Last chapter of this story, I've had the time of my life writing this, I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did!

Special thank you to my Suppu for always beta-ing my writing ❤️

.....

Shiva carried his sherwani and laid it out on the bed of his suite room, the view form his window a source of calm to his nerves that wouldn't seem to stop. 

It was his wedding day; a day he never thought he'd actually see. He was quite firm about his views towards the institution of marriage, but something changed when he met Raavi, and he was so glad it did. 

3 years with her had changed him for the good, and now, as they completed 4 years together on the same day as they were to be wed, it settled in; he was going to get to spend the rest of his life with the one that was scored on his heart. 

8 months. 8 months of planning, shopping, going through wedding cards and destinations had finally borne fruit; Shiva was going to marry his chipkali, his Raavi in the beautiful Palace of Udaipur, in the presence of his nearest and dearest ones. 

A weird excitement settled within him, and he smiled to himself as Gaurav, Shashank and his brothers walked in. 

A look of pride settled on their face, as they began to lay out the turban cloth, the jewelry and his shoes. Suman barged in too, claiming that she had ward off evil from her son, and told Shiva how happy his father would have been today to see him like this. 

Shiva hugged his mother, and Gautam, Dev, Krish joined the hug, as Shashank clicked a picture of the family as a part of their memories. 

Gaurav and Shashank couldn't believe that Shiva was getting married; the youngest of their lot, yet the most loving as they had watched his happiness only grow over the years. 

They stepped forward to hug Shiva, congratulating him with many emotions in the air, and they thumped his back, joking around and trying to diffuse the mood. 

Shiva looked around and knew he had everything he ever wanted, and he couldn't wait to see what life brought him ahead. 

..... 

Raavi walked around the hotel suite in her bathrobe, searching for her phone under the layers of clothes and makeup and general chaos.

The room looked like an absolute mess, the auspicious wedding time barely 3 hours away with her bridesmaids and family arranging her accessories and clothes on the bed, talking over each other, ensuing mayhem all over.

Raavi picked up her phone to call the make-up artist she had hired for the event. She had wanted everything to go perfectly according to plan; after all, it was her wedding day and she planned on getting married just once!

Shiva's messages popped up on her notification bar, and she barely had a moment to savor the sweet, flirty messages until her phone rang from the person she was looking to call.

The smile from her face dropped and she restlessly tapped her feet, rummaging through her makeup to make sure she had everything handy, opening her suitcase to take out her lehenga. 

The moment she unzipped the package, her heart sank to the bottom as she slowly started to panic. 

First, the make-up artist she had hired bailed out at the last minute. 

And now, she had the wrong wedding lehenga. 

How was that even possible? Raavi wondered as she set out the dark brown lehenga in front of her, the embroidery a bright golden color that completely contradicted the subtlety she was going for. 

She knew she had finalized the pastel pink lehenga at the store during fittings, and they had packed it the same moment and handed it over to her. 

Then how on earth was this dusty brown lehenga in front of her? She didn't even check once before packing it. Was it the shop keeper's mistake? There was no way on earth she was wearing this to her wedding, this is not what she dreamt of. 

Raavi quickly searched for bridal outfits or markets nearby, and she called all her available options, only to be informed that the markets were closed for the day. 

Everything was just falling apart like a stack of dominoes, one by one. Raavi stomped her foot and immediately retracted her foot, a sharp pain shooting through her feet. She looked down and was horrified to see that her sandals were now broken in two halves. 

Hot tears burned at the corner of her eyes, as she sat down on the bed trying to control her emotions. Her attempts were futile, and Raavi burst into sobs, taking everyone aback in the room. 

"Raavi, tu aise ro kyu rahi hai?" Prafulla asked, concerned. 

"Raavi, meri jaan," Mahi sat down beside her, rubbing her arms, "panic mat ho. Kuch toh solution niklega-" 

"Kya solution nikalegi tu?!" Raavi cried, wiping her tears away, "Lehenga galat hai, jewelry match nahi ho rahi, makeup artist ne dhoka dediya, aur meri sandal bhi toot gayi! Shaadi mein dulhan tayyar hi nahi hogi toh shaadi KAISI HOGI?!" 

Richa sat down in front of her, worried at the way Raavi was stressing and crying about the situation, the wedding nerves getting the better of her. 

