19 ~ In his bedroom
I walked back toward my room in a daze.
My feet moved on their own, but my mind remained trapped in the conversation I'd just had with his father. His words echoed relentlessly inside my head, each one heavier than the last.
He hadn't shouted.
He had simply threatened me and that left me completely helpless.
Something I couldn't ignore.
My fingers trembled as I reached the door.
I pushed it open.
Every pair of eyes turned toward me at once.
I entered and mumma looked at me with hope.
Before I could even move another step, Dadi slowly stood up and walked toward me.
Her trembling fingers gently wrapped around my hand.
Her eyes were teary and red.
"Chahat beta..." Her voice quivered. "...please Kartik se shaadi ke liye haan keh do."
(Chahat dear... please say yes to marrying Kartik.)
The words shattered whatever strength I had left.
Fresh tears blurred my vision.
"Dadi..." My voice cracked as I shook my head helplessly. "Woh... woh hone wale jiju hain mere." I struggled to breathe. "Main kaise...? Aap log yeh kya bol rahe hain?"
(He... he is my would-be brother-in-law. How can I...? What are all of you saying?)
For a brief moment, silence settled over the room.
Then Seema Chachi let out a dry, sarcastic laugh.
"Hone wale?" She folded her arms. "Kis baat ke hone wale? Mukti bhaag gayi hai."
(Would-be? Would-be for what? Mukti has run away.)
Her words sliced through the silence with brutal ease.
At that very moment, Kartik's father Dhanraj Singhaniya stepped inside.
His face was unreadable.
His gaze slowly travelled across the room before finally settling on me.
I couldn't bring myself to look back.
Instead, I lowered my eyes to the floor.
My fingers instinctively clenched the edge of my dupatta in anger.
"Bhaisahab..." Seema Chachi said, looking toward Papa. "Mukti bhaag gayi hai."
(Brother... Mukti has run away.)
She then turned to me but remained silent.
Everyone was looking at me along with kartik's father.
My father came forward and apologized with his father, "Aap bataiye ab hum kya karein."
(Please tell us what we should do now.)
Instantly Seema Chachi looked at me and held my arm, "Kya karein matlab! Chahat ko bolo ki wo shadi kare." Then she looked at me and frowned, "Is ladki mein itni si bhi sharam nahi hai ki apne maa-baap ki izzat ka soche aur Kartik se shaadi ke liye haan keh de."
(What do you mean, what should we do? Tell Chahat to get married. Doesn't this girl have even a little shame that she won't think about her parents' honor and agree to marry Kartik?)
Every word landed like another accusation. I squeezed my eyes shut.
I couldn't bear the weight of everyone's expectations pressing down on me.
A long silence followed then Kartik's father spoke.
His voice remained calm.
"Chahat..." I slowly opened my eyes. "Bacche apne maa-baap ke baare mein na sahi...apni behen ki izzat ke baare mein socho."
(Chahat... if not for your parents, then at least think about your sister's honor.)
My grip on my dupatta tightened until my knuckles turned white.
I understood exactly what he meant. He's threatening me again in front of everyone.
I remained silent.
Finally, Seema Chachi broke the silence.
She looked toward Ina and Ishika.
"Tum dono..." Her tone was brisk. "Chahat ko jaldi taiyaar karo. Muhurat ka waqt nikla jaa raha hai."
(You two... get Chahat ready quickly. The auspicious time is passing.)
My heart lurched.
I immediately turned toward Mumma. Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks.
"Mumma... please." I caught hold of her hand with both of mine. "aisa mat kijiye."
(Mumma... please. Don't do this.)
For one impossible second...I thought she would hold my hand back.
Instead...She slowly slipped her hand free from my grasp.
Her own eyes overflowed with tears.
Her voice came out broken. "Kartik accha ladka hai. Isi mein sabki bhalai hai, beta."
(Kartik is a good man. This is best for everyone, beta.)
The sentence struck harder than anything else that had been said that evening.
It wasn't an order. It was surrender. As though she had convinced herself there was no other path left.
One by one, everyone began walking toward the door.
Papa left with his shoulders slumped.
Dadi wiped her eyes as Kartik's father gently helped her outside.
Even Mumma walked away without looking back.
Only Seema Chachi stayed where she was.
She folded her arms once again and positioned herself near the doorway, outside the room.
"Main yahin rahungi." Her eyes shifted toward me. "Kahin Chahat bhi bhaag gayi toh?"
(I'll stay right here. What if Chahat runs away too?)
The words hung in the air like another chain being fastened around me.
For the first time since this nightmare had begun...I truly felt trapped.
