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It was past 2 a.m., and the wedding festivities were still in full swing. The grand hall buzzed with energy as rituals followed one after another. The air smelled of fresh flowers and incense, mingling with the sound of laughter and dhol beats.

Samiksha, however, was exhausted. Dressed in a heavy lehenga, she lifted the embroidered fabric slightly off the ground, sighing dramatically. "Me toh thak gayi re," she muttered, taking a few more steps before repeating, "Me toh fir se thak gayi re," and then laughed at her own joke.

She had no clue where Aarohi was, and boredom was eating at her. Weddings were hectic—ritual after ritual, endless socializing, and the Kanyadaan ceremony was about to begin.

Her thoughts drifted.

"Kanyadaan—seriously? It literally means giving away the daughter as if she’s some sort of property. She’s a whole person, not some asset that you ‘donate.’" Samiksha mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes. "Like, no offense to anyone, but it’s kinda weird. A girl leaves behind everything—her home, her parents, her comfort—all for a guy she’s supposed to start a new life with. And she has to start calling his parents her parents now? Wow. No pressure, huh?"

She absentmindedly pulled out her phone, scrolling through Instagram. Feeling an itch of curiosity, she opened her second ID—her anonymous author account.

And that’s when she noticed something interesting.

Abeer was in her followers list.

Wait.

He followed her author account? But he never messaged her about reviews.

Why?

Before she could spiral further, a familiar voice interrupted. "Hey."

Samiksha looked up and—oh.

Abeer stood next to her, hands casually in his pockets, dressed in a well-fitted kurta that somehow made him look effortlessly put together.

"Hey," she replied.

A pause.

"Ghum rahi ho?" he asked.

Samiksha just looked at him.

Abeer, on the other hand, internally facepalmed. What kind of dumb question was that?

Before the awkwardness could thicken, she suddenly asked, "Uhm, you follow your favorite author on Instagram, right?"

Abeer blinked, thrown off by the random shift. "Uh… yeah?"

"Then why don’t you message her?" she asked, tilting her head.

He frowned. "Wait… how do you know that I don't message her?"

Shit.

Realizing her slip-up, Samiksha quickly tried to cover. "I mean—do you ever message her to give feedback about the chapters?"

Abeer shrugged. "Nah."

"Why not?"

He smirked slightly. "Because I don’t talk to other girls."

Samiksha blinked. "Huh?"

Abeer held her gaze, his smirk deepening. "I’m loyal to someone."

Her brain short-circuited. "Who?"

Instead of answering, he just kept staring at her.

She frowned. "What? Say it properly!"

He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping just enough to send a shiver down her spine. "My wife."

Samiksha’s eyes widened. "WHAT?! Since when?

Who? How?! Huh?"

Abeer bit back a grin at her sheer cluelessness. Deciding to mess with her a little more, he leaned even closer, his breath warm against her ear.

"Actually, bachpan mein, I got married to someone," he murmured. "Happened to be her husband. So, you know… loyalty."

Samiksha froze.

Her brain did a full rewind, scanning old memories.

And then—shit.

She remembered.

Years ago, when they were barely 6 or 7 years old, Aarohi had thrown a massive tantrum because she wanted to play "plan a wedding." Where she had seen such things at that age, nobody knew. But in the end, they had to give in. As Aarohi literally forced Abeer and Samiksha to marry eachother and she will be their wedding planner.

Vidyut had been their reluctant witness. Aarohi, their overexcited wedding planner. They literally did all those wedding things at that age

And now—now, standing in front of her, Abeer was smirking like he had just won the biggest game.

A blush crept up her cheeks.

Abeer noticed.

A blush crept up his cheeks.

Neither of them knew how to handle it.

Before either could say anything, an older woman suddenly appeared beside them. "Beta, tumhare fufaji room no. 96 mein so rahe hain. Unko yeh samaan deke aajao."

Samiksha blinked. "Mere fufaji?"

She had no idea who this woman was. Or who the hell Fufaji was.

But before she could argue, the aunty had already walked away.

Samiksha sighed, looking at the suitcase in front of them. "Great. Ab yeh bhi karna hai."

Abeer just chuckled. "Chalo."

Reluctantly, they both dragged the luggage toward room 96. The corridor was eerily quiet, except for the distant sound of children playing somewhere in the hallways. As they entered the room they found nobody was their and Samiksha was still muttering something under her breath. But as Abeer decided to leave and moved towards the door

He twisted the knob again, his brows furrowing. "Uh… Samiksha?"

Still cursing under her breath, she turned to him, arms folded. "What?"