"Kisi ke paas koi toh lehenga hoga, ya saree hogi, Raavi. Mai dekhti hoon na-" 

"Everything's ruined, Richa. Sab barbaad ho gaya, mai apni hi shaadi mein dulhan nahi lagungi!" Raavi sobbed into Mahi's shoulder as she patted her head. "Mujhe APNI shaadi ka joda pehenna hai, kisi ki khairat nahi." 

Raavi wouldn't stop crying, while Mahi tried to calm her down and Richa asked Prafulla, Dhara and Rishita to make calls to any contacts they had, but it was all futile, which only made Raavi cry more, and no one knew what to do. 

"Ek kaam karti hu," Richa set her phone down and wore her sandals, "Shiva ko bulati hoon. Ye sahi hoga." 

"Ek minute!" Dhara held her wrist to stop her, "Dulha dulhan shaadi se pehle ek dusre ko nahi dekhte, apshagun maana jaata hai." 

"Arre Kaki," Richa pried her hands off her wrist, "Sirf Shiva hi sambhal sakta hai isko. Apshagun-wapshagun kuch nahi hota, mai bulane jaa rahi hoon usko." 

A minute later, Shiva walked into Raavi's suite, in just his vest and the trousers of his wedding outfit, shocked to see her reduced to tears. 

"Ae chipkali!" Shiva sat down beside Raavi as Mahi got up, and put his arm around her, "Kya hua, tu aise ro kyu rahi hai?" 

Raavi leaned into his arms and cried harder, as he patted her head. "Raavi, tu dara rahi hai mujhe, aise ro kyu rahi hai?" 

"Koi mujhe batayega kya hua hai?!" Shiva yelled, making everyone flinch. 

Since Raavi wasn't in any state to explain the situation, Mahi and Richa filled him in on the events, and Shiva sighed, knowing this was a huge problem on the special day. 

"Raavi, meri jaan, look at me." Shiva held her face and tenderly wiped away her tears, "Rone se kuch nahi hoga na? Hum sochte hai kuch, par pehle rona bandh kar. Aaj ke din tere aankhon mein aasun nahi honi chahiye." 

Raavi looked up at him and was almost ready to break into a fresh set of tears, but held herself back and sat up straighter. 

"Sab kharab ho gaya Shiva." Her lips trembled, and Shiva wiped away the tears at the brink of her rim, "Mai shaadi mein ye stupid brown lehenga nahi pehenungi. I want to wear my OWN dress, I want to look like a bride."

"But you are." Shiva kissed her temple, "You are my bride."

"I know that." Raavi wiped her damp cheeks, "But teri sherwani toh hai, mai jeans top mein aau kya?" 

Shiva chuckled to himself, but one look at Raavi and he knew she would burst into tears again if he made fun of her, so kept that thought to himself. 

"Shiva, hum bhaag ke shaadi kar lete hai." Raavi decided, and Shiva raised his eyebrows in amusement, "No shaadi ka joda, no makeup, sab problem solved." 

"I'm not doing that, Raavi. Don't be impulsive." 

"Then what am I going to do?" She looked up at him, and Shiva felt his heart ache at the look in her eyes. 

He thought for a few seconds, before turning towards her and holding her hands, "Teri itni si problem ka solution hai mere paas." 

Raavi's eyes lit up in hope, as Shiva continued "Makeup ka issue hai? Richa is such a great makeup artist, she just did a certificate course in it. Woh tera makeup kar degi, ab toh usse koi tension bhi nahi hai functions ka." 

"Sandals is not an issue, kyunki kisi ko bhi tere pair nahi dikhenge. Tu joote pehen, ya na pehen, koi farak nahi padega. Simple!" 

Raavi's face fell, and Shiva looked at her confused, "Par Shiva, lehenga!"

"Haa. Lehenga ka dikkat toh hai." He made a face, but Raavi didn't appreciate his dramatic effect and looked ready to cry any second now. 

"Waapas rona mat chalu kar. I have a solution." He patted her cheek, and she looked on as he got up to leave. 

"Kaha jaa raha hai?!" Raavi asked, panic setting in. 

"Do you trust me?" 

"What?"

"Do you trust me, Raavi?" 

"I do." 

"Then just wait, I'll be back." 

Raavi watched as Shiva walked out, and waited anxiously until he returned with a bag. A bag similar to the one she had brought her lehenga in. 

