Saudebazi - The Deal of Love

1 - Wedding

Hi sweet hearts! This is the first chapter of the book, Please let me know if you liked the starting of the book and the theme of the book. Please vote and comment, it literally makes my day<3. Now continuing with the chapter.

Iswari pov

I was looking at the fire in the hawan kund with my eyes full of water. My eyes were holding so many tears that it made my vision blurry. I closed my eyes and let my tears fall off my eyes and make their way on my soft cheeks. My face was covered up with the veil due to which no one could see me crying. I was feeling many emotions inside me, helplessness, sadness, confusion, and the most dominating emotion. Sorrow.

I opened my eyes again and looked at the bright fire. The veil which was covering my face was having a beautiful, heavy embroidery. I could see outside only through the little cloth which was not having any heavy embroidery. I looked down at my bangles recalling the memories I made with my dad, my sister, and him. A single thought of him was making me feel like crying. I looked at the man sitting next to me in mandap, feeling sorry for him. I do not even know him. I do not know if I will be able to give him the love a man expects from his wife, weither emotional or physical. He does not even know that I loved someone else before marrying him. He does not know that the girl he is marrying is heart broken? It might irritate him if he gets to know about this after marriage.

I was in deep thoughts when I heard the priest saying

"Groom and bride may stand up for the pheres"

He said and I felt him standing. My duppatta, which was tied with the cloth he was wearing on his shoulder, lifted up as he stood up. I tried to stand up but due to the heavy lehenga I was unable to. I was feeling embarrassed as I was not able to stand and was falling on the little stool. I was struggling to get up when I suddenly saw a long, veiny hand extended towards me on my right side. It was his hand. Veins were popping on his hand. His fingers were longer than normal as if he belongs to some other specie.

I looked up to look at his face but I was unable to do so due to my veil and his sehra. I held his hand and he helped me to stand up. His hands felt a little rough. His grip on my hand was tight yet firm. I looked down after standing up and left his hand and we started walking around the pure fire while the priest was chanting mantras.

I was looking here and there to see my father and my elder sister. As I was walking around fire behind him, I saw them. My father was having a blank face while my elder sister was having tears in her eyes while looking at me. She was holding my 3 year old neice who was sleeping in her lap. I looked down just wanting the wedding to end and to go the hell I was assigned to live in.

The 7 pheres completed and it was the time for him to fill my hair partition with vermillion and make me wear mangalsutra of his name. My elder sister handed her daughter to her husband and came towards me to lift my veil up. I was nervous. Has he ever seen me? What if he does not like me? What if he does not like my average looks? What if he will not treat me right on the bases of my average looks? These thoughts crowded my mind making my brain blank.

I felt my sister lifting up my veil and I shut my eyes closed, trying not to see his eyes which might be judging me. I felt her lifting my maangtika.

"Oh god, Please help me, give me some courage"

I thought and inhaled a deep breath when I felt a cold coin touching my hair partition. I felt something falling on my nose indicating that he has filled vermilion in my hair partition and a little vermillion has fallen on my nose. My sister, Anamika Sahni, put my maangtika in it's place. Oh my god. Has he seen me now? Did he like my face or not? I felt him moving a little away from me and picking up something. I opened my eyes to get a glimpses of him and closed them immediately as I saw him turning towards me.