Zara Khan is a dreamer with a heart full of kindness and a smile that lights up any room. Adopted into a loving family, she's spent her life proving she belongs, despite the whispers of relatives who see her as an outsider. Zara has always believed...
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"Princess Zara, future bride, huh?" Kabir's voice rang out from the kitchen, full of mockery as he peeked into the living room smirking at me.
I groaned, burying my face into the couch cushions. "Not you too."
"Of course, me too," Kabir continued, strolling over to ruffle my hair. "Can't miss an opportunity to tease my favourite cousin about getting married."
"Don't stress her out," Arav, the quieter of the two twins, chided as he joined us, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "She's already nervous enough about this proposal thing."
"Easy for you to say," I muttered, pulling the blanket over my head. "You're not the one who might be meeting a stranger and discussing marriage with him." Just saying the word marriage made my stomach twist in knots.
Kabir flopped down beside me, tugging the blanket away with a grin. "Hey, it might not be so bad. What if he's a good guy? Maybe you'll even like him." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
I threw a pillow at him, blushing.
"Or he could be a mama's boy and ask for her permission to hold your hand," Arav continued his brother's joke. I aimed another pillow at him this time.
"Or worse, he might bring his mom on your honeymoon to make sure you're well-behaved." Kabir laughed, dodging the next pillow I launched at him.
I let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a cry, shaking my head. "Stop it! Enough with the horror stories. I'm already terrified as it is."
Kabir grinned wider. "Just trying to prepare you for all the possibilities."
"Yeah, like the possibility of him calling his mom every five minutes to ask how to cook an egg," Arav added, chuckling.
I covered my face with my hands, still laughing. "I said, stop! I don't need to picture that!"
Kabir put his arm around my shoulders, squeezing me gently. "Okay, okay, we'll stop... for now. But seriously, Zara, whatever happens, we've got your back. Always."
Arav sat on the edge of the coffee table. If mama caught him doing that, we'd be attending his funeral instead of my wedding, I thought with a smile. He spoke softly, "We'll say no even before you if he turns out to be a jerk. But you owe it to yourself—and to your parents—to at least give him a chance."
I bit my lip, glancing between my cousins. They'd always looked out for me, and their teasing aside, I knew they meant well. "I guess... you're right. Meeting him won't kill me."
"There's the spirit," Kabir said with a wink. "Besides, we'll be there to scope him out. He's gotta pass our test before anything."
I rolled my eyes, feeling slightly better. My cousins always knew how to comfort me, even if their methods involved relentless teasing.
