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The sky is painted with pink shade in the west and some streaks of the sunlight are still visible. The tiny twinkling beings, which have the capacity of spreading peace in the being of their beholder, have already started gracing their presence as if waiting for the darkness to overpower the remaining pink hues in the sky. So, that they could twinkle more brightly with the dark colossal background and of course waiting for their beloved to show its round glowing white serene aura, their Moon. But still, there isn't a trace of him.

And there is another restless soul clad in a ravishing fuchsia-coloured ethnic Sharara, who is gazing at this altercation of dusk into night, standing by the railings of her balcony full of vines and green little beings, also is in deep thoughts. 

She is comparing herself with the stars, Nah, she is actually one of them. Stars, uncountable in number, are so close to their beloved moon yet so far. Distance counted in light years but the relationship they all share is at least known to both and even acknowledged by both.

Just like them, she is also very much near to her beloved yet so far and now covering the distance to reach him seems too good to be a true dream, a distant dream. It's not that she was once close to him. Nah! Her fate had never been so kind to her. She was always near but never close to him.

Just like the Stars and the Moon, there exist millions of light-years distance between him and her. But unlike them, the relationship between her and him from her side is only known to her and acknowledged by her. He is oblivious to everything. Her love is unrequited and now it won't be requited ever.

A lone tear escapes her otherwise bewitching and expressive big black doe-shaped eyes, where now a certain gloominess is residing. The precious pearl glides down her luscious smooth pink cheeks and drops on her hand bringing back her attention from the colossal sky to them. Her slender wrists are adorned with beautiful red-hued exquisite bangles symbolising and reminding her of her now impending life ahead without her beloved but with her best friend. At this thought, she let the other brimming pearls in her orbs to glide down, not wanting to restrict her tears to face the same fate as her long-suppressed feelings.

But soon the unsparing kismet snatched the fortune of getting engulfed into the arms of grief, from her as well. Just like every time and everything it has had always taken away.

She heard the horn of the car, she has habituated to wait for, making her aware that he is here. The chilled zephyrs bustling pass her making her feel his presence more prominently chucking out the possibility of this being a false alarm. And she felt this feeling crawling into her being that he will be coming directly to her, at this thought a shiver ran down her spine alarming her. So, as usual, she hurriedly wiped her tear-stricken face and skillfully masked her emotions. Finally, donning the infamous neutral poker face of her Attorney self, she wears around her clients or in the courtroom or most importantly around him.

There's still some time for him to reach her and she used this time to take a look at her surroundings, hoping for the ever raw heartache to subside on its own.

The whole Srivastava mansion which is the abode of the famous Srivastava kin is now decorated like a bride. After all, it's the grand wedding celebration of two dear children of the Srivastava family and the most awaited one as well. The mansion is illuminated with every type of colourful and vibrating lightings giving the onlookers a breath-taking view. By now the darkness has consumed the whole sky, finally settling the dark colossal night and due to which the mansion's pulchritudinous beauty got enhanced to many folds. The front garden view is as magnificent as the beautiful building with a fountain in the centre. The large tub of the fountain into which the pumped-up water, falls gracefully is lined by the electric diyas and the rippling water is given a golden hue with the under-lights. A perfect mix of the modern and traditional styles of illumination. Not only the lighting but the garden is also being prepared for the various functions of Haldi, Mehendi, etc and the artefacts styled till now is awesome even though it's half-done. 

Those will be surely be done by tonight, after all, it's managed by 'Dream Eventrra'. The star event management company of India and the blood-sweat company of the youngest son of the family. She sighed inwardly as she realized no matter how much she tries to distract herself from his thoughts, she always ends up thinking about them. Speaking of which, she could now hear the voice which has unknowingly captivated her for since long. His authoritative, reprimanding, irritating, etc moods can be detected clearly from his voice as he is entering the mansion while keeping all on their toes, behind him. His presence making her heartbeats erratic and heavy with guilt, all at the same time.

No! She must not give in to her feelings, she thought when she had already sealed her fate long back with her approval of the alliance proposal. Her love is unrequited and this truth is never gonna change. Besides, she has entrusted herself with the elder son of the family, her best friend and most importantly the man who loves her even though she doesn't reciprocate it back, who respects her, adores her, care for her, and has always stood by her as her pillar of strength against every atrocity from childhood. 

She knows that being with a man who loves you unconditionally is much better than being with a man who YOU love. And this fact is the only thread that has helped her in remaining sane.

As the moon graced it's awaited presence into the sky, the wheels of a posh black Mercedes-Benz made entry into the glowing driveway of Srivastava mansion. Soon a tall dark handsome figure clad in a crisp white Chikankari Kurta got out of the vehicle with some assistants in the toe and the minute he came out he started analysing the details of the decoration. Everything is in its place the lightings, the flowers, the artefacts etc on the mansion is perfect as decided by him earlier. He seemed satisfied that the look he wanted to give to his home has turned into reality. 

