***Ramya's POV.***

"On my!" I say tenth time as I see the disaster in front of me.

"Ramya, ‌stop crying." Reyansh says.

"Easy for you to say. It was not your precious outfits that were burned to ashes." I say and look again to see my jewelry stained with soot, "Or jewelry looking black with it."

"It is gray, actually." He says.

"Do you think this is funny, Reyansh?" I ask.

"No. But it is also not something to shed so many tears for." He says and brushes away my tears. His hand stays longer on my cheek.

"Still, it is a disaster." I whine.

"Oh dear, what happened here?" Mum asks.

"Mum." I say and rush in her arms and cry my heart out while Reyansh explains the situation.

"Oh, no." She says, "But how did this happen?"

"They have yet to find the cause." He says.

"We will talk about this later, but first let's take out what is salvageable." Mum says.

"Nothing is left, Mum. I was so stupid to put all of my outfits in the cupboard. Why did I become so manageable all of a sudden? It is all my fault." I whine again.

"Don't blame yourself. How would you have known something like this could have happened?" Aunty says. And I didn't even realize she was here.

"Where is the beautiful bride-to-be? Her bridal party is finally here." I hear a familiar sing-song voice and look up with teary eyes to see Arlo and my other two friends.

"Wow! Whose funeral is this?" Aisha asks.

"Aisha, don't say stuff like that." Kate says.

Arlo walks up to me and looks in the room, then looks at me, then back at room, then again me and says, "Who murdered our babies, Ramu? Tell me the names. I will kick their asses for sure."

"Arlo, you are the only one who can understand my pain right now." I say and spread my arms for him.

"Of course I do, Ramu." He says and goes to take me in his warm embrace, but there is a wall between us.

"And who would be this guy, Ramya?" Reyansh asks me.

"That's not the question here. What happened, Ramya?" Aisha asks me and gives me a side hug.

"Yes, Ramya. Is everything alright? Please don't cry." Kate says and takes me in her embrace from the other side too.

"Why am I the only one excluded?" Arlo asks.

"Because I don't know you." Reyansh says.

"I am Ramu's childhood friend. Let me through. We have to mourn for our babies together." He says.

I get out of Kate and Aisha's arms and meet him halfway and say, "We spent hours and hours together to choose the best of all."

"Yes, I rejected dating for two months and bought another phone just to not miss any calls from you." He says as he holds my hands in his.

"We even spent hours arguing about which color suits me the best and tried on hundreds and thousands of dresses." I say.

"Oh, Ramu. I am devastated. You are the only friend I have who has a passion for fashion." He says.

"What about us?" Aisha asks.

"We shop with you." Kate says.

"That isn't the same. One groans half the time, and the other is lazy and clueless. Ramu is my soulmate for shopping. No one can compare to what she means to me." Arlo says.

"Same goes for you, Arlo. Even Mum isn't good enough compared to you." I say.

"Hey!" Mum exclaims.

"It is true, Aunty. I am the best. That is why I have the boutique." He says.

***Reyansh's POV.***

Am I in some kind of dramatic chick flick movie? If yes, then I hate this movie. If not, then does this kind of thing really happens in real life? Do friends talk like this ever?

"They are so overdramatic, right?" The one name Aisha asks.

"Don't worry. They were friends before we came along and they always have been like that. Their bond is special like that." Kate says.

Aisha looks headstrong, while Kate looks more soft but Arlo, on the other hand, looks like a male version of Ramya. Are they spiritual twins or what?

"Well, no point in crying about it now." I say and get between them again.

"But Reyansh, engagement is in four hours. What should I do?" Ramya asks and hugs me as she whines again.

I go to soothe her, but another pair of arms hug me from the behind and Arlo says, "Those beautiful dresses."

Did I make a mistake coming between them? I feel suffocated now and irritated.

"We should focus on damage control first. Don't forget, this is Jaipur. We can find beautiful outfits for you here too and there would be so many options." I say.

"You are right." Arlo says, suddenly coming in front of us, "We are in Jaipur, Ramu. And I have heard so much about the handiwork they do here. And now that I am here, I could help with this all and also the fittings."

"Oh, Arlo. That is such a great idea." Ramya says.

I suggested it first.

"We still have time so we can do it. But first you have to stop crying." I say, brushing her tears away again. Her cheeks and nose are as red as her lips now.

"Yes, we don't want a bride to have puffy eyes on her engagement, do we now?" Mom says.

"Okay. I will stop crying." Ramya says, but then her eyes widen and asks, "But where would I stay now? All the rooms are booked."

"The hotel staff said that they will have a room free tomorrow. Till then you can-" I say but get interrupted.

"You can stay with us." Aisha says.

"Yes, it would be a great way for us to catch up on your beautiful love story. I am dying to hear all the details." Kate says.

"Okay." She says.

"Now then, ‌wash up first." I say and she nods.

"Then off we go shopping. Little shopping would soothe your soul, dear." Arlo says, and she nods again.

"And don't worry about jewelry. We brought some for you and thought of giving it to you. I guess that came in handy." Mom says, and she nods again.

I don't like when she is silent. I know I am a hypocrite who gets irritated when she talks too much and feels uneasy when she doesn't. But what can I say? Looks like I am getting used to her talking on and on about anything.

Before her friends could take her away, the manager comes and says, "It was a hair dryer. Mam, did you leave the hair dryer on after using it?"

"That's impossible. Ramya hates using a dryer." Aisha says with a frown.

"Yes, and not just a hair dryer. She doesn't use any kind of machines for her hair." Kate also comes to her defense.

"Look at her beautiful long hair. Do you know how many hours we spent to maintain her beauty with natural products?" Arlo says too.

"Then it must be that the hair dryer had some issue. We are sorry for the inconvenience. We promise to compensate you anyway we can." The manager says.

"Thank you." Ramya says.

"I will send lunch for you all in your room. Go." Aunty says and they all start to leave.

As they leave, I look back at the room. When I heard her room had caught fire, I also thought that maybe it was Ramya's fault somehow. But electronics is the one thing that she is very careful about. And the way her friends were defending her told something else. And not to forget, her hair looks beautiful and lustrous.

But that's not the point here. My suspicion is getting stronger that someone doesn't want this wedding to happen. But who?

My first thought had gone to Jagvi, but she wasn't here. She is in Bangalore and she isn't the type of person who would do something like this. But lately how she is acting it could be possible. I have to keep an eye out for any other problems. I don't want Ramya getting hurt in a crossfire.

The thought of her getting hurt bothers me. If she hadn't been with me in the gardens and had gone back to her room, she might have... No. I should not think that. She is safe, and I will make sure she stays that way.

"How is Ramya?" Bhai asks as I go to take Sniffy from him.

He was there first and took Sniffy with him to their room along with Veer, as the smoke was too much at that time.

"Her friends are here, so she will be fine." I say.

"What about her outfits? I heard they got burned." Mayra asks, in concern.

"They are going shopping in an hour and buying new stuff." I say.

"Then you should go with them, Reyansh." She says.

"But..." I say, but then change my answer, "Sure. I will."

"Good." She says.

"Hold the fort for us, will you, Bhai?" I ask.

"I will. Don't worry. But listen, if there is anything you want to tell me, I am here. You know that, right?" He asks.

"Yes." I say with a smile.

"And I am here too, Reyansh. Don't forget, we are friends now." Mayra says, and I nod.

"V too. V too." Veer says while he jumps up and down beside me.

"Sure, Veer." I say and kiss his cheek.

I get back in my room and get changed into clean clothes. The first thing I do after that is contact my friends. They are the only ones I could rely on right now.