Brave and Beautiful

Chapter 7

Ria

    As we entered the shop, Aarush and the other males went into the men's section while the females and I went into the female section. I told the salesperson the colour scheme for each occasion. He then started to lay out sarees and lehengas. I saved my wedding lehenga to the last because I would be taking a long time deciding on the perfect one. I selected my desired outfits and accessories for all the occasions except for the wedding. The salesperson also made sure that Aarush was looking at the outfits which would match mine. I was led to another part of the shop to take a look at wedding lehengas. I was glancing through all the lehengas when one specific one caught my eyes. It was of a deep red colour, most likely to be ruby red, and had intricate gold embroidery. The details of the lehenga and how it stood out to me from the others made me sure that this was my dress. I looked at my mumma and mom.

   "This is beautiful, beta. I feel that that lehenga was made for you," said mumma.

   "Ria beta, you would look good in anything. If you feel like this dress is calling out for you, then it is your dress. Grab that dress and make my son drool over you!" Mom finished with a wink, making me chuckle.

    "Myra, Diya, what do you think?" I asked. "It's gorgeous bhabhi. I can already see you in it, on the mandap."

   "Babe, that lehenga is fire! You would look so hot and sexy in that blouse. Aarush is going to lose it when he sees you. You should try it out," said Myra. I tried it out and came out of the fitting room to meet my family members. I was surprised to see papa, dad and Aarav there too. I heard gasps and shocked looks on everyone's faces. I turned around to look at my reflection on the mirror. I immediately fell in love with the lehenga. 

    "I think I want to get married too," exclaimed Myra as she looked at me in awe. Mom and dad were smiling brightly, nodding heads. Aarav looked at me with his mouth hung open, which Diya closed and gave me a thumbs-up sign. I looked at my parents to see them shedding tears of joy. My papa patted my head while mumma kissed my forehead. This is the one. 

    After setting the lehenga aside, while the others went to look at Aarush, Myra stayed behind because she owned up that she could not keep secrets and that she would end up spoiling the surprise by blabbering about my outfits to Aarush. We went to the jewellery section where I selected jewellery sets for different occasions. 

***

     Aarush and I met after paying for all the outfits, accessories and jewellery. "Can you give me an idea of how your wedding lehenga looks like?" 

     "It's red in colour," I answer.

     "Obviously, we decided on it. Tell me something I don't know" 

     "Nice try Aarush! Be patient," I say as I walk over to my car. Aarush pouts but climbs inside, followed by Aarush, Myra and Diya. Our parents were tired so they decided to go back to the Kapoor Mansion while the five of us decided to grab something to eat and then hang out.

    "Bhabhi, do you always wear formals?" asks Diya when I start to drive, gesturing my shirt and slacks.

    I smile at her through the rear mirror, saying, "I am used to wearing them 6 times a week for the whole day. I feel more comfortable with them. If I wear other clothes, I would feel uncomfortable and insecure." 

     "What is there to be insecure about, bhabhi? You would look beautiful wearing anything!"

     "Diya, sometimes, it's not that you are insecure about your body there are other things such as your past. Anyways, what would you like to eat?" I switched the topic, which Aarush noticed and frowned, noticing something was fishy. Myra and I shared a look.