CHAPTER 23! FIVE DAYS #2
?The dinner ended far later than anyone had intended.
Eventually, the Rai Shinghanias departed for their own mansion, though not before Reyansh made a dramatic scene claiming that driving after consuming that much food should be classified as a federal offense.
?The only exceptions to the mass exodus were Ayaan and Vaani.
The two children flatly refused to leave. After thirty exhausting minutes of intense negotiations, shameless emotional blackmail, blatant bribery, and one highly suspicious promise involving late-night ice cream, both families finally raised their hands in defeat.
?Thus, Ayaan and Vaani remained exactly where they wanted to be-occupying the dead center of Aadhira's bed like two tiny, unyielding dictators.
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?Four days passed in a frantic, dizzying blur.
?There were endless outfit trials, meticulous jewelry fittings, and non-stop phone calls that left everyone's ears ringing.
Relatives appeared out of absolute nowhere, materializing in the living room like magical, demanding entities, and there were at least three separate, highly passionate arguments regarding the exact placement of flower arrangements.
?Tomorrow was the wedding. Aadhira sat amidst the chaos, still struggling to believe it.
Thankfully, neither she nor Aryav had ever wanted a gigantic, bloated society wedding packed with thousands of strangers and enough flash photography to blind an entire city.
They wanted a simple ceremony. Close family, intimate friends, and absolutely no unnecessary drama.
?Which, considering the sheer volatility of both their families, was an entirely unrealistic goal.
?Around eleven at night, a serene quiet finally settled over the house. Aadhira sat cross-legged on her bed, clad in an oversized college t-shirt that hung loosely from her shoulders.
She was currently holding court over an impressive fortress of skincare. Three serums, two moisturizers, one specialized face mask, and enough miscellaneous products to financially ruin a small, developing village surrounded her.
?She was halfway through applying a precise layer of hyaluronic acid when her bedroom door swung open. Shaurya walked inside.
He stopped at the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the array of bottles. Then he looked at her.
?"Aadhira."
?"Hm?"
?"Meri bhi skincare kar de."
?Aadhira slowly lowered the bottle, her eyebrows knitting together. "What?"
?"Meri bhi."
?"No."
?"Please."
?"No."
?"Dulhan ka bhai hoon," Shaurya reasoned, crossing arms. "Special treatment milna chahiye."
?Aadhira narrowed her eyes, instantly on high alert.
Five minutes later, however, Shaurya was sitting obediently on a stool near her chair.
His eyes were closed, his expression trusting and completely peaceful.
?Aadhira looked down at the dark, viscous jar of charcoal mud mask in her hand.
Then she looked back at her brother. A wicked, slow-spreading smile bloomed across her face.
?Ten minutes passed in silent, concentrated labor.
?"Aadhira."
?"Hm?"
?"Why is this stuff so freezing cold?"
?"Aap aakhe band rakho bas or Science pe bharosa rakho," she replied smoothly.
?"That doesn't answer my question at all."
?"Just breathe."
?Finally, she stepped back, wiping her hands on a tissue with a look of immense professional satisfaction. "Done. Take a look."
?Shaurya grabbed his phone from the counter, opened the front camera, and instantly froze.
?His entire face was black. Not a normal, aesthetic skincare black, but a terrifying, void-like abyss.
Except, of course, for two perfectly round, stark-white circles left untouched around his eyes, and a tiny, impeccably drawn white heart right in the dead center of his forehead.
?For three whole seconds, absolute silence ruled the room. Then-
?"AADHIRA!"
?She didn't even wait for the sound wave to hit. She immediately vaulted over the bed. "I'M A brIDE! YOU CAN'T TOUCH ME!"
?"AADHIRA!"
?"WHAT? IT'S DETOXIFYING!"
?"I LOOK LIKE A DEMON WHO LOST A CUSTODY BATTLE!" Shaurya roared, lunging forward.
"Main CID ke sketch artist ka nightmare lag raha hoon!"
?Aadhira collapsed into a fit of breathless laughter, dodging his reach. "You look adorable!"
?"I LOOK UNEMPLOYABLE!"
?"You look hydrated! Evil, but hydrated!"
?He chased her right out of the bedroom. She bolted down the hallway, laughing so hard she could barely keep her footing, the sound echoing through the quiet corridors.
?"Aadhira, come back here right now!"
?"No!"
?"COME BACK!"
?"NOT UNTIL YOU CALM DOWN!" she screamed over her shoulder, tearing down the stairs.
?"I WAS CALM TEM MINUTES AGO!"
?"And look where that got you!"
?The thunderous shouting and heavy footsteps eventually reached the ground floor. In the living room, Padmini looked up from her sofa in alarm.
Beside her, Veer lowered his report he was reading, his brow furrowed in confusion.
?Aadhira burst into the room first, skidding to a halt and pointing a dramatic finger behind her. "Before anyone judges me, I'd like to remind everyone that I acted in self-defense."
?"Self-defense?" Veer repeated.
?Shaurya arrived two seconds later, chest heaving, framing himself in the doorway. His face looked so utterly ridiculous, so profoundly demonic yet tragic, that Padmini gasped and nearly dropped her teacup into her lap.
Veer lasted exactly one second before a loud snort escaped him, dissolving into deep laughter.
Padmini lasted maybe two seconds before joining in, burying her face in her hands.
?Shaurya closed his eyes, his dark, charcoal-caked eyelids making him look even more exhausted by his family's betrayal.
He looked around the room. His sister was crying from laughter. His father was wheezing. His mother had completely given up pretending to be mature.
?"You know what?" Shaurya said quietly, his voice dripping with deep, theatrical solemnity. "If this family gets kidnapped, main kidnapper ko extra paisa dunga aap logo ko wahi rakhne ke liye."
?The room erupted into further chaos. And standing there, on the very last night before her wedding, surrounded by unmitigated chaos, booming laughter, and the people who had anchored her entire life-Aadhira laughed too, until her stomach ached.
?Slowly, the laughter faded into the quiet hum of the midnight house. Her parents went upstairs, leaving the siblings alone for a brief moment in the hallway.
Shaurya stopped near the bottom of the stairs, staring at his sister. The lingering trace of his characteristic irritation softened.
?He rolled his eyes, gesturing vaguely to his ruined face. "You're still paying for this."
?Aadhira smiled, a small, tight knot forming in her throat. "Deal."
?When she finally returned to her bedroom and climbed back into bed, the silence of the night felt heavier.
The warmth of the living room laughter began to slip away, replaced by a cold, sharp reality.
?Tomorrow, this room would stop being hers.
Tomorrow, she'd leave as an Agrawal and return only as a guest.
Tomorrow she would carry another name.
Tomorrow she would step into an empire built on power, fear, and blood.
?But tonight-
?Tonight, she wasn't someone's bride.
She wasn't the future Mrs. Rai Shinghania.
She wasn't the name people whispered after midnight.
?She was simply Aadhira.
Her father's daughter.
Her mother's child.
Her brother's favorite nuisance.
?And for one last night... she was home.
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