𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝 [ Shubman Gill ]

Eight

Shubman stood there for a moment, debating whether to wake her up. "Okay," he muttered to himself, "shaadi ke pehle ka Aditi ka shor aur shaadi ke baad ka sukoon... kya irony hai!" He shook his head, quietly slipping off his shoes, and tiptoed toward the sofa. As he sank into it, a mischievous thought crossed his mind.

He pulled out his phone and snapped a quick picture of Aditi, still in her wedding lehenga, sprawled out on the bed. "For future reference," he whispered to himself with a smirk. Just as he was about to settle in, Aditi stirred and let out a faint groan.

"Shubman?" she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

He froze, phone in hand. "Uh... yeah?" he replied cautiously.

Aditi slowly pushed herself up, rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she asked, blinking at him like she couldn't quite place him.

Shubman gave her a deadpan look. "What am I doing here? Seriously, Aditi? I'm obviously here to talk!"

"Right," Aditi said, her brain still half asleep. She blinked a few more times, then her eyes widened. "Oh god, I'm still wearing this!" She looked down at the heavy lehenga, then back at Shubman. "Why didn't you wake me up? Now it'll take me an hour just to take it off!"

Shubman raised an eyebrow. "Mujhe kya pata tha tum bed par lehenga pehne hi behosh ho jaogi?"

Aditi shot him a glare as she struggled to get up, one of the layers of her lehenga getting caught under her heel. "Help me, will you?" she snapped, flailing one hand in his direction.

"Accha accha, bas drama mat kar," Shubman sighed, walking over to untangle the fabric. As he did, she stumbled forward, and in a split second, she ended up falling right into him, their noses almost touching.

They both froze, an inept silence enveloping the room.

"Aapka dulha, aapki seva mein haazir," Shubman said with a sarcastic flourish, trying to defuse the tension.

Aditi rolled her eyes, stepping back. "Thanks," she said, brushing off her dress as if it would erase the embarrassing moment.

"You know," Shubman said, unable to resist, "I was thinking....looking at your condition, that you did enjoy the wedding."

Aditi shot him a playful but tired glare. "U huh? Toh tum mere lehenga se shaadi kar lete na, phir."

Shubman chuckled. "Yaar, mujhe kis se bhi shaadi karni hoti, tujhe kya problem hai?"

Aditi chose to ignore him, rolling her eyes as she finally managed to stand without the lehenga getting in her way. "By the way," she said, suddenly changing the topic, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your friends? Laughing at our condition."

Shubman pretended to consider that. "Nice idea yaar. Par Ishan aur Abhishek already kaafi hans chuke hain. Ab mujhe aake tumhare baare me bhi pooch ke sympathy dikhani thi, na."

Shubman gave her a mock salute and turned toward the door. "I'm going to sleep. And if you want to create some havoc instead of sleeping, don't call me." he said with a smirk before closing the door behind him.

As he walked back down the hallway, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He leaned against the wall, thinking that it was only the first night, and things were already turning out way more chaotic—and hilarious than he had imagined.