The Life I Never Chose (Rewritten)

⩫Settling In⩫

The Reception had been overwhelming to say the least, they had met all the people and clicked pictures till 1 am, and finally Shivanya's vidaai happened, with a little crying and lots of love.
Dev held her hand and guided her towards the car. He had prepped for everything. The car had tissues, water bottles and even makeup wipes. In fact, he had even kept Shivanya's lipstick and basic makeup in a pouch with one of those "spongey things" she used to put her makeup on. That's what the website told him to do, of course.
He helped her sit in the car and sat himself. He knew she had trouble crying in front of a lot of people, which was maybe why she hadn't even let a single tear out yet, but he hoped she felt comfortable enough to express herself in front of him. He had even requested his father for a car with a partition in between so she could cry properly. He looked at her and held her shoulder delicately-

"Hey, you okay?"

Dev received the surprise of a lifetime when his bride looked at him with a bright smile.

"Yup, absolutely fine."

"Shivanya, sweetheart, you don't have to be tough in front of me. I know it's tough to leave your family behind and start a new fresh life with essentially a stranger. It's okay if you want to cry."

Shivanya smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Honestly, I did feel emotional the night before our wedding when I thought about it. Even cried a little then. But then I thought about it practically. Brides have been crying at their vidaais for centuries. Except, in these times we have technology. And also the fact that we're in the same city. Barely 30 mins of a drive from our place to my place. This is a joyous occasion Dev. And you are not some stranger to me. You're my husband, who has been my batchmate and even if we don't know each other in detail, we know that we're perfect for each other. Now stop overthinking and sleep for 15 mins. We have a few more rituals to do once we get home."

Dev just looked at this amazing woman who surprised him everyday with her practicality and her wonderfully weird ideologies about life and love. And then he felt immense happiness in his heart. This woman was all his. His to love, his to cherish and his to keep happy. He also noted how she called his apartment as our home.

He made a decision, much to his mother's chagrin that his wife will directly be welcomed at his apartment, rather than the Singhanias' residence. That was his haven that he had created with his hard work and dedication. It had seen his frustration and his tears, both sad and happy. It had witnessed his depression and his anxiety and also his efforts to get out of it. This place had witnessed when he danced with happiness once Shivanya said yes to marry him. His bride will be welcomed in his home, not a place he was never respected in. Despite everything said and done, Dev did hold a little bit of bitterness in his heart for his family. The wedding became a reason for them to share some heartwarming moments, but for 10 years he has suffered. He can't forget that because of a couple of mushy lines and teary smiles right? He was deep in thought, with a tight hold on Shivanya as she took a small nap, when the driver alerted him that they had arrived.

"Shivanya, wake up. We're home."

——————————————————

Shivanya was welcomed with much love and laughter, as she completed all the rituals alongside her dear husband. She won the ring finding game, of course. Dev succeeded in finding his name in her henna, which was hidden with much creativity thanks to the mehendi artist. Finally everyone departed early morning so that the couple could go to sleep. Dev held her hand and led her to their bedroom, promising her a house tour after they woke up from a much needed sleep.
He opened the door to the room and wanted to switch the lights on, only to see his entire room converted into a movie set. There were roses and candles all around the room, and no LED lights were needed to brighten the room up. They looked around in shock and then looked at each other as it doomed on them, it was their suhaagraat. A momentous occasion when every single person in the world who knew they got married was going to expect them to fuck like bunnies till late and then sleep for hours. Within a minute, they both shouted simultaneously-