While scanning the mansion through eyes, his almond-shaped deep chocolate brown-hued eyes caught a lone figure on one of the several balconies of the mansion, connected to the room of a particular member, looking up probably stargazing. And he didn't need to think even for a second, because he knew that it is none other than his classmate and now his brother's fiance, soon to be his only 'Bhabhi'. The thought of her being his sister-in-law made his inside tumble, reasons best known to him. He holds a certain detestation against her perhaps due to their little past. Or the fact that she enjoys the love and affection of every member of the family except him, maybe the reason for his abhorrence for her.

But now their fate is already sealed. She is gonna be his 'Bhabhi' and for his brother, he will accept her. Also, he has taken the responsibility for this grand wedding on his shoulders, so he has to focus on it and the task at hand now is to give her the next important item.

His sharp deep chocolate brown orbs again got back to the scanning mode as he moved towards the mansion while passing the garden instructing, reprimanding, suggesting, chiding his team heads of various departments. He is a perfectionist and that's the reason 'Dream Eventrra' has reached this place in a short period of time. He is the big name, almost a brand in himself, he is no longer overshadowed by his prestigious surname now. So keeping this tough perfecting behaviour is a must. But all of this is out of the doorstep of the Srivastava mansion, inside it, he is the youngest lad of the family, loved by all though he has shared this love with someone else other than his brother.

He soon entered the hall which is now abuzz with cheerful laughter and merry of the august gathering comprising of the extended Srivastava clan. Everyone from children to the oldies is having a gala time and as per the schedule, the Chooda ceremony should be over by now. The talks of the elderly ladies confirmed his doubt as he heard them talking about the exquisite and costly Chooda set given by the family to the bride. Typical!

As soon as, he entered, everyone noticed him and he got different reactions. Affectionate and gentle nods from elders when he greeted them with folding hands. The children soon huddled around him as he is their favourite but as usual, he handed each of them their favourite thing: chocolates making them disperse happily. While he moved forward, he could feel the heated gazes of the younger lot of the gathering, which is a mix of female fans and envious males. He just acknowledged them all with a normal smile and occasionally with pleasantries but didn't stop at all.

His deep orbs are searching for his parents but he couldn't get a glimpse of them, perhaps they're busy with something or maybe romancing with each other. He chuckled at this thought when he remembered the several time both the brothers had caught their parents doing their old-school romance by sneaking out of parties. So, he then decided to hand over the item directly to her.

The young blood then climbed the spiral stairs which connected the majestic hall and the upper floor housing all of their rooms, with his majestic elephantine gait enough to make anyone's heart flutter. A worker having a huge packet is walking behind him. His eyes once again raked the hall beneath and a sense of satisfaction coursed in him when he observed the merry environment. But the satisfaction is incomplete, till the time he gets the trademark approval smile of his 'Bhaiya' conveying that he did like the splendid job done by him, and it's going to remain like that till the time his brother arrives. And he knows that the moment is not far away because his brother, the groom is coming tomorrow. He felt an excitement suddenly infused into his blood at this thought. He exclaimed in his mind- Come fast Bhaiya!

While thinking all this, he didn't realize that he had already arrived at the doorstep of her room and got back to his senses when his worker called for him. He nodded and knocked on the door only to find the door ajar as always. He led the worker in and watched him silently keeping the humongous packet firmly on the bed, from the doorstep only and waited for that worker to leave.

Once the worker left, he graced into the room with the same elephantine gait and instantly the sweet refreshing fragrance of Jasmine hit his nostrils making him aware that he is finally in her territory. He has never come to her room before and it's the first time. Reasons are as usual best known to him. So, he took some time to fully check out her room. And to say he is not impressed, will be a plain white lie. He is tremendously blown away by the clean, well-organised and aesthetically decorated room, unlike his room which is always a mess. Everything is in its place, everything perfect, her every item. Her book-shelves full of legal books and other books of every genre are well-organised above the little study table, the bed perfectly made-up with some fairy lights hanging over it and some white thin curtains surrounding it giving away a warm cosy look, some healthy luscious indoor plants arranged near the doorway of the balcony, her walk-in wardrobe looks well-maintained even from the translucent glass door, even her long dressing mirror with cabinets attached is well-organised with some fairy lights there as well, the TV unit just in front of her bed well equipped and furnished with some antic pieces surrounding the cabinet below it; all in all, everything is perfect to 'T'. Not a single thing is out of its place rather it didn't even look like it's a bridal room, it looked like an Attorney's room more aptly put Attorney's office with some fancy touch. He chuckled lightly at this. But he has to admit that though he is the perfectionist, he still sucks at this particular thing, and she is a master!

