The moment I stepped into Kavya's suite, the air changed.

Soft sunlight streamed in through the tall, carved jharokha windows. A pair of makeup artists hovered around Kavya like bees around a lotus dusting, blending, fixing her blush, adjusting her dupatta. The room smelled of mogra, airbrushed foundation and the faint sweetness of gulab attar.

And in the middle of all of this sat my best friend, looking like she had just stepped out of a bridal magazine spread her floral robe slipping slightly off her shoulder, her hair pinned halfway, and a bright, mischievous smile already forming when she saw me.

"Ohhh, come here!" she squealed. "Where were you?! I've been calling you for ten minutes!"

I shut the door behind me, my lips pressed into a thin line as I marched inside with the grace of a wounded princess.

And before she could say anything else, I dropped-dramatically onto the edge of her giant four-poster bed.

Face first. With full commitment.

The mattress sank under me with a soft whoosh as I sprawled across it like a dying heroine from an Indian TV serial.

Kavya blinked. Then blinked again.

And then burst into a laugh so loud even the makeup artist paused mid-brush.

"Oh my god," she choked out between giggles, "kuch toh hua hai. Because no normal human being can make THE Mayra Raichand behave like this. What happened?!"

I turned my head slowly, still lying flat on the bed, and stared at her with the blank expression of someone whose soul just left their body.

"Don't ask," I murmured.
Then louder, "Do NOT ask."

Kavya smirked. Which was annoying.
Because she knew I couldn't resist telling her anyway.

"Spill," she said, leaning forward, her earrings swaying. "NOW."

I huffed, flipping onto my back as I threw my hand over my forehead like a tragic queen.

"I met... an annoying guy."

Kavya's brows shot up. "Ahhh."
She dragged the sound with so much mock drama it made me glare at her.

"Yes, an annoying guy," I snapped. "Like... unbelievably annoying. Arrogant. Rude. Blind."

Kavya blinked. "Blind?"

"Yes, blind," I insisted. "How else do you explain him walking into me like a hurricane?"
I sat up suddenly, waving my arms. "Main bechari ek bada sa bucket le jaa rahi thi with torans, okay? Torans. And he just BAM crashes into me!"

"Oh no," Kavya gasped. "Did you fall?"

"I WOULD HAVE," I said, pointing at her dramatically, "if his royal irritating highness hadn't grabbed my waist like... like..." I flailed. "Like he owned gravity!"

Kavya covered her mouth, eyes sparkling.
"Waist? He held your waist?"

"Yes!" I nearly yelled. "And it wasn't like a normal 'saving someone' hold. No, no, no. That was-" I shivered involuntarily.
"Forget it...."

Kavya snorted. "Aahhhaa? Too close?"

"Kavyaaa!" I threw a pillow at her. "Stop smiling like that!"

The pillow bounced off her shoulder, and she only looked more entertained.

I continued, voice rising with every sentence:

"And then guess what? Flowers actual... flower garlands wrapped around us. The whole bucket of it like some stupid Bollywood movie scene!"

Kavya burst into another fit of laughter, clapping her hands.

"Oh my god, Mayra! Imagine if someone saw that! You and some random guy tangled together like-"

"LIKE A BADLY WRITTEN FANFICTION," I snapped.
"And you know what this... this man does? Instead of apologizing, instead of helping me, instead of-"

I held up a finger, breath trembling with outrage.

"He blamed me."

Kavya gasped dramatically. "Naaah!"

"YES!" I nodded aggressively. "He said Can't you see? Are you blind?"
I deepened my voice mockingly. "As if he was some dramatic mafia don."

Kavya bit her lip to stop laughing. She failed.

"And THEN," I continued, standing up now, my hands flying in the air, "he holds up his cracked phone like it's a dead child and says-"
I put my hand on my chest, mimicking a male baritone.
"'Because of you, my phone is broken.'"

Kavya wheezed.
"I can't-Mayra-stop-"

"You SHOULD laugh," I said, glaring at her. "Because the final punchline was even better."

Kavya leaned forward, curious.
"Final punchline?"

I lifted my chin proudly, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"MR.BASTARD looks at me, dead serious, eyes like thunderclouds, jaw like a sword, and says-"

I paused, hands gesturing dramatically.

"'You'll pay for it.'"

The room went silent. Even the makeup artists stopped pretending not to listen.

And then-
Kavya exploded.

