Author's POV

The courtyard is decked in green and yellow drapes, floral jhoolas (swings), and hanging marigolds. Cushions and low stools are scattered around. Traditional folk music plays. A mehendi artist's station is set up, with cones and glitter laid out like an artist's palette.

Isha is seated on a swing, her arms bare and ready. She's glowing in a green-and-gold outfit with floral jewelry. Nisha sits beside her, feeding her sweet.

Nisha (grinning)
"So, tell me where I hide Aman's initials? Palm? Wrist? Or... somewhere scandalous?"

ISHA (laughs)
"Wherever it'll take him forever to find. He's overconfident."

Raashi and Niya come over with bangles and anklets.

RAASHI
"Remember the darker the mehendi, the deeper the love."

Niya (snickering)
"Or the better the artist. Let's not lie to the girl."

They all laugh.

Other side

Amaan, dressed casually in green kurtha, walks by and pauses at the doorway, watching Isha laugh with the others.

Abimaan joins him.

Abimaan (whispers)
"You look like a puppy left outside the bakery."

Amaan
"Should I go in?"

Abimaan
"Nope. Tradition says you don't get to see her until she hides your name. You go in now, and you get yelled at. Probably by her mom."

Amaan
"...Noted."
"By the way how is your life still stalking Nisha or trying to propose to her"

Abimaan (with a pout)
"She is tough and I don't think she will like to be in a long distance relationship as I'm shifting to london after your wedding because of opening and I should be there until it's stable"

Amaan
"Don't worry, everything will be alright and yeah she is a good girl. First propose to her and tell her. She will understand"

Abimaan
"Yeah, I'll"

They both nodded their heads and returned to see the guests.

On another side our sibling duo is planning something 😁

Sarthak and Niya huddle in a corner with the cousins, planning chaos for the haldi.

Sarthak
"Operation Yellow Attack: we go in from both sides. One cousin distracts the bride, we dump the extra turmeric stash on Amaan at haldi. He won't see it coming."

Niya
"You had me at the 'dump.' Let's do it."

Before they turn someone keeps their hand on their shoulder only to see Nisha and Abimaan.

Sarthak
"Hehe.. hello abimaan Bhai"

Abimaan (with his one eyebrow up)
"What are you guys planning"

Niya
"Nothing Bhai, just talking"

Sarthak
"Yeah Bhai talking only"

Niya facepalmed her self because of her dumb brother

"Bhai we are planning to dump the haldi on Amaan Bhai after the haldi rituals are done"

Nisha and Abimaan
"Really, then we are in. We are damping on Isha too"

Sarthak/Abimaan (gulped looking at each other)
"No need for Isha, Amaan will peel us alive"

Nisha
"No we are doing it plus she is my bestie"

Abimaan
"Hmmm.. okay"

As all are busy, on the other side

Kamini and Deepthi sit a little away from the crowd, sipping tea. They're traditionally dressed but reserved.

Kamini
"She's glowing like she's already married."

Deepthi
"Maybe she is just not by ritual yet."

Pause.

Kamini
"I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. This is too easy."

Deepthi
"It's not easy. She just carries it well."

Kamini watches as Isha's mehendi is applied with delicate, floral patterns.

Kamini
"You think she's ready for all this?"

Deepthi
"She already is. The real question is is she ready to let it go before she starts?"

As for Amaan (he wrote her name on his palm)

Isha's POV

If happiness had a color, it would be marigold.
The entire lawn looked like it had been dipped in sunshine. Orange drapes, green cushions, fairy lights tangled in every tree. My Mehendi felt like something out of a movie, it's beautiful 😍

Amaan wasn't allowed to see me "bad luck," the aunties insisted but he still managed to sneak glances from the balcony, pretending to be on a phone call. Subtle as always.

The same day in the evening we kept haldi as we don't have time because of the purohitji's words.

Now it's my haldi 🤭 amaan's too
Haldi day was chaos in a bowl literally. Turmeric, oil, and rose petals flying everywhere. My cheeks ached from smiling. My skin glowed. And every friend I had seemed to take personal revenge with how aggressively they smeared the haldi.

"Save some for Amaan," I gasped, ducking behind Risha, who betrayed me instantly.

"Traitor!" I shouted.

"Brides squad!" she shot back.

The house was full of music, laughter, and too many people trying to feed me laddoos. I was floating on joy. Which is probably why I didn't notice that someone had shifted the floor rug near the back steps just slightly.

Monto, wearing a tiny yellow flower garland, runs in and steps right into a spilled bowl of haldi paste. Moon follows and chases him around the courtyard, leaving muddy paw prints on a decorative bedsheet.

