Kashyap Mansion - Reception Entrance
The grand staircase became a runway as the couples descended:
- Sahir & Teju: Her emerald lehenga scattering light like broken jade against his navy sherwani, their joined hands never parting
- Mihir & Maira: His rose-gold achkan mirroring the blush tones of her floral lehenga, though he maintained a careful inch of distance
Gasps rippled through the assembled guests:
"Dekho na, kaise suhaagraat pehle se chamak rahe hain!"
"Mihir finally looks like a proper groom!"
At the base of the stairs, the elders sat enthroned on velvet chairs. As the couples approached:
1. Moti Baa pressed trembling hands to both brides' foreheads, leaving rice grains as blessings
2. Sapna couldn't stop adjusting Mihir's already-perfect safa, her tears dampening the fabric
3. Uma made Teju promise to share her eyeliner technique
4.Akhil playful blessings to the couple
A hush fell over the reception as the grand doors opened. Kailashi Sharma stood framed in the doorway-her nine-yard Kanjeevaram sari glowing like sunrise, the family priest hovering reverently behind her.
"Nani!" Maira's lehenga flared as she rushed forward, burying her face in the elder's saffron-scented embrace. The guests murmured at this breach of decorum, but Maira clung tighter. "I'm sorry it happened so suddenly," she whispered against Kailashi's shoulder, recalling their frantic midnight call. "No rituals, no family-"
Kailashi cupped her granddaughter's face, the rubies in her nath glinting. "Beta, do you think the gods care about party menus?" Her knuckles brushed Maira's mangalsutra. "This bond was written before the stars took their first breath."
Moti Baa approached first, her cane tapping a respectful rhythm. "Sharmaji," she greeted with a namaste that dipped deeper than expected for the family matriarch. "Your granddaughter honors our home."
Sapna touched Kailashi's feet before rising with tears in her eyes. "We'll fulfill every ritual we missed, Mataji. Consider this her true griha pravesh."
As the elders led Kailashi to the VIP section
Mihir surprised everyone-especially Maira-by stepping forward first. He knelt before Kailashi with uncharacteristic reverence, his usually cocky head bowed. "Shashtang pranam, Nani," he murmured, touching the elder's feet.
Maira's breath caught. The man who scoffed at rituals was performing the full prostration reserved for revered gurus.
Kailashi's eyes gleamed as she blessed him. "Protect her fire, beta. The world will try to douse it." Her thumb left a faint turmeric streak on his forehead-the exact shade of Maira's lehenga.
When Sahir and Teju approached together, Kailashi's hands trembled. She cupped Teju's face a beat too long.
Flashback - 22 Years Earlier
Midnight in a storm-lashed hut. A young Kailashi catching the just-born infant as Vedika collapsed, bleeding. The baby's first cry shook the oil lamps-and then that tiny palm *blazed* with celestial light.
"She's Bishwa,"Kailashi had declared, wrapping the star-marked hand in protective rune cloth. "The protector."
Present
Kailashi blinked away the memory, pressing Teju's now-covered palm to her heart. "Be happy, beti," was all she said and smiled.
The priest's conch shell echoed through the hall as the couples took their places before the sacred fire. Sahir guided Teju with a hand at her waist, his thumb brushing the hidden star-mark beneath her sleeve. Across the mandap, Mihir stood stiffly beside Maira, though their shoulders touched when neither moved away.
"Vivaah sanskar shuru karte hain," the priest announced, sprinkling rosewater.
As the rituals progressed:
- **Sindoor Exchange**: Sahir's fingers lingered at Teju's parting, his touch reverent. Mihir applied the vermillion with quick efficiency, yet his palm cradled Maira's head a moment longer than necessary.
- **Garlanding**: Maira stood on tiptoe to loop flowers around Mihir's neck, her whispered "Don't smirk" making his lips twitch.
- **Sacred Fire**: When Teju's hand trembled during the pheras, Sahir steadied it between both of his.
Ruby watched from the front row, her perfect smile never slipping even as her champagne glass cracked in her grip. Behind her, Kailashi's eyes narrowed at the dark stain spreading across Ruby's peach lehenga-not wine, but something viscous and black.