"WHATTTT?!" she screamed, grabbing a cushion and hitting her own knee with it. "Did he just-?? DID HE JUST THREATEN YOU?!"

"Yes!!!" I shouted triumphantly. "He warned me. ME. Mayra Raichand!"

Kavya was laughing so hard her mascara was in danger.

"Mr. Bastard!" she managed between giggles. "What a NAME! What a TITLE! HOW perfect!"

I folded my arms. "It suits him. Trust me."

Kavya wiped her tears of laughter.
"Wait-wait-how did he look?"

I froze. Because that was the part I didn't want to admit.

"Well?" she pressed.

I crossed my arms tighter.
"He looked... fine."

"Fine?" Kavya narrowed her eyes. "Define 'fine'."

I stared at the ceiling, muttering under my breath.
"Like a Greek god sculpted by someone who had too much time show his arrogance."

Kavya's jaw dropped.
"Aahhhhaa?"

I huffed. "His jawline was so sharp it could slice vegetables. And his hair... stupidly perfect. And he smelled ...ugh expensive. Like oud and cedar and arrogance."

Kavya grinned like a devil.
"So... he was handsome."

"No."
I pointed a stern finger at her.
"He was dangerous."

Kavya blinked, amused. "Dangerously handsome?"

"Dangerously annoying!"

She burst into laughter again. The makeup artist had to stop applying eyeliner because she was shaking too hard from holding her laughter in.

I groaned and flopped back onto the bed.

"Bas, ho gayi meri life," I muttered. "shadi pe aayi the, siyappe shuru ho gaye."

Kavya smirked, leaning forward.

"But Mayra... if you're THIS affected, toh definitely kuch toh tha."

I sat up immediately.
"What?! No! Absolutely not. Zero. Nothing."

She raised a brow. "Hmm. You sure?"

"Yes!" I snapped. "I don't like him. He was rude."

Kavya nodded slowly.
"Of course... of course... pure, fiery hatred. The type that turns into slow-burn love in movies."

I threw a pillow at her again.

"SHUT UP!. It's not a movie"

She dodged it easily and laughed harder.

"Mayra Raichand," she said, pointing at me dramatically, "I swear... if this Mr. Bastard turns out to be someone i know ,I'm going to scream."

I snorted.
"Huffff. I don't even know his name. And I don't want to."

Kavya smirked.
"Famous last words."

I rolled my eyes and lay down again, willing the memory of those stupid dark eyes and stupid cologne to disappear.

It didn't.
It annoyed me even more.

I turned into the bridal corridor, tugging at the collar of my sherwani for the third time. Downstairs, the palace-style hotel was chaos decorators arguing, bands testing dhol beats, relatives wandering everywhere except where they were supposed to be.

But up here?
Almost silent.

I came alone to call my soon-to-be bhabhi for the couple photos.

Bas yehi kaam hai. Get her downstairs.
That's it.

I raised a hand to knock and froze when a voice floated out of the half-open door.

A girl's voice. Irritated. Breathless. Dramatically annoyed.

"He was looking like a Greek god..."

My hand dropped slightly.

Greek. God.

My eyebrow shot up.

Arjun? My boring big brother.
No chance. My brother looks good but "Greek god" is a bit too generous, even for wedding hype. I think my bhabhi is whipped for my bhai. Nice.

I didn't intend to listen. Really, I didn't.

But then-
"You'll pay for it."

My eyes widened. That tone.That line.

Oh, I knew exactly who that belonged to. A slow grin curved across my face.

"It's her again," I whispered under my breath, unable to help it.
"Of course it's her."

The girl from the staircase.

The one who glared at me as if I pushed her off a cliff instead of merely bumping into her.

And she was inside this room?
Fantastic.

I knocked. The makeup artist opened immediately. "Haan? Aaiye, sir."

But my eyes went straight past her. And landed on her.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, lehenga spread out around her like a blooming flower. Her hair was half-styled, a few loose curls brushing her collarbone.

She wasn't looking at the kavya bhabhi
Or the makeup artist Or anything else. She was staring at me.

Big, dark eyes surprised, caught, intensely focused.

She was even prettier than she looked on the staircase.

Nope vivaan. Wrong path.

Not that I'd ever admit that. Her brows slowly pulled together, forming that familiar annoyed expression that I was weirdly starting to enjoy.

She recognized me.

Good.

I stepped inside and leaned against the doorframe, folding my arms, but her stare invited a challenge.

