Waited For You

Chapter 45

{ The Present } :-

The mountains of Uttarakhand stood wrapped in soft morning mist, the chilly breeze carrying the scent of pine, wet earth and temple incense together. Somewhere far away, bells rang rhythmically from the ancient temples, as if the entire valley already knew what this day meant.

A day that had taken years of longing, pain, patience and prayers to arrive.
And yet—
Atharv had not properly seen Sanchi in almost twenty days.
Twenty. Entire. Days.
Which, according to him, was nothing less than emotional torture.

The moment they had finalized the wedding at Triyuginarayan Temple — the sacred place where Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati were believed to have married — all chaos had broken loose.
Especially after that balcony date.
The memory alone was enough to ruin him.

One peaceful evening with Sanchi under fairy lights, sharing champagne and silence and kisses... and the very next morning she got a call to tell that they would be taking her back with them to their home and the following day her parents had arrived like a mission squad.
Sanchi had barely even processed it when her mother announced, “Now you both will stay separately till marriage. Rituals are rituals.”

Atharv had genuinely blinked at her in horror.
“What ritual exactly requires kidnapping my fiancée?”
“It’s tradition,” her mother replied calmly.
Then began his attempts.
First, the cute-face strategy.
He had followed his mother-in-law around the house holding her pallu and the saddest puppy eyes humanly possible.
“Mumma please,” he had whispered dramatically, “you are separating two innocent souls.”
“No.”
“One innocent soul at least.”
“No.”
Then came the googly-eyes scam.
“Look at me once and say no.”
“I said no.”
“Mumma please—”
“Sanchi, take him away before I throw my sandal.”
Which, unfortunately, did not sound like a joke.

His final attempt had been with Sourabh.
Logical reasoning.
“Papa, technically our apartments are only beside each other. We aren’t even doing anything wrong, I swear.”
Sourabh had sighed deeply before placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.
“Son, I understand your pain.”
Atharv’s eyes had filled with hope.
Then Sourabh raised both hands dramatically.
“But I am not going against my wife.”
Traitor.
Absolute traitor.

And since then, Atharv had been surviving on video calls like a man abandoned by fate itself.
Because no matter how long they stayed on call, it wasn't enough.
He missed her physical presence terribly.
Missed seeing her walk into his apartment without knocking.
Missed her stealing food from his plate.
Missed touching her hand casually.
Missed resting his chin on her shoulder.
Missed her.
And driving to meet her secretly was impossible because he was fully convinced his mother-in-law would publicly attack him with footwear.

On the other side, Sanchi was suffering equally.
No one noticed it much because she smiled through everything, helped with preparations, sat patiently during discussions and listened to her family.
But every night she found herself unconsciously opening the balcony door of her parents’ house, staring outside and remembering their moments.

Sometimes she would instinctively pick up her phone to tell Atharv random things—
That she saw a dog that looked exactly like him when sleepy.
That Siddharth had burned toast again.
That she missed him.
Very badly.
And every time he answered her calls with “Hi wife,” her heart betrayed her a little more.

Now finally—
After days that felt endless—
Both families stood near the meeting point outside the resort nestled amidst the mountains.
The atmosphere was lively instantly.
People greeting each other.
Luggage everywhere.
Cold breeze brushing against outfits.
Excited voices echoing around.
Vaidehi bhabhi was already emotional for absolutely no reason.
Avyansh bhaiya looked amused at everyone.
And Avu, their overenthusiastic wedding planner, had somehow managed to carry three files, two phones and panic simultaneously.