Flashback:

Sakshi's POV:
I was peacefully curled up on my bed, when a sudden knock broke the calm. I was about to get up to check who it was when the door burst open like a crime scene raid.

Ayesha, Soniya, and Samira barged in-one heading straight to my cupboard as if on a treasure hunt, the other slamming the door shut behind her, and the third? She yanked me out of bed like a potato sack.

"What on earth are you all doing?!" I asked, completely thrown off.

"Getting you ready for the Holi party," Ayesha replied casually.

"What? No! I already told you-I'm not coming," I snapped, still trying to process their sudden invasion.

"Did we ask for your permission?" Samira shot back. "We already spoke to uncle, and he agreed to let you come. End of discussion. You're coming."

I blinked. "Wait-what? You talked to Papa? And he said yes? How?!"
Convincing my dad for such outings was practically mission impossible. That was the sole reason I'd declined in the first place.

"That's not your concern, princess," Ayesha replied, clearly done with my questions. "Now get dressed. We don't have all day."

Still dazed, I changed and followed them downstairs. Papa was in the hall, sipping his tea peacefully.

"Papa... can I go?" I asked, just to double-check. I didn't trust these girls one bit.

"Yeah, sure. But be back before 5 p.m.," he replied without hesitation.

I looked at my friends, who all gave me a smug, victorious smile.

"Don't overthink. Just accept the fact that we have better convincing skills than you," Soniya whispered with a wink.

We reached college, and the entrance was already buzzing with colors and people. That's when I spotted Hriti and Nikki standing by the gate.

"Hriti? YOU'RE HERE?! How? Don't tell me you guys kidnapped her for this Holi party," I asked, still processing everything. Her dad was stricter than mine-she wasn't allowed out except for college.

"Do we look like kidnappers to you?" Samira rolled her eyes. "Nikki went to her house and convinced her dad, easy. You know how much he adores Nikki. There's no way he'd say no to her."

I turned to Hriti, equally shocked. "How did this even happen?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" she replied, equally confused.

"Okay okay, time to reveal the mastermind-Vihaan," Soniya finally dropped the bomb.

"Huh?" we both exclaimed.

"Yeah," Nikki jumped in. "We were talking to Vihaan during Chemistry class, telling him how it won't be fun without you two. We even planned to skip the party."

"Vihaan then suggested if we just convince your dads-problem solved," Samira said proudly.

"So, we divided into teams," Soniya explained. "Nikki went to Hriti's place, and the rest of us took your house."

"But... HOW did you even convince them?" Hriti asked, still in disbelief.

"Easy, some emotional blackmail and dramatic dialogue delivery," Ayesha grinned.

"We said how much you both respect them and cancelled the plan right away. Then added a pinch of guilt, like, are you that strict that you won't even let your daughters enjoy their college life?" Nikki smirked. "Worked like a charm."

"You guys are genius," I laughed and pulled them in for a group hug.

"Okay, okay-keep some love for your Vihaan too. He was the one behind all of this," Soniya teased.

"He's not my Vihaan," I snapped back quickly, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't even a little impressed. He did all of this... for us.
Maybe he wasn't that bad.
A small smile crept onto my lips.

"But where is he?" Hriti asked, scanning the area.

"There," Nikki pointed behind us.

I turned, and there he was. Walking toward us with Varsh and Krish, hands in pockets, a white shirt clinging perfectly to his frame, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked... annoyingly good. A smug expression danced on his face when our eyes met, like he had just won a silent battle.

"Didn't know you had a brain too," I scoffed.

"There's a lot you don't know about me yet," Vihaan winked smoothly.

Before I could roll my eyes into another dimension, Hriti threw her arm around my shoulder and said, "Thank you so much, Vihaan, for doing all this for us. Though... we know for whom you actually did it."

Vihaan glanced between the two of us. "No, no... I did this for Varsh, because if you both didn't come, then Samira wouldn't have come either. So technically, it was all for them."

And just like that... my smile faded.

Something inside me sank. That warm flutter I had felt earlier turned cold. It hit me like a slap in the chest, the realization that I wasn't the reason behind his efforts. I really thought... maybe. But clearly, I was just fooling myself. I felt stupid for letting hope creep in.

Everyone fell silent. The illusion we had built up shattered like a fragile glass.

But masking feelings? That's my speciality.

"Yaha khade rehne ke liye thodi aaye hain na? Chalo, let's play," I said with forced cheer and walked away before my smile could crack any further.

The campus was alive, filled with music, colors flying everywhere, students laughing and running around like it was the best day of their lives. We joined in, throwing colors, dancing to the beats, trying to make the most of it.

Vihaan was about to approach me, gulal in his hands, but I quickly moved away. I wasn't ready. Not when his words were still echoing in my chest like a heavy drumbeat.

Hriti noticed. She always did.

