Sudha's POV:

After everyone left my room I removed all my jewellery, placed in the almirah safely and laid on the bed. Dadi was still outside looking after something so I don't have any company as of now.
I did not remove the kangan gifted by my in-laws as instructed by dadi. They are beautiful. The intricate design of them is truly marvellous. They are not the latest designs which I would often find in the shops. They are different. It's an ancient design which looked like art. I traced my fingers on the design and found how my would-be husband made me wear them. His hands are rough and fingers long contrasting my small and soft hands. I didn't see his face but I couldn't ignore the gossip of my cousins of him being handsome. I wish I could see him but I was asked to keep my eyes low most of the time and I obeyed it without fail.
Even when we were together I didn't dare to look in his direction. Though I saw his lower body while eating with eyes low I didn't get a single moment to steal a glance at his face.
Nonetheless I will be married within a few weeks then I can see him. Right? I blushed and turned to the other side.
" You didn't sleep yet Sudha? " Dadi asked coming inside the room.
" No dadi I was waiting for you " I lied smoothly. I was actually thinking about my husband, I thought and smiled.
" I was making sure all the guests are settled in properly or else they will complain that my hostility is not good " she chuckled and I hummed.
" I must admit that your husband is very handsome " she suddenly said and my heart came out.
" What ? " I asked confused.
" What what? " She said and I looked at her furrowing my brows.
" Can't I even say that your husband is handsome huh? All your cousins are kinda jealous of you now " she said.
" Why jealous? " I asked.
" That you will get a very charming husband " she giggled and I blushed.
" But I didn't see him " I murmured.
" What? " She got up now.
" I promise dadi I didn't even glance at him " I said and placed my index finger and thumb on my throat as if promising.
" But why? You were sitting with him almost all the evening and you didn't even see him. How's that possible? " She said throwing her hands in air dramatically.
" I was told by aunty not to lift my eyes so I did that only " I explained.
" God what am I going to do with this girl? Sudha it doesn't mean you cannot look at him once. You could have just looked at him " she shook her head disappointed.
" It's okay I will see him on the wedding day " I said slowly.
" Sure you will " she said sarcastically rolling her eyes.
" It's over now don't fret over it. Just sleep " she instructed. I nodded and covered myself till knees with a blanket and slept.
.......

When the engagement rituals were going on Tyagaraj called the zamindar and Devamma(Shyam's mother) in a room.
" I am sorry for disturbing you while you were busy with the engagement ceremony but I want to discuss about something very important " he said to the both of them.
" What is it bhai sahab? Is there any problem? " Devamma questioned worried.
" No no there is nothing like that. I want to talk to you about the dowry I would give to my daughters " he said. Zamindar nodded his head.
" Bhai sahab I don't want to upset you by saying this. But sending your daughter to my house as my daughter in law alone is the biggest gift and I don't expect anything more than that " she said folding her hands.
" Don't say like that sister. My both daughters are equal to me and I will give them both equal dowry. So I decided I will write ten acres of my land on the east on both my daughters name each five acres. Along with that they will also get all the jewellery and necessary things " he said.
" I am okay with that Tyagaraj " zamindar sahab said. It's not like he is poor but if he gets another five acres for free then he would be delighted.
" As you wish bhai sahab. But I have a request " Devamma said.
" Tell me whatever you want to " he said assuring her.
" This land which you give to your daughter will be solely hers and we both don't have any right over it. She will use it for her purpose only. And I don't want you to disclose this to anyone other than us three. You can tell her when you want her to know but not now. And coming to the jewellery and other accessories is your wish and I admit that my house is too small so keep that in mind before you gift her anything huge which will not fit in our home making her upset " she said a little sad at the end part.
" I will definitely keep that in mind and I promise we will not disclose this in front of anyone " he said and zamindar sahab also nodded. He was quite happy that Devamma is not after the property but the person. He felt peaceful that his daughter is getting married in a good family. After all his mother was right all along.
.....

It's been a week since engagement and the house fell into regular chores. Sudha was making rangoli when her grandmother came there.
" Sudha why don't you go to temple today and thank God for everything " she suggested.
" Sure dadi. I will go right away " she said and plucked few flowers front the plant and went to temple. After praying she sat in the corner looking at her kangan.
" Hi Sudha " someone interrupted and she looked up.
" Oh hi. How are you? " She questioned Rajesh. He is her senior in school as well as in college. They never talked much but would exchange small talks while in school sometimes.
" Your kangan are really nice. I think your in laws gifted you " he said with a sad smile. Sudha observed that but didn't mind much.
" Yeah. And literally they are beautiful " she said with a smile looking at them.
" My marriage is on 12th of next month. Do attend " she said with a small smile.
" How could I miss your marriage " he said and when she raised her eyes he already turned around and left from there. She was slightly confused but kept that aside and went to her home.
......

