3 | Truth Beneath the Veil
Some weddings unite two souls. This one broke a daughter's heart first.
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The sound of the dhol echoed through the palace as the baraat finally arrived.
Lights shimmered against the night sky while the baraatis danced without a care, laughter and music filling every corner of the mansion.
The bride's family stood near the entrance, welcoming them warmly.
But the groom stood silently beneath the sehra, his face completely hidden.
Avantika's mother stepped forward with the aarti thaal in her trembling hands.
Just as she lifted her hand to move the sehra aside, the groom's mother gently stopped her.
"Arre samdhin ji," she smiled softly, "in our family, the groom's sehra is removed only after the wedding."
Avantika's mother immediately pulled her hand back awkwardly.
"Oh... I didn't know. It's alright then."
Beside her, Siya-who had been desperately trying to see the groom's face since morning-grinned mischievously.
"Why, aunty ji?" she teased playfully. "You haven't hidden some big secret behind that sehra, right?"
For one brief second... the atmosphere changed.
The smiles on both families' faces stiffened slightly.
Then the groom's father laughed loudly.
"You joke too much, beta. But that's good. A house should always have someone who keeps everyone smiling."
Avantika's father smiled nervously.
"Yes, yes... that's just her habit. Please come inside now. The muhurat is about to begin."
Everyone slowly moved toward the mandap.
The groom quietly took his place while the pandit started chanting the mantras.
Relatives gathered around the sacred fire, excitement glowing across their faces.
"Call the bride," the pandit announced.
Meanwhile, Siya was already busy planning how to steal the groom's shoes while his sister tried to protect them.
But before anyone could start fighting over them, the groom silently removed his shoes himself and placed them aside.
Siya blinked.
"That was too easy..."
A few moments later, Avantika walked into the mandap.
The entire hall seemed to pause for a second.
Draped in red, she looked beautiful enough to make even the loud whispers around her soften.
Nazar was removed from her face again and again while relatives admired her lovingly.
Slowly, she sat beside the groom.
The moment her foot accidentally brushed against his... he immediately shifted slightly away, carefully maintaining a respectful distance between them.
Avantika frowned faintly beneath her veil.
Everything about tonight had felt strange from the beginning.
Soon the pandit called for the kanyadaan ritual.
Her parents moved closer and sat beside her, their eyes already heavy with emotion.
"From today, our daughter will belong to another family."
("?? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ?????...")
The thought alone was enough to break something inside them.
"Place your daughter's hand in the groom's hand," the pandit instructed gently.
Avantika's father slowly lifted her trembling hand and moved it toward the groom.
For a moment... the groom didn't move.
The mandap fell strangely quiet.
Then, after a long pause, instead of taking her hand in his, he quietly placed his hand over hers.
It was almost as if he was offering himself before accepting her.
Several people exchanged confused glances.
The pandit cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Beta, hold the bride's hand properly. From today onwards, she is your responsibility."
Responsibility.
The word echoed strangely in the groom's silence.
The rituals continued.
Soon it was time for the pheras.
"Hold each other's hands," the pandit instructed.
Avantika instinctively extended her hand toward him.
But instead of holding her entire hand... the groom only wrapped his fingers lightly around her index finger.
And suddenly-Avantika's eyes widened beneath the veil.
A memory flashed before her eyes.
A little girl crying in fear... street dogs barking loudly around her... and a boy standing protectively in front of her before helping her up afterward.
Back then, when little Avantika had stretched her hand forward to say thank you... he had shaken only her index finger instead of her whole hand.
Exactly like this.
That night, she finally smiled-just a little, almost unnoticed.
The wedding rituals finally came to an end.
With slightly trembling hands, the groom filled her maang with sindoor before tying the mangalsutra around her neck.
"From today onwards," the pandit smiled warmly, "you are husband and wife. Take blessings from your elders."
Both of them stood up together.
First, they touched the pandit's feet respectfully.
Then instinctively-the bride turned toward her parents, and the groom toward his own family.
But the gathbandhan tightened between them, stopping both midway.
Avantika was about to turn toward him when suddenly... he quietly changed direction and walked toward her parents first.
Blessings were being exchanged one after another, yet Avantika couldn't ignore the strange guilt resting on her father's face.
The groom's father finally smiled softly.
"Alright then... we should begin the bidaai now."
Avantika's mother immediately looked up.
"So soon?"
Before anyone else could answer, Avantika's father spoke quietly,
"Yes... every ritual should happen at the right muhurat."
Siya, who had been waiting for the perfect opportunity since the wedding started, suddenly stepped forward dramatically.
"Excuse me! Before the bride leaves, shouldn't we get proper payment for the groom's shoes first?"
The groom's sister laughed confidently.
"As if my brother lacks money."
Siya grinned mischievously.
"That may be true... but before that, shouldn't we finally see our dear jijaji's face? Or is he planning to reveal it only after taking my sister home?"
For a second-silence settled strangely inside the mandap.
Several faces stiffened almost instantly.
The groom's mother opened her mouth to speak, but Siya interrupted again teasingly,
"And please don't tell me this is another one of your family rituals, aunty ji."
Even Avantika frowned slightly now.
Everything about tonight had felt strange from the beginning.
Slowly, she lifted her hand toward the sehra herself.
But before her fingers could touch it-the groom quietly removed it on his own.
And suddenly... the world around her seemed to stop.
Avantika's breath caught in her throat.
That face-it wasn't unfamiliar.
That was the problem.
Whispers immediately spread across the hall.
"Wait... isn't that the elder brother?" "What happened to the younger one?" "Was this hidden from the bride's family?"
The noise around her slowly blurred together.
Everyone looked shocked.
Everyone except the groom, his parents... and Avantika's father.
Avantika's mother stumbled backward, her trembling hand instantly reaching for her forehead before Avantika's aunt quickly held her.
"What have you people done to my daughter?" she whispered brokenly.
But Avantika... remained completely silent.
No tears.
No anger.
It almost looked as if her mind had stopped understanding what she was supposed to feel anymore.
If only the groom's family had hidden this truth from her, maybe she would've screamed.
Maybe she would've refused.
But the moment her eyes landed on her father-something inside her shattered quietly.
A weak, trembling whisper escaped her lips.
"Papa... even you?"
The incomplete sentence hurt more than accusations ever could.
Her father lowered his eyes immediately.
He still couldn't look at her.
The groom stood frozen beside her, his grip tightening slightly around the loosened gathbandhan that had slipped from Avantika's shoulder.
After a long silence that night, he finally looked at her.
Only for a second.
And then he looked away again, as if he couldn't bear the pain in her eyes.
The groom's parents slowly stepped forward, trying to speak to Avantika about leaving for her sasural.
But before they could say anything-the groom silently stopped them with a quick glance.
The hall fell quiet again.
Avantika's father finally spoke, his voice sounding weaker than before.
"You should leave for your new home now."
Avantika stared at him for a long moment.
Her expression didn't hold anger anymore.
That was the most painful part.
Slowly, she stepped back.
"I don't recognize any husband..." she whispered. "Or any sasural."
The sound of her bangles trembled faintly in the silence as she turned toward the hallway leading to her room.
"I'll stay where I belong."
The groom's chest tightened painfully.
He finally spoke, his voice low and heavy with guilt.
"She should stay where she feels safe."
Everyone turned toward him in surprise.
"She needs time."