She pulled me aside and asked gently, "Are you okay? Did it hurt... what Vihaan said?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Why would it hurt? I don't care about him," I lied so easily, I almost believed it myself. "What matters is we're all here. Let's enjoy."

We returned to the group, and I threw myself into the music, into the colors, into the chaos-anything to drown out that question screaming in my head: Why does it affect me so much?

A few songs later, we all flopped down on the ground, breathless and sweaty.

"I need water," I said, standing up.

As I returned with a bottle in hand, there he was, standing right in my path, hands behind his back, eyes glinting with mischief. Everyone else sat a few metres away, watching us like they were at a live theatre.

I tried stepping aside. He moved with me.

Left.
Right.
Left again.
So did he.

Frustrated, I finally snapped, "What?"

His hand full of gulal came toward me. I tried to move, but my foot slipped, and before I knew it—I was falling.

He reached out, grabbing me, shielding the back of my head from hitting the ground. We landed with a thud. His body hovered over mine.

I blinked up at him.

He stared back like he had just committed a crime.

I pushed him aside and sat up, confused by everyone's reaction. Varsh and Krish were trying to contain their laughter; the girls were staring at me like I had grown another head.

Soniya pulled out her phone, switched to the front camera, and held it in front of me.

The gulal in his hand had smeared all over my hairline, forehead... even my nose. My hairline was filled-filled-with bright red gulal. It looked... it looked like sindoor. Like I had just walked out of a Bihari wedding as the newlywed bride.

"WHAT THE-" I gasped.

I turned to Vihaan, ready to murder him.

"Areyoumadwhatdidyoudohaveyoulostyourmind," I burst out in one breath, absolutely fuming. He stood frozen, eyes wide.

"I-I didn't... I mean-I was just trying to save you," he stammered. Vihaan Sharma, panicking. First time for everything.

"Ab toh bhai ki shaadi ho gayi. Bhabhi mil gayi humein! Bhabhiji, aapke charan kahan hai?" Varsh said dramatically, literally dancing toward me.

"VARSH!" I jumped out of the way before he could actually touch my feet.

And as if that wasn't enough-my friends, MY FRIENDS, started hugging Vihaan and congratulating him like we had actually gotten married.

What the hell was happening?

Vihaan, who finally snapped out of his shock, said in disbelief, "Guys, it's just gulal. Not real sindoor. Chill."

But clearly no one had plans to chill.

"Doesn't matter," Krish said in his usual dramatic flair, "From this moment on, you two are officially husband and wife, for us"

He even joined his hands in a namaste, like some pandit doing the final kanyadaan.

I just stood there. Speechless. Covered in red.

Vihaan's POV:
She must be thinking of throwing me out of a cliff.
And honestly? That glare... I think even death would hesitate before crossing her path.

I hadn't meant for this to happen. Seriously. It was just a harmless bit of fun-some color, a little teasing, the usual back-and-forth we always had. But now, as I watched the gulal on her forehead, her hairline dyed red like sindoor...

Yeah. This escalated way too fast.

She looked like she was ready to set me on fire.

I opened my mouth to explain, "I-I didn't... I was just trying to save you from falling, that's all-"

But the look she gave me was enough to make even my confidence take a step back.

And then it began.

Varsh went into full Bollywood mode. "Ab toh bhai ki shaadi ho gayi! Bhabhiji mil gayi humein!"

Why do I even keep friends like this?

Samira, Soniya, and even Nikki joined the madness—hugging me, congratulating me, screaming like someone had just thrown rose petals on us and declared it a filmy mangalsutra moment.

Meanwhile, I was standing there... looking at Sakshi.

She didn't say anything after her outburst. Her face was frozen, like her mind was still buffering the situation. I don't know why, but for the first time in forever, I actually felt nervous. Not because of the color or the teasing, but because...

What if I crossed a line?

I could handle her anger. I could deal with her sarcasm, her "tumhara muh noch loongi" threats. But this silence?

This silence scared me.

"Guys," I said loudly, trying to bring some logic back to the scene, "It's just gulal, not actual sindoor. Relax."

But nobody relaxed. Not even me.

She just stood there. Quiet. Beautiful. Covered in red. And for a fleeting second, I saw something in her eyes-confusion, anger, disbelief... and something else.

Something I didn't dare name.

Why does she affect me this much?

Why does the idea of hurting her bother me more than it should?

I flirt with a lot of people-call it habit, call it distraction-but Sakshi? She's the exception I never expected. She isn't someone I can just flirt with and move on. There's something about her. The fire, the fight, the softness she tries so hard to hide.

And maybe...

I don't want the color to fade either.

~~~•••~~~
Hope you guys liked the chapter. It was the longest one till now.

Comment your favourite part.

Don't forget to vote and follow my Instagram for more updates and spoilers.