9| Day Of Henna

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CORRUPT ME

CORRUPT ME

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Crowds.
Noise.
Laughter that didn't mean anything.

I shouldn't have come. But Ahaan wouldn't stop pushing, and mother's voice had that tone again — the one that made refusal sound like betrayal.

So here I am. Another wedding function, another round of forced smiles and hollow conversations.

And then—her.

Tara Advani.

I didn't notice her at first. Or maybe I didn't want to. But the moment she walked into the room, it was impossible not to.
That yellow lehenga caught the light like it was made to provoke.
And she... she carried it like she didn't owe the world an apology for existing.

Everyone else seemed to fade — the music, the noise, even Ahaan's voice somewhere beside me. It all blurred until there was only her.

The green lengha she wore first wasn't enough to destroy my peace that she showed her second look of the day.

I remember the moment her dress was a mess because of me making me think twice to ruin her dress in multiple more ways.

Her laughter was loud, careless, infuriatingly genuine.
Her movements were fluid, too confident for her own good.
And her eyes — those eyes didn't search for anyone's approval.

It pissed me off.

Because people like her weren't supposed to exist — people who wore freedom like armor, who didn't know what it meant to cage themselves.

And yet I couldn't look away.

When she danced, it wasn't delicate or rehearsed. It was raw. Wild. The kind of energy that demanded attention without asking for it.
And I hated that I gave it to her.

Ahaan's voice cut through the haze.
"You're staring."

No, I wasn't.
At least, that's what I wanted to believe.

But my eyes hadn't moved from her once.

Every laugh that escaped her lips felt like a challenge. Every turn she made in that glowing dress felt like defiance aimed right at me.

And then she looked up.
Just once.
Right at me.

For a second, the world narrowed to that one line of sight — her gaze locking with mine, her smile faltering like she could feel the weight of it.

Something twisted in my chest. Something old. Something I didn't want waking up again.

I forced my jaw to unclench, shifted my gaze away, but the damage was done.
I could still see her even when I wasn't looking.
Still feel that pull — quiet, dangerous, stupidly real.

Ahaan said something again, but I didn't hear it. My glass cracked under my grip before I even realized I'd been holding it too tight.

I set it down. Left the room.
Didn't look back.

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