The beginning

Epilogue

It was the happiest week of Deepika's life. She felt like she was bathed in love. Her parents, her sister, all her closest friends and family all around her, beaming with joy and pride. Ranveer's family and closest friends, as well, equally joyous. But most of all, him. The man who was now officially hers for life.

She'd known him for going on seven years now, but never before had she seen him so utterly content. She felt his joy and love deep inside her, a second heartbeat joined with her own that lit her up every moment of every day and made her incandescent. Those around them couldn't take their eyes off their effervescent beauty, but she and he didn't even notice. They were lost in each other, in the sheer bliss of marrying the love of their life. They had nothing to hide any more, and they didn't. 

The days were long and tiring, but exhilarating. With all the people constantly around them, all the ceremonies to participate in, all the traveling, all the dancing and posing and changes of clothes, it hardly sank in that what was happening was their wedding. That they were really, truly married now. 

Being with her and all his loved ones made Ranveer so happy anyway, that he kept almost forgetting what they were there for. Then it would hit him again, and he'd feel full to bursting with emotion again, to the point where there seemed no adequate way to express what he felt. He cried and laughed alternately, and when he looked at Deepika... Well, he couldn't look away.

People, both those close to him and those who didn't know him well, normally teased him for how transparent he was when he stared at her beautiful face. It was true, he usually only had to see her to be captivated by her beauty. But in these few days she broke all her previous records. He was awestruck by her luminous smile, her glowing skin, her twinkling eyes. Looking at her was like looking into the heart of a star, and if he'd ever doubted he made her just as happy as she made him, her entire being in these few days erased those doubts entirely.

He watched her smile and laugh, too caught up in her to notice what those around him were saying. All he wanted was to be close to her. And the wonder of it all was that she seemed to want the same thing. They had spent so much time apart these past few months, with his hectic shooting schedule and her busy wedding planning. She would fly to meet him, or he would fly to meet her, but it was a long time since they'd spent an entire week together, uninterrupted by work. Well, there was no work to interrupt them here, but there was a surfeit of family and friends seemingly always hovering around them, ready to ask a question or make a joke whenever he managed to get her alone for a moment. He laughed and bore it all because she was pledging to be his and they would have the rest of their lives to be together.

Their first day back home was madness. Arriving at the airport they were slightly terrified by the immensity of the crowd waiting to greet them. They somehow, with the help of their bodyguards, made it through. They held tightly to each other the whole time. Ranveer could feel Deepika's heart fluttering like a caged bird against his chest, and more than once, when he started to get irritated with some overly pushy reporters, her hand on his heart calmed him down. They drove to his home where his parents and extended family waited for Deepika to enter the house for the first time as a bride. She'd visited them many times before, in fact, she often visited them even when he was away. But this would be new.

They finished up the interaction with the press who'd been waiting for them first. Then they stepped in, climbing the stairs to where his mother and sister waited for them. His mother circled them with the aarti and showered them with rice. His sister sprinkled rose water and flower petals on them both. A kalash with rice in it stood on the threshold. Deepika covered her head with the dupatta. Ritika set a large plate with water and vermillion mixed in it in front of her feet, and Ranveer held her hand as she stepped into it, then gently overturned the kalash with her right foot and stepped into the house.