Chapter 22 #2
The lump in her throat made it hard to speak, so she only nodded once, then pointed towards the trial rooms.
He briefly shut his eyes. When he opened them again, resignation and something close to betrayal shimmered in their depths.
Swayam didn’t speak. He simply took the kurta from her and walked away.
‘At least he agreed to try one. I was starting to think we would leave with nothing,’ Malini said with a relieved sigh. Her focus drifted towards the back racks. ‘Let me see if there’s something else to try.’
The moment she was out of reach, Kashvi finally leaned against the counter, unable to keep herself upright anymore. She lowered her head, wiping at her eyes before the tears could fall.
She exhaled slowly, then looked up to find Luv standing a few feet away. He came to stand beside her, bending to rest his elbows on the counter. The quiet understanding in his gaze made her stomach knot.
‘You still know what you’re doing?’
All she could do was shake her head.
The soft click of the trial room latch cut through the moment, and whatever composure she had managed slipped away.
Kashvi gave a small, helpless smile as the sight of him undid her all over again.
She had been right. It suited him, painfully so.
The tailored sleeves fit him snugly, defining the strength of his muscular arms. It hugged his chest just right and fell cleanly along his tall frame, giving him an effortless, regal look.
‘Oh, look at you! This is absolutely perfect,’ Malini clapped with delight. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. ‘Wait, let me call Lavanya. I need to show this to her.’
‘Yeah, I mean, it works. But could you not close the top buttons?’ Luv scoffed.
‘Because I don’t care,’ Swayam mumbled.
Luv turned to her and raised a brow. ‘Kashu, why don’t you help him with that? Clearly, he’s not going to do it himself. Right, Maasi?’
‘Hmm, yes, that’s fine,’ Malini replied absently, her attention caught by her phone. ‘Arrey, there’s no network here. I’ll be back. Kashvi, please just fix it for him. If Dhanush comes on the video call too, he’ll have my head for it.’
With that, she walked out of the store.
Luv gestured towards Swayam. ‘Go on.’
Kashvi shot him a look. ‘Why don’t you do it?’
‘You’re the expert here,’ Luv said, raising his hands in surrender, then walked away whistling, entirely unbothered.
With his gaze fixed on hers, Swayam crossed the small distance between them and stopped right in front of her. He pointed to his collar, waiting.
Kashvi rolled her eyes as she stepped closer. He looked so good it hurt to look at him, so she focused on the buttons as she fumbled with them. ‘You’re going to break a lot of hearts tonight.’
Swayam brushed a finger along her cheekbone. ‘Of course I will, once they find out I’m your man.’
Her heart stuttered against her ribs, and she felt it everywhere. She looked away, focusing on what she could fix, and noticed the small square of red tucked into his chest pocket.
‘This doesn’t really go with this,’ she said, lifting her hand to pull it out, but Swayam caught her wrist, pressing it flat against his chest.
The sudden contact sent a jolt through her. She felt the steady beat of his heart echo up her arm into her chest, throwing it into a frantic rhythm.
‘I’m not changing it,’ Swayam said, resolute.
Her brows knit together. ‘Why?’
‘It’s a special colour for me,’ he said, looking at her intently.
She glanced at the pocket square again and realised it was the exact same shade of deep, rich red as her ruby pendant.
The distance she had been trying to maintain collapsed under the weight of his gaze.
Just then, a weight settled over Kashvi’s head and soft fabric brushed against her cheek. She looked up in confusion, her breath hitching as she realised it was a deep red bridal pallu cascading over her hair, its intricate beads glimmering under the light.
Luv stood beside her, draping the pallu, his expression unreadable.
‘What… what is this?’ she asked.
His gaze flickered between her and Swayam. ‘I forgot to get you a gift, so I thought I’d fix my mistake. This one’s on me.’
‘For what?’
‘Your wedding,’ he said, stepping back again, leaving them be.
She turned to Swayam, who was looking at her with misty eyes. He let out a long breath, then tapped her nose gently once. ‘There she is, my bride.’
His words hit her with blinding force, making her clutch the pallu tighter.
For one fleeting, reckless second, she leaned into him, holding him close.
She heard Malini’s voice before she walked in, and reality slammed back into place so abruptly that it left her reeling.
In an instant, she pulled out of his arms and stepped back several paces.