Knowing that he has far more important tasks, he stopped the praising shunned his mind to stop the rare praising session of her in his mind and called out in a slightly loud, clear, his usual deep voice for her, "Deekshya!" so that she will come soon to him breaking her moon-gazing session. As expected, soon he heard the crinkling sound of the bangles of the Chooda ceremony in her hands and the twinkling sound of the Payals in her feet as she moved towards the room. Hearing this, he started opening the packet and pulled out the grand item for her to see or more aptly put to adore.

He started when he smelled the sweet Jasmine fragrance increase to many folds in the room," Deekshya, see your wedding lehenga is here. Perfectly fitted..." and went on about it in length without sparing a single glance at the other soul. 

Her expressive eyes mirroring her inner true emotions and she failing to mask them like always. But to her dismay or her fortune whatever it is, he didn't even glance at her. Well nothing new though, it has always been like this. So, she stood there listening to him and occasionally humming to showcase that's she is indeed listening to him. He felt her disinterested hummings but chose to ignore them taking it as her usual behaviour with him.

When he finished, he turned to face her and by then she has already masked her emotions, she is, after all, skilled in doing this. Her eyes were knowingly etched on the extravagantly hand-woven pretty golden-hued lehenga to give him an impression that she liked it, but the main reason is that she didn't want to make an eye-contact. He noticed her perfectly staged look and got relieved that she like the lehenga, obviously not getting the actual reason.

"Well now as everything is finally happening, so should I start calling you 'Bhabhi'?", he asked with a teasing smirk trying to lighten the thick situation. And the next moment he saw something changed in her stature but before he could point out what it is, she got back to her neutral stature like before.

At this question, she felt her heart shattering again making her wonder that her heart was still there and she never knew as she thought that she is heartless after such continuous blows by fate. But she has been proven wrong again, by fate. 

Soon she recovered, after all, it's her years of skilful practice.

She replied," No!"-startling him and then corrected," No Anirudh, I mean you can call me Deekshya as it would be awkward since we are classmates but if you still insist then you can call me that but after the wedding only", finishing with a little eye-contact with him trying to show that she is saying genuinely. Somehow, he felt it genuine and reasonable and nodded in response to which she internally sighed. At least, he isn't doubting like every other time, she thought in relief. She then started praying to the almighty to make him go away from there which the need for her to keep herself sane. After all, he is there in her territory, in her own room for the very first time that too just two days before her wedding and this thing is enough to lift her damned emotions and regrets.

He opened his mouth to say but got interrupted when his phone went off. She thanked her stars when he went out of the room to attend the call. She then hurriedly switched on the TV so that if at all he comes back then the convo won't last long. But she didn't know that this act of hers is gonna pave the pathway for the change which will alter the whole course of her life in an altogether different and unexpected direction.

He picked up the call, only to hear the most devastating news of his life. And before he could even realize it, the phone slipped out of his hand and got shattered into pieces, just like his heart. He became numb, every sound around him got faded on its own and his vision started becoming blurry when pearls started threatening to fall off from his orbs. 

How can this happen? This false and a piece of totally absurd news, he thought.

No, this can't be true, he chanted this internally hoping for the new piece of information to be false.

"VEDDDDDDD", a loud heart-shattering scream resonated in the gigantic hall of the Srivastava mansion bringing him back from his trance. 

It was his Mother's voice.

And before he could even bring himself to process what's happening let alone act, another scream equally heart-wrenching reverberated in the whole mansion.

"VEDDDDDDD"

But this time it was from the nearest room, where he was a while ago having a light convo.

Realizing that he ran to her room only to witness Deekshya falling lifelessly with a thud on the cold marble floor. He ran to her immediately without paying attention to the TV set.

On the TV, the news channel was flashing the breaking news with the ugly scream of some news anchor cursing the enemies. It's flashing:

"THE CONVOY OF SOLDIERS RETURNING FROM JAMMU ATTACKED AT PULWAMA DISTRICT.

AS PER NOW, THE MARTYRS TOLL IS 20. AND THE NAMES ARE CAPTAIN VED SRIVASTAVA, SUBEDAR..."

3269 Words.

Tell me how's it? Honest reviews, please!

I'm so sorry for making y'all wait so much. I was caught up with my internship works but I know that's not an excuse for being so damn late. I'll make it up with chapter 2, I promise. It's gonna be damn long and I've already started working on it.

Updating Chapter 2 soon...

Stay tuned and add this book to your reading list!

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~Signing off: Akankshya~

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