Chapter 50: chapter 50

GOWRI“And we are done,” tells the beautician moving aside. I look at my appearance in the mirror and OH MY GOD! THIS IS NOT ME.I am stunned beyond words at how I look. I am wearing a dark blue silk saree. My hair is styled in a crown braid with loose curls. All the jewels I am wearing are all-white stones, an excellent contrast to my saree. The makeup is perfect. “Gowri, you look stunning,” compliments my sister. She had been patiently helping me and the beautician for the past two hours. “Shiva will be a total goner for you today.”I hope so.Wait, why do I suddenly care what he thinks of my looks?We are in the bridal room of the reception hall. For the past two hours, I have been sitting like a statue so that the beautician can get me ready for the grand event AKA my reception. The door suddenly bursts open and five women all in different saree with costly jewels and heavy make-up enter the room. I sigh. My cousins. Time to up my acting skills.“Oh my God! Who are you?” asks Poornima (my eldest cousin). I know she is asking that question to me.“An alien who recently occupied your cousin’s body,” I reply sarcastically.“But jokes apart Gowri, you look beautiful today,” tells  Vennila (Fourth cousin).“So, is it love or arranged marriage?” asks Preetha (Third cousin).“Arranged Marriage,” I reply.“We all had a love marriage but we threw grand weddings isn't it an irony that you had an arranged marriage but held it in secrecy?” asks Meena (Second cousin).I sigh and meet my sister’s eyes in the mirror. Though we had already told them the reason they still want to know.“Our horoscopes had some problems and according to it, we had to have the marriage as early as possible,” I tell wishing they weren’t questioning me.“Oh! It is okay dear.”But it is not okay. My cousins would have already had another gossiped version of my marriage held in secrecy.“So is your husband good-looking?” Rohini asks (Fifth cousin).“Why are you asking absurd questions?” I ask. Except I know why. “Well, you know usually the girls who do arranged marriage don’t get a good-looking husband. But it is fine if he has a large amount of money,” she tells. My other cousins look at me to answer that question. I again meet my sister’s eyes. I hate these kinds of questions or the judgements they make.You know how they are. Please don’t get angry. My sister’s eyes plead. “Your husband doesn’t make much money? Isn’t that why you are still working? Isn't that why your marriage was held in secrecy to avoid the extra expenses?” asks Vennila when I don’t answer. I still refuse to open my mouth. I don’t want to answer these kinds of questions. I hate the judgemental looks they are giving. It is not that Shiva is not good-looking. Hell! He is amazing and yeah, though I still don't the exact amount of salary he earns, I know he is wealthier.I take a deep breath and look at my henna-covered hands. Poornima places a hand on my shoulder and gives me a pity look, “It is okay Gowri. You should have heeded our advice and married early. This is what happens when you marry late and besides your average looks don’t help you.”Average looks! Another thing I dislike about my family is that they are racists. Most of them believe that fair skin means beautiful. Brown skin means average looking and dark skin means not beautiful. Insane right? But I stopped caring about their opinions a long time ago.All my cousins are fair-skinned and that makes them believe that they are more beautiful. Seriously, I am about to lash out at them when there is a knock on the door. I count to ten to calm my inner volcano.Preetha opens the door. My back is towards the door, so I don’t see who it is. The mirror shows the door view but Preetha’s figure hides the person.“Who are you?” asks Preetha moving.I see Shiva standing at the door in the mirror. My breath catches at his sight. He's wearing a navy blue sherwani that fits his physique perfectly. His hair is styled in the classic style and he looks like a prince. Take that my dear cousins. He is my good-looking husband.“Hello, I am Shiva. Gowri’s husband,” he replies. “Well you shouldn’t come here,” tells Poornima.“He is good-looking,” whispers Rohini to me.Shiva gives them his best smile and tells, “Yeah ladies, I too know the rule that the groom is banned to enter the bride’s room before the marriage. But it is been three months since we got married. Gowri is my wife now. Do you think I will do something to her now that I haven’t done in the past three months?”Whoa! That was amazing. My cheeks turn red as all my cousins turn toward me in shock. They have all assumed I am unromantic.“Really? What did you do to her?” asks  Preetha.“Ahh, that is something personal and private between me and my wife,” says Shiva giving them a wink.