Roohi POV
My morning was peaceful.
Suspiciously peaceful.
Which should have been my first warning.
I was sitting on the edge of my bed, flipping through a book, enjoying the rare silence when my bedroom door suddenly opened.
Without knocking.
Without mercy.
Without giving me a chance to prepare.
Aunty...Aleena Khan entered.
And behind her...
Three women.
Carrying garment bags.
Boxes.
Fabric samples.
And enough jewelry to blind an entire city.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then a third time.
"A... assalamualaikum?"
"Waalaikum assalam," Aunty replied.
Far too calmly.
As if this invasion was perfectly normal.
I looked behind her again.
Then back at her.
Then behind her again.
"What is happening?"
Aunty stared at me.
Then sighed dramatically.
"Oh dear."
My confusion only grew.
"What?"
"She forgot."
One of the women laughed.
Aunty shook her head.
"Our bride forgot her own reception."
My eyes widened.
The reception.
The reception.
THE RECEPTION.
"Oh."
That was all I managed.
"Oh?"
Aunty repeated.
I covered my face immediately.
"Oh no."
The women burst into laughter.
Even Aunty was smiling now.
"Exactly."
I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me.
Immediately.
Right now.
Unfortunately, the floor refused.
"Come," Aunty said.
"We have work."
And just like that...
My peaceful morning officially ended.
An hour later...
My room looked like a fashion showroom.
Lehengas covered every available surface.
Jewelry boxes sat open.
Matching shoes lined the floor.
I didn't know where to look.
Or breathe.
Or exist.
One of the women held up a heavily embroidered dress.
"What about this one?"
I stared.
It looked expensive enough to pay someone's university fees.
Aunty immediately rejected it.
"Too much."
The woman nodded.
Another dress appeared.
Aunty rejected that one too.
"Too dull."
Then another.
"No."
Another.
"No."
Another.
"Absolutely not."
At this point, I wasn't sure if we were choosing a dress or judging a talent competition.
Finally, one soft pastel dress caught my attention.
Elegant.
Simple.
Beautiful.
I pointed toward it.
"I like that one."
Aunty looked at it.
Then looked at me.
Then looked at it again.
"No."
I blinked.
"No?"
"No."
"But I—"
"No."
I stared.
She stared back.
The room became silent.
Then Aunty folded her arms.
"Roohi."
"Ji?"
"You're the bride."
I knew where this was going.
And I already disliked it.
A lot.
She pointed toward another dress.
A breathtaking one.
Rich embroidery.
Elegant detailing.
Beautiful without being overwhelming.
The kind of dress people remembered.
I looked at it.
Then at her.
Then at it again.
"It looks expensive."
"It is."
"Very expensive."
"Yes."
I sighed.
Aunty smiled.
"We'll take it."
Meanwhile...
Downstairs.
Zayan had made the mistake of entering the living room.
A mistake he regretted immediately.
"Zayan."
He stopped.
Slowly.
Cautiously.
Like a man hearing danger approach.
Aunty appeared.
Holding fabric samples.
His expression instantly darkened.
"No."
"You don't even know the question."
"I don't need to."
Rayyan nearly choked laughing.
Aunty ignored him.
"What color should Roohi wear?"
Zayan closed his eyes briefly.
As if gathering patience.
A difficult task.
Then finally—
"Any color."
Aunty looked unimpressed.
"Very helpful."
"I try."
Rayyan was laughing openly now.
And for the first time all day...
Even Aunty had to hide a smile.
The reception preparations had officially begun.
And the Khan house was never going to be peaceful again.
If anyone ever asked me what true exhaustion looked like...
I would show them reception preparations.
For the next three hours, I was turned, measured, pinned, examined, and politely tortured.
"Stand straight."
I stood straight.
"Turn around."
I turned around.
"Lift your chin."
I lifted my chin.
"Smile."
I smiled.
"Not like that."
My smile disappeared.
The women sighed dramatically.
Aunty looked entirely too amused.
By lunchtime, I was ready to surrender.
"I think this one is perfect," one of the designers finally announced.
Everyone gathered around.
Including me.
The dress looked even more beautiful now.
Soft ivory with delicate silver embroidery.
Elegant.
Graceful.
Beautiful without being loud.
For the first time all morning...
I genuinely smiled.
And this time nobody corrected it.
A little later...
I escaped.
Well.
Technically, I wasn't allowed to.
But I escaped anyway.
The moment everyone became distracted discussing jewelry, I quietly slipped out of my room and headed downstairs.
Freedom.
Glorious freedom.
I had barely reached the kitchen when I heard laughter.
Rayyan.
Of course.
Who else?
I stepped inside to find him stealing snacks from the refrigerator.
"You're hiding too?" he asked immediately.
I blinked.
"What?"
He pointed a biscuit at me.
"The reception committee."
I laughed.
"A little."
"A little?"
He looked offended.
"Bhabhi, those women scare me."
I laughed again.
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
He lowered his voice dramatically.
"Yesterday they made me try on three different suits."
"That's normal."
"It isn't."
"It is."
"It isn't."
I shook my head.
He shook his.
Neither of us surrendered.
"Interesting."
The deep voice made both of us freeze.
Rayyan groaned immediately.
I turned around.
Zayan.
Standing near the doorway.
Watching us.
Or more specifically...
Watching Rayyan.
"You're supposed to be working," Zayan said.
Rayyan pointed at the biscuit.
"I am."
"Doing what?"
"Quality control."
I covered my mouth to hide another laugh.
Zayan looked completely unimpressed.
Rayyan grinned proudly.
For a second...
Just a second...
I noticed something unusual.
The corner of Zayan's mouth twitched.
Barely.
Almost invisible.
But it happened.
And Rayyan saw it too.
His eyes widened dramatically.
"Oh my God."
Zayan immediately looked away.
"What?"
"You almost smiled."
The kitchen became silent.
Very silent.
Dangerously silent.
I suddenly became fascinated by the floor.
Rayyan, however, feared nothing.
"You did!"
"I didn't."
"You absolutely did."
"I didn't."
"You smiled."
"I didn't."
"You did."
"I didn't."
I bit my lip so hard trying not to laugh that it almost hurt.
Rayyan pointed dramatically at me.
"See? Even bhabhi saw it."
I immediately looked down.
Traitor.
Absolute traitor.
For the first time in my life, I wished a refrigerator would swallow me.
Zayan's gaze shifted toward me.
My heart did something strange.
Something annoying.
Something I chose to ignore.
Then his voice came calmly.
"Roohi."
I looked up not really only 1 second
"Ji?"
"You should go back upstairs."
I blinked.
"Why?"
His eyes moved briefly toward the hallway.
Toward the direction of my room.
"Because if mumma finds out you escaped..."
A pause.
Then—
"Even I won't be able to save you."
For one second...
Nobody spoke.
Then Rayyan burst out laughing.
I laughed too.
And to my complete shock...
So did Zayan.
Not fully.
Not loudly.
Just a small breath of laughter.
Gone almost immediately.
But it was there.
And for the first time...
The cold, distant Zayan Khan looked human.
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