He pointed at the door. "It’s locked."

She blinked. "What do you mean it’s locked?"

He twisted the handle again. Nothing.

Samiksha's eyes widened in horror. "Abeer, don't mess with me right now. I swear to god, if this is your idea of a joke—"

"It’s not a joke," he deadpanned, stepping aside so she could try herself.

She rushed to the door, yanked the handle, and—nothing.

A slow realization dawned upon her.

"We’re locked," she whispered, blinking rapidly. "We’re freaking locked."

Abeer sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Looks like those kids did a number on us."

For a few seconds, she stood there, utterly still. And then, dramatically, she placed her hand on her forehead and gasped. "Bas yahi likha tha meri life mein?! Jab bhi life mein thoda sa bhi sukoon milta hai, situation ka bhaang bh*sd@  ho jaata hai!"

Abeer pressed his lips together, trying so hard not to laugh.

Samiksha whirled around. "Why do these things happen to me? Main toh bas shaadi dekhne aayi thi, koi kidnapping nahi maang rahi thi!"

He raised an eyebrow. "You do realize I’m locked in here too, right?"

"Yeah, well, you look fine! I’M LOSING MY MIND!" She gestured wildly. "My parents think I’m outside, Aarohi is God-knows-where, and now I’m stuck in a room with you and some random uncle’s luggage!"

Abeer, leaning casually against the wall, smirked. "I mean… there are worse situations."

She turned to glare at him. "Like?"

He shrugged, expression way too smug. "Like being stuck in a room with someone you actually dislike."

She opened her mouth, then closed it.

She hated how smooth he was.

Crossing her arms, she muttered, "I could still dislike you."

"Sure," he grinned. "But you don’t."

Her face heated up instantly. "Anyway!" She dramatically stomped toward the door and started banging. "Bachcho!! Koi hai waha pe?!"

Silence.

"Please koi gate khol do !!!! Hello?"

Pin drop silence.

Abeer chuckled. "Yeah, I don’t think they care."

She turned back, groaning. "So what now??"

He glanced at his phone, then hers. "Zero network."

"Of course." She threw her hands up. "Because why would life be normal for once?"

Abeer watched her rant with an amused expression, then suddenly, he grinned.

"What?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing," he shrugged, walking to the couch and flopping down. "Just… you’re kinda cute when you’re frustrated."

Samiksha froze.Her brain short-circuitedDid—Did Abeer just—?

"Excuse me?" she spluttered.

He grinned, resting his chin on his palm. "What? It’s true."

She blinked. Once. Twice. Then—

She grabbed a pillow from the couch and hurled it at him.

Abeer caught it effortlessly, laughing.

"Ugh!" She turned away, pretending to fume. "If I had a brick instead of a pillow—"

"You’d still miss," he teased.

She whipped around to glare at him, but he just sat there, looking way too relaxed. Like he belonged there. Like this wasn’t weirdly comfortable for them both.

And suddenly, she felt it.The warmth of his gaze.The way he was looking at her—not teasing, not smug, but just… looking.Like he was seeing her.Her heartbeat stuttered.

Abeer leaned back slightly, still watching her. "So…" he mused, "you remember our wedding, huh?"

Her stomach flipped.

"I—" she swallowed, shifting awkwardly. "Hey.. that was a reckless joke and we were pretending and you know Aarohi forced us into that—"

"Yeah?" He tilted his head, a lazy smirk playing on his lips. "But you blushed downstairs."

Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

Abeer chuckled. "You totally blushed, Samiksha."

"I did not!"

"Your whole body turned red."

"It did not!"

"Samiksha," he said her name slowly, leaning forward slightly. "Bacha, I was there."

Her breath hitched.

The way he said her name. The way his voice dipped just a little.

Her stomach felt like it had done three backflips and a cartwheel.

But before she could react, before she could embarrass herself even more, a loud BANG echoed from outside.

"Arre! Yeh darwaza kaun bandh kar gaya?! Bacchon, idhar aao!"

Samiksha practically leaped away from Abeer as the door burst open.

A group of uncles stood there, staring in confusion.

Abeer, completely unbothered, stood up, dusted off his kurta, and shot her a smirk. "Hey guys why are you staring at us like that, I was just spending some alone time with Mrs. Rajvansh."

He literally said THAT. infront of all these people. Damn this guy.

She groaned, smacking his arm on the way out.But her heart?Her heart was still doing stupid somersaults.

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How was it??? I know it was small chapter but it's okay I go for quality over quantity 💗🛐

And suggest me a ship name for our couples....

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