Kyra

To be honest, I love weddings, but when it comes to the wedding of your own brother? No, I give up. I don't think anyone in this household has run, climbed up and down, or shouted as much as I've in the past three days. I feel more like a worker than the groom's sister.

Not just that, but these people didn't even give me time to get ready? Matlab main kaam bhi karu, Main sabki dresses bhi leke aau, sabko ready bhi karu, aur Khud ready hi na hu?
(I mean, I should do work as well, bring everyone's dresses, get everyone ready, and I myself my get ready?)

I groan and look at the mirror seeing my figure which was tangled up in a saree. Who said that this was an easy fucking task? It's a goddamn headache.

Loosely fitting the saree around me, I open my bedroom door, shouting out for Mom. Abhi mummy hi iss musibat se bacha sakti hai, mujhe se nhi ho payega.
(Now, only mom can save me from this problem. I can't do it)

I settle down on my bed and pick up my phone to see my messages. A frown forms on my face not seeing any repose from Shivyansh, it had been one hour since I had asked him to confirm if he was coming or not, but no response.

I myself don't know why I'd be so upset over it. We had just started getting close, but that doesn't mean I'll be affected by his presence around me.

"Tujhe nhi aana tha toh pehele bol deta, kyu baar baar merese message karwa raha?"
(If you didn't wanna come, you could've told me before, why are you making me text you again and again?)

They were clearly words of annoyance. It's Kanishk's wedding function, so it's kind of rude not to show up. I stare at the text I sent, waiting for it to get seen.

Sent.
Seen.
Typing..

"Kyra I'm not free all the time. I have my own work to do as well. Please stop I'm getting pissed off now."

I feel a small pang in my heart read his response. Well. That was rude. I thought we were past that mean, rude, insulting stage, but obviously, he's not. Mujhe kya, I have an event to host, usko nhi aana toh mat aane do. No one is dying without his presence.

"Kyra bacha."

I look up to see Mumma standing at the door, looking at my puzzled clothes. I make a crying face before standing up from my bed and moving towards the mirror. Mumma comes inside, and places her purse down to the side before spinning me around to face her.

"Mumma kiska Idea tha to make me wear a saree?"
(Mumma who's idea was it to make me wear a saree?)

"Tere bhai ka. Ab chup chap khaadi rehe."
(Your brother's. Now stand quietly)

I cross my arms in front of my chest looking at her with a pout on my face. I had never worn a saree in my life, god knows how I'd walk about in it, moreover, dance in it.

Mumma tucks the pleats on the silk fabric inside the petticoat before wrapping the cloth over my shoulder, pleating the fabric again, and pinning it there.

She steps back before giving my whole fit a look and caressing my cheek softly.

"Haye kitni sundar lag rahi hai meri bachi. Main jati hu ab come down fast ok?"
(Aww, my baby looks so pretty. Now I'm going, come down fast ok?)

I nod my head as I settle into the chair in front of my dresser. The door shuts close leaving me to my own silence.

A smile forms on my red-tinted lips as I stare back at my reflection. The jewels around my neck reflected back light, which made them shine beautifully.

I quickly put on the bangles set on the table in front of me before applying a matching bindi between my eyebrows.

Perfect. Even I myself feel beautiful.

The knock on my bedroom door catches my attention. I mumble out a soft come-in before standing up and giving myself a full look in the mirror. The pleats pinned on my shoulder exposed my waist as the rest of the golden saree adorned my entire body beautifully.

"Chudail bhi kabhi kabhi sundar lag sakti hai."
(A witch can also look pretty sometimes.)

An annoyed smile makes it up to my lips hearing his voice. Funny, wasn't he busy a few minutes ago?

"Mr. Khurana. Why are you here? Bohot busy the na tum."
(Mr. Khurana. Why are you here? You were very busy no?)

I face his suited figure, the black coat matching his pants and shoes, while a classic white button-up peeked from below. I hated to admit it, but he looked handsome as hell, some girls were surely gonna fall for him tonight.

He rolls his eyes before forwarding the hand which was hidden beside his back.

"Here. I'm sorry I said that it was rude. Forgive me, Miss Kyra."

I snatch the bag held in his hand before peeking inside. I feel my stomach grumble at the sight of the thing placed inside.

Oreos. Three packs of vanilla Oreos. Man, he's forgiven, I don't even remember what he texted me, my focus is now only and only on these Oreos.

"From the smile on your face, I'll assume that you've forgiven me." He lets out a soft chuckle before patting my head softly.

"Don't do it again. And Oreos ke liye shukriya"
(Don't do it again, and thank you for the Oreos.)

