Dream comes true

Please click on the star⭐ and give your valuable comments about today's chapter in comment box. 🥺

Follow me on WATTPAD for updates

And ,

Follow me on INSTAGRAM for interesting reels related my story

IG : @author_sunita

===================================

"You could have explained this to me lovingly," Anokhi said with innocent tears, and Rishabh's heart melted.

Touching his cheek to hers, he said, "When did you give me a chance to talk? You stormed upstairs in anger and started saying nonsense. Tell me, wouldn't I get angry?"

"Sorry," Anokhi said softly. Rishabh hugged her tightly.

Hiding her face in his neck, Anokhi said, "For a moment, I got scared. I thought... you really don't want to marry me, and you would leave me."

Hearing this, Rishabh's grip around her waist tightened. Hugging her even closer, he said, "That's the biggest lie in the world, Cupcake, and it will never change. Such thoughts shouldn't come to your mind, not even in your dreams. Understood?"

Anokhi nodded slowly.

After a while, Rishabh continued holding Anokhi close to his chest. When Anokhi calmed down a bit, he cupped her face in his hands and gently brushed away the hair from her face. Then, wiping her tears, he placed a small kiss on her lips and said, "Now fix your mood. You stormed upstairs like this, everyone must have been upset."

Anokhi nodded softly and started getting off the bed, but Rishabh pulled her back again. Anokhi, making a face, said, "Now what? I'm going downstairs, right?"

"I forgot to tell you something. There's another reason for not getting married right now."

"And what is that?" Anokhi asked.

Smiling, Rishabh put his arm around her waist, pulling her close, and said, "The reason is that after marriage, we will have our honeymoon, and I don't want our honeymoon to last just two or three days or a week. I want it to last a month, and you won't be able to take that much leave from college, right? So, it's better that we get married later."

"Rishabh ji, is this what's always on your mind?" Anokhi said, hitting his shoulder and making a face. Her face turned completely red. Seeing her reaction, Rishabh laughed.

A little while later, as Vikram had said, Anokhi came downstairs chirpily, getting involved in the discussions about the preparations. Just then, Bharati's phone rang. She looked at the screen, and it was an unknown number. She answered, and Swati said from the other side, "Namaste Aunty, this is Swati speaking."

"Yes, Swati beta, tell me," Bharati replied with a smile. Hearing Swati's name from her mouth, everyone looked at her, especially Shivaay.

Swati continued, "Aunty, I spoke to Pandit ji. He said tomorrow is a very auspicious day for the wedding, and after that, there's a 20-day period. So I wanted to take your opinion."

"Oh, did Pandit ji say that?" Bharati said, thinking.

At that moment, her father asked, "What is she saying?" So Bharati explained Swati's words to him.

When everyone learned that Swati had agreed to the wedding and had even gone to Pandit ji to get the wedding date, they were all surprised.

Shivaay thought to himself, "Look at her, arranging her sister's wedding, and here she won't even let her own future husband get married. She'll only allow it when she agrees, then her husband will ride the wedding horse."

Bharati's father said, "Since the wedding will be simple and in the temple, let's do it tomorrow. The sooner, the better."

Hearing this, Bharati said, "Papa is saying that tomorrow is the best day."

"Alright, Aunty, I'll let Pandit ji know," Swati replied and hung up the phone.

After speaking with Pandit ji, she came out of the temple, thinking to herself, "I've set it for tomorrow. The wedding will happen tomorrow, but how will the preparations be made? Even though it's simple, it's still my sister's wedding. Even if it's not much, something has to be done."

Saying this, she took an auto and went home. Meanwhile, Bharati informed everyone about the wedding tomorrow and invited them all to come.

Dada ji, smiling, said, "Why is there even a need to request, dear? It's Swati and Abhinav's wedding! This is such great news; of course, we'll come. We'll all definitely come."

When Swati got home and told Shweta everything, Shweta was surprised. She said in disbelief, "Swati, you did all this and didn't even tell me?"

"Sorry Shweta, I actually wanted to give you all the happiness as soon as possible, so I went ahead with everything. I know I'm very stupid, but what can I do? I just want you and Abhinav to be together as soon as possible. Destiny can change anytime, Shweta; you never know. That's why I don't want to take any risks. Today, you two will be united so quickly. You'll get your whole family back, and there's nothing bigger than that."

