Arranged Marriage

~Crazyness~

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Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. The incessant sound of my phone notification pierced through the peaceful silence of my slumber. "Ugh, what is it now?" I groaned, burying my face deeper into the soft pillows, hoping to shut out the noise. But the pinging continued, like a persistent fly buzzing around my head.

I tried to ignore it, hoping that whoever was trying to reach me would give up and leave me to my much-needed beauty sleep. But the pinging only grew louder and more urgent, like a toddler throwing a tantrum for attention.

Finally, in a fit of frustration, I flung the covers off me and launched myself towards my phone like a ninja on a mission. My bare feet hit the cold, hard floor with a shiver, and I stumbled over a stray pillow on the way to my dressing table. "Ouch!" I cursed, rubbing my toe and glaring at the offending object.

At last, I reached my phone, which was still pinging away like a demented woodpecker. I squinted at the screen, which seemed to be pulsing with an unearthly glow in the dim light of my bedroom. "What fresh hell is this?" I muttered, squinting my eyes, and scrolling through the fifty-seven missed calls and five hundred messages that had accumulated in my absence.

And then I saw it. The message that had sent my phone into overdrive. The one that made my heart stop and my palms sweat with fear. They knew. They had found out. And now, I was doomed.

I stumbled down the stairs, my heart beating so fast it felt like a drumroll. My mind was racing, trying to piece together the events of the how they know. My phone was still buzzing like a swarm of bees, but I couldn't focus on anything else but the message that had brought me to this point. They knew. And now, I was about to face the consequences.

I burst into my mother's room, barely able to catch my breath, and called out her name. She rushed towards me, her face a picture of concern. "What's wrong, Ani? Are you okay?" she asked, her hands already scanning me for any sign of injury.

I tried to calm myself down as I spoke. "Did you tell Mallika and Ryan about the wedding?" I asked, my throat gulping to dismiss the dryness.

My mother's expression turned from concern to surprise, and then amusement. "No, I didn't," she said, walking towards the kitchen.

I followed her, waiting for her next words, feeling a mix of relief and confusion. How could they have found out then? "But your Anju maasi did call me this morning--" she started.

"This morning? Oh god," I interrupted, suddenly realizing what had happened. "And she told Mallika, Isn't it?"

My mother nodded, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Yes, and then Mallika called here--"

"Please tell me you didn't tell her about the Roka already happened." I pleaded, feeling a sense of panic rise in my chest.

My mother shrugged. "Well, we seemed to have gotten a little carried away and I may have invited her to your engagement," she admitted.

"Little carried away? Seriously Maa! You don't know, she's going to kill me for not telling her!" I exclaimed, feeling a sense of dread wash over me.

"That's your problem, betu," my mother replied smiling as she wiped down the kitchen counter. "And what's there to hide? Aaj nahi toh kal, she had to know it's her cousin's wedding."

"I know, Maa, I know that! It's just everything is happening so fast, and I didn't want to tell her on the phone, and then Ryan--"

"You didn't tell him, did you?" my mother interrupted, her eyebrows raised in surprise.