𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 : 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠

SIXTY TWO🐾

Adrija POV

The moment I stepped inside the mandap, my heartbeat stopped, feeling like my own.
Everything around me blurred the chants, the temple bells, the soft whispers of relatives, even the sound of my anklets.
It all faded into the background the second my eyes found him.

Adved.

He was already sitting there, dressed in that soft pastel pink kurta, looking calmer than the mountains around us... Yet his eyes gave him away.
They were emotional. Shiny. Completely lost in me.

And suddenly, I forgot how to walk.
My hands trembled lightly beneath the folds of my saree.
The red chudaa resting against my wrists made soft sounds with every step.
My mehendi had darkened beautifully overnight, and the small silver toe rings and anklets felt heavier today as if reminding me this was real.
I lowered my gaze for a second, trying to control the storm inside me.

But I looked at him again.
And this time, he was already looking at me like I was the only thing existing in that temple.

Not the decorations.
Not the people.
Not even the sacred fire.
Just me.

His eyes slowly travelled over every little detail my nose ring, the sindoor-ready maang beneath the chunri, the mehendi on my hands, the nervous way I held my saree.

I saw his throat move slightly as if he was holding back emotions.
And for the first time in my life, I truly understood what people meant when they said: someone can look at you with love so pure that it feels holy.

I reached closer to the mandap.
He stretched his hand toward me.

That one gesture broke something inside me softly.

Not because it was romantic
but because it felt safe.

Like he was silently saying: Come. I've got you now.

I placed my hand in his.

Warmth spread through me instantly.

And as I sat beside him before the sacred fire, under Mahadev's presence, surrounded by prayers and mountains and people who loved us...
And then it happened.

Before I could even process the emotions overflowing inside me, Adved gently pulled me into his arms.
Tightly. Carefully. Like he had finally reached something he had spent lifetimes searching for.

My forehead rested against his chest for a second, and I could hear it his heartbeat. Fast. Emotional. Real.

Then he lifted my face slightly and kissed my forehead.

Softly.

The temple bells echoed somewhere behind us, people smiling through tears, cameras capturing everything but for those few moments, it felt like only we existed.

And suddenly...

He kissed me.

Right there.

In front of everyone.

A small peck on my lips soft, warm, lingering for a few seconds longer than expected.

My breath caught instantly.

Gasps, laughter, whistles, teasing voices everything erupted around us, but I couldn't even react properly because my heart was too busy melting inside my chest.

And then I remembered.

The challenge.
Months ago, I had teased him shamelessly and told him "If you don't kiss me at the wedding, then don't even think about touching me after marriage."