Hearing this, Shweta's eyes filled with tears. She hugged Swati, getting emotional, and said, "Swati, I can never repay you in this lifetime. You have no idea what you've done for us."

"I haven't done anything, Shweta. Whatever I've done is for my sister and my son. And if you keep being grateful like this, remember, my brain might flip any moment. And you know, if I turn into the old Swati again, I swear I'll take your Abhinav and drown him in the ocean."

Hearing this, Shweta burst out laughing. Shwet, who had been silently listening to them, sat quietly.

Swati went to him, held his hands with joy, and said, "Shwet, tomorrow is your mother's wedding. From tomorrow, you'll have your whole family. Mom, Dad, Bua, Grandma, Grandpa. They'll all love you a lot, and you'll have a family. You're really happy, right?"

Swati was smiling as she spoke to him, and Shwet silently kept looking at her. Seeing him so quiet, Shweta sat beside him, placing her hand on his head, and asked, "What happened, son? Aren't you happy?"

"No, Maa, it's not like that. I'm really happy that you're getting married. But will Masi Maa be away from us now? Won't I be living with Masi Maa anymore?" Shwet's voice got a bit heavy as he said this.

Shweta looked at Swati, whose eyes were also moist, but she hid her emotions and smiled, saying, "Oh, you're talking as if you're going to London. Shwet babu, you're staying here in Mumbai, and Abhinav's house is just 30 minutes away from ours. And the house you're going to has many cars. Just tell Driver Uncle, 'Uncle, take me to Masi Maa.' And he will bring you to me. So What are you worried about?"

Meanwhile, Shweta kept silently looking at Swati. She placed her hand over Swati's and said, "Swati, can't you live with us?"

Swati smiled and placed her hand on Shweta's, saying, "No, Shweta, I can't stay. That's your home."

"But you are family too, aren't you?" Shweta said. Swati replied, "Yes, I am your family, and I am your first family. But that is your own family. And as for me, to be honest, I want to spend some time alone. Don't think I'm sad; I just want to find myself again. I won't lie, Shweta, you know how I used to be. I gave up all that for reason, stopped fighting with people because Swati could do all that. But Shwet's Masi Ma couldn't do all that. She had to become mature."

"So, Masi Ma, you changed because of me?" Shwet asked.

Swati placed her hand on his cheek and kissed his other cheek, saying, "Yes, but don't think I'm sad. Not at all. Because of you, I realized that, wow, I can be a good girl too." As Swati said this, Shwet smiled.

Swati continued, "I just want to remember my old days. I want to live like the old Swati again."

"But you can do all that while staying with us, right? No one will stop you; no one will say anything," Shweta said.

Swati replied, "Oh, come on, why are you getting so emotional? I'm not going to take sannyas or leave India or even Mumbai. I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay in this house, and when I feel like it, I'll come stay with you all. That's final." As she said this, Swati looked at Shweta and Shwet, and both nodded with smiles.

Getting up from the bed, Swati said, "Enough talking; there's a lot of work to do. The wedding is tomorrow, and there are many preparations to be made." She opened the cupboard and started gathering money from different places.

After collecting all the money, Swati looked sad and said, "Oh no, this is only 30,000. And I only have ₹9,000 in the bank account. The salary hasn't come yet either."

"That's okay, Swati. We'll manage with less," Shweta said.

"Why manage with less? It's not like you're going to get married again, right? And there's still a lot to do. We need to buy a wedding dress for you. It doesn't have to be too expensive, but we also need to get some light jewelry. Time is short, it's already 7, and we have to prepare," Swati started mumbling to herself.

Then, after some thought, she picked up the money and put it in her purse. She told Shweta, "I'm going to the mall. You two come to the mall later, and we'll go shopping from there."

"If we're going to the mall, why not go together?" Shwet asked.

"No, I have some work to do. Let me finish that first, and then you both come," Swati said, grabbing her bag and quickly leaving the house.

Shweta and Shwet looked at each other. Shweta said, "Once again, my situation is causing your masi Maa to worry so much, right?"

But Shwet smiled, put his arm around her, and hugged her, saying, "Don't worry about Masi Ma. You know Masi Ma is very strong. She can solve every problem in a snap." As he said that, Shwet snapped his fingers, and Shweta smiled.

Just then, someone knocked on their door. Shweta said, "Why did Swati come back? Did she forget something?" She opened the door to find Bharti, Abhinav, and Ruhi standing there.

