BEDIL SHERGILL || ✔ ||

[8] : Marriage & His Wrath

The evening before the wedding

The sun was beginning its slow descent, casting a warm, golden glow over the sprawling Shergill estate. The sky was painted in soft hues of pink, orange, and lavender, creating a picturesque backdrop that seemed almost too perfect for the tension brewing beneath it. The air was still, carrying the faint scent of jasmine from the garden, mingling with the aroma of fresh earth after a day of light rain. The droplets still clung to the leaves, sparkling like tiny diamonds in the fading light.

The mansion was abuzz with activity as preparations for the wedding reached their final stages. Fairy lights adorned the trees, twinkling like stars as they slowly came to life with the encroaching dusk. The entire estate was bathed in a soft, romantic light, enhancing the grandeur of the occasion.

Inside, the mood was equally vibrant. Lavanya's friends were gathered in the grand living room, sipping on glasses of spiced chai and laughing over shared memories. Lavanya herself was seated at the center, surrounded by a bevy of friends, her face glowing not just with the beauty of the evening, but also with the anticipation of the day ahead. She was the epitome of a bride-to-be, her every gesture graceful, her smile radiant as she listened to the playful teasing and well-wishes being showered upon her. But only she knew what lied beneath her fake personality.

Yet, just outside the gathering, there was a different kind of tension brewing. Drishti stood on the balcony, away from the cheerful buzz of the wedding preparations. The cool evening breeze played with the strands of her hair, but she was too lost in thought to notice. Her eyes were fixed on the horizon, but her mind was elsewhere-calculating, planning, and worrying. The beauty of the evening was lost on her, overshadowed by the storm of emotions raging within. Her mind went back to the moment when she realized she had to leave the house even before she started her mission.

"Everyone, prepare your bags and suitcases. You people will board the flight right after the wedding, flying back to Indonesia.. No delays, no excuses. Got it?"

Rakshit spoke, his voice cold and static, a hard expression on his face as the wedding preparations played in his mind.

Drishti's heart dropped. She couldn't leave this house. Not before she found the one she has been looking for. She had to find a way, a perfect plan, and she needed it fast.

The noise of slow and soft footsteps pulled her out of her trance.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Rakshit walking in the garden below, his posture rigid, his steps deliberate. He paused by the fountain, his gaze fixed on the water as it cascaded gently down. The evening light softened his features, but there was a hardness in his eyes that the golden glow couldn't mask. He looked every bit the stoic groom-to-be, yet there was an unmistakable shadow of reluctance and conflict lurking beneath his composed exterior.

As their eyes met briefly, a spark of recognition passed between them-a silent acknowledgment of the roles they were about to play in the intricate dance of deception that would unfold tomorrow. The evening was beautiful, yes, but it was also deceptive, masking the undercurrents of tension, doubt, and uncertainty that would come to a head all too soon.

Drishti tore her gaze away, her heart pounding in her chest as she walked back inside. The warmth of the evening air and the beauty of the setting sun could do nothing to calm the storm brewing inside her. Tomorrow would be a day of reckoning, but tonight, as the golden light faded into the deep blues of night, there was only the unsettling quiet before the storm.

WEDDING DAY, 2 HRS BEFORE THE FUNCTION

Drishti's heart raced as she paced in her small room in the Shergill mansion. She couldn't let this opportunity slip away. The Shergill house held the key to her past and the identity of the person who was the reason for all her miseries. She had to unfold the secrets that had been buried for almost 2 decades. But Rakshit's impending wedding to Lavanya would mean the end of her stay here.