The priest raised his hands for the final blessing. At that exact moment:
- Every diya in the mansion flickered
- Teju's mangalsutra burned hot against her skin
- A bull's distant roar shook the garden hedges
A splintering crash silenced the orchestra. The grand teak doors exploded inward, showering the mandap with wood fragments.
Raj stood transformed in the wreckage-seven feet of corded muscle under coarse black fur, his bull snout steaming in the cold air. Blood-red eyes locked onto Teju as his hooves cracked the marble floor.
Chaos erupted:
- Women screamed, dragging children behind overturned tables
- Men froze mid-toast, champagne flutes slipping from their hands
- Elderly guests clutched their chests as the beast roared
Sahir shoved Teju behind him, his sherwani sleeve tearing against a jagged door fragment. "Mihir!"
But his brother was already moving-not toward the exit, but to flank Maira, his body a living barricade between her and the monster.
Ruby's laughter tinkled above the panic. "Oops." She licked black-stained lips. "Someone's gatecrashed the party."
Teju's fingers dug into Sahir's forearm, her nails leaving half-moon impressions on the silk. The creature's sulfurous breath reached them even across the hall-rotting jasmine and wet fur. Her medical textbooks had never prepared her for this: the way its bull nostrils flared when spotting her, the human intelligence glinting behind those bloodshot eyes.
Kailashi's cane struck marble. Her sharp gaze tracked from the beast's iron-ringed horns to Ruby's too-innocent smile near the exit. *Mohana's work.* The realization passed silently to Maira, whose answering glance held the same calculation-hands already curling into defensive fists.
"Don't look at its eyes," Sahir murmured, pushing Teju behind a pillar. His gold sherwani buttons pressed cold into her back as he shielded her.
Across the room, Mihir had torn the ceremonial sword from the wall display. "Everyone out!" The command sliced through the screams. "Now!"
But the exit doors had sealed themselves shut, vines snaking across the frames like living things.
Bhainsasur's massive arms swung with unnatural speed, the twin spears glistening with eerie green poison. Time seemed to fracture as:
- Sahir pivoted, shoving Teju sideways with enough force that her lehenga tore against the floor. The spearhead meant for her sank into his shoulder instead, Pataal Ketki already blackening the wound.
- Simultaneously, Mihir twisted, using his body to pin Maira against a pillar. The second spear grazed his ribs, shredding fabric and skin alike as the poison seared into his blood.
"SAHIR!" Teju's scream shattered the stunned silence.
"MIHIR!" Maira's voice cracked as she caught his slumping form.
From the dais, Sapna's anguished cry rose above the chaos: "MY SONS!" Her silk slippers slipped in spilled champagne as she fought through the fleeing crowd.
Kailashi's eyes blazed with ancient recognition. "Pataal Ketki..."
The brothers collapsed in eerie unison, their knees hitting the marble with twin cracks. A sickly green hue spread from their wounds like spilled ink in water.
Maira caught Mihir as he listed sideways, his usually cocky features twisted in agony. "Look at me!" She pressed her forehead to his, fingers scrambling to staunch the poisoned wound. His pained gasp fogged against her cheeks-too shallow, too quick.
Across the debris-strewn floor, Teju cradled Sahir's seizing body. His scholar's hands clawed at his throat as the venom constricted his breathing. "Stay with me," she begged, her tears splashing onto his blackening veins. "You promised-you promised-"
Sapna stumbled past overturned chairs, her designer saree tangling around her ankles. "Beta...my boys..." Her legs gave out three paces short, palms slapping the cold marble as she reached helplessly toward her sons.
Bhainsasur's hooves cracked the marble with each step, green venom dripping from his horns. The brothers struggled against their wives' grip-their veins now black beneath feverish skin.
"Run..." Sahir choked, pushing weakly at Teju's shoulders. His glasses hung crooked, lenses fogged with pain. "Take...Mother,Take everyone ..."
Mihir's bloody hand slipped from Maira's arm as he coughed up something dark. "Damn it-*go*!" His usual swagger had burned away, leaving raw terror. "That's an order-"
"Shut up." Maira yanked him behind her, grabbing a broken chair leg. "I don't take orders from dying men."
Teju didn't budge from Sahir's side. Her star-marked palm pressed over his poisoned wound, glowing faintly through the fabric. "We vowed to protect each other," she whispered. "This is how."