Seeing the three of them, Shweta was surprised. She stammered, "You... you three are here?"

"Won't you invite us in?" Bharti asked with a smile, and Shweta quickly stepped back, saying, "No, no, please come in."

Bharti, Abhinav, and Ruhi entered. Seeing them, Shwet got down from the bed and stood up. "Please, have a seat," Shweta said, adjusting the bedsheet and signaling them to sit.

Since there was no sofa in the house, they all sat on the bed. Bharti looked at Shwet emotionally, smiling at him.

Shwet glanced at Shweta and Abhinav and then touched Bharti's feet, saying, "Namaste, Dadi." The moment he said that, tears welled up in Bharti's eyes.

She hugged him, kissed his forehead, and said, "Stay happy, my child. I didn't even know I had a grandson. And such a sweet grandson too. Abhinav, he was right in front of me at the party that night, but I didn't know he was my grandson."

Bharti gently caressed Shwet's face, and Abhinav smiled. Then Ruhi came in front of Shwet, got down on her knees, kissed his cheek, and said, "And I'm your Ruhi Bua."

"Namaste, Bua," Shwet said, making Ruhi smile as she pinched his cheeks, saying, "Brother, your son is so cute."

Shweta brought water for them and then asked, "What brings you three here?"

Bharti handed Shweta a large tray and said, "Shweta, we came to give you this."

Shweta opened it to find a wedding dress and jewelry, along with clothes for Swati and Shwet.

Seeing all this, Shweta asked, "What’s all this, aunty?"

"Shweta, in our tradition, the wedding dress for the bride comes from the groom’s side. So this is your wedding dress. The wedding is tomorrow, so we couldn’t do much in such a hurry, but I hope you like it."

"It’s beautiful, aunty, but was this really necessary?" Shweta’s voice faltered slightly as she said this.

"Why wouldn’t it be? You’re going to be my daughter-in-law, and after the wedding, you’ll be my daughter. And I can do at least this much for my daughter, right?" Bharti said, lovingly placing her hand on Shweta’s cheek, making Shweta emotional.

She hugged Bharti, who wiped her tears and said, "And yes, this is the last time you’re calling me aunty. From now on, call me Maa, like Abhinav does."

Shweta smiled and nodded. Ruhi asked Shweta, "By the way, Bhabi, I don’t see Swati around?"

"She’s out making wedding preparations," Shweta said.

Then Abhinav said, "Why did she need to worry? I was going to handle all the preparations anyway. Call her and tell her to stop."

Shweta smiled and replied, "I can’t do that. If Swati has said she’ll handle the wedding preparations, she will. It’s her wish, and if I tell her to stop, she’ll get angry."

Abhinav quickly said, "Alright, don’t stop her then. If she finds out and gets angry, she might cancel the wedding plans altogether, so let her do what she wants."

Everyone noticed the fear of Swati on Abhinav’s face, and they all laughed. A little while later, the three of them left.

Shweta and Shwet also left for the mall. Meanwhile, at the mall, Swati was making a request to her manager, "Sir, I know the salary hasn’t come in yet, but I have a request."

"Yes, Swati, what’s your request?" the manager asked with a smile.

Swati hesitantly said, "Sir, I need an advance on my salary and some money. I’ll pay it back little by little, I promise. I’ll even work overtime."

"Okay, but how much do you need?" the manager asked, still smiling.

Swati said, "Sir, can I get 40,000 along with salary?"

Hearing this, the manager’s smile faded for a moment, but then he asked, "40,000? What do you need that much money for, Swati?"

"Sir, for my sister’s wedding. I need it for that."

"Sister’s wedding? As far as I know, you didn’t have a sister, right? Only her son was living with you?" the manager asked in surprise.

Swati replied, "Sir, I thought I is no more, but she’s alive, and I’ve found her after a lot of difficulty. Now she’s getting married, and I need the money for that."

Hearing this, the manager was surprised but then smiled and said, "That’s wonderful news that you’ve found your sister. Alright, no problem, I’ll give you the money. After all, you’re a hardworking and honest girl. I’m sure you’ll pay me back on time."

"Thank you so much, sir, really, thank you so much," Swati said with a smile, her face glowing with happiness.

The manager gave her the money, and Swati left the store with a smile. She stood near the mall’s main gate, waiting for Shweta and Shwet to arrive, mumbling to herself, "Okay, I’ve told the priest to make all the wedding arrangements for tomorrow. He said it’ll cost 10,000, and I’ve already paid him. So now I have 20,000, 9,000, 40,000 and my salary. I’ll leave the 9,000 in the bank in case of emergency."

