You said Forever and Always

Chapter 1

Naina

It was the day before my wedding, and I stood on my balcony, unable to believe what I was about to do. Tomorrow was my wedding day. I was marrying Zayne, not Advik. Zayne. It was a decision I had to make to protect myself, to forge my own path.

For the last six years, I had been one half of a whole-Naina and Advik, Advik and Naina. I didn't know how to be just Naina.

The quiet street below blurred before my eyes. My vision was hazy, my eyes dry. I wondered what it would be like to jump. I ran the scenario through my head; even in my dazed state, my mind remained analytical. The probability of death was low. I might break many bones, and my wedding would likely be postponed, but I wouldn't die.

I reached for my phone, intending to text Advik-the one I always turned to in moments of doubt and confusion. But as I grasped it, memories of his words from just three months ago flooded back: "I hate who I am when I am with you. We are not good for each other. I can't be with you."

I dropped my phone, unable to contain the flood of tears that had been building inside me all week. Each tear felt like a relentless downpour, my body consumed by excruciating pain.

Kneeling on the floor, I clasped my hands together in a desperate prayer. "Please...please give me strength." But despite my plea, the strength I sought never came.

I was a mess on my wedding day. My sister, Nishita and my best friend, Maya, stayed by my side, but everything felt like a haze to me. I barely remembered the ceremony.

"You'll wear red," Advik had mused. "And I'll wear white."

I never liked red. I preferred pink. I had ultimately chosen a pink and white lehenga for our wedding. But now, I was wearing red. I was marrying Zayne, not Advik, and I refused to wear the lehenga I had picked out for my real wedding.

"Naina, this is your real wedding," I reminded myself. Fresh tears welled up in my eyes, causing my toric lenses to swim in them, further blurring my vision.

Indistinct sounds. Bright lights. No one speaking directly to me.

I was marrying Zayne. I could still stop this. I could tell my parents that I couldn't go through with it. They might become angry with me, but would they force me? I didn't know. I had never said no to them before.

More lights, more sounds.

"Naina," someone called urgently. "Naina!"

The whole world snapped into focus all at once, and my heart raced. I couldn't do this. I couldn't breathe.

Zayne sat before me, his mother beside him, lips pursed. I met his deep black eyes, filled with worry. I had seen that look before-during our hospital rotations when a patient was critically ill and we weren't sure of the outcome. Why was he looking at me like that?

"Naina, let me put this around your neck," he murmured, his voice a soothing balm. I swallowed hard, feeling tears cascade down my cheeks as I leaned forward to allow him to fasten the sacred chain around my neck. His breath brushed against my skin, his proximity overwhelming. Why was he so close? More tears spilled from my eyes, mingling with the emotions swirling inside me.

A sudden flash of light startled me, and I instinctively searched for its source. It was a photographer. I averted my gaze swiftly, unwilling to have my emotions immortalized in a photograph.

I stood beneath the harsh halogen lights of the stage, the air-conditioned hall doing little to alleviate the heat radiating from the lights above and the weight of the heavy lehenga, hair extensions, and makeup artist's handiwork. But it wasn't just the physical discomfort; it was the fear of the uncertain future that made me sweat.