The Night Before My Wedding

The Night Before My Wedding - 3

(A/N)

Hey! Just wanted you to check out the picture above. That's Alia's wedding dress, just imagine it with a lot of jewelry and red pallu over the head.

Enjoy!

~*~

"What's wrong with you?? Are you crazy?! Do you have any sense?? Do you know your wedding is today?! What were you doing in Dev's room so early in the morning??!" Janvi bombarded me with questions as soon as I sat on my bed, solemnly.

We'd silently gone up to my bedroom, after which she'd started this outburst.

"Actually, I went there at night," I said simply, and she gaped at me with wide eyes. I looked at her and said, "No, not in the way you think!"

She sighed. "Can you tell me from the beginning? Everything, please; not just bits and pieces."

So I told her everything, from meeting Kabir to waking up in Dev's room.

"Wow," she said, once I finished. "You've had a hell of a night."

"I know," I said.

"So wait, is Dev really...in love with you?"

I nodded.

"And you're okay with that? No awkwardness?" she asked, her mouth slightly agape.

"No awkwardness," I repeated.

"Okay, Alia," Janvi said, "This is really important, so answer me honestly. Tell me; do you really love Kabir?"

"Yes," I said. "I do. Very much." My response was immediate, almost like a reflex.

"Okay, then." She sighed. "I have to admit, I feel really bad for Dev."

"Just don't give him any pitiful looks, okay? He'll hate that."

She nodded.

I suddenly yawned. "Can I go back to sleep for a bit? I only got, like, four hours of sleep."

"Sure," she said, smiling. "The ceremony is 12 hours away, at 7 pm. We have to go to the beauty salon at about 1 pm."

"1 pm??!" I sputtered. "What're they gonna do; plastic surgery?!"

"My dear," sighed Janvi, "you're an Indian bride. You have to wear a complicated lehenga, wear a lot of intricate and delicate jewelry, get an elaborate hairdo, and wear perfect makeup which puts all the attention on you and yet doesn't make you look over-the-top. Moreover, you have to get a mani-pedi and a facial too. Five hours for that is too less! This is your wedding, not a college graduation party where you just pull on a dress, put on some eyeliner and lip-balm, run a hand through your hair and you're done."

"You still remember?" I asked, smirking slightly. She crossed her arms and gave me a look. "Of course I do; you were the only one who took less than half-an-hour to get ready. Now come on, get to sleep."

"Okay," I said, and lay back on the bed, when my bedroom door opened. I looked up and saw Parth walk in, carrying his one year-old daughter Purvi in his arms. He was grinning from ear-to-ear. "Guess what! Aastha told me that Purvi said Dada!!"

"What?!" I exclaimed, sitting up so fast I got a head-rush.

"Yeah!" he said excitedly. He came and sat on the bed beside the two of us, and he put Purvi carefully on the bed.

"Purvi, say Dada. Dada! Say Dada," encouraged Parth, looking at her eagerly. She just stared up at him with her big black eyes.

"Purvi," I cooed, "say Dada...Dada...say Dada."