The Jaipur sun was soft today, a rare mercy in a city that often scorched us alive. Golden light filtered through the tamarind trees lining the wide pathways of G.M. Institute of Technology, dancing across the neat pavement and shimmering on the parked scooters. Students buzzed in every direction, laughing, arguing, planning their next chai break but I walked calmly, phone pressed to my ear, a familiar voice chattering on the other side.

"No, Kavya. Stop overthinking," I said, my voice gentle. "Maybe this is what's written in your fate. Maybe you're meant to marry Arjun."

"Ugh, don't say that!" Kavya hissed dramatically. "Mayraaa, why are you always the grown-up? Just agree with me for once that this whole wedding is a disaster!"

I smiled, dodging a group of juniors rushing toward the canteen. The breeze tugged at my peach pink short kurti as I walked past the mechanical lab block. That familiar smell of grease and burnt circuits clung to the air.

"You want me to say it's a disaster? Fine. It might be. But maybe it's not. Maybe it's just life surprising you before you even turn twenty-three."

"That's not comforting," she sulked. "You sound like a therapist. I need my best friend right now."

A giggle escaped me, light and real. "I am not being therapist, I'm just helping you to understand you life, but you are not nerdy enough to understand."

"dramatic."

We both laughed, and just like that, she felt lighter and so did I.

I made my way toward the library lawn, my favorite spot on campus. The shade stretched wide there, and the world always felt slower. Sitting on the low marble boundary, I looked up at the sky soft, cloudless, endless. The wind played with my hair, and for a moment, everything felt still.

"Listen," I said after a pause. "I'll talk to Papa today. I'll ask if I can come early like 2-3 days before the actual wedding ritual starts. I want to be there for you from the start."

"Seriously?" Kavya gasped. "If you'll come early, I swear I'll actually go through my unwanted wedding. If you don't... I might just elope with my hair stylist."

I laughed again. "You have a very bad habit of making threats."

"Ahh but you have to come. I can't do this without you. You have to be in Udaipur 2 day before the mehendi function starts."

Something in my chest fluttered not out of pride, but something softer. Her words stayed with me longer than they should have.

"Okay..i'll try my best to convince papa." I replied, trying to mean it.

"Yeah. And if he says no, then let me talk to him. okay?"

A tiny smile tugged at my lips.

"Okay," I said, keeping my tone bright. "I am going to ask papa tonight. Fingers crossed."

---

That evening, our home in Jaipur glowed under soft lights and quiet familiarity. It's a big house tastefully furnished and full of memories.

I stepped into the drawing room, phone clutched in my hand. Papa sat on the beige couch, reading a finance magazine, spectacles low on his nose. His tie was still on even at home and his wristwatch gleamed under the chandelier.

"Papa?" I asked carefully.

"Hmm?" he said, without looking up.

"Woh... Kavya ki shaadi hai na at the end of this month. So, I was thinking... can I go to Udaipur 3-4 days early?"

That got his attention.

"four days?" His eyebrows rose. "Mayra, your semester isn't over beta. Internals are coming up. You think weddings are more important than your career?"

"No, Papa. I'll manage everything. I've spoken to professors about notes, and I'll stay connected online. Please?"

He didn't answer right away. His eyes searched my face with warmth. I knew that look. I was going to win... Yesss.

"Don't get distracted there. No useless roaming around or wasting time with unknown boys. They are useless creatures"

"Yes, Papa," I said quickly, keeping my tone light, and smiled on his words.

Protective much

Just then, Ma walked in with a tray of snacks. "Let her go early, ji," she said gently. "Shaadi ke pehle ke dino ka maza hi alag hota hai. And Kavya's like her sister."

Papa sighed. "Theek hai. After your studies you have to join our family business. So focus on your studies. Your marks shouldn't drop"

I beamed. "They won't! Thank you, Papa!"

Maa gave me a knowing smile, and I leaned into her, hugging her from the side.

"Ma, I'm going to Udaipur!" I whispered, barely containing my excitement.

"You deserve a break, beta," she said, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "Go enjoy... just don't forget to call me every day until we reach there."

Kavya was more than a best friend, she was family. And her wedding wasn't just a celebration. It felt like a new chapter for both of us.

That night, lying on my bed, I stared at the ceiling. The fan spun lazily above me, and soft music filled the silence. I typed quickly.

M: My dearly papa said yes.I'm coming early

The reply came instantly.

K: OMG YESSS. Udaipur won't be the same now. Let the madness begin! 🤩

I smiled to myself. I didn't know what awaited me in Udaipur.

They say weddings bring people together. I say weddings bring out everyone's inner circus clown.

Especially when your elder brother is the one getting married.

"Bhai," I said, leaning casually against the edge of his office desk, arms folded, "last chance. We can still cancel this royal affair, book two tickets to Greece, and disappear. You and me. Bros before band baaja baraat."

Arjun gave me a long, unimpressed look over the rim of his glasses. "Vivaan."

"What?" I shrugged with mock innocence. "I'm offering you a way out. A clean escape. Say the word and we'll vanish."

"Are you planning to finally grow up this year or not?" came a dry voice from him.

Vivaan's eyes didn't lift. "And lose all my charm? Never."

Arjun Singh Rajawat, my elder brother, the soon-to-be groom, leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Clad in a navy blue three-piece suit, his hair neatly gelled back, Arjun looked every bit the heir he was disciplined, sharp, and focused.

He looked away, but I caught the twitch of a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

"You're impossible," he muttered.

"And you're blushing."

"I'm not- I don't blush."

"You totally blush," Vivaan teased.