Swayam reached out to stop her, but Malini moved between them, angling her phone towards his face. ‘Swayam, see what Lavanya is saying.’
His shoulders stiffened, and reluctantly, he turned to the screen. ‘Hmm… yeah,’ he murmured, half-listening as Lavanya complimented him.
Kashvi rubbed her damp palms against her jeans as the walls seemed to close in around her. She couldn’t escape the hollow pit opening in her gut.
This was wrong. This was too much.
Her chest ached with a sharp, relentless pressure that made each breath shallow. She pressed her lips together, trying to hold herself together even as everything inside her felt like it was splintering.
Lavanya’s voice floated through the call. ‘So I spoke to Aisha this morning. She sounded really sweet, Swayam, and she’s actually excited to meet you.’
Swayam let out a huff. ‘You want me to trust your judgement on this? You picked someone like Viru.’
Her scoff came instantly. ‘Wow, rude. First of all, if you want to impress anyone at all, fix your attitude. And second, it’s not just me. Even the universe seems to agree, because you ended up choosing the exact same colour that Aisha’s wearing tonight.’
Oh God, just how much more of this torture?
‘I’ll pick something else then,’ he retorted, irritation slipping through.
‘God help me,’ Lavanya said, her voice muffled as she moved away from the camera. ‘Viru, will you come here please? Your brother is being annoying again, and you need to fix him.’
Her blood ran cold, and panic surged so quickly it left no room for hesitation. This was it. She couldn’t stay any longer.
Kashvi pressed her phone to her ear, speaking loudly enough to grab everyone’s attention. ‘Hello? Yeah, I’m here. No, no, I got caught up, but I’ll be right there.’
She pulled the phone away, forcing an apologetic smile as she told Malini, ‘I’m sorry, Maasi, but I forgot I have the home keys and my sister is waiting downstairs.’
Malini frowned. ‘Arrey, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Go, go, don’t keep her waiting in the afternoon sun.’
Kashvi nodded quickly, clutching the strap of her bag as she bid Malini goodbye. She didn’t look at Swayam. She simply turned around and walked out.
She rushed into the bright corridor in blind desperation. Hot tears blurred her vision as they slid down her cheeks.
Kashvi stumbled forward until she reached the railing, leaning against it. She kept her head lowered to hide her unravelling from the scattered, oblivious crowd around her.
Suddenly, a firm hand gripped her elbow and spun her around. In the next instant, she found herself face to face with Swayam.
He’d changed back into his off-white shirt, but nearly half the buttons were undone. The raw anger and agony in his eyes made her chest seize painfully.
Swayam tightened his grip on her elbow, and the pressure landed directly over the bruise Viraj had left the night before. A strangled yelp escaped her as she jerked her arm away.
He froze at the sound, then gently pushed the sleeve of her top upwards. It exposed the dark purplish imprint, swollen slightly around the edges. Pain flared when he brushed it lightly, and her face twisted.
‘Kash, what happened here?’ he asked, his voice edged with something dangerous.
She tugged the sleeve back down. ‘Nothing. I banged it against the door last night.’
‘That angry mark is just from banging it?’ he asked, unconvinced.
‘It’s not a big deal. What are you doing here? Your maasi must be looking for you,’ Kashvi urged, taking a step back.
His hand shot out and wrapped firmly around her wrist. ‘Why are you so eager to leave? Where are you going?’
Her gaze darted away. ‘I told you, Siya is waiting for me downstairs, so I need to go.’
Swayam cupped her chin and tilted her head back until she met his eyes. ‘You seem to have forgotten your sister is in Delhi.’
If she could’ve facepalmed herself, she would have.
‘You’re getting late. Your maasi is inside, and she must be waiting for you. You should go back,’ she insisted, skirting around her red-handed lie.
The fragile restraint he’d been clinging to finally snapped. Swayam exhaled harshly. ‘Kashvi, just shut up.’
She stared at him, startled into silence.
‘Just stop whatever the hell it is you’re trying to do,’ he said, his gaze locked onto hers. When she parted her lips to speak, he shook his head sharply, cutting her off. ‘Why are you pushing me away when it’s killing both of us? What did I do for you to hurt me like this?’
Kashvi swallowed hard, fighting back tears. ‘I’m not...’