"Nhi karuga, ab chal jaldi."
(I won't. Now let's go)

He walks to my door opens it and waits for me to head out. Settling the bag on my bed, I scurry out the door with Shivyansh behind at my heels.

The whole house had been decorated with lights and flowers. A huge crowd was gathered around Kanishk who was settled on one of the big chairs along with Mom and Dad. The garden outside was filled with guests and I could see Anvi and Kaynaaz taking pictures together near the stage which was set up for the evening performances.

I look over to my side, seeing Shivyansh setting his hair right and fixing his coat. His eyes travelled through the coward before setting on someone. He clears his throat and fixes his posture before looking at me.

"Kesa lag raha hu main?"
(How do I look?)

I tilt my head and raise my eyebrow at him. He looks damn good but obviously, me being me, I've no intentions of giving him a straight answer.

"Tu na, bilkul Acha nhi lag raha, kisi aur ladki ne dekh liya toh woh zarur bhag jaegi."
( you don't look good at all. If any girl sees you, she'll surely run away.)

He rolls his eyes before brushing his shoulder and gives me a side-eye.

"I look fabulous, pehele khud ko dekh le."
(I look fabulous. Look at yourself first.)

"I look quite fine, drama queen."

He looks at me with an offended expression, and a small giggle leaves my lips. He raises his hand to smack the back of my head but before that, someone grabs my hand and pulls me away from him.

"Bye Shivy, we have a song to perform on."

Kaynaaz gave him a small wave before dragging me outside to the garden where the stage was.

This is it. Iss moment ke liye hi toh mene raat ke 1 baje tak practice ki thi. I take off my heels and set them aside before walking up on the stage.
(This is the moment is I stayed up till 1 am to practice for.)

Kay picks up the microphone before tapping it softly, catching the guest's attention.

"Good evening to all the beautiful people here. I hope everyone is having a wonderful time. Now if I could get everyone's attention on stage towards my beautiful sister, it would be appreciated. Have fun watching."

She turned off the mic before setting it aside and climbing down the stairs, standing beside Kanishk who was looking at me in surprise.

Well, it wasn't usual for me to perform like this, but your brother only gets married once. So why not?

The stage lights dim down as I get into position, putting one hand on my waist and the other high in the air.

A loud howl of excitement comes from the guests when they hear the background music of "Sheila ki Jawani" play on the speaker.

My hands cut through the air, facing the front as my body moves smoothly to the beats of the music. A small smile forms on my face seeing Ishaan and Anvi hyping me up from their little corner.

The fabric of my saree flows with my movement as my feet move across the stage. My lips sync with the lyrics of the music while my eyes take in the sight of everyone watching me.

I could see Dadi and her friends fondly looking at my graceful steps along with Mumma who was standing along with Kay and Bhaiya.

Next, my eyes land on Shivyansh standing in the corner along with another girl, both of them smiling at me.

I giggle softly before lipsyncing the words "Silly silly silly boys, mujhe follow follow karte hai." In his direction, and I feel another giggle make it past my lips when I see him roll his eyes playfully before whispering something into the girl's ear beside him.

My body turns away from the audience, hips gently swaying side to side as the crowd goes crazy again.

The music finally comes to an end and I bow down to the applauding audience before leaving the stage with a big smile on my face.

"Wahh bacha Tu itna Acha dance karti hai mujhe aaj pata chala." Kanishk aggressively pats my head while giving a smile while Kay nods along with him from his side.
(Wow, kid I got to know today that you dance this well.)

"Dekhna didi, lovers ki line lag jaegi, line."
(Wait and watch di, you'll get a long line of lovers.)

She gives me a silly smile and pats my back before Rooh comes and pulls her away from us. I look at both of them murmuring as Rooh drags my baby sister far away. These two are always up to something. Whatever, at least there's no chance of them bathing in baking flour again.

"Aur Tu mere sath Chal, I'm tired of meeting these guests alone, give me company."
(And you come with me. I'm tired of meeting these guests alone, give me company.)

Kanishk pulls my hand along with him dragging me towards a group of men wearing tied-up suits with glasses of wine in their hand. A whine leaves my lips in annoyance. It's never fun to talk to these people, all they talk about is business and stock and Bleh Bleh bleh. Zero interest, I don't even know how their wives handle them.

"Kyra, meet Mr. Sharma. He's going to be a big contributor to our next business deal."

I join my hands before mumbling a soft namaste. The old man gives me a kind smile before patting my head.

"I've heard a lot about this young lady. Her writings are quite famous on her campus I hear. I'm a trustee for the college she goes to."

