37. THE WEDDING 1…

Finally, the night arrives when Manik and Nandini will tie the knot for life. No one is happier than the two who are jumping here and there in excitement. But Nandini is also dealing with nervousness which is very normal for the bride-to-be. 

Cabir and Navya are busy with last-minute preparations while Kaka is avoiding Arjun and Asha. 

Arjun is also helping Cabir in preparations. Don’t know why but the glow on his face is something different. He is the happiest person alive on the earth today. Asha is smiling genuinely seeing her husband happy after so long and prays for him. 

Asha:- Baba Ji ( god ) please keep him happy always like this. 

Arjun:- what happened? Why are you standing at the door? 

Asha nods negatively and walks away with a bright smile. 

Cabir:- ( to Arjun ) Bhai, why are you doing this? Leave all this on me, you go and rest. 

Arjun:- Cabir, let me do this. Nandini is also like a sister to me. So, can’t I contribute something to her wedding? 

Cabir raised his hands while surrendering himself with a chuckle. 

Cabir:- you can do whatever you want because it’s your sister’s wedding. ( mischievously ) Now, why are you wasting your time, go and see whether the Groom is ready or not? 

Arjun:- ( in disbelief ) Manik is ready half an hour before the time. 

Cabir:- ( with a bad face ) he is behaving like he is getting married for the first time. 

Manik:- Oh hello, what first marriage? It’s my FIRST AND LAST WEDDING. 

Cabir and Arjun both turned around to see Manik walking towards them royally in his golden-colored traditional indo-western. He is almost ready but just the groom’s turban is left which he is finding. 

Cabir:- Bhai, you are ready, so early! 

Manik:- so? I am a punctual man. 

Cabir:- what rubbish! You are punctual only when it comes to Nandini although you are a lazy person. 

Manik:- ( irritatingly ) at least don’t spoil my mood today. By the way, why are you guys not ready? Don’t you want to come with me? ( authoritatively ) I am saying this one last time, I will not wait for you guys. As soon as the clock strikes 8, I will start my baraat alone. 

Saying this, he turns around and walks back into his room for the final touch-up. 

Arjun:- Is he gone mad? 

Cabir:- unfortunately yes! 

On the other hand, Nandini is also almost ready to give Manik a heart attack as she is looking like a fairy in her bridal dress. Navya is going to go gaga on her seeing her glow. 

Navya:- oh my god!…… Nandini. Is it you? You… you………. Are looking…… a…u ….. M…….. 

She is not finding any word which would match her look. Her non-responsiveness is making Nandini nervous. 

Nandini:- Am I not looking good? 

Before Navya could answer her, Asha comes inside. 

Asha:- I hope that I won’t disturbed you. 

Nandini:- No… no…. Come inside. 

Hearing her, Asha’s eyes land on her. Her eyes widened seeing her all decked up for the big day. 

Asha:- oh my god!…… Manik is going to have a tough job in controlling himself. 

Navya:- I don’t think that Manik will let the wedding happen. He will not wait and will directly take you on honeymoon for a month. 

Asha laughs while Nandini blushes like hell. Her cheeks become tinted red making her the cutest bride. 

Asha:- ( teasingly ) month is a shorter period. As far as I know, Manik will have a honeymoon for a year and will directly come with a baby. 

Now, there is no end to Nandini’s blush while the two ladies laugh wholeheartedly at her expense. 

Nandini:- ( with a cute pout ) Bhabhi……… ( sister-in-law ) At least don’t tease me today. 

Yes, Nandini started referring to Asha as Bhabhi. They both connected in just a day. They are like some lost friends who met after a decade. Well, Arjun and her bond are also developing beautifully unknown to anyone. They liked each other’s company and talked a lot about some unrealistic topics. 

Asha:- ( while giggling ) ok….ok…. 

Nandini shakes her head irritatingly, seeing their teasing smirks. 

Asha:- ok….. Now, I am serious. ( hesitating ) Can I talk to you Nandini alone? Actually ………. I….. I mean we bought something for you…… If you don’t mind….. I mean….. to say……… 

Seeing her stuttering while speaking, Nandini frowns and Navya leaves from there giving them much-needed privacy. 