But then, after thinking for a moment, her face fell. She said, "What will be needed now? I used to save money always for Shwet. Now, his family will be with him, and they are such a rich family. What could he possibly need? I will just keep 4,000 from all my savings; that will be enough for me. I need to buy Shweta's wedding dress, Abhinav's sherwani, some jewelry for Shweta, and a gold chain for Abhinav. Clothes for me and Shwet too. How will all these things get done? And all of this is necessary too. Buying clothes and a gold chain for Abhinav is part of the ritual from the bride's side."

Saying this, she became sad. She said, "I won't buy clothes for myself. Yes, I have a dress that's good. I wore it two or three times, I'll wear that. Then, I'll save a little money. Let's see how much I can manage."

By then, Shweta and Shwet arrived. Shweta said, "What happened, Swati? You're talking to yourself. Are you worried about something?"

Swati replied, "Oh no, no. What is there to be worried about? Now that you both are here, let's go shopping. We have to do a lot of shopping for you—your wedding dress, clothes for Abhinav, lots of things. Let's go, let's go," she said, walking ahead.

Then Shweta grabbed her hand, stopping her, and said, "Oh Swati, I forgot to tell you something. Ruhi, Abhinav, and their mother came to the house a little while ago."

"What? They came? Why, is there some problem?" Swati’s face showed signs of concern.

Shweta said, "No, there’s no problem. They were saying that in their family, there's a tradition where the bride’s wedding dress and jewelry are given from the groom's side. So, they came to give that." Saying this, she showed pictures of the wedding dress and jewelry on her phone.

Seeing all of them, Swati was surprised. She said, "Is this a wedding dress, Shweta? My God, it’s so beautiful and also very expensive."

"Yes, that's why I'm worried."

"Worried? What are you worried about?" Swati asked.

Shweta then said, "Oh, have you forgotten our tradition? We have to give a sherwani and a gold chain from our side. Where will we get such expensive things?"

"Why are you stressing? I’m here, right? Come, let's see what we can buy," saying this, she began to lead her outside instead of into the mall.

She said, "If we buy from the mall, we'll get looted. Come, let’s shop from the local market. There, we'll find good clothes and at reasonable prices." Saying this, she began leading them toward the local market.

When they arrived at the market, it was very crowded. Seeing this, Shweta started to panic. Swati tightly held her hand and said, "There’s no need to worry for even a minute, okay? I’m here. Let’s move quickly. And anyway, how long will you stay scared? Come on," she said, holding her hand tightly, while Shwet held the other.

Seeing this, both Swati and Shweta smiled. Swati quickly took Shweta and Abhinav to a store. There, they found beautiful and nice sherwanis. Swati bought a sherwani for Abhinav. Then they went to a jewelry shop to look for a gold chain.

They selected a gold chain for Abhinav, and Swati also chose a pair of anklets for Shweta, which Shweta liked very much. But placing the anklets back, Shweta said to Swati, "Why are you buying these, Swati?"

Touching the anklets, Swati said, "This is my wedding gift for you. I can't give much, Shweta, but I can at least give anklets from the bride's side."

Swati smiled, but Shweta said, "But Swati, this is not necessary. We just saw that we’re short on money."

"Why are you worrying about money? Did I say anything to you? No, right? I’m here. Come on, let’s get the bill," Swati said, asking the shopkeeper to pack the items and make the bill.

After the bill was made, Swati found she was short by ₹5000. Shweta said, "Look, Swati, we're short on money. I’m telling you, leave the anklets."

Swati removed the gold chain from her neck and said, "Wait."

Shweta immediately stopped her, saying, "Absolutely not, Swati. Put the gold chain back around your neck."

Swati said, "Shweta, look, I’m giving you my word. Let me do what I’m doing. I’m not selling the chain, just pawning it."

Shweta said, "But Swati..."

Swati interrupted her, "Look, Shweta,I swear to you. If you refuse, I will drop dead."

Shweta hit Swati on the shoulder and said, "Alright, but don’t talk like that," and swati smiled.

Swati asked the shopkeeper, "You’ve heard our conversation. Please, pawn this chain and make the payment. I’ll redeem it in a few days."

The shopkeeper took the chain. After a while, the two left the shop.

