Beneath The Silver Stars

• One •

The wind howled past the stones of the Kumar Mansion. The chandelier cast it's sickly glow over the guests in the main hall.

Ranveer stared at his reflection in the mirror. He barely recognised himself with the sunken cheeks and dark circles. The strong man he was two months ago had changed into a worried, anxious person.

Lajo Aunty's soft footfalls hit the wooden floor as she stepped inside his room. Despite the tears she shed over Sakshi's apparent death, her eyes filled with a gentle warmth seeing Ranveer in his wedding attire- a golden sherwani suit with embroidered flowers, and a maroon silk shawl. 

"You're the most handsome groom I've seen, my child," she said.

Ranveer forced a smile. "I'm doing this only because of duty."

She adjusted the layers of pearls around his neck. "This moti mala is perfect for you."

"I never imagined I would have to marry Hemant's sister," he said, surprised at the turn of events.

"Hemant's sister is not like him. She seems to be good. I'm sure she will be a supportive wife to you."

"You're telling me this just to make me feel better." His jaw tightened with every word.

His skin pricked at the thought of his impending marriage. He had to do this for the sake of the political party. Like Sakshi, he too dreamt of a peaceful life, away from the chaos of politics, guns, and violence. His sister got that life and he was happy for her. But now, he was forced to marry someone from that same suffocating world.

Lajo pulled out a small bottle of rose scented attar and applied the perfume on his wrists and neck.

"My child, I'm sorry for thinking you deliberately... killed Sakshi. I got to know later that you accidentally shot her." Her eyes brimmed with silent tears.

His heart twisted seeing her broken state. He wished he could tell her the truth, but he had promised himself that he would never tell anyone that Sakshi was alive. If anyone got a small whiff of the news, they would surely find her and end her life. He couldn't risk it.

"Thinking of Sakshi? If she was alive, she would be going around excitedly. It's her brother's wedding, after all," Lajo said with a pained smile.

He just nodded without a word. Life was so ironic. He conducted his dear sister's wedding but she couldn't attend his wedding. She didn't even know he was getting married. Despite his promise to keep in touch, he couldn't afford to contact her because of being closely watched by their political party and the news media.

The opposing political party took advantage of the situation and started a rumour that Ranveer had indeed murdered Sakshi. They added a lot of their own twists, claiming that she had many affairs and had a questionable character. The news media constantly stalked him and followed him everywhere with their flashy cameras.

When this issue started two months ago, Ranveer secretly sent word to Sakshi telling her not to contact him no matter what happened. He was glad he did that because his phone was confiscated by the authorities and his messages and calls were checked.

His own political party started breaking apart because Sakshi and Hemant's wedding had fallen apart. Half of them took the side of Kushwant and Hemant, while the other half leaned towards Udayveer.

One rainy evening after a press meeting, Udayveer Kumar and Kushwant Vardhan decided that the only way to keep the party from splitting was to arrange another wedding. One between Kushwant's daughter Kaahini and Ranveer.

And today was the day.

Ranveer barely knew anything about his bride, except that she had beautiful eyes. She had lived in another city for years, isolated from her family. He wondered why she was never part of their celebrations, family outings, or vacations.