Oberoi's Ardhangini

CH | 10

Wedding Day...

The heavy sunrise lit brightly in every corner of Mehta's house. The polished walls adorned in flower garments added the wedding glow to their house, while only a few of their close relatives were floating in and out, the arrangements were happening smoothly.

"Where's Pranavi?" Her mother asked Ishika, as there were no traces of Pranavi from the morning.

"I'll check on her, Mom. You just relax and take care of the rest." Ishika said warmly and before leaving, her mother added, "Bring her down before 7.30 AM."

Ishika showed a thumbs up and slightly lifted her yellow skirt while climbing up the stairs with a dazzling smile.

"Hey, Ishika, slow down!! You might hit someone in your hurry." Shreya and Aarushi yelled in unison.

"Says the one who always gets bumped into by someone." Ishika gave her usual quick-witted remark, while her voice dripped off the sarcasm, leaving them dumbfounded. Being an actress has its own advantages!

They huffed in annoyance, "That girl never behaves."

"If you're done with comments, shall we get my sister down?" Ishika asked with a raised brow and they nodded with a cheer.

"Pranavi," They all shouted and opened the wooden door. They saw Pranavi standing near her window, inhaling all the warmth from the sun while dressed up in a yellow saree.

Her mind was a mess, her inner voice was warning her about the upcoming storm in her life.

Her gut feeling was urging her, again and again, to rethink this marriage. But she gave her word to her Uncle, there was no way she was going to back down and cause shame to her Uncle.

She was still in a daze, oblivious to the people entering the room, looking at the sky, the blue hue of glimmering clouds. She pondered, "Will my life ever become this bright? Can I ever come out of my darkness?"

In that broad daylight, there was a sense of serenity, a peace that invited itself into the soul and made itself at home, but did she have one? She had a house she was living in, but she could never call it her home.

The nagging feeling in her heart was making her worry about her future. "Is this how my life is destined to be?" She asked again but the answer was again a big 'yes', and the screams surrounding her broke her trance.

"Who's shouting in my room?" She turned her head and a small smile crept onto her rosy lips by glancing at her best friends in their glory.

"We're calling you for 10 minutes. What were you dreaming about?" They teased, giving a mischievous wink at her and Ishika rolled her eyes at them.

"Mom said to bring you down," Ishika stated and grabbed her hands to take her to the Haldi ceremony.

She sat on the stool like a lifeless soul, and they were all applying the haldi to her with joy, but there was no trace of happiness on her face. The depth of blankness in her brown eyes revealed the extent of the void in her heart.

...

At Wedding Venue, 07:45 PM

The open place was well illuminated with lights, embellished with various flowers in red, white, yellow, blue, and pink, filling the hall with a pleasant aroma.

The wedding hall was filled with very few people according to Jwalin's wish. He doesn't want to introduce Pranavi as his wife and give her the attention she didn't deserve!

Both the Oberoi and Mehta families settled themselves on the chairs, and the place was filled with colorful laughter and chatter.

Since Jwalin ordered his family to make it an exceptionally low-profile wedding, it consisted of around 20 people, which included only their extremely close family and friends.