The cousins burst into laughter. Karthik tries to catch them, but slips, nearly falling.

Raashi
"Well, now the cat and dog are officially part of the wedding rituals."

Just enough.

I was walking out for a quick break  just a breath of air away from the madness when it happened.

My foot hit the edge of the rug. Slipped.

Pain shot up my leg like fire. My world tilted. I went down hard.

The music didn't stop. The chatter didn't pause. But my breath did.

I heard someone call my name. Someone else screamed. Amaan's mom ran toward me, and in seconds I was surrounded.

Kamini was the first to speak. "Such clumsiness! On your own Haldi?"

But Deepthi just watched. Calm. Smiling.

That's when it hit me. This wasn't an accident.

Papa carried me to the room and Karthik uncle called the doctor immediately.

My ankle was swollen. Sprained, the doctor said. Strict rest. No dancing. No walking barefoot for the pheras.

I stared at the ceiling of my room, blinking away hot tears.

Of all the things I'd prepared for outfit crises, emotional breakdowns, bad makeup this wasn't on the list.

"I'm supposed to be glowing right now," I muttered. "Not icing a sprained leg like a rejected cricket player."

Nisha and Niya sat beside me, holding my hand. "Want me to 'accidentally' spill haldi on Kamini aunty's designer saree tomorrow?"

I looked at her, deadpan. "Make it look like an accident."

She winked.

Author's POV

Amaan didn't wait. The moment he heard the words,"Isha fell", something snapped loose in him. His phone hit the table, the chair screeched back, and in seconds he was sprinting down the hallway, shoving open her door without knocking.

It slammed against the wall.

"Isha!"

She was on the bed, leg propped up on a pillow, ankle wrapped in a makeshift bandage. Her face was too calm to practice. That mask she wore when she didn't want anyone to worry.

He stormed in, chest heaving. "What the hell happened?"

"I slipped. I'm okay," she said quickly, her voice steady but small. "You didn't have to come rushing in like that."

"Didn't have to? Are you serious?" His jaw clenched. "I get a call saying you fell down the stairs and you expect me to just sit and relax?"

"It's not a big deal, Amaan." She wouldn't meet his eyes.

He crouched beside the bed, his hands hovering inches from her leg. He wanted to check her ankle, but his fingers curled back. "Who wrapped this?"

"Neha did. She looked it up online."

Amaan exhaled hard, the breath shaky. "You could've broken something. You live alone, Isha. What if no one was here? What if you hit your head instead of your ankle?"

"I didn't."

"But you could've," he snapped, louder than he meant to. She flinched, and he immediately regretted it.

The room fell quiet except for the hum of the ceiling fan. He ran a hand through his hair, standing up again but pacing now, like he needed to walk the panic out of his system.

"I just... you scared the hell out of me."

She looked at him then. "I didn't mean to."

"Yeah, well," he muttered, dragging a chair over to her bedside, "next time, scare someone else."

But he sat close, elbows on his knees, watching her like she might disappear if he blinked.

"Does it hurt?" he asked finally, voice low.

"Only when I move it."

"Then don't move." He hesitated. "Do you want me to take you to a doctor?"

"I already went. Nothing's broken, just a sprain."

His shoulders relaxed just a little. "Good."

"Amaan..."

Her voice cracked on his name. Just one word, but it held everything in pain, fear, and exhaustion. He rushed to her side, dropping to his knees, not caring about anything else.

She tried to speak, but her throat closed up. The pain, dull at first, had grown sharp and relentless. The adrenaline was gone. And now, with him here, with the walls she'd built finally lowered she broke.

Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over before she could stop them. "I - I thought I could get up. I just wanted to grab my phone, and I moved my leg, and.." Her voice caught again as she cried out, clutching at her ankle. "It hurts, Amaan. It really hurts."

That was all it took. Amaan's whole expression shifted panic turning into focus, fear into something gentler. He moved closer, wrapping his arms around her carefully, cradling her against his chest. "Okay. Okay. I've got you. Don't move."

She buried her face into his shoulder, fingers gripping his shirt as the pain surged again. She couldn't hide it anymore. Not with him. Not now.

"I tried to be fine," she whispered through clenched teeth. "I didn't want to make this into a thing."

He pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. "Isha, you are a thing. You're my thing, okay? When you're in pain, I feel it."

She stared at him through tear-filled lashes, breathing ragged.

He shifted, one arm still around her shoulders, the other gently supporting her injured leg.

And for the first time all day, the pain didn't feel like the only thing breaking her open. She let herself lean into him because she believed him.  

And the sleep consumed her and he was caressing her head whole even when he went to sleep.

Thank you for reading 😊
See you in the next chapter