Swati, holding Abhinav's clothes packet, said to Shweta, "Shweta, you take Shwet home. I’ll drop off Abhinav's clothes at his place."

"Okay," Shweta said and took Shwet with her in an auto.

The next morning

At the temple

Everyone was present at the temple, waiting for Vikram, Hardik, Swati, Shweta, and Shwet to arrive. They had gone to pick them up from their home. Everyone was engaged in conversations. Rishabh was talking to Praveen about something related to the office when his eyes fell on Anokhi.

Anokhi was wearing a pink saree and had tied her hair into a loose braid. She was happily playing with the flowers hanging from the trees in the temple.

Seeing her, a smile appeared on Rishabh’s lips. Praveen said, "Sir..."

But Rishabh didn’t hear him. Praveen followed Rishabh's gaze and, seeing him looking at Anokhi, he too smiled and quietly left.

Meanwhile, Rishabh began walking toward Anokhi.

"What are you doing?" Rishabh asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

Showing him the flowers she had gathered in her hands, Anokhi said, "I’m collecting flowers. Do you remember, I made flower jewelry for Riya Bhabhi? At that time, I didn’t have money, so I made her a gift of flower jewelry, and she was very happy."

"Yes, I remember," Rishabh said, kissing her cheek.

Anokhi lightly hit his waist from behind and said, "Rishabh ji, behave! You start everywhere. Honestly, you’re the biggest shameless person. Don’t you feel even a little ashamed?"

Saying this, Anokhi pouted.

Rishabh kissed her on the cheek again and said, "There’s no one around us here. Everyone is on the other side of the temple, and we are at the back. So don’t be too shy. And tell me, what are you going to do with all these flowers?"

"I’ll make jewelry, what else? Swati Di and Shweta Di haven’t arrived yet, so I need something to pass the time," Anokhi said. Then, thinking for a moment, her face filled with tension.

Worriedly, she asked Rishabh, "By the way, Rishabh ji, why haven’t they arrived yet? Could it be that they canceled the wedding and won’t come? What will happen to Abhinav sir? Are they really not coming?"

"Cupcake, you’ve started again. I’ve noticed that you’ve become very dramatic these days. How many web series do you watch? How many dramas do you watch?"

"No, I don’t watch any. Who told you I do? I absolutely don’t watch," Anokhi said, avoiding eye contact.

Rishabh, holding her face with both hands, turned her gaze towards him and said, "Really, you’re telling me that you don’t watch? I live in the same room with you, okay? So I’m aware of everything you do."

"Yeah, so how is it my fault? Who asked for such a big LED to be installed in the room? It’s not a showpiece. Movies are watched on it. And who bought me the laptop and the tablet? I’m going to use all of them, right? I won’t let them go to waste," Anokhi said, defending herself.

Rishabh, glaring at her, said, "Honestly, it’s getting harder to win an argument with you. You’ve become so talkative lately."

"Rishabh ji, just admit that you’re losing to me. I’m winning, and that’s why you’re jealous of me," Anokhi said, folding her arms and boasting.

Rishabh, placing his hands on his waist, glared at her and said, "Oh really, wait, I’ll show you about winning and losing."

Saying this, he moved towards her, but Anokhi quickly ran away.

Seeing her run, Rishabh smiled.

Anokhi ran back to where everyone was.

Archana held her hand and asked, "Anu, why are you running like this here?"

"Nothing, Maa," Anokhi said. Just then, she noticed a car that had just arrived. Seeing it, Anokhi happily exclaimed, "Vikram Bhaiya is here!" Anokhi quickly headed down. Swati, Shweta, and Shwet got out of the car.

Shweta was wearing the red dress given by Bharti and had covered her face with a veil. Meanwhile, Shwet was wearing a cute blue kurta. Swati was dressed in a light blue lehenga.

Swati held Shweta from one side, and Anokhi supported her from the other, as they both slowly climbed the stairs. When Abhinav saw Shweta, a sense of peace filled his eyes. It had been his long-held dream to see her as a bride, which was finally coming true.

Meanwhile, when Shivaay saw Swati, his eyes remained fixed on her. Placing his hand on his heart, he thought to himself, "This girl will be the death of me one day."

Swati looked around the temple. The priest had beautifully decorated the temple.

Swati looked around the temple. The priest had beautifully decorated the temple. Seeing this, a smile appeared on her lips.

