The Great Indian Wedding Romance

35. Mirror

It wasn't surprising that Chetna had gotten no sleep last night. It was a day before her engagement and her make-up artist would not be happy about the deep, dark circles under her eyes from all the crying and sleeplessness.

Not that she cared about what she looked like, but people did. They would notice. Which is why she found herself dabbing some concealer under her eyes from an old tube she had barely used. Just to appear a little presentable and not look like she had experienced the biggest heartbreak of her life.

She did not emerge from her room all day. Her meal lay untouched on her dresser. Her family had been kind enough to get the plate to her room but she unsurprisingly had no appetite.

At various times through the night, she had thought she was all cried out but a fresh bout of tears erupted at the mere thought of the man she was leaving behind.

Even now she had to physically shut all her senses to not picture Siddharth at the airport, leaving her behind.

She imagined the fulfilling life he had ahead of him. He was a star, destined for greater things. He was fixated on her now but he would soon realise that it was not worth it. He would forget about her and move on. He would find someone that deserved him and have his happily ever after. She would never forget him. She would always remember how loved and seen he made her feel. She would always cling to how complete he made her feel and how much she would always love him for that.

The thought gave her some comfort but it also made her heart wring in agony.

She knew she was incapable of forgetting him. Those days they spent together would remain the happiest days of her entire life. Nothing would even come close.

But she would learn to move on. Time may not heal all wounds but time makes one forget, or at last dulls the memories. Maybe she would find some form of happiness with Bharat. Nothing comparable to this but enough to sustain her.

She sighed deeply and walked to her room. She had asked her family to leave her alone citing beauty sleep-related reasons that they were all too happy to respect. She would wallow in bed till she knew that Siddharth was safely out of Jaipur. She was too afraid to venture out of her corridor or to ask Chaarvi or anyone for news on whether he had left.

The knock on her door surprised her.

She had not latched her door so she said, "Come in." with all the energy she could muster. She plastered on her best fake smile which looked more like a grimace and braced for whoever it was on the other side. Nothing could have prepared her for who entered.

Siddharth's mother opened her door hesitantly and stood at the doorstep waiting for confirmation of the invitation.

Chetna took a few seconds to recover from the shock. Then she scrambled off her bed and rushed to the door to pull it fully open.

"Namastey Aunty," she said feebly, gesturing for her to come in.

"Namastey Beta,"

Both of them, unsure of how to approach the elephant in the room, just stood there silently. Siddharth's name lingered in the air despite the utter silence between the women.

Chetna felt every last fibre of her being soaked in embarrassment, heartbreak, discomfort and apprehension.

Yamini looked at the poor girl wanting to soothe her but could not bring herself to say anything. She wanted to say so much but no tactful way of handling things occurred to her. She would have approached this situation with more preparation, maybe a speech ready in her head but since last night her mind was not working in the best possible way.