“That will never happen…”

As soon as both of them speak quickly, everyone present in the room turns to look at them. When Vanjeet stands in front of his grandfather and begins to say something, the old man immediately raises his hand and interrupts him.

“You said you would rather not get married, and I never forced you. I never troubled you, never pressured you to marry. The whole world kept talking behind our backs, but I stayed silent. You know very well the kinds of things people said about you… You are gay… there is some problem in you… but still I never pressure you…. Then one day, you told me you liked a girl and wanted to marry her. Without a second thought, I said yes. We met her family later, but my approval came the moment you told me she was your choice… She is totally a career-oriented girl, which is not at all fitting to our traditional family, but still I didn't say anything. And now, today the matter concerns the name of my ancestors… something I cannot allow to be dragged through the dirt. If you don’t agree to marry this girl right here, right now, then this wedding procession will return not only without a bride but also with my funeral bier along with it.”

“Grandfather…”

Even if Vanjeet tries to speak now, Vishambhar has already closed all doors of negotiation. Vanjeet knows his grandfather too well; every word spoken from his mouth, he ensures it becomes truth. That thought renders him completely silent. He doesn’t know how to convince anyone here anymore. His entire focus is solely on Aavya, who now has every reason to reject this marriage, and he is confident that she will. Without wasting another second, he rushes out of the room. Yogendra turns toward Krishna and speaks firmly.

“The girl belongs to your side. She ran away from the wedding, so most of the shame will fall on your family. People will talk about us too, but in a few days, they'll quiet down. Still, we value our honor so much that we don’t even want to hear those few days of gossip. If you want no one here to speak a word, then convince your younger daughter. Prepare her within the next hour and bring her to the mandap. I’m going outside to inform everyone that the bride is unwell, and that’s why there’s a slight delay in the ceremony.”

As soon as Yogendra finishes speaking, the entire Rana family walks out with him. Kishan quickly turns to look at Aavya, who becomes afraid of his gaze. Every time he’s looked at her like that, it has filled her with fear. And today, her elder sister isn’t even here to protect her from his scolding. So, she immediately lowers her gaze and tries to leave the room quietly. But Krishna, not waiting for her consent, turns to Sunaina and commands coldly:

“One hour is more than enough. Get this girl dressed as a bride and bring her to the mandap as soon as possible. I don’t want to hear any nonsense, nor do I care what she wants or thinks.”

With that, Kishan exits the room immediately. Sunaina picks up the bridal outfit and starts walking toward Aavya. The moment Aavya sees her, she panics and pleads to her mother.

“What madness is this? Have you all completely lost your minds? How can I take my sister’s place? You all know how much they loved each other. That’s why this marriage was happening. If she’s gone somewhere or if something has happened to her, then instead of doing this absurd drama here, why can’t you all focus your energy on finding her? Send out all your people and inform the police, do whatever it takes to find Di.”

As soon as Aavya finishes speaking, a stinging slap lands across her cheek. She goes silent. Sunaina points a finger at her and yells furiously:

“Shut your mouth right now… I don’t want to hear a single word from you. Ever since the day you were born, what have you done except bring problems into our lives?”

“I haven’t done anything... But why do you always blame me for everything?” Aavya whispers, her voice trembling.

“Why shouldn’t I blame you? I gave birth to twins, you and your brother. Both of you got pneumonia together, but your brother died, and you survived. After your birth, we faced endless losses. Our company went bankrupt. Your grandfather passed away from grief. Your father left you at your grandmother’s house just so he wouldn’t have to look at your face. And while taking you to the doctor one night, my own parents died in a car accident. But you survived, and they left this world. I hate even the sight of your face. And today, your sister’s wedding day, everything was so perfect; she was so happy. But you couldn’t bear her happiness, could you? You were always jealous of her joy. That’s why you told her not to get married. You knew very well how sensitive she was to your pain, how deeply she cared about what you said. That’s why she left. And now, whenever she returns, we’ll handle it. But right now, our family’s honor is hanging by a thread, and it’s all because of you…. No matter how much you defend yourself, you can’t deny that you’re a curse. Wherever you go, misfortune follows…”

Without giving Aavya another moment to react, Sunaina begins forcefully removing her clothes to dress her as the bride. No amount of resistance from Aavya is enough to stop her. Within minutes, other women in the family also come in to help. Aavya keeps crying and struggling, but no one is willing to listen to her. Once she is dressed, they drag her toward the mandap. Just before she’s taken in, Sunaina stops and gives her a final warning.

“You know your father’s temper better than anyone. If you go through this quietly, I’ll try to calm him down and request him to help search for your sister. But if you defy us, if you spoil his mood any further, you know he won’t care who’s missing or who’s suffering. No matter how much he loves Koyal, he won't even bother trying to find her. However, if you agree to our terms and proceed with this marriage quietly, I promise you that by tomorrow morning, either she will return on her own or I will personally take responsibility for bringing her back."

Aavya turns her face toward her mother. Despite the veil covering her face, Sunaina can clearly see tears streaming down her cheeks. Yet, years of buried hatred have hardened this mother’s heart, it doesn’t melt even a little.

Aavya then looks straight ahead, where Vanjeet is sitting silently at the mandap, dressed as the groom, as if none of what’s happening around him matters to him at all. Her heart is heavy with helplessness. All she wants is to find her sister, and she has no other way to do that. The only way forward now is to comply.