Arjun's jaw tightened in fake irritation, but his ears betrayed him with a faint pink hue. Vivaan grinned like a cat who caught the mouse. "See? That's exactly what I'm talking about."

I grinned wider. "Arjun Singh Rajawat, aka businessman, future husband, part-time romantic hero is actually blushing."

He rolled his eyes and turned his chair to face the massive glass window overlooking the gardens outside. The golden Rajasthani sun cast honeycolored beams across the polished marble floors of his office. Everything about this space from the antique wooden desk to the leather-bound planner next to his Montblanc pen screamed power, legacy, control.

And yet, here I was, trying to talk him into eloping.

"Vivaan, not everyone is scared of commitment like you," he said coolly.

"I'm not scared," I replied, feigning offense. "I'm just... enlightened. I know the truth."

"What truth?"

"That sab moh maya hai. All this wedding, decorations, kasme-wade this is the Matrix, bhai. We can break free."

"Your philosophical nonsense stopped being cute when you turned twenty."

"Then why do I still get away with it?"

Before he could answer, the office door clicked open, and in walked Kartik our manager and my best mate since school. He wore his usual cocky grin and carried a thick brown folder in one hand.

Kartik quipped, raising a brow. "Vivaan, you proposing a runaway plan again?"

"Obviously," I said, reaching out to snatch the file from him. "I'm trying to rescue your boss from the endless trap of shaadi ka bandhan."

Kartik snorted. "If anyone needs rescuing, it's going to be you the day you finally fall in love. God help us all."

"I won't fall," I said smugly, flipping the file open.

Arjun shook his head and stood, buttoning his navy blue blazer, calm and in control as always. "Kartik, you got the media reports?"

"Right here." He handed him a slim USB and the file. "Also, the venue team wants confirmation on the Mehendi theme by tomorrow morning."

Arjun took it, nodding briefly. "Thanks."

"Now that you've both finished crashing my office with your nonsense," he added pointedly, looking between me and Kartik, "some of us have actual work to do."

"Alright, alright." I raised both hands in surrender. "Leaving before you throw me out."

Kartik chuckled, gave Arjun a mock salute, and we both made our way out of his office.

But instead of heading downstairs with Kartik, I turned toward my own office down the corridor.

"Catching up later?" Kartik asked.

"Yeah, I'll finish these client reports first."

As soon as I entered my space, I shut the door gently behind me, letting the quiet settle around me.

Unlike Arjun's room, which was all old-world elegance and traditional grandeur, mine was a mix of minimalist and modern. Floor-to-ceiling windows bathed the room in golden light. A wall-length bookshelf, filled with business books, rare biographies, and a few records I refused to let go of, lined one side. The matte black desk was sleek, functional. My MacBook sat open, a stack of papers beside it, and a coffee mug long since gone cold waiting to be refilled.

This was my zone.

Everyone assumed I was the unserious one. The playboy. The sarcastic younger brother with charm and no worries. And yeah they are right. I'm a chill person. I'm not a rich sadistic hero of horror movie.

I settled into my chair, pulling the file Kartik handed me toward myself. It was a partnership deal a luxury yacht's owner wanting our support to renovate it again. Arjun had asked me to lead it, which meant the pressure was on. He didn't give responsibility unless he trusted you.

And I wasn't about to disappoint him. As I flipped through the pages, my phone buzzed.

Kartik: He still blushed though. 😏

I smiled faintly, shook my head, and put my phone on silent.

Work mode: on. An hour passed. Then two. The office lights now had taken over as dusk painted Udaipur in a soft, romantic haze outside. The sounds of distant temple bells echoed faintly in the wind.

I closed the final page of the proposal and leaned back, stretching slightly. My shoulders ached a reminder that behind the charm and teasing, I actually did put in the grind. Just... silently.

A soft knock came at the door.

"Come in," I said.

Rahul, one of the junior associates, peeked in. "Sir, the branding team is ready for tomorrow's pitch deck. Should I have them email you the preview?"

"Yeah, send it to me tonight. I'll review it before the meeting."

"Yes, sir."

As he left, I stood and walked toward the glass, sipping from a fresh cup of black coffee. From here, I could see the palace in the distance where the wedding would happen. Arjun's wedding.

Soon, that place would be crawling with decorators, photographers, nosy aunties, over-excited cousins, and worst of all wedding planners relatives.

And among them... I'd be expected to smile and pose.

God.
I sipped again.

Despite all my sarcasm, I was happy for Arjun. He deserved stability. He'd built everything with patience and integrity. And the girl - Kavya she seemed sweet, if a little too dreamy for this crazy world.

But me?
I wasn't built for all that.

Not because I didn't believe in love. But because I knew it came with... an Expectation, Sacrifice, sometimes Betrayal. Things I wasn't sure I had the strength for.

I'd learned to guard my heart the way I guarded our business legacy.

But still... sometimes, when the world went quiet and the lights dimmed, I wondered what it would feel like to let someone in.

Maybe someday....

For now?
I turned back toward the table, opened my MacBook again, and got back to work. I have to make more money. After all soon the someone's Princess going to be queen of our house. My bhabhi. And we'll make sure to spoil her in every way possible. In my house if my any lady likes something, she'll get it without any second thought.

Ohh.. God, my brother's wedding is only 20 days away.

But we will start the fun-loving activities after 15 days. This wedding madness will last for 5 days...weddings usually are not this long. but my mother wanted it to long so..we can meet to our relatives and spend more time with them and family. And After all, this is the wedding of the elder son of the Rajawat family.

And I am a little excited to have fun with my family.

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