Too fast!

EPISODE 4 — “THE ENGAGEMENT BEFORE THE ENGAGEMENT”

(Note: This is LONG. Very long. Grab water.)

SANA’S POV

If anyone tells you that preparing for an engagement is simple, peaceful, and romantic —

they are lying.

My engagement preparations began at 6:02 AM with my mother screaming:

“WAKE UP! THE PRIEST SAID TOMORROW IS A GOOD DAY!”

Tomorrow?

TOMORROW??

MY ENGAGEMENT IS TOMORROW?

WHAT—

WHEN—

WHO—

HOW—

I shot up from bed like a resurrected ghost.

“AMMA YOU CAN’T DO AN ENGAGEMENT IN ONE DAY!”

“Yes we can,” she replied with the confidence of a woman who once planned a cousin’s entire wedding in 48 hours.

“But— preparations— clothes— jewellery— I have NOTHING—”

“We have one day. We will MAKE it happen.”

I wanted to faint.

But fainting requires peace and oxygen, neither of which existed in my house.

My grandma stormed into my room like a politician giving a speech.

“Sana, wake up! You have to glow from today onward!”

“I don’t even glow when I’m awake,” I muttered.

My grandma ignored that.

She applied haldi on my face like she was repainting a wall.

“Ammamma!” I screamed. “I’m not an idli batter!”

“SILENCE. This is for glow.”

Someone kill me.

I was dragged out of the room, half conscious, half glowing like a badly polished brass diya.

Relatives arrived one by one like an army.

Phones were everywhere.

Photos everywhere.

Videos everywhere.

Hashtags everywhere.

Someone created a WhatsApp group called:

“SANA KI SAGAI — DREAM TEAM 💍✨”

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to sleep.

But I also wanted to check my phone…

Because someone hadn’t texted yet.

And that someone was responsible for this chaos.

Where was he?

Why wasn’t he texting?

Why wasn’t he panicking?

Why wasn’t he saying:

“Hey Sana, run away, let’s cancel everything.”

That would’ve been nice.

Instead, my phone buzzed.

His name flashed.

My heart stopped.

Arun: “Good morning.”

That’s it??

Just GOOD MORNING???

My whole house is on fire and he sends a soft peaceful good morning?!?!

I typed:

Me: “Morning. My mother is insane.”

Arun: “Yes.”

I blinked.

HE AGREED???

I typed aggressively:

Me: “You can’t just say yes like that!!”

Arun: “Okay. She is… passionate.”

“Passionate” \= polite way of saying “dangerous.”

I was about to complain further when—

BAM!

My door opened and my mother threw three lehengas onto my bed.

“CHOOSE!”

“I don’t like any—”

“YOU HAVE 15 SECONDS!”

Fifteen seconds??

I barely choose my coffee in fifteen seconds.

I stared at the colours.

Peach. Baby pink. Sky blue.

All pretty.

But none… me.

“I want something,” I whispered.

“What?”

“Chaotic.”

My mom blinked.

“Chaotic? Like what? A lehenga that screams?”

“Yes.”

She sighed like she failed as a parent.

But I meant it.

I didn’t want pastel.

I wanted something loud.

Something colourful.

Something that matched my brain’s frequency.

Something that wouldn’t blend into a corner like a polite bride.

I wanted to be visible.

I wanted to feel alive.

But I couldn’t explain that.

So I just shrugged.

“Sana,” my mom said slowly, “choose one of these.”

I sighed.

She was right.

This wasn’t about clothes.

This was about the giant earthquake inside me.

I grabbed the sky-blue lehenga.

“Okay, done.”

She looked relieved.

Then fifteen more relatives entered my room.

I wanted to curl up and die.

ARUN’S POV

Engagement tomorrow.

That sentence should terrify me.

It should make me nervous.

It should make me anxious.

Instead…

I felt something else.

Calm.

Not the peaceful calm people talk about.

A deeper calm.

A dangerous calm.

A calm I felt in war zones.

Before a mission.

Before crossing enemy borders.

Before stepping into a battlefield I might not return from.

Except this time…

The battlefield wasn’t a forest.

It wasn’t a border.

It wasn’t a secret base.

It was a living room decorated with marigold and fairy lights.

And instead of bullets…

There were aunties.

Terrifying creatures.

“Arun,” my mother said softly, “you’re very quiet today.”

I nodded.

“I’m fine.”

She smiled in that way mothers do when they don’t believe their sons.

“You’re thinking about her.”

I didn’t deny it.

She placed a hand on my shoulder.

“You chose a good girl.”

I didn’t answer that either.

Because I hadn’t chosen her.

Fate had thrown her at me like a firecracker.

And I caught her before she could explode.

But mother didn’t need details.

She just needed me to nod.

So I did.

My father was on the phone, giving orders like he was preparing a military operation.

“Mandap ready? Lights? Flowers? Hall? Parking? Security?”

Security.

I flinched slightly.

I needed more.

More than what normal families used.

Because of my profession.

Because of the enemies I made.

Because of the life I had lived in shadows.

They shouldn’t touch her.

They couldn’t.

I walked away and made three calls secretly.

