Scene: The Hall
The family gathered in the hall as Kamla stood with her hands folded, her expression unusually firm. Ruchi stood beside her, head lowered, fingers nervously twisting the edge of her dupatta.
Kamla cleared her throat.
"I want to make an announcement,"
she began, her voice echoing across the hall.
"I've decided to arrange Ruchi and Dev's wedding."
The words rippled through the room like a sudden shockwave.
Kiara's eyes widened.
Ruchi flinched.
Dev simply folded his arms and observed the reactions with a faint curl of amusement at the corner of his lips.
Kiara stepped forward, unable to hold back.
"Aunty… Ruchi is very young.
Isn't she turning nineteen this year?"
Kamla stiffened.
"Exactly. It is good for a girl to get married at the right time. Ruchi will be secure and… protected."
Kiara looked at Ruchi, whose eyes refused to meet hers. There was fear hidden in that lowered gaze—a fear only Kiara seemed to notice.
Kamla continued:
"We will stay in a hotel until the wedding arrangements are done."
Before Kiara could object, Chandrika intervened warmly.
"No, no, Kamla ji. Kiara isn't just our daughter-in-law—
she is like our own daughter.
If you all are staying for the wedding, then stay here with us."
Kamla smiled politely and nodded in agreement.
But Dev…
Dev's reaction was different.
He didn't smile politely.
He smirked.
A slow, knowing smirk, as if everything was unfolding exactly how he wanted.
Kiara's heart sank.
Something was wrong. Horribly wrong.
---
Later – Kiara & Yuvaan's Room
The door closed behind them, shutting out the world but not Kiara's worry.
She paced the room, anxiety twisting inside her.
"Yuvaan… something isn't right," she said finally.
"Ruchi is so young. She hasn't even understood what she wants in life. How can she just… marry Dev like this?"
Yuvaan moved to her, careful to keep distance—respecting the boundary they couldn't cross.
But his voice was steady, gentle.
"Kiara… breathe."
She stopped pacing.
He continued:
"I know you're worried.
And I understand why—you care about Ruchi.
But you're not alone in this.
I'm with you. Always."
Kiara looked at him, her eyes filled with the fear she hadn't admitted aloud.
"Yuvaan… Dev scares me. The way he looks at people… the way he looks at me… I don't trust him with Ruchi."
Yuvaan's jaw tightened, anger flickering in his eyes.
"Then we'll keep an eye on him," he said firmly.
"If something feels wrong, we'll stop the wedding.
But until then, don't stress yourself.
I'm right here."
Kiara exhaled shakily.
For a moment, she let his words wrap around her like safety.
Yet despite everything…
A cold, lingering thought whispered at the back of her mind:
Dev's smirk wasn't a coincidence.
It was a warning.
Kiara hesitated for a moment, chewing on her lower lip before speaking again.
"There's… something else," she said quietly.
Yuvaan raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
Kiara walked to the window, arms folded, staring at the dark lawn outside. "Why did my aunt Kamla mention staying in a hotel? She knows she could simply go to my dad's place. She's never been shy to stay there. But today… she spoke as if staying in a hotel was her only option."
She turned to face Yuvaan, her eyes troubled.
"It felt like she wanted the family to stop her. Like she was waiting for moti baa to insist they stay here."
Yuvaan leaned against the bedpost, watching her carefully.
"Kiara… are you suspecting your aunt?"
"No." Kiara shook her head slowly. "I'm suspecting Dev. It feels like he's… pushing her. As if both she and Ruchi are doing whatever he wants."
Yuvaan scoffed lightly. "Kiara, not everyone has powers like us. Or like you."
He lifted his bandaged, slightly charred hand with an ironic smile. "And since I literally lost my powers, trust me, I'd know."
He walked closer—still keeping that careful, painful distance between them—and added with a teasing huff, "It's possible he's just an annoying, curly-haired, ugly looking young man who is nowhere close to my looks."
Kiara forced a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Inside her, her Jishwa instincts—deep, ancient, and never wrong—were stirring restlessly, whispering that something darker was hiding behind Dev's calm smile.
Something that wasn't going to stop.