RISHTAA: An Arranged Love (IPKKND AU) **ON HIATUS**

Chapter 26: Aakash

He held Di's elbow as they climbed the steps of the temple. The air, finally made cool by a noontime rain, ruffled his hair. A woman in a green sari elbowed past, almost forcing him to bump into Di, but he caught himself just in time.

"Sorry, Di."

"It's okay, Aakash. Look, we're almost there."

Di paused at the top of the steps, one hand holding her favourite thaali and the other shaking the pleats of her sari. He used the time to wipe the fog from his glasses.

"Let's go?" Di asked with a small smile.

They made their way across the crowd at her pace, their progress slowed by the people stopping to swap greetings and ask after their family. He watched as Di smiled and exchanged pleasantries with people he barely knew, and ducked his head when their attention wandered to him. He wished for Bhai's confidence or Di's charm or Jija-ji's charisma.

But no, he'd hated crowds and new people since childhood, and that stifling anxiety hadn't disappeared in adulthood. Sometimes he feared it'd only intensified.

He lost himself in the familiar rhythms of worship when they finally reached the dais, seeking solace. Patience for his mother, who seemed determined to marry him off to the richest, most beautiful woman she could find. Good fortune for his father, over-worked with brokering a new deal for AR. Wisdom and clarity for Bhai, who was retreating into himself and shutting out the world. Strength for Di, who was desperately trying to hold two families together. Patience and empathy for Khushi-ji, and fortitude for her family, who were suffering something no family should ever be made to endure.

The mood in both houses was sombre. Di alternated between trying to make Bhai eat and visiting Laxmi Nagar to check on Khushi-ji's family. She shed tears constantly, being intimately familiar with Payal-ji's plight. Khushi-ji's family had been shunned and ridiculed, but now, two weeks later, it was finally dying down. Gupta-ji had even reopened the sweet store this morning.

They lingered at the end of the aarti so Di could speak with the priest. Aakash looked around absently as he pulled out his phone, and froze when he noticed the small form almost hidden behind a pillar. He took two steps forward, stopping at a gentle touch to his arm.

"What's wrong, Aakash?"

He turned to Di briefly, unwilling to take his eyes off the figure unless she disappeared.

"Di, that's ... that's Khushi-ji's sister."

"Payal-ji?" Di craned her neck to look in the direction he indicated.

They walked over, Di lightly resting her hand on his arm. He was filled with an odd anticipation, a sense of purpose. Payal-ji stared at them as they approached, wide-eyed and breathing hard.

Apprehension? Or fear?

"Namaste Payal-ji," Di greeted too brightly.

"N-namaste Anjali-ji. Aa-Aakash-ji."

"Namaste," Aakash replied quietly.

She still looked unnerved, and thinking it would help her calm down, Aakash took a few steps away. He watched as Di spoke to her, noting that Payal-ji spoke to the floor rather than meet Di's eyes, twisting her dupatta in her hands the entire time. He felt a curious concern swell inside him as he watched her. She was suffering through her ordeal with as much grace as she could muster.

He understood only the broadest strokes of what had happened on Payal-ji's wedding day. A last-minute demand for a dowry, a refusal, an abandoned altar, and an argument between his Bhai and Khushi-ji that had almost ended their engagement. Almost, but not quite, because when Di had quietly asked Bhai if he'd called it off, he'd recoiled as if stricken by the mere idea before denying it vehemently.