At exactly 3:00 a.m., the halls of the Oberoi mansion echoed with shrieks not from excitement, but from the ice-cold buckets of water Rukmini was flinging like a madwoman.
"WAKE UP YOU LAZY BRATS!" she barked, swinging open doors with the force of a police raid.
Pinky, wrapped in a silk eye mask and a thousand-thread-count duvet, screamed. Roy sat up in bed like a cartoon character struck by lightning. Riya rolled off her mattress, moaning like a hungover zombie.
Even Kavi, who hadn't really slept at all, flinched at the splash that hit his legs.
"It's D-DAY!" Rukmini declared like a general marching into war. "We didn't rent the biggest hall in the city just for y'all to sleep through the ceremony. Makeup! Dressing! Hair! PRIEST COMES AT SEVEN!"
"Jesus Christ," Alina grumbled, half-dead as she slid into her slippers.
Within minutes, the Oberoi household turned into a warzone of glam. People dashed to their designated rooms. Hot water ran. Sarees were unwrapped. Lipsticks were flung. One of Riya's friends cried over a broken nail. The house was buzzing.
Kavi walked quietly to his room, still groggy from the little sleep and a little too sober for the weight of the day.
Before he could close the door, Pinky slipped in behind him.
He turned. "Pinks?"
She shut the door softly behind her.
"Kavi," she said seriously, crossing her arms. "That truth-or-dare answer last night… was that what you were going to tell me? The thing you said you'd explain after the engagement?"
Kavi stilled. The air between them thinned.
Pinky stepped closer, her voice gentler now. "Because if it is… I mean, I kinda knew. Or guessed. I just didn't want to assume anything."
He looked away, lips parting, then closing again.
"I wanted to tell you," he admitted. "That night when I called. But it's not something you just blurt out, you know? Not when you're still figuring it out yourself."
Pinky softened. "You kissed a guy, yeah. But it's more than just a dare thing, right? It meant something."
He nodded slowly.
"Is it someone we know?"
He hesitated again. Then said, "Pinks, please. After today… I swear I'll tell you everything. I just—can't now."
She gave him a long look, then finally pulled him into a hug. "Fine. I'll wait. But if you ghost me again, I swear I'm dragging you out of whatever silent retreat you vanish into next."
Kavi gave a small laugh against her shoulder. "Deal."
They stayed like that for a second, From the hallway, someone shouted, "MAKEUP TEAM IS HERE!"
Pinky broke the hug. "Go wash your face. You look like a depressed ghost."
"Love you too," he muttered.