Damn, the trustee of my college, making a deal with my brother's company? that's a huge thing. I put on my best smile before thanking him for the compliment. He goes on to explain how he has a grandson a year younger than Kanishk, who's running his own company.

"I wanted you to meet him, but no wonder where that boy disappeared to during your beautiful performance Kyra Beta."

"It's okay uncle, I'm sure we can meet some other day." I give him a soft smile which he replicates back.

The two men get engaged in business talk as I stand there quietly my eyes roaming around the bustling crowd. A smile makes it to my lips when I see Shivyansh playing around with some kids near the flower beds.

A little girl pulls at his pants, before raising her hands and asking to be carried. He picks her up before pecking her cheek softly and patting her tiny head. She giggles softly, making him let out a chuckle which makes me smile even more.

He looks adorable with those kids.

Shivyansh. Looks. Adorable.

Kaynaaz

"Tereko mujhe harr minute kahi na kahi leke jana hota hai na?"
(You have to take me somewhere every minute don't you?)

Rooh grumbles something under her breath before pausing in front of the back door of the garden.

"It wasn't my fault okay? He wanted to see you. I'm going now."

She turns around and runs back towards the stage, where Inaya and some other girls were standing. Inaya looks at her before her eyes travel to me. She raises her eyebrows in question, I just shrug my shoulder, myself confused at Rooh's behaviour.

I jump in surprise when I feel someone's hand rest on my shoulder. A shudder leaves my lips when I turn around to see who's standing there.

Aayan.
The doctor.
The doctor I slapped..

"What. The. Fuck. are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you to slap me again."

"You're crazy."

"Yes. Crazy about your touch."

I open my mouth to reply to him but nothing comes out. He's crazy. He's actually, pretty stupidly crazy. Who even invited him here?!

"Oh yeah, before you ask. Let me introduce myself properly madam..

Myself Aayan Khan, You might know me since I'm Anvi's cousin. I'm a doctor. At the hospital, you intern at. And also. Your future husband."

Oh. He's Anvi's cousin. Wait. Did he just-

Future.. FUTURE HUSBAND?

Who does he think he is? He thinks I've any intention of getting married to him? And moreover.. FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIM? He's even more delusional than Kyra Didi.

"Shut. Up. I don't like you, I never will, durr raho merese."
(Shut. Up. I don't like you, I never will, stay away from me.)

I push him back from my body before sprinting back towards Inaya and Rooh. Ugh. What does he think of himself? Pehele ghost karta hai aur ab isko pati baana hai? Pagal Insaan.
(First he ghosts, now he wants to be my husband? Idiot.)

I didn't lie when I said that men are weird.

"What's wrong baby?"

I feel Inaya's hand wrap around my shoulder pulling me into a side hug. I sigh softly before shaking my head. Isko bolugi toh ye aur stress hogi. I need to keep this to myself right now.
(If I tell her, she'll stress more.)

"Kuch nhi meri jaan. What happened? Aren't we going to perform?"
(Nothing my love. What happened? Aren't we going to perform?)

I point towards the stage before glancing at Rooh standing by the stairs waiting for an indication.

"We are, but someone has something to say I don't know. They stopped us from going."

She rests her head on my shoulder, as both of us stare at the activities going on, on the stage.

A few minutes later, Ishaan pops up with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Kaynaaz jaan maafi but tumhare dance ko thoda wait karna padega. We have a small something for someone written in the paper."
(Kaynaaz, I'm sorry but your dance performance has to wait a bit.)

His voice echoes over the mic, catching everyone's attention. He clears his throat before continuing.

"This is not from me, it was given to me by someone, to read out loud. I'll read it out to everyone."

I tilt my head in curiosity, waiting for his following words to come.

"Mohtarma, sunahare paloo wali. Tumhe kuch kehena hai."
(The lady with a golden paloo. I've something to say to you.)

Ishaan pauses before looking up from the paper and gazing around the crowd. My eyes follow his, looking for a person wearing something golden.

A small gasp leaves my lips when my eyes land on my beloved sister. Sunahare paloo wali.

It's a letter for Kyra.

"Mohtarma sunahare paloo wali. Tumse kuch kehena hai. Ki tumhare iss Chand se chehre ko dekh ke ek gaana yaad aaya hai...
(The lady with a golden paloo, I've something to say. I remember this song looking at you moon like face.)

ये चाँद सा रोशन चेहरा
ज़ुल्फ़ों का रंग सुनहरा
ये झील सी नीली आँखें
कोई राज़ हैं इन में गेहेरा
तारीफ़ करू क्या उसकी
जिस ने तुम्हें बनाया"