His Twisted Desire

Chapter 9

THE HALDI CEREMONY

Author's note:

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delayed update! I was caught up with my studies and some important work. To compensate for the delay, I hereby present you with a special chapter along with this week's update. I once again apologize for the delay.
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Everyone in their life has their dream wedding planned, especially girls. They think about how their wedding dress should be, how their makeup should be, how their jewels should be, about their pre-wedding ceremonies like haldi, mehndi, and sangeet, and not to mention the most important thing of all, how their partner should be.

Riya had no past lovers except for Jai. Before Jai, she had a dream about how her future husband should be. Her dream man who conquered her mind had certain qualities she hoped to find in her husband.

Giving her importance, supporting her, loving her, caring for her, understanding her, and most importantly, having her as their first priority. Freeing her from the cage she was living in...

Jai only had half of it, and Riya knew this very well. But she still hoped that he would give her priorities and save her from the hell. But sometimes, what we hope for does not happen, and instead, what actually happens is not what we want.

That was the case here. He left her. He threw away their five years of relationship with a lame excuse.

Riya had lost hope in love. And her family was forcing her into a marriage with a man who was her ex's cousin. She was supposed to hate this wedding.

She was hating it. But the little girl inside her did want a perfect wedding, her dream wedding. And not to mention, despite his silly nature and scary aura, he is not bad and definitely not unpleasant to look at.

So, forcing aside her stubborn refusal to this marriage, Riya decided to give it a chance on their haldi ceremony.

But the universe seemed to think otherwise. Both Riya and Rishi were standing under a shelter. Not only them, everyone who attended their ceremony was taking shelter because of the rain.

Rishi and Riya huddled under the flimsy shelter, escaping the sudden downpour that had interrupted their haldi ceremony. Riya glared at the sky, her arms crossed and her lips pursed in irritation.

"Why are you glaring at the sky?" Rishi asked, his tone laced with amusement.

Riya sighed. "Why do you think? Because of this rain."

"You don't like rain?"

"Yeah... not a fan of it."

Rishi smirked. "Not the type to dance in the rain...?"

Riya remained silent, avoiding his gaze. Rishi raised a questioning eyebrow, prompting her to continue.

"...Once... in my college days... I think I did that," she admitted reluctantly.

"You think?" Rishi pressed.

"Yeah. I don't really remember much. I was drunk," she confessed, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks.

"So, you do have a drinking habit," Rishi teased, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"...Oh god... please forget what I said," Riya muttered, clearly embarrassed.

"Not a chance, birdie," Rishi chuckled, his nickname for her slipping out effortlessly.

Riya's expression softened slightly, but her mind was still elsewhere. This marriage was not something she had been eager about, a reality she struggled to accept. On the other hand, Rishi, with his sarcastic and arrogant demeanor, secretly harbored feelings for her that he had never confessed. The rain, it seemed, had brought them closer, if only for a moment, revealing glimpses of their true selves amidst the unexpected storm.