She and Shwet touched everyone's feet, and looking at Swami, Bharti's father, and Bharti, she said, "Aunty, Dadaji, I hope you liked all of this."

"Dear, everything is beautiful. It’s simple, but peaceful. Do you know why?" Swami shook his head in agreement.

He placed his hand on her head and said, "Because all of this has the love of a sister, a sister who is doing all of this from her heart for her sister's happiness."

Hearing this, Swati smiled. She said, "Shall we begin?"

"Wait, let me ward off the evil eye from my daughter-in-law first," Bharati said and proceeded to ward off Shweta's evil eye. Ruhi quietly leaned towards Abhinav and said, "Brother, if sister-in-law has caught an evil eye, it’s definitely from you. Why are you staring at her like that?"

Abhinav heard her but his gaze remained fixed on Shweta. He softly replied, "I'm looking at the dream that has turned into reality today, standing in front of me as my bride."

“ Oh ho bhai, it means you've gone full romantic. Don’t be romantic right now, save it for after the wedding. I will decorate your room very nicely," Ruhi said, causing Abhinav to glare at her.

He grabbed her ear and said, "Your tongue is running too much, understand? Sit quietly." Ruhi just laughed at this.

Then, she saw a man, and she happily exclaimed, "Papa!" and ran to hug him. Hearing her, everyone turned their gaze toward them and smiled.

Bharati said to Shweta, "Shweta, this is Abhinav's father, Raghav."

As Raghav approached the group, all the children touched his feet. Looking at Alok, Raghav said, "I've heard a lot about you, but everything I heard was wrong. But the good thing is, you were never in the wrong."

Alok, laughing, replied, "What can I say, the circumstances were just bad at the time."

After this, everyone, including Abhinav and Shweta, went inside the temple. Pandit ji was sitting in front of the havan kund. As soon as he saw Abhinav and Shweta, he presented the tray for the garland exchange and said, "Exchange garlands with each other." Abhinav and Shweta picked up the garlands.

Abhinav put the garland on Shweta, and then Shweta did the same to Abhinav. Afterward, they sat in their designated spots, while Swati, smiling, watched the wedding rituals unfold. She was seeing her sister settle into her new home.

Rohit was busy taking photos of everyone. Meanwhile, Shivaay came up behind Swati and softly said, "Even after seeing all this, you still don’t feel like getting married."

Swati gave him a quick glance and then, looking back at Shweta, said, "Shivaay, please, not today. Today is a very big day for me, so please."

Shivaay remained silent, quietly watching the wedding. Abhinav placed the mangalsutra on Shweta and applied sindoor to her forehead. Two tears fell from Shweta’s eyes onto Abhinav’s hand. Inside the veil, Abhinav wiped her tears and said, "Shweta, this is the last time I ever want to see tears in your eyes. I don’t even want to see tears of happiness, so please, trust me and stay with me. Don’t ever leave me."

As he said this, everyone smiled, and a smile also appeared on Shweta's lips. Rishabh was sitting, watching their wedding intently. His mind was replaying his own wedding—how cruel he had been, how heartless. How he had treated his cupcake.

He remembered how he had filled her maang with sindoor, how they had taken the seven vows, and how, after the vows, he had thrown Anokhi to the ground. How much pain she must have felt then. Right after the wedding, he left her without even looking back. He had made the path to her home difficult, and when she finally arrived, it was like entering hell.

Thinking about all this, his fists clenched, and he turned his gaze away. His eyes started searching for Anokhi, but he couldn’t spot her anywhere. His eyes narrowed, and he got up to look around the temple. Finally, he found her standing under a tree behind the temple.

"Cupcake, what are you doing here?" Rishabh asked, walking towards her. Anokhi was startled seeing him and tried to hide something behind her. Rishabh narrowed his eyes and folded his arms, asking, "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing, what would I hide?" Anokhi said, looking everywhere but at Rishabh. She knew that whenever she lied, she could never look Rishabh in the eyes, and this habit of hers always gave her away.

Rishabh wrapped his arms around her and said, "Cupcake, why do you try to do something you can’t? You know you can't lie to me, so why do you try? Now, tell me properly what you're hiding. If I have to find out myself, it will be bad. You won’t get to watch the wedding, and we’ll go straight home. Should I?"

Hearing this, Anokhi pouted and mumbled, "So mean, seriously, such a rakshas ji. Always threatening me, ‘I’ll do this, I’ll do that.’" Then, she said to Rishabh, "Let me go first, and then I’ll tell you what’s in my hand."

