The wedding hall was drowning in whispers, sharp and merciless.
“She must’ve had affairs. I heard the groom found out something.”
“Girls like her don’t belong in decent families.”
“I’m telling you, she’s not innocent. No man leaves a mandap without reason.”
“She’s a baggage—her own stepmother can’t stand her.”
The words dug into Zehn’s skin like invisible needles. Dressed in heavy red and gold, her hands clutched the edge of her lehenga to keep herself from shaking. Her kohl-lined eyes stayed fixed ahead, but the sting of humiliation was unbearable.
Her groom... never arrived.
He didn’t call.
He didn’t care.
And now, she stood under a mandap meant for two—alone.
Her stepmother Meena’s voice sliced through the air like poison.
“This is what happens when you raise a girl like her. Shameless. Disrespectful. Disgrace to the family!”
Her father, Rajeev, was sweating, dialing numbers that went unanswered. “He’s not picking up. Maybe there’s some emergency…”
“Stop lying to yourself!” Meena snapped. “He left because he didn’t want to marry her! And honestly, I don’t blame him!”
Just then, an usher walked over to Rajeev and whispered something in his ear. Rajeev immediately grabbed Meena’s arm.
“Come with me. Now.”
They rushed Zehn into a private room, away from the guests, away from the noise. She looked between them, confused and broken.
“What is happening?” she whispered.
The door opened.
And in walked Vivaan—tall, elegant, composed. His sherwani was black with subtle embroidery, and his presence carried the kind of silence that demanded respect.
Rajeev stood up. “You came…”
Vivaan gave a small nod. “Yes.”
His eyes landed on Zehn.
“I want to marry you.”
No buildup. No drama.
Just a calm, sincere offer.
Zehn stared at him, stunned. “What?”
“I said,” he repeated, “I want to marry you.”
She stood up, stunned. “No. You don’t even know me. This is… ridiculous.”
Meena’s rage exploded. “Are you mad? Saying no now? After everything? After all this shame?”
Zehn winced.
Meena strode forward. “You think you’re some queen? I should’ve thrown you out years ago, you cursed girl!”
Her voice trembled, but her eyes didn’t.
Meena stood up instantly, fury rising. “You have the audacity to say no? After everything you've done? After the shame you’ve brought to this family?”
Zehn flinched.
Meena raised her hand. “I should’ve thrown you out the day you turned thirteen—ungrateful, disgraceful—”
But her hand never landed.
Vivaan caught it mid-air, his grip gentle but unyielding.
“Don’t,” he said, his voice calm. “From now on, don’t raise your hand on her again.”
Meena froze.
“She’s not alone anymore.”
His tone wasn’t loud, but it carried weight. Like the quiet before a storm.
His voice remained calm. “She may not wear my ring yet. But in this moment, she has my protection. And that should be enough.”
Zehn looked at him, shaken. No one had ever stood up for her like that. Not even her father.
Vivaan turned to her.
“I’m not asking for love. I’m offering you a choice.”
She looked at her father, who silently looked away. She had no one.
No one… except the man who just shielded her without knowing her at all.
Her throat tightened.
“…Okay.”
Vivaan nodded once. “Good.”
They walked toward the door together.
Outside, the gossiping crowd fell into stunned silence the moment they saw them side by side.
No one expected him. And definitely not her beside him.
But none dared whisper now.
And as the wedding rituals began, Zehn’s mind still echoed with that moment.
The raised hand.
The voice that stopped it.
The words that gave her more protection than her family ever had:
"She’s not alone anymore."
Moments later, they walked out together, toward the mandap.
The crowd went silent.
Not a whisper.
Not a breath.
The girl they mocked now walked beside a man who carried an aura so strong, so unexpected, even the harshest aunties forgot how to speak.
Zehn noticed it.
The silence.
The fear.
The shift.
But she couldn’t understand why.
Far behind the stage, Meena pulled Rajeev aside.
“He agreed. But why? Why would Vivaan Sehgal—he—agree to marry a girl like her?”
Rajeev’s voice was hollow. “It doesn’t matter. Our burden is gone. The marriage is happening.”
And just like t
hat, Zehn’s life changed.
A stranger.
A wedding.
A hundred secrets waiting to be unraveled.
But the real danger… was now standing beside her.
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