Sanvi was sitting in the bridal room. Waiting to be called for the pheras. It was her wedding today.

A smile formed on her face thinking about her fiance. She liked him. Although his proposal came as a surprise to her, she knew he was a nice man.

Well, they have been best friends since college years. She knew him well. 

But now she was growing anxious. She had been waiting for 10 minutes. He had gone to use the washroom and wasn't back yet.

“Minal? Kya ho raha hai? Pratham aaya nhi kya abhi tak?”

(What is happening? Had Pratham not arrived yet?)

“Nhi. Abhi nhi aaye. Maine Amrit ko bheja hai puchhne ke liye. Don't worry aate honge.”

(No. Not yet. I have sent Amrit to ask. Don’t worry he must be arriving.)

She nodded and smiled. Ofcourse, he will come. Where will he run on their wedding day and especially when he was the one who proposed marriage.

15 minutes later, her cousin came back to help her to the altar. Sanvi took a deep breath and started walking. She was going to be married to him in the next few hours. 

She, Pratham and Abir have been best friends since college. Four months back, Pratham had proposed to her saying that he loved her and wanted to get married to her.

Sanvi was shocked but she had no reason to say no. Pratham was her best friend and also a nice person. Before his proposal, she had not thought of him as anything more than a friend. But she had thought about it for some time and she realised that maybe it wasn’t a bad idea.

And here they were. She sat beside him at the altar and turned to smile at him only to frown seeing his face covered with the sehra. 

The priest started chanting the mantras and the ceremony commenced. The bride and the groom were asked to get up for the pheras.

Pratham got up first and then forwarded his hand for her to hold. She smiled and clutched his hand and a strange shiver ran down her body.

Something she had never felt before whenever she held his hand. He held her hand throughout as they took the pheras.

And in the next few hours, she was a married woman. Her destiny was tied together with his. 

The bidaai was an emotional moment. Sanvi, like most daughters, was closest to her father and cried in his arms.

She and her new husband were at the backseat of the car, which was being driven by the driver.

The car took a turn towards the apartment Pratham and Abir shared and Sanvi frowned.

“Hum ghar nhi jaa rhe abhi?”

(Are we not going home yet?)

“Later.”

He answered in just one word. Why did his voice sound different? Maybe he was tired due to all the rituals and ceremonies. 

Truth be told, she too just wanted to sleep. Pratham helped her out of the car and clutched her hand as they walked towards their apartment.

“Ab toh sehra utar de Pratham.”

(Take off the sehra now, Pratham.)

His hold on her tightened for a moment. She smiled and shook her head. 

She was surprised to see their place. In all these years of their friendship, she had never seen their apartment from the inside.

Pratham entered the door to his room and motioned her to enter first. She did and glanced around in nervousness. 

A frown again etched her face when she saw a picture collage on the wall. With Abir’s pictures.

“Pratham? Hum Abir ke room mai hai kya?”

(Are we in Abir’s room?)

She turned and her eyes widened in surprise, seeing not Pratham, but Abir standing there. In the groom's attire and the sehra in his hand. His expressions solemn, as he looked at her with guilt.

“Abir? Ye-tu yaha?”

(This-you here?)

“Have a seat. Sab batata hu.”

(I’ll tell you everything.)

“Pratham kaha hai? Aur tune uske kapde kyu pehne hai? Whom did I marry Abir?”

(Where is Pratham? And why are you wearing his clothes?)

Sanvi asked in panic and Abir sighed. He walked towards her and held her shoulders. He pushed her down on the bed, making her sit and sat in front of her.

“I'll tell you everything. Aur uske baad jo bhi tera decision hoga, I'll be ok with it.”

(And whatever you decide after that.)

She nodded and he started narrating what happened a few minutes before the pheras.

Pratham was going towards his room to use the washroom when Abir came after him.

“Pratham! Bhai tera phone dekh le pehle. 10 baar call aa chuka ka ek hi number se. It might be important.”

(Look at your phone first. There are 10 missed calls from the same number.)

Abir said, handing him his phone. Pratham frowned seeing an unknown number and they did call almost 10 times. He immediately called the number and waited for it to connect.

“Hello?...yes speaking…oh yes I did...thank you thank you so much…not an issue, I'll be there by tomorrow morning…thank you.”

Abir raised his eyebrow and Pratham grinned.

“I did it! It was a call from Infosys. I cleared the interview. Reporting hai kal subha.”

(I have to report tomorrow morning.)

Abir’s smile diminished.

“Kal subha? Bro, teri shaadi hai aaj. Kal subha tak kaise pahuchega?”

(Tomorrow morning? Bro, it’s your wedding today. How will you reach by tomorrow morning?)

Pratham looked at him and realised what he was talking about. He had completely forgotten about the marriage.

“I-I can't leave this opportunity. Tu samajh raha hai na ye kitni badi opportunity hai. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Mai mana nhi kr skta tha.”

(You get how big opportunity this is right….I cannot deny.)

“I understand Pratham lekin kal subha bolne ki kya zarurat thi. You could have said for the day after. Call them again and tell them that you'll report the day after.”

(I understand but why did you say tomorrow morning.)

But from the look on Pratham’s face, it was clear that he had made his decision and Abir’s blood ran cold.

“Pratham?”

“Abir! I have to go! Tu Sanvi ko bta dio, I'm sure wo samajh jaayegi. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Infosys has been my dream and you know how difficult it is to get there. I can't miss this.”

(You tell Sanvi. I’m sure she’ll understand.)

“Aur uska kya? Wo waha wait kr rhi hai tera! You're just going to leave her hanging?”

(And what about her? She is waiting for you there!)

Abir yelled and Pratham pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Probation khatam hone ke baad mai wapas aaunga. To meet everyone and tell them what happened. I'll marry her then. But I can't wait now.”

(I will come back after probation.)

And with that he went inside the washroom to change. Abir stood there perplexed.