Rishabh let her go. Anokhi showed her hands, revealing a pair of shoes. Rishabh’s eyes narrowed, and he asked, "Whose shoes are you carrying around?"

"Oh, these are Abhinav sir's shoes," Anokhi said.

"And why are you carrying Abhinav's shoes around? What are you doing with them?" Rishabh asked, still suspicious.

"I was hiding Abhinav sir’s shoes."

"Why?" Rishabh asked again.

Anokhi shouted, "Oh Rishabh ji, you don’t know anything! You're so boring. We’re supposed to hide the shoes! Ruhi had said she wouldn’t let her brother’s shoes get stolen, so Bhabhis sister wouldn’t ask for money. And bhabhi’s sister is Swati didi, right? I’ve been watching her since earlier. She’s been focused only on Shweta didi and Abhinav sir’s wedding, not on the shoes. So how would the shoe-stealing ritual happen? That’s why I quietly took the shoes and hid them here before Ruhi could notice. I’ll give them to Swati didi later."

Anokhi was beaming at her 'mind-blowing' plan. Rishabh smacked his forehead. He said, "You stole the shoes for money, Cupcake, unbelievable."

"Oh, come on! I didn’t steal them for money. It’s a ritual, a ritual that must be completed, and I’m going to see it through. Now, let me hide the shoes and talk less. If someone sees us, I’ll burn all the shoes in the house if these get caught," Anokhi said, annoyed.

Rishabh gave her a look and thought, "Seriously! For one pair of shoes, you'd burn all the shoes in the house, which total worth crores?"

Then he watched as Anokhi tried to jump on her heels to hide the shoes on a tree branch. Shaking his head in exasperation, he silently picked her up. Anokhi was startled at first, but when she looked down at Rishabh, she smiled.

She calmly placed the shoes on the branch, and Rishabh set her back down. Dusting off her hands, Anokhi said, "Alright, that’s done, now we’ll enjoy the wedding."

Saying this, she started to leave, but Rishabh grabbed her hand, pulling her back and said, "You won’t even thank me for helping?"

"Oh, thank you," Anokhi quickly said and tried to free herself. She knew exactly what Rishabh meant by thanking him, and, of course, he followed through. He grabbed her face and pulled her close, saying, "I don’t like verbal thank yous from your mouth. I’ll take my thank you myself."

He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her against the tree.

A while later, they returned. Pandit ji then said, "Call the bride’s parents for the kanyadaan." Hearing this, Shweta and Swati looked at each other, their eyes welling up with tears, and the rest of the crowd exchanged glances. Ajay and Surekha also looked at each other before Ajay smiled and said, "Pandit ji, Surekha and I will do the kanyadaan."

Everyone looked at them in surprise. Smiling, Surekha turned to Shweta and Swati and said, "You two are like our daughters. Doing a daughter’s kanyadaan is a blessing. We don’t have a daughter of our own, but maybe God gave us the chance to do yours. You don’t have a problem with that, do you, dear?"

Hearing this, Shweta and Swati nodded emotionally, and everyone smiled. Ajay and Surekha performed the kanyadaan. Afterward, Abhinav and Shweta took their wedding vows, and soon their wedding was complete. They took blessings from the elders. Meanwhile, Ruhi looked toward where she had hidden the shoes. The shoes were gone, and in shock, she said, "Oh no, where did the shoes go?"

Hearing this, everyone laughed and turned to Swati. Swati said, "Why are you all looking at me?" Then Shobha, laughing, said, "Who else but the sister could steal the shoes!"

Swati replied, "Aunty, I actually forgot to steal the shoes. I didn’t take them."

Shobha, surprised, asked, "Then who did?"

Ruhi pointed at Anokhi and said, "Who else, this little bird!"

Anokhi laughed and said, "Yes, I did! You said I couldn’t steal the shoes, but look, I did. You’re not a very good guard, Ruhi. Your attention slipped, and the shoes were stolen."

Ruhi, irritated, said, "When did you steal them? You didn’t even come near me!"

Anokhi gave Shwet a high-five and said, "My partner secretly stole the shoes, and you didn't even notice! Now, Swati didi, ask Abhinav sir for whatever you want!"

Dadaji laughed and said, "This girl will never change."

Then, he said to Swati, "Beta, ask your brother-in-law, what do you want from him? This girl has made your job easier."