She bows her head and begins walking toward the mandap with the women escorting her. Vanjeet’s eyes instantly shift to her. He glances at her suddenly; the veil may cover her face, but their eyes meet for a brief second. Then he quickly looks away, and Aavya lowers her gaze too.

PAST EVENT ENDS

Aavya suddenly opened her eyes, finding herself in an unfamiliar room. Confusion clouded her face for a moment, but then everything slowly started coming back to her. She immediately reached for her forehead, where a bandage had been wrapped tightly. Scanning the room quickly, she realized it was empty—no sign of anyone around.

She picked up her phone from the side table and tried calling her sister again, only to find the phone still switched off. A lump rose in her throat, and she broke into tears once more. But just then, a noise from the closet grabbed her attention, pulling her out of her despair. She quickly rushed toward the sound.

Inside, Vanjeet stood wearing only his pants, apparently getting ready to leave for work. He was facing the mirror, so he could clearly see Aavya standing behind him. Yet, without acknowledging her presence, he continued with his routine, even quicker now, as if to avoid her.

“Are you going to look for my sister?” she asked in a trembling voice.

“I don’t have time for useless things,” he replied coldly.

Startled by his tone, Aavya looked at him in disbelief. He gave her a brief glance but returned immediately to fixing his tie. She walked closer to him, her voice laced with frustration and concern.

“How can you say that? You love her.”

“So what?” he shot back. “That love ended the moment she decided to walk away from our wedding. She left of her own will. I’m sure of it. And if she leaves on her own, she’ll come back on her own.”

“No! You’re mistaken…. Something terrible must have happened to her… or someone must’ve taken her away…. She would never run away from the wedding, not like that. I know she wouldn't. Why aren’t you all even trying to find out what happened to her?”

He suddenly turned to face her, his intense gaze making her take a step back. She clutched her lehenga tightly in fear. As he walked toward her, she instinctively backed up until her back hit the wall. Now standing right in front of her, he looked into her eyes and spoke with icy precision.

“I don’t want to hear another word of this nonsense. All I know is that I can't tolerate you in my life. I’m heading to a lawyer’s office. The drama is over. Now I only want to focus on one thing, how to legally throw you out of my life.”

He paused before continuing, “And let me say it again, she left by choice. You think there was no investigation? Every corner of this venue had CCTV cameras. She walked out calmly, without resistance, got into an auto, and left. No one forced her.”

Aavya stood there, stunned. Nothing was making sense anymore. Without sparing another word or glance, Vanjeet stormed out of the room, leaving her to drown in her spiraling thoughts.

PAST

“What’s up with you lately, Didi? You’ve been unusually happy… Come on, spill it…”

Koyal was smiling down at her phone, clearly reading someone’s message. Aavya had been noticing this for days. Teasingly, she caught her sister’s hands and demanded.

"Di, what are you doing…"

“Look, I didn’t want to hide anything from you. But I needed to be sure first. And now that I am… yes, I’ve been seeing someone for the past three months.”

Aavya’s eyes widened in disbelief, her jaw dropping dramatically.

“What?! How could you do this to me! You’ve been with someone for three months and didn’t tell me? You’re the worst… I share everything with you, even how many times I went to the washroom at college, and you didn’t think I deserved to know this?”

Koyal laughed, already expecting this reaction. She playfully caught the pillow that Aavya threw at her and then said,

“You fool, I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t sure if it was serious. At first, he was just a business partner. But over time… I realized he could be more than that. He’s kind, he understands me, and he takes care of me in ways I never imagined… And for the first time, I feel like someone truly sees me.”

There was a glow on Koyal’s face that Aavya had never seen before. A warm happiness that came from deep within. Aavya felt a strange twist in her chest, happy for her sister but oddly... uneasy.

“So… am I not enough for you anymore?” she whispered.

“You silly girl,” Koyal said, touching her cheek, “this is different. You wouldn’t understand. Let it go.”

Just then, Koyal’s phone rang again. For a while now, Aavya had noticed that every time her sister’s phone rang, she’d walk away to answer it. Today was no different. Watching her walk to the corner of the room, giggling and blushing while she talked, something inside Aavya began to ache.

“She has someone who loves her now,” Aavya whispered to herself. “She’s going to leave me too… Then I’ll have no one…. But she is happy.”

Her eyes followed Koyal’s every move, her heart quietly breaking with the realization. Still, when Koyal returned and lay down, Aavya tried to break the silence.

“Didi, you won’t believe what happened at college today…”

Koyal interrupted, “Avu, please… I’m exhausted. Let’s talk tomorrow morning, okay? Sleep now.”

Aavya went quiet. Koyal had never brushed her off like that before. Trying to smile, she forced herself to joke, “At least tell me the name of the person.”

“Vanjeet,” Koel replied softly.

“Ewwww… Forest?” Aavya teased, pulling a face.

Koyal laughed and pounced on her in mock anger, while Aavya giggled and tickled her back, trying to hold on to the moment for just a little longer.

PAST ENDS

“I know something went wrong. But no one’s listening to me,” Aavya whispered to herself, eyes blazing with determination. “If no one else will, then I’ll find you myself, Didi.”

She turned sharply and walked back into the room, ready to change out of her bridal attire. Her sister needed her, and she wasn’t going to waste another second waiting.