Jhoote Do Paise Lo (1.)

The sound of anklets echoed through banquet hall as Naina Solanki ran from one room to another, checking to make sure all the arrangements were just perfect. After all, it was her older sister who was the bride and Naina had planned everything herself. Naina had to make sure that Meghana's wedding was the talk of the town, or else her family would be ashamed. When they had gained everyone's attention by arranging Meghana's wedding to the young and successful Kunal Singh Chauhaan, everyone was expecting nothing less from perfect.

Apart from her mother, sister and her, Naina's entire family constantly worried about what others thought of them. This caused the embarrassment to come quicker meaning Naina and Meghana always had to work harder. Meghana, the hot-headed older sister always did this with a frown while Naina attempted this with a smile. She always tried to look at everything in a positive manner and make her family happy always.

"Cheeku, at least breathe for two seconds," Vishal called after the panting Naina. She halted before turning around, her brown locks flipping over her shoulder.

"How can I possibly wait for a second? The baraat will arrive any moment now!" She exclaimed, smoothing out her light green lengha. Vishal's mom appeared from behind Vishal and approached Naina. Naina grinned warmly, but her aunt only frowned and adjusted Naina's maang tikka.

"The baraat just arrived. Fix that mess of an appearance and come down as quickly as possible." She ordered sternly. Naina simply nodded and looked around one last time. Smiling a little, she admired the flower and light arrangements she made herself.

"Itna bhi bura nahi hai," she whispered to herself.

"Bilkul bhi bura nahi hai. Ab chalo!" Vishal said, dragging Naina along.

~

Outside the doors of the banquet hall stood the Chauhaan Baraat. Leading them, of course, stood Kunal's younger brother who was dancing away to his hearts content. His feet tapped in sync with the dhol of the drums on either side of the baraat. His father, the serious NK Chauhaan, grabbed Karan's shoulder furiously and pointed to Kunal on the horse.

"Nalayak, apne bhai ki madaat toh kar." NK growled. Karan averted his gaze but nodded anyway, his mood downed. He headed to Kunal and held his hand out, helping Kunal off the horse.

"Thanks," Kunal nodded and Karan grinned again.

"You ready?"

"Of course," Kunal replied. Karan chuckled before shaking his head.

"Bhai, do baar soch toh lo. Shaadi karke zindagi kharab kyun karni?" Karan said, only to receive a light slap from his brother.

"Agar tumhe bhi Meghana jaise ladki milegi na, toh tum bhi shaadi ke liye haan kardoge." Kunal replied with a lovesick smile. Karan groaned before rolling his eyes. Ever since Kunal had gone to meet Meghana for the first time, Kunal had been acting like he was in love. Apparently Kunal and Meghana went to college together and he liked her from there. His happiness only doubled when he realized he was going to marry her and said yes without thinking. Karan still couldn't understand how Kunal was in "love in the first place but it seemed true and that's why he didn't try to coax his brother out of marriage.

Karan tended to steer away from love. It wasn't that he didn't believe in it, but he definitely didn't think it was something everyone fell into. Take a look at him; Karan had a skin allergy ever since he could remember. His family had gotten used to it and believed it was no threat to them but outsiders still made faces when they found out. With all of this, girls stayed away from him and Karan never even tried. It didn't really bother him nor did he think love was for him. He was happy with his guitar and love for music.

The doors opened and Meghana's family stood there with huge smiles. Meghana's mother, Sharda, stood there with an aarti thaali waiting for Kunal's entry. As the bride's family did the swaagat, Karan's attention went here and there until he caught the eye of a girl about his age. She stood behind Sharda with a huge smile on her face, admiring Kunal until she noticed Karan staring at her. Her smile morphed into a smirk and she raised her eyebrows at him, which shook Karan out of his trance. He shook his head but continued staring. The girl was beautiful, with long brown hair and a bright smile. Her eyes twinkled with happiness, reflecting the green and blue hues of her dress. The girl's eyes snapped back to Karan as she realized that he was still staring. She frowned and glared at him, motioning for him to pay attention to the aarti. Not knowing how to respond, he glared back before quickly looking away. Only his cheeks were left a light pink as he wondered about the girl and the night to come.

xx