Nandini:- Bhabhi, you can say anything, I won’t mind. I consider you as my elder sister and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. 

Asha gives her a convincing smile and calls her husband inside who was standing outside waiting for the correct time. Arjun comes inside and grabs Nandini’s shoulder lightly making her sit comfortably on the bed while he kneels in front of her. He takes hold of her hand and caresses it with a feather-like touch. 

Arjun:- Nandini, truly speaking I come here only for Manik, for his happiness as he is like my little brother and I can’t afford to miss his big day. But when I met you and talked to you, I don’t know why I felt connected with you. I love spending time with you which I never did with anyone except Asha. ( with a chuckle ) I love teasing Manik when you are on my team. You know about me and my sister, right? ( Nandini nods ) I never consider anyone my sister. I never got any sister’s love but today I want to feel that love. Today I want to attend MY SISTER’S WEDDING and for that, I bought something for you. I hope you won’t deny it. 

Saying this, he forwards a big red-colored box. Nandini takes it and opens it only to gasped seeing a beautiful MANG-TIKKA inside it. ( Maang-Tikka is an ornament that girls wear as a hair accessory ) The head jewelry depicts royalties as it is made up of real diamonds and pearls. With a single look, anyone can guess that it would be very expensive. 

Nandini:- ( hesitantly ) I….. I can’t take it. It is very expensive and how can I take it? 

Arjun:- won’t you consider me as your real brother? 

Nandini shakes her head negatively instantly, making him smile. 

Nandini:- I genuinely consider you as my brother but how can I take it? 

Asha:- take it, Nandini. It’s your brother’s blessings for your new journey as a wife. ( mischievously ) Let me tell you a secret, never deny a gift that consists of jewelry. 

Nandini chuckles hearing her and accepts the gift with a big broad smile making the couple happier. 

Arjun:- honestly speaking, I bought this from here. I didn’t know that I would get so attached to you but I promise next time I will buy a gift for you from India. 

Nandini:- I don’t want any gift but promise me that you will come here every month to meet me and don’t forget me when you meet your real sister. 

Arjun smiles warmly while nodding. Then he stood up to go but stopped hearing her. 

Nandini:- why are you guys going? At least help me to wear it. ( pointing at her maang-tikka ) Won’t you think that this one looks good on me because MY BROTHER bought it for me? 

Asha and Arjun both nod with slight tears seeing her nature. Asha comes and helps her wear that head accessory. And truly speaking that headpiece enhanced her beauty ten times plus the glow on her face is something else. 

Arjun couldn’t resist himself more and come ahead. He cups her both cheeks and places a brotherly kiss on her forehead. 

Arjun:- my sister is the world’s most beautiful bride. I doubt that Manik can handle himself? 

Hearing him, Asha laughs loudly and Nandini pouts because he said the same thing which Asha said while Arjun frowns seeing their reaction. But one person is happy who watched everything and that person is none other than ASHOK KAKA. 

Kaka:- Nandini is so lucky that she got such an amazing brother. But I can’t tell them the truth about their relationship as Nandini’s life would be at stake and I can’t let that happen. They can do anything to harm MY NANDU. 

With these thoughts, he left from there. 

Soon the desperate groom arrives at the doorstep of the venue and shoots glares at Navya and Cabir who are irritating him like hell. They are doing all the welcoming process at a turtle speed making him roll his eyes in annoyance. He already heard Nandini’s praises from them which made him curious to see his bride. 

Manik:- ( thought ) why I invited them? They are making me mad. I won’t leave them. 

Behind him, Arjun and Asha both are giggling seeing his situation. With a very heavy heart, Navya completed her procedure and pulled him inside while pulling his nose making him wince in pain. 

Manik climbs the stage which was prepared for them. Kaka comes and tells Arjun and Cabir to go and bring Nandini down which was very surprising for Arjun because he didn’t expect that. Nevertheless, he accompanied Cabir and brought Nandini down with slow steps. 

To be continued…

Avoid mistakes as I didn’t check it after writing.