CHAPTER 5

The Yes That Wasn’t Hers

Tea was served. Soft clinking of cups filled the pauses between conversations. Sirat sat quietly beside her mother, her heartbeat still uneven. She kept her eyes lowered, but her senses were painfully aware of Loveneet’s presence across the table.

Every time he spoke, her heart reacted before her mind could.

She told herself to stay calm. This was just a meeting. Nothing more.

But inside, she was already dreaming.

The elders continued discussing dates, traditions, and family values. Words like “compatibility,” “understanding,” and “good match” floated around the table. Sirat’s family nodded along, content, trusting.

Then someone said, almost casually,

“So… we are agreed?”

Sirat’s breath hitched.

Agreed?

Her fingers tightened in her lap. She waited—surely someone would ask her directly. Surely someone would look at her.

But no one did.

Before she could understand what was happening, smiles were exchanged. A few approving nods. Quiet laughter. Blessings spoken under gentle voices.

“Yes,” one of the elders said.

“We are happy.”

Sirat felt a sudden rush of warmth flood her chest.

They liked me.

They chose me.

Her lips curved into the smallest smile, one meant only for herself. She dared to lift her eyes just once—and in that moment, they met Loveneet’s.

Only for a second.

He looked calm. Polite. Reserved.

Not the look she had imagined a hundred times in her dreams—but she told herself that shyness looked different on everyone.

She looked away again, heart pounding.

Across the table, Avneet sat quietly, her face unreadable. Her fingers rested around her teacup, unmoving. No excitement. No hesitation. Just a strange stillness, as if she were watching something she didn’t fully understand yet.

Lovedeep noticed it.

He noticed everything.

His eyes moved from Avneet… to Sirat… to Loveneet. A tight feeling settled in his chest. Something felt off. Too fast. Too easy.

But he said nothing.

Because elders had already decided.

Because questions were never asked.

Because fate doesn’t wait for clarity—it moves forward regardless.

Sirat’s family believed her future had just been sealed.

Sirat believed her prayers had been answered.

And Loveneet sat there, unaware that the quiet girl across the table thought this yes belonged to her.

Somewhere between exchanged smiles and unfinished conversations,

destiny smiled quietly—knowing the truth would hurt more than ignorance ever could.The Moment Her World Broke

The elders’ voices blended into a soft blur. Sirat sat still, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her heart still fluttering with quiet hope. She didn’t hear everything—only fragments—until one sentence landed clearly, sharply, like a blade.

“So, it’s decided then,” an elder said with a satisfied smile.

“Siratpreet and Lovedeep’s marriage is fixed.”

Sirat froze.

Lovedeep?

Her mind refused to accept it.

For a second, she convinced herself she had heard it wrong.

Maybe they meant Loveneet.

Maybe someone had shortened his name by mistake.

Her heart tried to protect itself with excuses.

But before she could breathe, before she could speak, another voice continued—calm, certain, unaware of the storm it was creating.

“Our two boys have found their brides.”

“Loveneet with Avneet.”

“And Lovedeep with Siratpreet.”

The words echoed.

Again.

Clear this time.

Sirat felt the world tilt beneath her feet.

Her ears rang. Her chest tightened so painfully that she forgot how to breathe. It felt as if someone had reached inside her and torn her heart apart—slowly, mercilessly.

This… this couldn’t be happening.

She stared at the table, at the teacup in front of her, afraid that if she looked up, the tears would spill and expose everything she had never said aloud.

Loveneet and… Avneet.

Her vision blurred.

So this was it?

All those years of silent prayers.

All those dreams she carried alone.

All that love no one knew about.

Ended in one sentence.

It felt less like heartbreak and more like a sentence being passed.

A quiet execution of everything she believed in.

On the other side of the table, Lovedeep finally understood too.

His gaze moved to Avneet instinctively—and his breath hitched.

So this was fate’s cruelty.