Extra surveillance.

Two plainclothes officers.

A car parked near her house.

Just precaution.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

No one needed to know.

Not even her.

Especially her.

If she knew…

She would run.

SANA’S POV

Shopping was HELL.

Not normal hell.

Designer hell.

My mother dragged me to a boutique that looked like a palace and smelled like rich people.

The salesperson smiled too sweetly.

“Ma’am, engagement bride? ORANGE? GOLD? PINK?”

Before I spoke, my mother spoke.

“She likes something subtle.”

“NO I DON’T!” I snapped.

Everyone stared.

Oops.

My mom hissed, “Sana behave.”

“I want colour!” I insisted. “Like LOTS of colour.”

The salesperson lit up.

“Ahhhh! Boho bride!”

I didn’t know what that meant but it sounded fun.

She brought out a lehenga that looked like Holi exploded on fabric.

It was insane.

Chaotic.

Loud.

Perfect.

Everyone except me hated it.

“This is too much!” my mother said.

“This is PERFECT,” I said.

“It looks like a circus,” my aunt complained.

“THANK YOU,” I smiled proudly.

They all sighed in defeat.

I bought it.

I felt victorious.

Then suddenly—

My phone buzzed.

Arun: “Are you free for 10 minutes?”

I froze.

“Oh my god,” I whispered.

My mother’s eyes widened. “HE TEXTED?! WHAT DID HE SAY?!”

“Nothing.”

“Is he coming here?!”

“NO.”

“Then why is your face glowing?”

“THAT IS HALDI GLOW, NOT LOVE GLOW.”

She didn’t believe me.

I didn’t believe me.

I stepped outside the boutique and called him.

He answered immediately.

“Where are you?” he asked softly.

“Drowning in embroidery.”

Silence.

Then…

“…you sound tired.”

I blinked.

“You can hear that?”

“Yes.”

My stupid heart melted.

I leaned against a pillar.

“I’m not used to… all this,” I admitted quietly. “This much attention. This much planning. This much… seriousness.”

He didn’t laugh.

He didn’t tease.

He just said:

“I know.”

Just that.

Two words.

But it felt like someone reached into my chest and held my heart gently.

Before I could respond, he added:

“Sana… tell me if you want to postpone.”

I froze.

Postpone?

He was giving me a way out.

A choice.

A pause.

No pressure.

No force.

No expectations.

Just… freedom.

But…

I didn’t want to postpone.

I was scared.

But not… unwilling.

So I whispered:

“No. It’s okay.”

There it was again.

That stupid word ruining my life.

Okay.

He exhaled. Soft. Almost relieved.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

My breath hitched.

“Tomorrow.”

Engagement.

My engagement.

With him.

Oh god.

I was really doing this.

ARUN’S POV

I saw her before she saw me.

We were at the jewellery shop for ring selection.

She walked in wearing a simple kurti, messy hair, confused expression—

And stopped when she saw me.

She froze.

I froze.

Everyone else disappeared.

She looked at me like she wasn’t ready.

I looked at her like I would wait a lifetime.

Her mother said:

“Go. Choose rings.”

She went red.

I held back a smile.

We were taken to a counter.

The salesman asked:

“Sir, simple or heavy?”

Sana pointed to the lightest ring.

I pointed to the heaviest one.

We stared at each other.

She said, “That is too much!”

I said, “That is too less.”

The salesman was sweating.

Her mother was glaring.

She was pouting.

I was… amused.

She finally said:

“I want something pretty and comfortable.”

I nodded.

The salesman brought another ring.

She gasped softly.

It was delicate.

Warm.

Elegant.

Chaos and calm mixed.

Her.

She touched it gently.

“This one.”

She didn’t look up, but I did.

She whispered, “It feels like… me.”

I said quietly:

“It looks like you.”

She froze.

Slowly…

She lifted her eyes.

Looked at me.

Not panicked.

Not emotional.

Just… soft.

Too soft.

Too dangerous.

She whispered:

“Okay."

There it was again.

Her okay.

Her unintentional yes.

Her unconscious acceptance.

I chose my ring quickly.

She barely glanced at it.

Her eyes were still on the ring she chose.

On the future she didn’t fully accept yet…

But didn’t reject either.

SANA’S POV — NIGHT BEFORE ENGAGEMENT

I couldn’t sleep.

I tossed.

Turned.

Kicked my blanket.

Scrolled Instagram.

Ate chips.

Panicked.

Laughed.

Panicked again.

Then my phone buzzed.

My heart jumped.

Was it him?

It was.

Arun: “Awake?”

Me? Awake?

NO. I was peacefully dying.

Me: “Yeah.”

Arun: “Nervous?”

I hesitated.

Then typed—

Me: “Terrified.”

A long pause.

Then his reply:

Arun: “I’ll stand next to you the whole time.”

Just that.

My eyes stung suddenly.

Stupid emotions.

Stupid man making me feel safe.

Stupid heart beating too fast.

Me: “Don’t leave me alone even for one second.”

Arun: “I won’t.”

I closed my eyes.

Exhaled.

For the first time in years…

I fell asleep feeling protected.

END OF EPISODE 4

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