🍁 Stuck together 🍁 [Completed]

The wedding

"Avi....avi...avantika...stop running", Avantika's mother shouted.

"Tomorrow is my wedding maa...let me enjoy today", avantika requested.

"Okay but...it's your mehendi ceremony today", radha tried to stop her.

Avantika didn't listen to her and ran towards the hall. She played the song "Rajvadi Odhani" and danced along with her friends nikita and arushi. She was enjoying thoroughly.

As the song was over, radha took avantika to her room and asked her to get ready for her mehendi ceremony.

__

After few minutes, avantika came out of her. She was looking beautiful in her orange coloured lehenga and heavy earrings paired up with a thin neck chain.

She sat on a chair and her friends started applying mehendi on her hands. She was so happy.

Although she didn't know abir much. He was 4 years elder to her. But she knew that he is a nice guy and he would keep her happy.

She looked happily at her hands when nikita and arushi wrote abir's name in her hands. She had a hope that abir would never let her down and they will start loving each other once they get to know more about each other.

______________________________

Next day

Avantika's haldi ceremony was over and she took a bath. She was glowing with the big smile she had on her face. Suddenly her phone rang. It was abir's call. She quickly picked it up.

"Hello!! Abir", avantika said.

"Hey! I want to talk to you. It's urgent", he said.

"Say na", avantika told.

Before abir could say anything, radha called avantika so she asked abir to excuse herself and she cut the call and quickly went downstairs.

It was the time for Vishnu-Lakshmi aarti. Avantika was wearing a beautiful yellow saree. Radha put a red veil on Avantika's head and smiled at her. They performed the arti and prayed to God to keep abir and avantika together forever.

____

After the arti, avantika came back to her room but she didn't get time to call abir as it was the time for her to get ready for her wedding.

She wore a beautiful red lehenga with heavy gold jewelleries. Red is the colour of happiness and love which she expected from her husband and new family. She applied kajal and kumkum.

Radha entered the room and put the veil on her head and whispered in Avantika's ears, "It will be alright". Avantika nodded and smiled a little. She was very nervous. A lot of emotions were running inside her.

Radha put a black mark below her right earlobe to put away all the black spirits from her beloved daughter. Her eyes were watery with tears and avantika wiped the tears.

_____

The groom had arrived and they had been performing rituals downstairs while avantika was in her room staring outside her window.

She was thinking all about her new life when her phone beeped.

It was abir's message. She quickly opened it but she was shocked and broken when she read it :-----

I am sorry avantika but I don't want to marry you. I love someone else. I can't marry you. You very well know that our wedding is just a business deal which was signed between our fathers. If I would have married you, both of us wouldn't be happy. Please forgive me but I have to do this. I am running away. Please forgive me. I am sorry.

Tears flooded down through her eyes. She was imagining her life with him and he just ran away.

"Avi....jiju", arushi came inside huffing.

"I know he ran away", avi replied.

Arushi looked at her in disbelief. "How do you know??", she asked.

Avantika handed her the phone and showed the message. She couldn't control and sat down on floor. Arushi sat down beside her and hugged her. Avantika was crying her heart out.

"Why?? Why is it happening with me??", avantika complained between her sobs.

"Please control yourself", arushi said hugging her.

Radha entered the room and she saw avantika crying there but she gathered courage to say.

"Get up avantika!! It's time for the wedding", she declared.

"What?? But aunty abir jiju-----", arushi asked but radha interrupted her.

"Avi you are getting married to nikhil", she said.

"What??", avantika gasped in shock. She could never imagine her parents could do this to her. Marrying her groom's younger brother.

"No maa....I will not do this", she protested.

"You have to do this. It's the question of reputation of our family as well as abir's family. Abir has already left and gave a reason to question us but Nikhil is trying to save it. Please avantika", radha pleaded.

Avantika stood up and said in a clear voice,"NO!!".

"Avantika!!", madhav shouted at her. "Let's go".

"It's my life and you don't have any right to take decisions for me", she rebelled.

Madhav shouted again,"If you don't do this then I swear I will never see your face again. I will kick you out of this house".

Avantika's mouth dropped open. The day which was to be the best day of her life, had become the worst one!!

"Dad please don't be so rude and mean", Avantika's brother manik said.

"She has always been rebellious. If I will not be strict, she will never agree", madhav said strictly.

Avantika was left with no hope and she agreed to marry nikhil.

_______

Avantika stepped into the hall with a flower Garland in her hand. She was looking down at ground with nikita and arushi on her either sides.

She went up the stage. Kinjal handed other Garland to nikhil.

Avantika and nikhil exchanged the garlands. Although the photographer was asking them to smile but no one of them smiled.

They sat down near the holy fire. The priest kept pouring pulses, ghee and rice symbolizing the presence of god. He was reciting chants and avantika and nikhil sat there with closed eyes and joined hands.

Kinjal went there and tied Nikhil's veil with Avantika's drape. They both stood up and took seven rounds around the holy fire resembling seven vows.

In these vows they promised each other that they will provide each other happiness, they will be loyal and faithful to each other, they will be together no matter what happens and they will care for each other.

Then nikhil tied mangalsutra around her neck which would keep their marriage away from every evil spirit.

In the end, nikhil filled up the partition of Avantika's hairs with vermilion.

And they were married!!!