Prologue
Careful what you wish for ~ this age-old warning was clearly too late. It was laughable really, how beautifully her biggest wish had gotten fulfilled without a lot of effort on her part. As if it had fallen in her lap, as a gift by the gods.
Gift. How many times had she pleaded her gods to have him in her life? Countless. How many times had she stolen glances at him, and felt her tummy as home to butterflies in the thousands? Uncountable. But was it really a gift, hers to keep forever?
Here she was, at the young age of 23, decked in the most beautiful wedding sari and sitting on her marriage bed while trying her hardest to contain all her emotions.
...For, there was time yet for her emotions to unravel.
Taking one deep, cleansing breath, she closed her eyes and tried to remember the very first time she'd met him. She did not, she realized, have to try hard to conjure up her first meeting with him. It seemed as if she had spent her entire life reliving all moments she'd spent with him in each of her waking moments. And if that wasn't enough, with her nights, she summoned those memories of him to become dreams at night. She was, as every lucky women must, completely encompassed with him, his thoughts, and his aura.
It was eleven years ago, when Sameer bhaiyya had brought his college friend home to visit during the holidays. It was hard for any girl to see the handsome young man of 18, and not fall in love with him right away. That's what it was for the preteen Sakshi. One glimpse of his boyish face, and she'd lost her heart.
It had become a habit after that, Sameer bhaiyya and Arjun would visit home often, as his parents lived far away. Sakshi's family had welcomed him as their own son, and Sakshi had grown up waiting for those visits, and every time Sameer bhaiyya brought Arjun home, Sakshi's love for him grew even stronger.
Although his demeanor was serious, as he was always kind to Sakshi, she had spent her teenage years realizing that each of her wish, her dreams had something to do with Arjun.
Perhaps he knew of her crush, and how she'd secretly worshipped him, but he never embarrassed her. Their relationship had evolved from him pulling her braids when she was 12, to helping her with homework as she grew older, and even helped Sameer bhaiyya ward off neighborhood boys who would try and get Sakshi's attention. And with each role he played in Sakshi's life, Arjun had been the man of her dreams.
So why then, after loving the same man for over a decade, was Sakshi's face streamed with tears, and her desire to be anywhere but the room that she was to share with her husband.
Her husband. Ha! What a joke.
Kumkum Bhagya
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