Shyam's POV:

He was quite sure that all of his friends got to know about his wife. They would sometimes talk about him in his absence and he started ignoring their talks.
One fine day his mother said.
" Shyam we should start with marriage preparations beta. We shall first start with painting the house and then invitation cards. What do you say? " She said.
" Ma do you think I will be able to accept the fact that my wife is abnormal? " He said out of blue and she was taken aback with his words.
" Shyama don't think like that. Everyone in this world are born not by their own will but God's will. So I am sure God knows why he brought her in this world. We are no one to judge his birth neither we have a right to change it. All we can do is accept what is in front of us rather than fighting for something which is not reachable " she said but shyam was more confused now. Sometimes his mother spoke like a philosopher.
" I clearly understood what you said ma. But can you explain it in detail again " he said to which his mother laughed while he shook his head smiling.
" And yes I talked with the painter today morning he will be here tomorrow morning to start the painting. I hope it will be done till evening. And about invitation cards uncle was saying he would accompany me to town to buy them. So after painting work is done we will finish that work as well " he said and his mother nodded.
As said the painting work was done till the evening. As their house is small it didn't take much time to finish. Moreover Shyam helped him and he was able to finish it before time. The next day I and uncle went to the town to finish the remaining works.
Mom and I became busy with inviting people and also looking after the arrangements.
Once again Meenakshi aunty and I went shopping to buy clothes for the bride and this time kusuma also joined us.
Kusuma is my cousin who could not attend the engagement. We are like own siblings. She was very delighted with the news of her brother's wedding. She is married for an year now and lives very far being the reason for her absence for the engagement.
Soon it was just a week to wedding and preparations were going on with full swing.
I was looking after the farm work as well as wedding preparations which is tiring. I didn't even sleep properly due to the stress of getting married. In this all I did not forget the smile I saw on her face that day. Sometimes at night I would just keep thinking about her and would imagine how life would be with her beside him. These thoughts sometimes turned wild making me hard and I couldn't sleep after that.
I watched a few movies during my teenage years with my friends but that is it. I didn't feel or thought anything about them but now just imagining about the intimacy with my wife is making me go crazy and sleepless. Not to forget how beautiful my wife is.
When I touched her hands to wear kangan that day I felt heat radiating through my body. I wanted to sit more close to her and cover the distance between us. Many sinful thoughts crossed my mind but I suppressed those desires aside. Only if I could get a chance I would have done something. I cursed myself for thinking like that and got up to start my day.
" Shyam bhai. We selected sarees and all that day but you never mentioned how your wife looks. How bad you are? Do you even consider me your sister? " She said dramatically and his mother laughed. She went and showed her the photograph of Sudha and kusuma's mouth was hanging low in adoration.
" If I was in your place I would have married her directly instead of getting engaged before " she said still looking at the picture in awe and I rolled my eyes.
" Oh really? But that thought didn't really cross my mind " I shrugged.
" Really how are you even controlling yourself after seeing her " she said making me gasp. To my luck mom was outside doing some work or it would have been embarrassing. I forgot to tell you that Kusuma has no filter to her mouth. She speaks whatever she wanted to without any filtration.
" Kusuma for God sake leave me alone. I have work " I said closing my eyes. Already I have been suffering with my body for sometime now and her talking like that is making my fantasies run wild losing my control.
" Whatever but make sure you both don't end up doing something in front of me. Like romance and all. You know how I can pull your leg if I see so " she said not really caring about my concerns.
" Get out Kusuma. Before I myself throw you out just leave from here " I yelled at her.
" Looks like someone is frustrated " she shrugged and went away.
" And in two days there is your haldi and mehendi so I will make sure to write her name in your hand " she said and ran away leaving me dumbfounded.
Can't she be more careful while talking to me about these things?
I don't understand how her husband is managing a girl like her. Poor fellow doesn't talk much and I guess this Kusuma doesn't allow him to talk. Always like a chatterbox.
I sighed and went on with my works while the day of haldi came by filling my house with numerous relatives and friends.
All the arrangements were done for the guests and also mom was receiving guests with great attention. It's been years since anyone came to our house as we don't have any special occasion or day to celebrate. Moreover mom would rarely attend any function so it's always been us both. Now that everyone are coming she felt a need to check everything and make sure no one goes disappointed.
As mentioned Kusuma made sure to write her name in my hand somewhere. Haldi function was fun with everyone playing around with eachother and exchanging laughter and joy.
And for once I saw mom happy and carefree which in turn gave me peace.
Next day was wedding so I was woken up early and certain rituals were done by my relatives before we started to go to the bride's place.
Am I nervous? That will be a small word.
I am terrified. Yeah that's how I feel right now.

Okay finally marriage is going to commence in next chapters. So be ready for the actual chemistry and drama of the couple....
There are more than 100reads on my story and a huge thanks to everyone 🙏🫶
A special thanks to @soneesab for voting my book. Your votings gave me a lot of encouragement dear.
Everyone please do comment and vote...
Till then bye...