Sanjana turned around and looked at herself in the mirror. She was dressed in a deep red wedding lehenga with large embellishments on the bodice. Her skirt had a pink and silver jeweled border at the bottom and include intricate beadwork and sequins throughout. She wore a silver choker, silver chandelier earrings, and a simple silver mang tikka on the part in her hair, prefer to wear as little jewelry as possible. Sanjana carefully slipped the remaining few bangles down her hands, which had extravagant henna on them. She, with the help of her Aunt, finally put her veil on, completing her bridal look. Her outfit was a lot more fancy than she'd wanted, by Meenakshi had insisted that she go all out on her wedding outfits.

Sanjana had all the pre-wedding ceremonies done in a single day, and the wedding and reception would be today. Weddings in her village lasted nearly a week, but she just wanted to get hers over with as soon as possible. Rohit didn't mind at all. It was difficult for him to even get a few days off of work. Sanjana hadn't seen Rohit in over a week. His father and her Aunt had decided to keep the couple away from each other to build anticipation. Sanjana didn't care. No part of her felt any sort of great anticipation to see Rohit. She wondered how he looked dressed as a groom, but her fears about married life prevented her from thinking about Rohit any more than that.

"I can't believe you're getting married today." Meenakshi said happily. She turned around to face Sanjana.

"I never had a daughter." Meenakshi said. "And then you came along, under horrible circumstances, but still. I felt like I finally got the chance to have a daughter." Meenakshi quickly swiped away a tear.

"You know, I've always wanted to plan a wedding! Rohit is perfect for you! He'll keep you happy. He'll be the support you need. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to help you.  Then, Rohit...he's perfect for you." Meenakshi said. She pulled Sanjana into a brief hug. Sanjana fought tears of her own.

She and her Aunt walked down the hallway of the temple, where her wedding was going to take place. Sanjana hesitated before entering the room, where Rohit and the rest of the guests were waiting for her. Rohit's eyes widened as soon as he saw Sanjana. He was dressed in a gold wedding sherwani and looked extremely handsome. His mouth parted in shock. He turned so that he could see her better.

"You look great." Rohit whispered to her once she reached him. "Ready for this?"

Rohit and Sanjana's wedding ceremony was beautiful and went on without a problem. It was time for the reception, and Sanjana started feeling ill. She tried to finish getting ready, changing out of her wedding lehenga into a much more easy to handle Anarkali salwar kameez with beautiful embellishments. She started to feel light headed and braced herself against a chair. She convinced herself that she was just suffering from anxiety, but part of her knew the real reason she wasn't feeling well. Sanjana was always supposed to marry Arjun. She had been fine with the idea of marrying Rohit, but now that the day had finally come and the wedding has just happened, reality dawned on her. She was married to another man, a man she barely knew and had never imagined herself with. Sanjana quickly sat down, feeling too dizzy to remain standing. She heard a faint knock on the door. The door opened a second later and Rohit walked in.

"Hey, are you almost ready? What do you think? I thought about a suit, but I thought I'd keep things Indian." Rohit quipped, referring to his outfit. He'd changed into a more simple but still formal maroon sherwani.

"Are you okay?" Rohit asked, kneeling down in front of Sanjana.

She looked up at him and tried to smile, not wanting to worry him. His hands rested lightly her knees as he knelt before her chair.

"You're nervous, aren't you? The crowd. It's okay. I'm here with you." Rohit said soothingly. He wanted to hug her, take her in his arms and make her feel safe, but he wasn't sure she'd respond well to that.

Sanjana looked up at him and took a deep breath before attempting to stand up. He reached out and took her hand in his, waiting a moment to see if she'd pull away. When she didn't, he smiled at her before heading out of the room into the hallway. They walked silently and finally stood in front of the door to make their grand entrance as a married couple.

The reception ended after two hours. Sanjana had managed to avoid dancing with Rohit even when the crowds of people insisted they have their first dance as man and wife. Rohit had taken her side, maintaining that she wasn't feeling well and he didn't want to take any chances with her health. Of course, no one questioned him, since he was a doctor after all. Sanjana was relieved that the wedding and reception were over. She just wanted to get away from all the people. Her aunt had suggested that she and Rohit spend their first night in a nice hotel suite before having to deal with moving all of Sanjana's stuff to Rohit's place. It dawned on Sanjana that she had no idea what her future home looked like. All she knew was that Rohit didn't live in a house but would buy one later if she wished.

Sanjana sat alone in the grand honeymoon suite. It was the fanciest room she'd ever seen. There was a large vanity in the corner of the room, where she sat to take off her jewelry. There was a white sofa near the back of the bedroom. She noticed the flat screen TV and the king sized bed. The bathroom was basically a spa with the biggest shower she'd ever seen and a bath tub with jets. It was decorated with immaculate tile all over and had modern dual sinks. The suite was dimly lit and sparsely decorated with candles and flower petals but decorated nonetheless. Sanjana had half a mind to blow out all of the candles and clean up all of the flower petals so that Rohit doesn't get the wrong idea. Then she thought that maybe he'd had something to do with decorations and decided to leave them alone.

