Enough

13

The day of Aakash and Rachna's wedding soon arrived. Rachna had declined the option of having any pre-wedding functions, saying she simply wanted to have their marriage solemnized so they could begin the rest of their lives together.

Accordingly, they arranged a simple ceremony at the house. As Abhi watched the young couple go through the rituals, he wished his brain would bring forward some memories of his own wedding. He glanced at Pragya, trying to picture her in bridal red. His brain refused to supply the image, because she was looking too damn gorgeous in sheer pastel green.

He had left their room before she got dressed. It was a total shock to him when she came down in a sari that was so see-through, she might as well have been wearing a sheet of water. The heavy gold embroidery did little to hide her delicate curves from him. Her blouse seemed especially designed to torment him, with a snug band of satin hugging her bust and transparent full sleeves showing off her soft skin while covering it up so he couldn't actually touch it.

If he looked at her too long, his heart might stop.

For his health and sanity, he tried to focus on the mandap. No memories surfaced as he watched the pheras. It would be rude to ask Pragya questions while the ceremony was ongoing, so he made a mental note to ask her if there was a video of their wedding. It would not be as good as remembering it himself, but at least it could help fill the blank space in his mind where the memory should be.

Finally the ceremony concluded, and Aakash and Rachna were married. The way they smiled at each other sparked an answering joy in Abhi's heart. Witnessing their happiness filled him with hope for their future and the future of the whole family.

He was surprised that he felt this way. He had never gotten emotional at weddings before, in fact he used to consider them a waste of time. But something about having his very own wife, who he had grown to like very much, made him feel differently about the whole concept of marriage.

It seemed like a good thing, after all. To have someone to love and support you, to share your joys and your sorrows, to be there for you no matter what....it was incredible. Pragya had shown him that all of this was possible, and he could not be grateful enough.

He spared a thought of thanks for Daadi. As soon as she was back he would bow at the budiya's feet, in gratitude for choosing him the perfect wife.

"Suniye?" Pragya whispered up at him. "I have to go check on the catering, ok?"

Abhi nodded, doing his best not to look directly at her so his heart could keep beating.

As she brushed past him, her aanchal caught on his watch. She jerked against him as the pull halted her stride.

He glanced between them and started to laugh. "I thought this only happened in movies." He turned to tug the material free so she could move again.

She did not share his laugh, and when he looked at her, her face was twisted with...fear? He followed her gaze and saw that she was trying to give signals to a young man coming out of the kitchen.

The lad looked between them in confusion, and then met his eyes. Abhi watched in confusion as the colour drained from the younger man's face, and he turned swiftly back to the kitchen.

"Thank you," Pragya said quickly, starting to follow the boy. Abhi held her wrist to stop her, suddenly sure that something important was going on here.

"Who is that?" he asked in an undertone. A hundred suspicions jumped to mind, an uneasy undercurrent of jealousy in all of them. The boy looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't think of why someone like that would be afraid of him...unless he had a guilty conscience, for eyeing his wife?