"Here. This is for you." 

Raavi looked on as Shiva sat down beside her, watching her unpack the package to reveal a beautiful red and green lehenga, embellished with a subtle silver embroidery and a lovely red dupatta to finish the look. 

She set the lehenga on the bed and looked at it in awe, slowly caressing the lehenga and the stones sewn into the piece, appreciating the beauty of the outfit. 

"It's beautiful, Shiva!" Raavi exclaimed in surprise, "Par tujhe last minute ye lehenga mili kaha se?" 

Shiva smiled softly at her, "Maine yeh khareeda nahi hai."

"Toh phir?" 

Shiva looked up at Prafulla, who was nearly in tears at a single glance of the wedding dress before, and Raavi looked even more confused than before. 

"Mummy ki shaadi ka joda hai." 

Raavi stared blankly at Shiva and the people in the room, before looking at Prafulla for confirmation, and by the look on her Maasi's face, Shiva wasn't joking. 

“Woh…" Shiva sat up straighter and looked at Raavi, who was taken aback at the surprise, "Tere Nanaji ne apne dono beti ke shaadi ke jode apne paas rakhe the, koi rasm thi unke parivaar mein, joda agli dulhan ko pass on karna hota hai. Mami ka joda toh unhone kisi ashram mein daan kar diya, par Mummy ke guzar jaane ke baad unhone ye bohot sambhal ke rakha."

Shiva scratched the back of his head, "Toh mai unke purane ghar gaya, Ooty mein. Nanaji toh guzar gaye kahi saal pehle, par waha jo log reh rahe hai, unse request karke attic mein check kiya, toh ye bag wahi pada tha, jaise Mami ne guess kiya. Lehenga woh Vimal Kaka ke dukaan pe deke, embroidery aur stones sahi karwaaye aur tere size mein alter karke le aaya yaha."

Raavi teared up, still not able to believe that she was holding the same dress her mother had once worn. 

"Aur mera jo sehra hai," Shiva pointed over his shoulder towards his room, "Woh Baba ka hai. Lehenge ke saath tha." 

Raavi looked at Shiva in shock, her hand resting on his cheek as her tears rolled down her cheek. 

"Par kyu?" She whispered. 

"Kyunki," Shiva held the hand on her cheek and kissed it, wiping her tears, "Mai chahta tha ki shaadi mein Mummy aur Baba ka aashirwad humpar bana rahe, woh yaha nahi hai, par unka pyaar humare liye humesha zinda hoga."

She looked back at the lehenga that she fell in love with at first sight, holding each and every piece in her hands, and it felt surreal to know that she was holding the same dress that her mother had once worn when she married her father. She sniffled and looked back at him with a watery smile; he was proving to be the best and most caring husband ever, even before the wedding!

Raavi leaped into his arms sobbing, and everyone shed a tear or two at the beautiful gesture of love and respect that they had just witnessed. 

"Shaant, meri phoolkumari, shaant." Shiva patted her head, and she moved back from the hug. 

"Tu mere liye Ooty tak gaya?" She asked, tucking her hair behind her ears. 

"Tu bole toh jahannoom tak chala jaau, meri jaan!" 

Raavi chuckled, sitting straighter and fixing her hair,looking at the second small bag she didn't notice. 

"Isme kya hai?" 

Shiva looked at his side, and removed the small box from the bag. "Gift hai. Waise toh shaadi ke baad dena hota hai, par kya farak padta hai, abhi de deta hoon."

Raavi opened the box and found a pair of silver anklets, just the way she liked them; simple and delicate. 

"This is beautiful, I love it!" She exclaimed, hugging Shiva again. 

"But I didn't buy this for you." Shiva whispered as slowly as possible, just for her ears. 

"Hmm?" 

"I bought these for me." 

"Hein?" 

"These go around my shoulders tonight." 

Raavi pulled back, gaping at Shiva's shamelessness, looking around to see if anyone had heard him. But it looked like the room was busy trying to match her jewellery with her new lehenga. 

"Kuch nahi hoga aaj raat." Raavi wiggled her nose in annoyance, "We are going to be very tired, so you're going to drop me on the bed like a hot potato and we're going to SLEEP!" 

"You ARE my hot potato."

"Chee, Shiva!" Raavi chuckled, as Shiva stood up to leave. 