Swati looked at Abhinav and said, "I don't want anything. What I desire, Abhinav already knows. Other than my sister and Shweta's happiness, I don't need anything."

Abhinav smiled and said, "You don't need to ask for that, Swati. Without being told, I will always, every day, every moment, take care of Shwet and Shweta's happiness."

Just then, Anokhi, frustrated, said, "Swati didi, you really are something. We went through all the trouble to steal the shoes, and you didn't even ask for anything. If not for yourself, you could have asked for something for Shwet. You know what, Shwet, you ask for something yourself!"

Shwet, with innocence, replied, "But what should I ask for?" Hearing him say this, Anokhi got even more annoyed. She teased him, saying, "No, don’t ask for anything, no wait, do one thing, Cheeku, ask for a dozen Cheekus for yourself, that will suit you best."

Shwet, in the same tone, replied to Anokhi, "Yes, you’re the foodie sister, that’s why even your name is based on food, and you always talk about food." Everyone smiled, watching their playful banter.

Bharti interrupted their argument, saying, "Alright, alright, stop, don’t fight. Ruhi, give that box to Abhinav." Bharti said, and Ruhi handed a box to Abhinav, who then gave it to Swati, saying, "Swati, this is for you."

"But what is it?" Swati asked. Abhinav smiled and said, "Open it and see for yourself." Swati opened it and found a beautiful bracelet inside.

"This is your gift. I had brought it earlier."

But Swati refused, saying, "No, I don’t need this, really, I don’t want all this."

Just then, Abhinav’s father Raghav spoke, "Oh dear, this is a ritual, a good omen, take it." On his insistence, Swati didn’t refuse further.

Ruhi then turned to Anokhi and said, "So, Anokhi, now that we’ve got it, quickly bring the shoes for brother."

"Yes, yes, I’m bringing them, why are you getting angry? I’m not going to sell the shoes in the black market!" Anokhi said, making a face, and everyone burst into laughter. Anokhi grabbed Swati’s hand and said, "Come on, Swati didi, I had hidden the shoes, but you will be the one to hand them over."

Saying this, she started leading her away, but just then, her bangles got stuck in her saree’s pallu. As she untangled them, Anokhi said, "Swati didi, I’ve hidden the shoes on a branch behind the temple."

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"Anu, you’ve hidden the shoes on a tree branch? Couldn’t you find any other place to hide them?" Archana said.

"What could I do? I looked everywhere and couldn’t find a better hiding spot. Then I thought this is a place no one would ever think of."

Anokhi grinned, showing her teeth, and everyone shook their heads, while Swati walked away smiling. Rishabh said to Shivaay, "Shivaay, the branch is too high, Swati won’t be able to reach it. Help her out."

Hearing this, Shivaay smiled and disappeared as if he had been waiting for this moment. When he arrived, he saw Swati trying to get the shoes from the branch, but she couldn’t reach.

Shivaay stood behind her, folded his arms, and said, "You’re a bit short, if you were taller, you would’ve reached."

Swati turned and looked at him, then made a face and said, "You came again! This is too much, Shivaay! You’re always following me. Wherever I go, you show up."

Saying this, she tried again, but it wasn’t working. Shivaay quietly watched her. After several failed attempts, Swati finally turned to him and said, "Why are you just standing there silently? I’m sure everyone sent you to help me, so go ahead and help."

"So, you agree I didn’t come on my own, I was sent, right?" Shivaay said with a smile.

Swati, frustrated, said, "If you’d use your energy to help instead of being smart, it would be better, right?"

Hearing this, Shivaay smiled, rolled up his kurta sleeves, and said, "Alright, I’ll put my mind to helping now."

Saying this, Shivaay bent down a little and lifted Swati. His sudden move left Swati shocked. Her hands rested on Shivaay’s shoulders, and she stared at him in surprise, while Shivaay, smiling, got lost in her eyes.

***************************************

From tomorrow onwards you will get new chapters..

But remember as I told before I'm going to combine 2 chapter in one so I will give one chapter in 2 days..

Hope you will understand and support me....

Instagram ID link is given in profile..

GIVE ME YOUR REVIEWS! WAITING FOR YOUR COMMENTS!

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT TODAY'S CHAPTER !!

KEEP READING !!

KEEP VOTING !!

KEEP SHARING !!

LOVE YOU ALL ❤ !!

TAKE CARE 🤗 !!