May be forever

S I X

               

      A marriage is a choice, you make over and over again. 

      Certainly it was a choice Vihani chose herself under whatever circumstances it may be. But the choice wasn't made out of love, it was made out of desperation to be saved from a whirlwind of troubles, that surrounded her.

It's funny, how her status changed from Ms. Reddy to Mrs. Rao in less than thirty minutes. It was a very private affair as both of them wanted, with a very few people to witness.

Vihani had chosen her mom's wedding saree for the occasion. A raspberry pink Kanjivaram with golden thread work. She kept her long hair in a bun and a few strings of mogra flowers adorned her hair.

'You look like mom in her wedding pictures.....'
Her Bhai had tears in his eyes as he saw her in mom's saree.
Vihani felt the same too. She looked exactly like her mom on her wedding day minus the happiness and excitement in that pictures, which had lit up her  face.
On the contrary, here she was struggling to have a pleasant look on her face.

Avinesh looked handsome in his casual wear, white shirt and blue chinos and they made a good looking couple for sure.

Except her Bhai and her dad, who maintained a grim expression on his face and kept his distance  from her for the past few days , there wasn't anyone from her side.

Avinesh had his best friend  Arjun and his wife Rithika from his side. It was strictly a closed affair. She had signed the prenuptial agreement the day before and it was a deal between them on every aspect, not a marriage.
And with a signature and a quick exchange of garlands and tying thaali ( mangalsutra) around her neck, it was over.

No ceremonies, no oath were taken, no revolution around sacred fire, yet they were married and Vihani wanted to laugh at the total absurdity of it.
  
The rest of the day went in a blur. By the time she got ready for the reception in the evening, she was tired with a pulsating headache.

'You can do this Vinny.. Smile..' she told  herself looking at the mirror.

Vinny was wearing a navy blue A line gown with bead works. The soft material adorned her slender body like a second skin and she looked radiant in her dress. Her Bhai had chose a wonderful stylist for her and they had done a good job to make her look perfect. They had done a half tie hairdo with her long hair.  It featured a messy bun in the centre  and a cutesy pearl embellished hair clip on one side.
With a minimal make up and simple yet elegant ornaments, from her mom's collection, she was all set to the reception. 

' You are looking stunning Vihani. Your husband is so lucky to have you..' her stylist said with a wide smile.

'Thank you' she replied politely.

There was a soft knock on the door and  Varun entered the room along with Avinesh. 

' Awe...my crappy ninja is looking pretty today ' Varun smiled at her.

'Not today Bhai. Give it a rest' Vihani scoffed in return as she stood up and turned fully towards them.

Varun came forward and thanked the stylist and her team first. Then  he came to her side and hugged her and she let herself relax a bit in his embrace and smiled at him.

'You are looking beautiful Vinny...' there was a crack in his voice.

'I know that Bhai. But it feels nice when it comes from you' she winked and smiled again.

' Yeah yeah, you should be thankful for having such a great brother, who picks the best stylist in India' he said as they pulled back and she rolled her eyes.