The mass wedding's chaos provided perfect cover. Mihir pressed a stolen dupatta into Maira's hands-**coarse magenta silk** that reeked of cheap perfume. "Blend in."
Maira spotted the Don's men at the pavilion entrance, rifles disguised under wedding shawls. Mihir's arm locked around her waist, spinning them into the swirling dance of brides. **"Don't look at them,"** he murmured against her temple.
Her injured foot screamed in protest, but the pain sharpened her focus. The goons were getting closer.
**Sarkar Mansion - Bride's Chamber - 7:15 AM**
Ojas' shaking hands adjusted Teju's **20-pound bridal necklace**, its gold links biting into her daughter's collarbone. **"Just one hour more,"** she whispered.
The door slammed open. Sarkar's shadow darkened the room as he tossed a **rusty cattle brand** onto the dressing table. **"This heated up nicely,"** he said, tapping the still-cooling metal. **"The village blacksmith will press it to your back if you embarrass me today."**
Teju's reflection paled in the mirror.
**"No police, no professor-just you choosing between obedience and agony."** He smirked, kicking aside her **medical textbooks** as he left.
Ojas burst into silent tears. Outside, the wedding band's off-key horns drowned Teju's shuddering breath.
The tent reeked of spilled henna and crushed petals. Mihir yanked Maira inside just as the Don's voice boomed through the pavilion:
*"Tear this place apart if you have to!"
Maira's back hit the tent pole as Mihir began **unbuttoning his kurta**. The fabric, already torn from bandaging her foot, slipped off his shoulders, revealing sun-browned skin and the faint scars of old polo injuries.
Maira spun around, her ears burning. **"What are you-"**
**"Disguise,"** Mihir said, kicking aside the abandoned groom's sherwani on the floor. **"That runaway couple did us a favor."**
A beat of silence. Then-
**"You're blushing."** His voice dripped with amusement.
Maira clenched her fists. **"I'm *revolted*."**
Outside, footsteps crunched closer.
Mihir tossed her the bride's discarded lehenga. **"Put it on. Unless you'd rather explain to the Don why we're hiding in a honeymoon tent?"*
Mihir stepped outside the tent, the morning sun warming his bare shoulders as he pulled on the stolen groom's sherwani. The fabric was slightly too tight, the embroidery scratchy against his skin. He gave Maira a few moments-enough time to change, not enough to overthink.
When he ducked back inside, the sight nearly knocked the breath from his lungs.
Maira stood bathed in fractured sunlight, the deep red lehenga pooling around her ankles like spilled wine. Her fingers struggled with the back of the choli, the delicate hooks refusing to catch. A sliver of bare skin peeked through the unfastened fabric, golden and tempting.
**"Need help?"** His voice came out rougher than intended.
Maira stiffened but didn't turn. **"Just the zip."**
Mihir stepped closer. His knuckles brushed the nape of her neck as he gathered the loose fabric, his breath hitching at her sharp inhale. The zip slid up with a whisper, his fingers lingering at the small of her back.
**"There."** The word was a murmur against her ear.
Maira turned-slowly-until they stood nose to nose. The lehenga's weight pressed her against him, the heat between them undeniable.
Outside, the Don's men shouted, their voices drawing nearer.
Neither moved.
Mihir's thumb traced her jaw. **"We should-"**
**"Yes."** Maira's agreement had nothing to do with escape.
His gaze dropped to her lips.
**"CHECK THE TENT!"**
A goon's bark shattered the moment like glass.
They sprang apart. Mihir's hand flew to the ceremonial dagger hidden in his stolen sherwani, while Maira yanked the bridal veil over her face.
The tent flap rustled. **"Eh? Who's in-"**
Mihir spun, blocking Maira from view as he flashed his most arrogant smirk. **"Can't a groom have *one* private moment with his bride?"**
The goon's eyes narrowed-then dropped to Mihir's bare feet (the only part of his disguise that didn't fit).
The goon's suspicious glare lingered for a heartbeat longer-then, with a grunt, he stomped out, muttering about "disrespectful newlyweds."
Maira sagged against the tent pole, her bridal veil fluttering with her exhale. **"That was too close."**
Mihir adjusted the **shehra**-the groom's face-covering floral garland-making sure it obscured his features. **"Next time, remind me to steal shoes too."** His smirk was audible even through the blossoms.
Before Maira could retort, the tent flaps burst open again.
**"THERE you are!"** An elderly woman in a faded sari charged in, followed by a man with a handlebar mustache thick enough to hide a dagger. **"Running away on your wedding day? Shameless!"**
Mihir froze. Maira's fingers dug into his arm.
The woman grabbed Mihir's wrist, her grip surprisingly strong. **"To the mandap, NOW! The priest's waiting!"**
The mustached man nodded at Maira. **"And you, girl-stop cowering. Your in-laws will think we raised a coward."**
As they were dragged into the sunlight, Mihir mouthed over the shehra: *Play. Along.*
The mass wedding crowd swallowed them whole.
Sarkar Mansion - Wedding Mandap - 7:30 AM**
Teju sat rigid under the heavy bridal veil, her star-marked palm pressed against her thigh. The groom beside her-hidden behind the thick *shehra* of flowers-hadn't spoken a word since seating himself.
**Flashback - Storeroom - 5:47 AM**
Sahir groaned awake, his skull throbbing where Raj's rod had struck. Blood crusted his temple, his wrists raw from struggling against the ropes. Through the small window, the first light of dawn crept in.
With a grunt, he snapped the last rope using a rusted nail lodged in the wall. The door creaked open-Raj stood there, smirking, alone.
**"Ready to watch your-"**
Sahir moved faster. A sharp elbow to Raj's jaw, a knee to his gut, and the man crumpled. Sahir stripped him of his wedding sherwani, dressed himself, then dragged Raj's unconscious body into a corner, binding him with the same ropes.
**Present - Mandap**
The priest chanted, the sacred fire crackling between them. Teju's breath hitched as the groom's fingers brushed hers-*warm, calloused, unmistakably Sahir's.*
She didn't dare speak, but her pulse raced. *How?*
Across the village, in the mass wedding pavilion, Mihir and Maira stood under another mandap, forced into their own ceremony.
**"Now,"** the priest declared, lifting the ceremonial garland.
**Sharma Residence -
Kailashi's gnarled fingers trembled as the ink on the ancient parchment *moved on its own*, sketching two unfolding wedding scenes in perfect synchrony:
- **Sahir and Teju** beneath the Kakkar mandap, his *shehra* hiding his face as Teju's star-mark pulsed unseen under her bridal bangles.
- **Mihir and Maira** in the mass wedding pavilion, their forced vows binding them.
The astrological charts beside the book glowed gold. Kailashi's laugh was a dry rasp. **"The celestial unions begin! The gods themselves bless this day!"**
---
**Bandhap Cave -
Mohana's clawed hands scraped against the ritual pool's surface, the water showing her the weddings like a cursed mirror. Her once-powerful magic could only *watch* as the ceremonies progressed-her influence severed.
**"Curse you!"** she shrieked at the unseen heavens, her voice echoing off the damp walls. Her hair, now fully white, clung to her sagging face. **"You rob me of my vengeance? After centuries of patience?"**
The pool's image shifted-showing **Ruby's decaying form** in the Kashyap mansion, her borrowed beauty crumbling to dust.
Mohana's scream shook the cave. **"All my pawns... *useless*!"**