“Swara, open this damn door”, his enraged voice reverberated inside the empty hallway of her house and Swara pushed herself against the closed door even more as her entire being trembled and her first tear broke free of its shackles.

She couldn’t do it anymore. Her fragile heart wasn’t strong enough to hold back all the turmoil she had contained inside of her for so long. Her throat constricted painfully as another loud sob emerged out of her.

“Please, Swara”, his voice broke and had become soft, soothing the very next moment and that hauled at her heart even more callously. “It wasn’t your fault. It’s Holi, Swara. Your favorite festival”, she heard him say and at once her eyes traveled down her attire, lingering at it a little longer than expected.

If it wasn’t her fault then why was she forced to wear this… THIS WHITE SAREE! The thing that snatched away her most favorite moment.

HOLI! Only she knew how much she loved that festival.

“Swara!” And he did too. Her best friend, who knew her better than she herself did. They had been inseparable ever since they met on the first day of kindergarten until... she realized these budding feelings inside of her heart… FOR HIM!

But he was of another caste and in the middle class families like hers, marrying out of caste was just out of question and with the proposal of alliance with Sahil in front of her, she did what she knew would be the best. She pushed him away. TO SAVE BOTH OF THEM!

“Please go away, Sanskaar!” She finally screamed with both her hands on either of her ears in a futile attempt to shut him away… Again. Every time she heard his voice, the feeling soaring high inside her heart became even more painful… too painful to bear any longer.

“You know, I’m not leaving”, he said and that was it for her. She was going to push him away yet again. She couldn’t let her feelings ruin his entire life. He deserved someone else, someone worthy, someone who could love him with all her heart… without any fear.

And opening the door, without giving him a chance to say anything, she burst out, “I said go away, Sanskaar. Can’t you understand nothing of this matters anymore. Neither this festival, nor these colors, I’m not meant to be with them anymore. And with everything gone, my happiness doesn’t matter, this enjoyment doesn’t matter, this…”

“For heaven’s sake… I LOVE YOU, DAMMIT!” His loud desperate voice brought her rant to an abrupt impasse as he pulled her closer vigorously holding both of her upper arms. “I love you. Does that matter?” He asked a little softly this time and her afflictive tears kept rolling down her cheeks as she shook her head in denial.

Sanskaar took a deep breath holding her head in both his palms, “Don’t deny. I have seen it in your eyes. I have been seeing the love for me in your eyes for years, Swara. Just say… yes.”

“We can’t be together, Sanskaar.”

“Just... say… yes.”

“I am a widow. White is the color I’m destined to be with.”

“Not anymore. With the COLOR OF MY LOVE, my best friend, white is not your only color anymore. And I’m taking that as a yes.”

He smiled and so did her eyes, still glimmering with tears.

And an unsaid promise was made to fight all adversities hand-in-hand. They weren’t going to lose each other this time! Fate wouldn't repeat itself yet again. They wouldn't let it!

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A/N

Hello everyone! So, here is the first pocket story of this book. It's nothing much but I hope you liked it.

I tried writing a funny one but I ended up writing this. But let me assure you that the next one is going to be a humorous one.

See you all soon. Till then stay blessed and happy reading!

With love,
Stella ❤️