Neither of us spoke. Neither of us looked away. The air tightened around us.

Her annoyance sharpened. Clear. Visible.
And yet it only made me smirk internally.

Kavya bhabhi gasped from behind her. "Ohh, Viv! You! What happened?"

I turned toward her instantly, slipping into my usual polite, calm voice.

"Bhabhi," I said, "Arjun bhai is calling you. Photoshoot ke liye sab wait kar rahe hain."

"Oh-okay, two minutes!" she chirped, getting up.

I stepped aside so she could fix her dupatta and jewelry. But my eyes... well, they had their own plans.

They kept drifting back to her.

She was pretending to look at her lehenga now. But her fingers were tense on the fabric, and her jaw was set.

She was affected.
By me.

Interesting.

She suddenly glanced up. I didn't look away fast enough. Her eyes narrowed immediately.

Yeah... she definitely didn't like me.

I felt the corner of my mouth twitch before I could stop it. I shouldn't find this amusing.

But damn... something about her irritation was... compelling.

Kavya bhabhi kept talking while fixing her dupatta:

"Vivaan, tell Arjun I'm coming. Just need my lipstick... Mayra, pass it, na?"

Ohh. So her name is mayra.

She shot me one last glare before grabbing the lipstick and handing it over.

But she gave me a quick side-eye in the process trying hard to look indifferent, failing completely.

She was aware of me even when she didn't want to be. And somehow, I noticed every tiny thing.

I cleared my throat lightly.
"Bhabhi," I said, "bhai is downstairs. I'll take you if you're ready."

"Haan, let's go," Kavya nodded and walked out.

I moved aside for her, but my gaze without permission went right back to Mayra.

Her eyes flashed like she could see right through my thoughts.

I almost laughed.
Didn't, though.

Instead, I let my voice drop a little, just enough to make sure she knew I wasn't speaking out of formality anymore.

"Didn't expect to see you again this soon."

She inhaled sharply a small, surprised breath but pulled her gaze away quickly as if that would hide the effect.

It didn't.

Kavya, who was still adjusting her dupatta at the door, turned back toward her.

"Mayra," she called, "let's go. Come with us."

Mayra blinked, startled. "Me? No, no... you guys go. I'll rest here. I'll come after some time."

Kavya's hands immediately went to her hips.
"What rest? You've been resting since morning!"

"I-kavya, you go. Photos are for you and jiju, not me."

But Kavya bhabhi just rolled her eyes dramatically.

"I want pictures with my best friend , madam. And you are coming with me. No arguments."

Best friend.

Ohh.
So she is bhabhi's best friend.

Interesting.
Very interesting.

She exhaled in defeat. "Fine... two minutes."

While she stood, gathering her dupatta, I caught something unexpected She glanced at me.

Just a quick flicker of her eyes.
But that was enough for me.

Bhabhi noticed it too. I saw her pause for half a heartbeat, like she registered the tension. But she didn't say anything. Didn't comment.

Smart.

She just gave a small smile and walked out into the corridor.

I followed her.

After a few steps, I heard the soft rustle of a lehenga behind us she is finally joining. I didn't look back. But when I did...

She was adjusting her dupatta over her shoulder, walking with that composed confidence bridesmaids pretend to have but rarely manage.

And for a moment, we were walking side by side, close enough that I could sense her perfume soft, warm, something floral that didn't match her attitude at all.

She avoided my eyes.
I didn't avoid anything.

By the time we reached the stairs, Kavya bhabhi was ahead, talking to a cousin. Mayra slowed slightly to fix her hair pin. I slowed too. Maybe intentionally. Maybe not.

Her eyes finally flickered upward, meeting mine again.

This time neither of us looked away immediately. Her annoyance wasn't sharp now. It was something else.

A little... aware.

I let a quiet, almost teasing remark slip out before I could stop myself.

"Relax. I'm not going to bump into you again."

Her mouth parted in indignation offended, confused, and annoyed all at once.

Perfect.

And just like that, I walked ahead, leaving her with that expression. Downstairs, the photographers were setting up. Kavya stepped into the frame, calling Mayra from behind.

And I?

I stood a little to the side, arms folded And something unfamiliar pulsed in my chest watching her.

A warm spark.

Interest!?
Curiosity!?

I wasn't sure yet.
But one thing was certain..

This wedding is going to be far more eventful than I had imagined.

And I like it.

Thank you for reading!!!