice quieter now. “My whole family relies on me. And I don’t want my girl to be trapped in responsibilities just because she married me.”
I didn’t interrupt.
“I should be in a position where I can afford her necessities… and even the luxurious things that make her happy,” he continued.
There was no pride in his tone.
No ego.
Just… honesty.
“But right now, I’m not like that,” he added, looking down at his hands. “I don’t even own a house. And I need to work harder until Aarushi finishes her studies. Medical expenses for the elders are high… so everything is complicated now.”
The room felt quieter.
His words didn’t rush. They settled. Slowly.
“And no girl would accept to marry a man in this condition,” he said, almost like he had accepted it long ago. “And I’m not complaining. That’s valid, right? Everyone would want someone who is financially stable.”
I looked at him.
Really looked at him.
For the first time without judgment.
Without irritation.
Without preparing a comeback.
And for once…
I had nothing to say.
No sarcasm.
No sharp words.
Nothing to throw back at him.
A small smile tugged at my lips instead.
Not mocking.
Not bitter.
Just… soft.
“I would marry someone even if he is poor,” I said.
He turned his head and looked at me.
“Because you are extremely rich,” he replied without hesitation.
I nodded.
That was true.
“But character matters, right?” I said, my voice a little quieter now. “If a person is rich in values… morals… respect… then I’m ready to marry him even if he is a beggar.”
The words came out firm.
Certain.
Like something I believed in deeply.
He listened.
And then shook his head slightly.
“That doesn’t work in a practical life,” he said.
“It would work,” I replied, just as quickly.
He didn’t argue further.
He just looked ahead again, like he didn’t have the energy to prove me wrong… or maybe didn’t want to.
A quiet pause followed.
Then he exhaled softly.
“You know what… I talked a lot to you today,” he said.
I chuckled immediately.
“No one can resist talking to me,” I said, flipping my hair lightly.
He stood up suddenly, like he had stayed in that moment longer than he intended to.
“I’m gonna cook dinner,” he said, already walking out of the room.
I watched his back disappear, something about the abruptness making me frown slightly.
“You didn’t say how you want your dreamy wedding to be!” I shouted from the room.
For a second, there was only the faint clatter of utensils from the kitchen.
Then—
“A wedding under the stars… and between clouds which is reflected on the deep ocean!” he shouted back.
I froze.
Completely caught off guard.
Because I didn’t expect him to answer.
Not after everything he said.
Not after everything between us.
My eyes widened slightly, the image forming in my mind without permission—stars above, clouds blending into the horizon, the ocean mirroring everything like a quiet witness.
Beautiful.
Peaceful.
Nothing like us.
A smile slowly spread across my lips.
Soft.
Effortless.
And for the first time…
It felt real.