(Book#1 of 'The Runaway Club' but also can be read as stand alone).
Ria Malhotra was done.
If her parents thought that she will be marrying a man she will meet on her wedding day, they had another thing coming. So what does she do? Taking a leaf out...
PLAYLIST---- Akon (ft. Sharukh Khan) - Wanna be my chammak challo ( Ra-one)
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~Ria's POV~
It was a miracle how I managed to sit upright let alone walk round with all of these adornments on me.
I was wearing a very expensive lehnga that mama had ordered handmade from Rajasthan. It was a beautiful shade of crème green and magenta blended in beautifully with heavy hem works in traditional Indian stone designs. The sari parted just enough to show my supple skin at my waist that the blouse never covered, my skin bronzed and glowed in a healthy glow as a result of soaking me in milk and sandalwood the day before. I was adorned in antique jewelries that were worn by generations of Malhotra women on their marriages. Like this particular nose ring that I wore, it ate up half of my face in its historic grandeur and supported its enormous weight my attaching parts of it to my ears and hair. I wore light makeup although my eyes were done with the kohl to add a bit of drama to it. My long hair was plaited down my shoulders, covered entirely by a heavy shawl that was similar to the dress I wore but its hemline was twice as heavy, ensuring that my face was hooded.
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I gazed at the mirror. I looked beautiful, like how every bride would wish to look on her wedding. Too bad it was wasted on me, who dreaded as the promised hour drew in close.
"Arre yar, thoda muskurao abi!" My friend Priyanka whispered to me near my heavy shawl, her eyes gleaming with worry for me. "Aaj thumara shadhi hai, kam se kam dosro ke liye muskurao."
("Hey, smile a bit now." "Today is your wedding; smile for others at least.")
Despite the ache in my heart, I pulled the corners of my lips into something of a smile. "Ye hai na..." My voice sounded alien to my own ears as I let out a dry giggle, trying to cover for whatever Priyanka as a joke so that others who are attending to me would never be suspicious of my actions. The last thing I want is a scandal to circulate that I was wh*ring around in USA.
Shethal roughly plunged a bobby pin on to my scalp and I nearly yelped out in pain. No wonder at her open hostility, she was the one who was entertaining my soon-to-husband till the day before our engagement and developed a jealous rage to my mere existence for marrying someone she was sleeping with. But as far as the rumors go, they made up and still continued to f*ck behind my back.
Honestly, I don't care if my husband has a mistress or not; let him do whatever pleases him as long as he leaves me alone in our marriage. But what beats me is why she was trying to physically harm me if I am fine with their arrangements?
"Arram se!" ("Gently!") Priyanka hissed and swatted Shethal's hands away from me. "Chod de, mey kareyga." ("Let it be, I will do it.") Shethal wordlessly glared at my accomplice and with a swish of her crimson sari she sashayed away.
