The wedding..

Rohit was in a dilemma.

He thought of the day when Sandhya had first walked into his office. Her beautiful kohl lined eyes and long silky hair had instantly pulled him to her. He had fallen in love with this ‘girl-woman’ and her incessant chatter. She was so full of life! He loved the fact that she was an independent woman, so witty and clever with her work. He had been a full time businessman, never wanted to fall in love or marry, but this woman had changed it all. From being a staunch advocate of single life, he had begun to dream of a life with her.

It had not taken long for her to reciprocate his feelings. She had fallen in love with his charismatic smile and ready sense of humour. He pampered her with the best gifts money could buy and had always ensured he made her feel special. Before they knew it, they were madly in love with each other.

The D-day arrived when he had decided to ask her to marry him. She loved adventure and he thought what better place than a hot air balloon to propose. They were sailing above the lush green fields and river below and it looked incredibly romantic. That is when he had decided to pop the question. He had expected her to turn pink, blushing when he asked her to marry him. But he was worried when he saw sadness in her beautiful eyes instead.

“Aren’t you happy, my love? I thought you would be jumping with happiness.”

“I am very happy; just that there is something you should know.”

“Whatever there is, be assured it doesn’t matter to me, my dear. I will always love you the same.”

“I…I…had got married at a very young age, I was just 18. And two years later I lost my husband in a freak accident. My parents didn’t want me back and neither did my in-laws, so I educated myself and came to this place. The rest is as you know. So I want you to think carefully before you take any decision.”

He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know whether he was shocked, confused or angry. They did not speak a word for the rest of the journey and went their separate ways after they disembarked.

He was his parents’ only son, coming from a rich but very orthodox family. His mother always besieged him with marriage proposals but he had always turned them down, earlier because had no interest in getting married and now because he could not think of getting married to anyone except Sandhya.

As it was, it would have been difficult to get them agree for his marriage to her, but marrying a widow? He knew they would never accept her. His mother had wanted a dream wedding for him, but Sandhya did not even have a family whom she could bring to the wedding. He did not want to upset his parents. They had always been a pillar of support for him. They had agreed to every decision of his and had always let him have his way. But on the other hand, he did not want to hurt Sandhya too. Now that he knew of her tragic past, he understood how hurt she would be if he left her like this.

The dilemma was eating him up. He sat all day by the river and looked at the sun go down. He finally made up his mind. He decided to go to Sandhya’s house and apologise to her. He could not marry her. He rang the bell and Sandhya opened the door with a smile. He saw some packed cartons in the hall.

“Sandy, are you shifting the house, what’s all this?” he asked surprised.

“Your gifts. I knew what your answer would be. I no longer have the right to possess any of the gifts you gave me. So I have packed it all for you to take it back.”

How could he even think of leaving this wonderful woman? He held her close and said,

“My love, marry me, I cannot even dream of a life without you. Let us get married now. I’ll handle my parents later.”

“No, I cannot. If you really loved me, you would have said this on the hot air balloon when you proposed. Now it is too late. Please go away.”

He could not even look at her and left her house; his eyes brimming with tears. He took a week away from office as he knew he could no longer face her at work. He wondered if he should try to talk to his mother about Sandhya. Maybe she would understand. One evening he was standing on the terrace staring into the garden below, when he saw a familiar face. It was Sandhya and she was embracing his mother!

After he watched her leave, he asked his mother,

“Wasn’t that Sandhya?”

“Yes beta, Sandhya from our office. She’s getting married so she had come to invite us.”

What! Within days of their heartbreak, Sandy could think of getting married? He was angrier than he was sad, and in a fit of rage he told his mother he wanted to get married immediately, to anyone she thought suitable. His mother was pleasantly surprised and preparations for the wedding began in full swing. She tried to show the bride’s photo to him,

“Beta, have a look, this is Mr. Malhotra’s daughter. He is your dad’s closest friend, you remember him don’t you? He has promised that the wedding will be a dream wedding, just as I had wanted.”

He simply did not care anymore and wished he had not foolishly committed to getting married.

The day of the wedding arrived and he went through the rituals like a robot. The marriage had been grand, befitting a prince. After a tiring day he retired to his room, to find it decorated and his bride sitting by the side of his bed. ‘Oh! What have I done’, he thought to himself. He started to walk away from the room when he heard her,

“Don’t you want to lift my veil and look at my beautiful eyes?”

“Sandhya…That is you isn’t it?” he said his heart beating so loud he could hear it.

“Who is Sandhya? I am Megha, Mr. Malhotra’s daughter; didn’t you read your wedding card? Here, take this card.”

He read the card,

Megha

    weds

Rohit.

Yes, of course. What a fool he had been to think it could have been Sandhya! Then he heard her laughing uproariously.

 “But I won’t mind if you call me Sandhya.”

“Sandhya..” he could have died of shock and excitement, “how on earth did you land here?”

“It’s a long story sweetheart. Our dad’s have been the best of buddies since ages and I have known you since childhood, though you have hardly ever noticed me. Our parents wanted to get us married, but you have always been in your own world and did not want to marry. So our parents hatched this plan and sent me to your office as an employee. I fell in love with you and so did you. All went as per plan and everyone was happy, but on the day you proposed to me I wanted to see if you would still love me if I were someone you had not desired me to be. It was not part of the original plan, and hence all the drama! Your mom wanted to show you my photo but you did not have a look. We thought why not give you a surprise on the day of the wedding, so we kept it all hidden from you. The other day when you saw me at your house, we thought you must have realized what we were up to, but you were busy playing Devdas, so you never realized. By the way, your mom is very happy that you had decided to give up Sandhya for her happiness. And I am happy too, because you were ready to give up everything for me! Well done, sweetheart!”