The door opened and Rohit walked in. Sanjana automatically stood up. He saw her and smiled, walking towards her.

"Hi," he said softly. He was standing right in front of her. He took a step closer. Sanjana felt the need to back away but stayed in place. "Tonight is our first night as husband and wife." He continued.

Rohit moved closer to her. He cupped her cheek with one of his hands. She briefly looked up at him before looking down again. He placed his other arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He was somewhat surprised she wasn't resisting. He noticed that she was taking a lot of deep breaths. Her expression showed just how nervous she really was. He lifted her chin with his fingertips so that she was now looking at him.

"Sanjana," he whispered. "I just want one thing tonight."

Rohit looked at her, holding her gaze. He caressed her cheek with his thumb. Rohit stepped forward, closing the distance between them. He loved being this close to Sanjana. He took her in fully, her scent, her beauty. Finally Rohit, leaned in and kissed Sanjana for the first time. His lips lingered on hers for a moment before he broke the kiss and took a step back. His heart was beating quickly, as he anticipated her reaction. He'd decided that he would consider Sanjana's comfort and hold off on consummating their marriage until she was ready. However, he had so desperately wanted to kiss her, he couldn't wait any longer.

He waited for Sanjana to say something. She said nothing and just stood there, looking down.

"Are you okay?" Rohit asked.

She didn't say anything. She walked to the other side of the room and started to fiddle with some of her luggage. Rohit just watched her. Sanjana pulled some clothes out and walked back to the other side of the room. She walked past Rohit without so much as looking at him. She went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Rohit sat down on the bed, sighing. This wasn't the nuptial night he had in mind. He wanted to kiss his new wife and spend the night in bed with his arms around her. Now, he was afraid to touch her, not wanting to upset her. Rohit took a deep breath and laid back on the bed. He thought about Radhika and the night they would be having right now if they had gotten married.

Sanjana breathed heavily. She was sure she was having a panic attack. Rohit had kissed her! She knew her duties as his wife would entail a physical relationship, but she'd hoped that Rohit would understand that she wasn't ready for one yet. She thought about Arjun. He would never approve of her having relations with another man. Sanjana breathed even more heavily, restraining her tears. Arjun's approval no longer mattered. After what he'd done to her, he wasn't even worth thinking about. Sanjana sat down on the floor of the bathroom, leaning her back against the door. She could hardly breathe. She hoped with all her heart that a kiss was all Rohit would want from her tonight.

After a few moments, Sanjana tried to pull herself together. She stood up and changed her clothes as quickly as she could, relieved to be rid of her fancy, intricate reception outfit. She looked at herself in the mirror. What a mess she was! Sanjana desperately tried to fix her appearance. She didn't want Rohit to think he was doing anything wrong. He'd been so nice to her. The last thing she wanted was him to be unhappy with her.

"Sanjana," Sanjana heard Rohit's voice through the door. "Are you okay?"

Sanjana rushed to the door, opening it quickly.

"I'm sorry," she said before Rohit could say anything else.

"Don't worry. I know this whole situation is making you nervous." Rohit replied. "I...um...I don't have any expectations from you tonight if that's what you're worried about."

Sanjana was relieved. She moved away from the bathroom door, allowing Rohit to enter to take a shower. While he was in the shower, Sanjana laid down on the bed, ready to call it a night. She fell asleep within a few minutes, exhaustion taking over her body. Rohit exited the bathroom and saw the bedroom immersed in darkness. Sanjana was asleep. He sighed. What an eventful night. Sanjana felt the bed dip as Rohit laid down. She shot up instantly.

"Sanjana...," Rohit said, surprised by her sudden motion.

Sanjana looked up at Rohit and quickly looked away. Rohit could sense her discomfort.

"Would you be more comfortable if I slept on the couch?" Rohit asked. No part of him wanted to be stuck sleeping on the sofa, instead of this nice, soft bed, but he didn't want Sanjana to be uncomfortable.

To Rohit's relief she shook her head at his suggestion. Sanjana couldn't bear the thought of inconveniencing Rohit any further. She slowly laid back down, again turning her back to Rohit. Rohit stayed sitting up for a moment, unsure what else to do. Eventually he laid back down. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. He had been so excited to marry Sanjana but suddenly the appeal wore off. He thought that after marriage, she'd be more open with him, but things were exactly the same, and he wasn't sure he could live with that.

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OH NO! Rohit and Sanjana just got married and he's already having doubts. Come on, Rohit! It's gonna take some time before Sanjana warms up to you :(

Anyways YAYYY they're finally married! ALSO SO SO SORRY I haven't been updating regularly. I'll try harder to at least update. I really want this story to progress. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING!

PLEASE COMMENT AND VOTE! Lemme know what you thought!