Aditi's ears rang with the deafening silence that followed. Her eyes darted to Shubman, who stood dumbfounded, his face a perfect mix of disbelief and alarm. The letter, now crumpled in his hand, looked more like a prop in an absurd play. It felt like the whole world had paused, waiting for her reaction, her answer to this sudden twist.

"Aap... kya keh rahi hain, badi maa?" Aditi stammered, her voice cracking with equal parts of confusion and panic. "Shaadi... mere aur iski?"

Kiara's mother grasped Aditi's hand even tighter, her desperation palpable. "Beta, mujhe pata hai yeh sab bohot jaldi ho raha hai, lekin Kiara bhaag gayi. Shubman ko aise chhodna theek nahi hoga." Her voice wavered as she added, "And you two have always been.....close... it could work."

Aditi's gaze flicked to Shubman, whose eyes were still wide with shock. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, looking like a fish out of water. Ishan's nervous laughter broke the silence.

"Haan yaar, just imagine," he quipped, "abhi jo mandap set up ho gaya hai, usme sirf naam badal ke sab solve ho jaayega. Problem solved, right?"

Before anyone could retort, Aditi snapped, "Ishan, agar tu abhi ek aur word bolega na, toh main tumhe us mandap ke side waale pool mein daal dungi." She glared at him so intensely that Ishan quickly backed off, raising his hands in surrender.

"Bhabhi why are you saying? How can you think of doing something like that? Atleast bacchon se baare me to socho." Anita intervened, attempting to take a stand for her daughter in front of her sister in law— the lady who always put familial reputation before everything.

Atharva stepped forward too, his voice steady but urgent. "Look, badi maa, I understand you're worried about Kiara, but yeh solution thoda zyada extreme nahi hai? My sister isn't sone plan B!" He glanced at Shubman, briskly walking towards him and shouted, smacking his arm. "Bhai, bol na kuch."

But Shubman was still struggling to process it all. His thoughts collided in his mind—Kiara's sudden departure, the news of her pregnancy, and now, the proposal for a wedding swap as if they were switching dance partners at a party. He turned to Aditi, his voice hesitant and low. "Aunty, I... I don't even know what to say."

Ishan piped up, "Toh, iss sab ka matlab hai ke baraat ka kya hoga? Koi band baja nahi hoga kya?"

Shahneel couldn't resist. "Don't worry, Ishan. Agar tu chaahe, toh tu hi dhol bajane lag jaa. Thoda entertainment ho jaayega." She sardonically said.

Meanwhile, Aditi exhaled deeply, her heart pounding in her chest. There was a brief, absurd thought about how she had been eating chocolate just moments ago, blissfully unaware of the impending chaos.

Her mouth opened but she was immediately cut off by Anirudh, who had joined the fray. "Beta, I know this isn't fair to you, but think about it. Tum dono pehle se hi ek dusre ko itne acche se jaante ho. And we were family friends even before all this. Maybe... maybe it's not such a crazy idea."

Aditi shot him a look, raising an eyebrow. "So basically, we're doing this to avoid disappointing a bunch of aunties who came here just for free food?"

"That's oversimplifying it," Keart said, her voice wavering. "But yes, in a way, it's about keeping things from falling apart."

Shubman could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and not just because of the bizarre proposal hanging in the air. He looked over at Aditi, who was still visibly fuming, and couldn't help but remember every time they had fought or teased each other over the years. They had grown up like cat and dog, always bickering. The idea of marrying her now, in front of everyone, seemed ludicrous.

And yet...

"What if we did it for fun?" Aditi suddenly said, her voice breaking through his thoughts. "I mean, we don't take it seriously, right? Just... save face for today and then figure things out after. No strings attached."

Shubman blinked at her, half in disbelief. "Are you suggesting we get fake-married? Just to put on a show? Pagal ho gayi hai tu?"

"Basically," she replied, arms crossed defiantly. "It's not like I'm looking forward to marry you either. But, if it keeps Keart aunty from fainting and badi maa from....well, shouting like a maniac and in the worst possible scenario fainting as well, then why not? We can just annul it later, if that's even a thing."

Avinash laughed, coughing to conceal it right after earning a glare from his wife, while Lakhwinder muttered something about "kids these days."

"Aditi ye kya bakwaas kar rahi hai bhen! Are you even in your right mind?" He shouted, his eyes almost about to pop out.

"Shub sahi to keh rahi hai vo. It's the need of the hour beta. Please Shubi. Hamare liye." Keart pleaded and Shubman looked away from the lady, not wanting to witness his mother begging him to do something like this.

"Fine....fine fine. Karlo shaadi!" He shouted, his chest heaving up and down.

But the guests, by this time, were starting to grow restless. There were murmurs about a "runaway bride" and "last-minute drama," and some of the younger cousins were gleefully recording the chaos on their phones.

Shahneel, never one to miss an opportunity to fan the flames, suddenly grabbed a microphone that had been left on a table nearby and announced in a sing-song voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, the wedding will proceed as planned... with a minor change in casting. We present to you... Shubman and Aditi!"

The crowd gasped, and then fell into a mixture of amused chuckles and shocked exclamations.

Shubman rubbed a hand over his face. "This is actually happening, isn't it?"

Aditi shot him a look of resignation. "Guess so. Let's just get through this and we can go back to quarreling every time we see each other peacefully existing."

Back in the courtyard, the pandit looked like he had aged a decade in the last ten minutes, frantically rearranging the seating to account for the "new bride." The guests were buzzing with barely-contained excitement as if they had been given front-row seats to the most dramatic episode of their favorite soap opera.

Shubman and Aditi were ushered onto the mandap, where they both stood awkwardly facing each other, a mix of defiance and reluctant camaraderie in their eyes. Shubman tied the traditional wedding turban over his head, his hands shaking slightly. Aditi's dupatta was rearranged by Agastya, who shot her an encouraging thumbs-up, adding a wink, as if to say, "Enjoy"

When the priest began chanting, Shubman leaned in closer, whispering, "This is insane, Aditi. You do realize we're about to get married 'accidentally' in front of hundreds of people, right?"

Aditi gave him a sidelong glance, a mischievous glint in her eye. "If you think about it, it's not even the worst thing I've done."

As they took their rounds around the holy fire, Aditi smirked at him, beginning to mumble vows under her breath that only Shubman could hear. "I promise to always steal the TV remote and never share my fries with you. And most importantly, to annoy your ass till the day I'm with you."

Shubman smirked back, matching her tone. "And I promise to make sure you're always late for every movie you go to. Oh, and to always humble your narcissistic ass."

But deep inside he knew what he was actually thinking of— Where this accidental wedding would take him?

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I think I've forgotten how to write 😭