"Sunn, lehenga try kar lena." He pointed at the dress, "Fit nahi hua, ya pasand nahi aaya, toh jeans top mein mujhe mandap se bhaga le jaana. Par shaadi toh sirf tujhse hi karunga. Aaj ke aaj." He joked, brightening Raavi's mood. 

"Mandap pe intezaar karunga, Raavi." Shiva winked, leaving butterflies in Raavi's stomach. 

….. 

Raavi took a deep breath, looking around among the crowd in front of her, but not really seeing anything. They were waiting for the music cue, the beginning of her last walk alone. As she waited she couldn’t help but think about the last three years and their relationship. With the planning and chaos of a wedding, she hadn’t had a moment to herself in quite a few weeks. 

She couldn’t believe this was finally happening! The beginning of their forever!

Shiva stood up as the Panditji concluded the pooja that was for the groom; and now everyone awaited the bride's entry. Although the ceremony had technically started, he felt jitters yet again. Mostly because he was FINALLY going to be able to see Raavi all dressed up as his bride. 

Not to lie, but he had been having excessive visions of the moment when she would walk towards him so much that he felt like he wouldn’t even realize when it was actually happening. 

While he was busy in his musings, Shiva barely noticed the music changing and he looked up. 

There she stood, a few metres away, the bridesmaids holding the chaadar above her head, and little Penny standing in front of her, in her ghaghra choli and a basket of flower petals. 

All the guests turned to look at the bride, but Shiva's gaze had fixed itself on his bride from the moment he noticed her at the entrance. The music continued to play as she walked down the aisle, her path painted in soft colourful petals, every slow step that she took pausing time around them. 

She was wearing the dress he had given her, just like he promised to wear the sehra, his father's ring a permanent spot on his finger knowing that they had the blessing of the most important people in their lives. 

Raavi looked like she was an angel, created by a higher power itself, but all he noticed was her smile and her gaze fixed at him. He took a deep breath and finally looked all over her. 

Perfection. That’s all he could think about and his eyes teared up. 

Seeing him tearing up, Raavi released a shaky breath too, and her eyes got heavier. She picked up her pace in the last few steps, and Shiva helped her to the mandap, murmuring “You look so beautiful.”

Raavi chuckled, "Of course lagna tha, Somnath ki sabse sundar ladki ki mummy ki shaadi ka joda hai." 

"I just want us to be as happy as they were in their marriage. Maybe that's why this dress came back to me." She whispered, tenderly wiped the dampness from the corner of his eyes, nodding her head slightly, “Shiva, dekh rona mat. Warna mujhe bhi rona aa jayega, aur phir mera makeup kharab ho jayega.”

Shiva looked at her fully once again before hugging her tightly, as the crowd hooted and cheered, the loudest claps and whistles coming from their friends and family. 

“Ready?”

Raavi nodded, fixing his turban and Shiva held her hand and sat down in the mandap, as Panditji recited the mantras. Her palm enclosed in his, together, they let the offerings be consumed by the holy fire, reciting vows and promises to forever be by each other's side, in sickness and health, till death do them apart. 

"Shiva?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Bhook lagi hai." 

"Control, baby. Control." 

"Stupid gadheda." Raavi murmured, putting up a smile for the crowd, "Maine kuch khaaya nahi hai, I'm hungry." 

"Penny se bolke chupke se starters mangaau? Choti si, gori bacchi hai, iss bheed mein koi usko mana bhi nahi karega-" 

Panditji drew the attention of the bride and groom, who were busy whispering things to themselves and giggling, announcing that it was time to exchange the garlands. 

Shiva teased Raavi, moving forward to put the garland, but she yelped as was lifted into the air by her best friends, who were now carrying her on their shoulders. 

"Tum dono gaddar!" Shiva accused Shashank and Gaurav, who were laughing at the sight and holding his bride out of reach, "Mere dost ho ya uske!" 

"Tere toh 3 bhai hai tujhe bachane, bechari Raavi ko tere se kaun bachaye." Shashank teased and Gaurav looked up at Raavi, who was giggling and waving her thumb at Shiva, "Raavi dekh le, abhi bhi time. Isse better option se shaadi kar le." 

Raavi smacked his shoulder, and this was enough distraction for Shiva to jump up and put the garland around Raavi's neck, and everyone cheered as his friends set her back down. 

