C4 4

Drishti stared at the haveli through her veil in awe.

It felt as if she had stepped back into the eighteenth century.

The place looks like royalty.

Oh yes!! She is now married to a man she didn't know from Adam.

She didn't even ask for his name.

How could she? Everything happened in a blur.

And yet, that one moment when their eyes met when he lifted the veil to apply Sindoor to her.

God!! She could still feel the sizzle of that moment.

"Kiara beta. Come sit here. We will do the mooh dikhaayi ceremony first, as we all still haven't seen your face. Sorry, Beta, the function is small and there are only family members here. It happened all of

a sudden. I promise we will arrange a grand reception for you guys in a day or two," Anuradha Maheswari said to her new daughter-in-law.

Drishti held back a hysterical giggle from coming out.

Reception??

She would be lucky if they didn't throw her into a dungeon in this haveli when they realised they had been duped.

She was pretty darn sure there was a dungeon somewhere in this haveli.

Look at her luck! Her parents are out of the country, and even they couldn't come to her immediate rescue.

Dear Lord!! Her parents

What's she going to tell her parents?

Hello Paa, hello Maa. How are you? How's

Europe?? Are you guys having a wonderful time there? What about Damini? Oh, by the way, did I mention that I got married today?

Wah!! Drishti Wah!!

Shravan stared at his bride, who was sitting stiffly on the couch.

Her emerald-green eyes imprinted themselves on his vision like tattoos.

Why didn't his grandfather tell him that his bride has the prettiest eyes one could have?

Like, really, Shravan? You expect your grandfather to tell you something like that, considering the situation.

He heard his mother talking about the Mooh Dikhaayi ceremony.

Finally, he could see her face clearly.

His mother tried to lift the veil, and his bride

immediately held onto it.

Is she shy?

That must be it.

"It's okay, beta. We are family. You don't have anything to worry about." His mother gently pried her grip from the veil and lifted it, and all breath left his lungs.

If her eyes are beautiful, her face is gorgeous.

Emerald green eyes, cupid's bow mouth, and button nose

Okay Shravan. That's enough. Stop staring like a creep.

He heard a gasp and turned to see his grandfather looking at his bride in disbelief. Horror?? Confusion??

What's wrong now?

"Who are you?" Tej Maheswari asked, and his bride smiled sheepishly, and two dimples formed on either side of her cheeks.

"Hello." She raised her hands in a small wave and endowed them with a heartbreaking smile.

"Who are you, girl?" his grandfather asked again, making them all frown.

"Papa ji. It's Kiara. You told us you knew her very well," Anuradha said in confusion.

"This is not Kiara," his grandfather announced, and it was their turn to look in horror.

"What do you mean by it's not Kiara?" Then who the hell is she?"

"That's what I'm asking, boy."

"I'm Drishti," came the voice from the couch.

"Drishti who??"

"Drishti me??" She asked with a frown.

"Where is my bride?" He asked in exasperation.

"That would be me," she again said, raising her hand.

"My bride was supposed to be Kiara."

"Kiara bhabhi is someone else's bride now," she said, shrugging.

"Bhabhi?? She's your bhabhi?" Shravan asked

"Oh yes. By now she must be officially my bhabhi."

"Wait a second. Are you saying that Kiara ran away from the wedding?" Shravan asked

"Ofcourse No. She would never do that.

"Then how did she become your bhabhi?"

"We kidnapped her," she said with a shrug.

"Kidnap??? What about the groom? He also ran away?" Shravan asked in horror.

"Oh! I scared him off," Drishti said.

"That's a crime. You kidnapped a girl from her wedding?" Tej Maheswari asked in horror.

"Dadu. She was in love with Abhi bhaiyya, and she agreed to marry the man the orphanage authorities chose for her as a thank you for raising her. We couldn't let that happen. Three lives would have been ruined."

"I'm going to call the police," Tej Maheswari said.

"You won't, dadu," Drishti said smugly.

"And why would you think that?" Tej asked, and Drishti sighed dramatically.

"Dadu.. Dadu... Would you let your new granddaughter-in-law be arrested, dadu? Would you compromise the honour of the great

Maheswari family, the honour I helped you save by doing that Drishti asked

"The honour you helped me save?"

"Yes me! Drishti Maheswari. You asked me to marry your grandson to protect your family's honour. Remember??"

Shravan stared at the scene unfolding in front of him with growing bewilderment.

This little girl is arguing with her grandfather.

No one dares talk back to Tej Maheswari.

"Drishti Maheswari??" Tej asked in disbelief.

"Of course I'm married to your grandson. That makes me a Maheswari up until our annulment," Drishti said, and that caught everyone's attention.

"What annulment??" Anuradha asked in horror.

"Aunty, that's the logical step forward," Drishti said.

"There has never been a divorce in the Maheswari family." And it's not going to happen anytime soon," Tej Maheswari said, all thoughts of calling the cops flying out of his head.

"That's archaic. It's the twenty-first century. Divorces are common." Drishti argued against liking the old man's mentality.

"I can't believe this. I can't believe you are arguing with me. Me!! The Tej Maheswari"

"Perfect Wife. Perfect daughter-in-law. Sweet, calm, and mature girl." Shravan repeated his grandfather's words, taunting him.

"Shravan" Tej hissed

"Heyy Shravan. Nice name," Drishti said, earning a look of disbelief in return.

"Dadu. Deal with it. It was your decision. I'm out of here," Shravan said, walking to his room, determined to leave for Bangalore as quick as possible.

"So much for giving 100 percent to this marriage. Haa!! What did you think, Shravan? That you are some prince charming, some sort of knight in shining armour to swoop in and rescue a damsel in distress."