Something inside me finally broke.
A sob escaped my lips before I could stop it, then another. Within seconds, I was crying so hard that I could barely breathe. Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face as every emotion I had been holding back since morning came crashing down at once.
"This wasn't supposed to happen..." I whispered brokenly. "Yeh... yeh meri shaadi nahi thi..." My voice cracked under the weight of my own words. "I never wanted this..."
(This... this wasn't my wedding...)
Ina immediately came to my side, gently cupping my face as she hurriedly wiped away my tears. "Chahat... please calm down."
Before I could say anything else, Ishika wrapped both her arms tightly around me.
I broke down completely against her shoulder.
She slowly rubbed my back, trying to calm my uneven breaths.
"Sab theek ho jayega, Chahat," she whispered softly, her own voice trembling. "Please... sambhalo khud ko."
(Everything will be okay, Chahat. Please... compose yourself.)
But I only cried harder because deep down...I knew nothing was ever going to be the same again.
They made me sit on the chair. Ina and Ishika silently opened the bridal trunk. Neither of them said much. What could they possibly say? There were no words capable of comforting someone whose entire life had been decided within the span of a few hours.
Without protesting, I slowly untied the strings of my purple lehenga. My fingers felt numb. Every movement felt mechanical, as if my body had stopped belonging to me. Ina and Ishika unfolded the bridal outfit that had originally been sent for Mukti.
The rich red fabric shimmered beneath the room's lights, embroidered with intricate zardozi, gota patti, and delicate handwork. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
Beautiful enough to become someone's dream.
Tonight...It felt like my punishment.
The heavy bridal lehenga settled over my shoulders, its weight making it difficult to breathe.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment as Ishika knelt to straighten the long trail of the skirt. No one spoke. The only sounds filling the room were the soft clinking of jewellery and my own uneven breaths.
Then came the ornaments.
One by one, the necklace, earrings, maang tikka and the waist chain.
Everything that had been chosen for Mukti was now being placed on me.
As though my identity no longer mattered.
When Ishika picked up the stack of red and gold bridal bangles, my hands instinctively stiffened. She hesitated for a second before gently taking my wrist.
She slowly pushed the first bangle over my hand then another.
The glass scraped lightly against my skin as the stack slid toward my wrist.
A single tear escaped my eye.
It rolled silently down my cheek before disappearing beneath my chin.
I didn't even bother wiping it away.
Ishika noticed the tears gathering on my face and quietly sat beside me.
"Chahat..." She gently squeezed my hand. "Kartik itna bhi bura nahi hai."
(Chahat... Kartik isn't that bad.)
For a brief second, I almost laughed. Not because her words were funny because they sounded so painfully distant from the Kartik I knew.
The man she saw from afar...and the man I had encountered were not the same person.
She hadn't heard him question my character.
She hadn't felt the humiliation of being judged for simply standing beside a friend.
She hadn't seen the hatred in his eyes when he spoke as though every decision about my life belonged to him.
I wanted to tell her all of that.
I wanted to scream that he wasn't just arrogant. He was a narcissist, a control freak.
A man who believed his anger gave him permission to cross every boundary.
The people I was angry with the most weren't even Kartik or Mukti anymore.
They were my own parents.
The same parents who had taught me to stand up for what was right were now asking me to sacrifice myself for everyone else's mistakes.
They weren't forcing me with threats.
They were forcing me with tears and somehow that hurt even more.
When the last ornament had been fastened into place, Ina slowly lifted the bridal dupatta and carefully settled it over my head. The red veil fell across my hair and framed my face, completing the image of a bride everyone outside was desperately waiting to see.
Both of them looked at me with tear-filled eyes.
"You look beautiful," Ina hugged me and whispered.
I didn't answer.
I never even look at myself in the mirror.
A firm knock interrupted the silence.
"Taiyaar ho gayi?" Seema Chachi called from outside.
(Are you ready?)
Without waiting for an answer, she pushed the door open and walked in. Her eyes quickly scanned me from head to toe before giving a curt nod of approval.
She pulled my veil when I held her hand and plead, "Mujhe Kartik se ek baar baat karni hai..."
(I want to talk to Kartik once...)
I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to tell him to back off. To stop this drama at any cost.
"Shadi ke baad baat kar lena." There wasn't a trace of warmth in her voice.
(Talk to him after the wedding.)
"Please Chachi sirf ek baar..."
(Please, Chachi, just once...)
"Chahat tamasha mat karo." She gritted her teeth and pulled my veil lower hiding my face till my nose.
(Chahat, don't create a scene.)