“I didn’t know men in arranged marriage knew flirt,” comments Meena in a low tone impressed with Shiva.“Shiva is it anything important?” asks Aishu.Even though he spoke casually to my cousins, his tone towards my sister is one of respect.“No Anni, I just want to have a word with Gowri. If you ladies don’t mind can you give us five minutes of privacy?”Grudgingly, my cousins leave the room. My sister is the last to leave. She warns Shiva to be quick. Shiva closes the door and locks it.  My heart picks its rate.“Love,” he calls softly. I slowly rise and turn around to face him. As soon as he sees me he freezes. His eyes unhurriedly take me in. It roams through my whole body pausing for a brief moment at my lips. “Love, you…,” he starts and I  hold my breath. “Words cannot describe how beautiful you look now.”My whole body warms up in that statement. I am sure my cheeks are tomato red. Only this man can do this to me. His one compliment is enough to make me flush. And seriously, I was never a blusher before Shiva came into my life.He takes the steps toward me and stands too close invading my personal space. Like always he smells amazing. There are only a few inches between our faces. Suddenly this place feels too hot. He cups my jaw gently and tips my face upward to meet his eyes. Our gazes meet and Shiva's eyes are serious like never before. Forget global warming.  Ozone layer depletion. Deforestation. The intensity in Shiva's eyes is enough to melt the ice in Antarctica. Or make my insides all exotic and mushy.His eyes go to my lips and he looks amused. He runs his thumb slowly on my lower lip with a small smile on his face. “Will your lipstick stick on my lips if we kiss today?”That sentence pulls me out of the trance and I gasp loudly at him. He chuckles at my bewildered expression. “Why should we kiss?” I ask a little breathless. “We have to kiss today for the photo shoot.”I scrunch up my face. Photoshoot. How did I forget that? Damn the photoshoots. I am not sure when the wedding photos started to focus more on the intimacy between the groom and bride. But yeah, I know what kind of intimate poses will be there. I have witnessed all those photoshoots at my sister and cousins’ weddings. “If you are not comfortable about it, we can ask the photographer to avoid it,” Shiva says looking at me with concern.I take a deep breath. One kiss. Only one shot will be there. I can do this. I will not let my cousins get suspicious. “No. We will do it,” I say and I am thankful that my voice is confident.His eyes hold mine for a few seconds and then he nods. We both stare at each for a few seconds before I remembered he asked a question.“I am not sure about the lipstick. Because I have never kissed anyone before. This is going to be my first kiss. You should have had the experience right?”His eyebrows raise and he gives me an amused smile, “Do you think that I go and kiss girls randomly?”“No, I didn't mean that. I meant Riya.”He shakes his head and gives me a serious look, “I have never kissed her on her lips.”“Never?” I ask trying to control the excitement at that fact.“Not even once. So, you are going to be my first kiss,” he says in a whisper.Butterflies flutter in my stomach. Something about the fact that I am going to be his first kiss makes me feel light and high. His finger touches my jaw gently as I ask, “Why have you never kissed her?”His eyes turn darker as he replies, “I don't know.  I never felt those intense emotions with her but with you...,” he trails off in a rough whisper.Why are we whispering?With me what? I wanted to ask but the way his thumb traces a line along my jaw makes me lose control of the world. My eyelids flutter close involuntarily. My lips part. My mind nudges me to put my hands around his neck and pull him closer but I have not yet lost control fully. I stand rooted to the spot as Shiva gently tilts my chin. I feel his breath hot on my lips. The world is fading and the only thing I can remember is him and his fingers that are gently rubbing soft circles on my jaw. Anticipation and excitement courses thro-“GOWRI,” my sister calls and I snap out of the daze. Shiva moves away from me at jet speed. “Coming Aishu,” I shout and Shiva shoots me an apologetic grin.“See you on the stage,” he says opening the door.“Five minutes over,” she tells.“Yeah sorry. Lost track of time,” he tells in an apologetic tone and runs out of the room. Yes, he runs like he just escaped a police officer.“You look flushed,” my sister comments looking at me. Her gaze pauses at my lips for a moment. I panic and check myself in the mirror. No, the lipstick is still there. “What did he want?”“Nothing,” I answer thinking about what would have happened if my sister hadn’t knocked at the correct time.He was about to kiss me and the scariest part was I wanted him to. Very badly.🍀🍀🍀🍀