The moment Raavi moved forward, thinking that the victory had distracted him, Shiva was hoisted into the air, as his brothers moved him out of her reach. 

"Gaumbi! This is not fair, utaaro mere dulhe ko neeche!" Raavi pouted and everyone laughed. 

"Kyu Raavi Bhabhi, itni aasaani se nahi milega mera bhai!" Krish teased, and Raavi turned to Dev. 

"Dev, dekho, Shiva ko utaar do, tumhe Rishita ki kasam." 

"Maine uske saath 7 janam ke kasme khaaye hai, isse zyaada darawni baat nahi ho sakti." Dev dismissed her, making everyone laugh and a pair of eyes glare at him, "Mai tumhare dhamki se nahi darta." 

Raavi thought for a few seconds, and smirked to herself before looking up at Shiva, batting her eyelashes, "Shiva, tu chahe toh mai sabko anklets gift karne ka reason bata sakti hoon-" 

"Aye pagal ladki!" Shiva yelled in panic, bending downwards a bit to get her closer and whisper in her ears, but Raavi took that moment to put the garland around his neck, cheering and hooting as the Pandya brothers set Shiva down, and Raavi pinched his cheeks. 

"Darr gaya?" 

"I'm not opening up my sex life for free ke darshan to everyone." Shiva muttered, and Panditji coughed as Raavi held his hand and sat down next to him in front of the holy fire. 

Panditji proceeded to explain the importance of marriage, the togetherness of 7 lifetimes captured within 7 rounds of the sacred fire, each phera depicting the 7 important promises a couple make to each other in a marriage; to nourish and nurture, see goodness in achievements, wealth and wellness, love and happiness, together in sickness and health, seek a happy family, friendship and togetherness. 

Suman moved forward to complete the gathbandan, as Shiva and Raavi stood up to take 7 rounds of the offerings and fire, hand in hand as the pandit recited the mantras, while they made promises and vows to each other, that they vowed to uphold as long as they lived. 

"Kanya ko mangalsutra pehenaye." the Pandit announced, as he forwarded the nuptial chain. 

Shiva held the chain between his fingers, and encircled his arms around her neck, clasping the chain that bound them together for many lifetimes ahead. 

Raavi bent her head slightly, as Shiva kissed her cheek in front of thousand people, and blushed red, admiring her tiny three-gem mangalsutra. 

"Kanya ki maang mein sindhoor bhar di jiye." 

As Raavi sat in front of Shiva, everything felt so real all of a sudden. She was going to be Raavi Shiva Pandya, and this was no dream. She was going to spend the rest of her life with a man that was no less than her absolute dream. 

Shiva pinched a bit of vermilion between his fingers, and looked at Raavi, who was looking down with a slight smile, and he lifted her face by her chin, nodding his head in question, and she simply shook her head. 

The moment the vermilion touched her hair, some of it sprinkled on her nose as the crowd cheered and Raavi couldn't help but shed a few tears, Shiva brushed away her tears, nodding his head 'no'. 

"Maine kaha tha na," Shiva kissed her temple, "Aaj ke din tere aankhon mein aansu nahi honi chahiye." 

Raavi chuckled, as he brushed some of the vermilion off her nose, "Chipkali, lagta hai tera pati tere se bohot pyaar karega." 

She looked up at Shiva, all their moments right from their childhood to this moment flashing in front of her eyes like a movie, and she knew; it was always him that had truly loved her. 

Shiva watched her expressions change, as she lunged forward to hug him, tiny sobs escaping her mouth, and he chuckled, kissing her head and patting her back to calm her down. He pulled her back and looked at her; his bride, his Raavi, his phoolkumari chipkali, all donned up in signs of their togetherness. 

He was absolutely sure there wasn't a sight on earth that could compare to this moment right now, and Shiva was so grateful for the day she walked back into his life. 

She was coloured in the colour of his love, and that's when Raavi had decided; it was the most beautiful colour to be coloured in for a lifetime. 

-xoxoxo-

And that's a wrap! 

Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading this story for the last 1 year! Definitely took my own sweet time while writing this, but I'm really grateful to the ones that stuck around till the end! 

Thank you for always appreciating my writing, and giving me the motivation to write, I definitely enjoyed writing this, I hope you enjoyed reading it! 

Until next time, adios! ❤️