He held my hand and led me to the mandap where everyone was waiting for us. I composed myself and told my mind to focus only on the wedding.

The sacred fire pit was already lit. I sat on the seat meant for the bride and groom and joined my hands as the priest instructed.

I glanced at Siddharth.

He kept looking at me from time to time, shifting his gaze between the fire and my face, making sure I was comfortable.

He looked mesmerizing in his off-white sherwani. A dark pink turban rested over his head, and a bead ornament decorated his sherwani. The small chandrakor on his forehead made him look exactly like the groom I had always imagined.

"My groom," I whispered softly.

He heard it.

A small smile appeared on his face, and somehow that made me fall in love with him even more.

A tear rolled down my cheek, silently expressing how blessed I felt to have him in my life, someone who cared for me and always made sure I was comfortable.

He noticed it immediately.

Gently, he wiped the tear with his thumb and gestured for me to smile.

I blushed and smiled at the same time.

The priest then asked us to stand for the vows, the pheras.

As we both stood up, Siddharth suddenly collapsed.

Everything happened so quickly that I couldn't understand what was going on.

"Siddharth... Siddharth... Sid, what happened? Please get up... what happened?" My voice echoed through the mandap. My eyes filled with tears and my hands trembled as I tapped his cheeks.

"Take this water... Siddharth... Siddharth..." Akriti called out while trying to wake him, but he remained unconscious. I sprinkled some water on his face, but there was still no response.

"Akriti... what's happening? Why isn't he getting up? Please do something..." My voice broke as I spoke, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

"We need to take him to the hospital immediately," one of Siddharth's friends said, and everyone quickly agreed.

Everyone helped carry him to the hospital.

I was still wearing my wedding dress while the doctors rushed Siddharth inside the ICU. No one was allowed to enter.

I sat outside on a chair, staring at the floor with tear-filled eyes.

My grandmother's words echoed in my mind.

"You are the bad luck of our family..."

I couldn't hold back anymore.

I broke down and started crying.

"Stay calm, Kavu... Siddharth will be okay. Nothing will happen to him," Akriti said while holding my hands, trying to comfort me.

"My grandmother was right... I have always been the bad luck to my family... and now Siddharth..." I hugged her as those words escaped my mouth, my voice breaking.

"No," Akriti said softly, trying to hold back her own tears while comforting me.

A few minutes later, the doctor came out of the ICU.

He looked at Siddharth's friend and spoke in a low voice.

"I'm sorry... we were not able to save him. It was a sudden cardiac arrest. Sometimes people have hidden heart conditions. They live normal lives and never know about it... until the heart suddenly stops."

Everyone stood there in shock.

"No... no... Siddharth, this can't happen... please... this is not true..." I collapsed onto the floor.

It felt as if the ground beneath my feet had disappeared.

"Just a few minutes ago we were together... about to take our wedding vows... to spend our whole lives together... and now..." I cried while Akriti hugged me tightly.

"This is not true... this must be a nightmare..."

"I told you she was bad luck to our family. I knew something like this would happen," my grandmother said while looking at me.

"Now eventually you will have to come back to our house. Poor girl."

Her words were filled with sarcasm, and I understood that clearly.

"I will never step into your house again," I said, my voice trembling but filled with anger.

"I know that. And now no one will marry you after all this. What are you going to do?" she said coldly.

Her words made me realize something painful.

The man I wanted to marry was no more.

"I don't want to marry anyone. And that is none of your business," I replied. I didn't know where that strength came from, but I remembered how Siddharth had stood up for me earlier.

"I want to see him," I said to the doctor after gathering the courage to face the truth.

"Are you sure?" Akriti asked gently.

"Yes," I replied, my voice still broken.

"I'll come with you," she said, helping me stand up.

I simply nodded.

We walked inside the ICU.

Seeing Siddharth's lifeless body froze me for a moment. The person who never stayed quiet for even a minute was never going to speak to me again.

"Siddharth... Sid..." I cried softly while looking at him. "Please get up... please..."

I slowly reached out and held his hand.

It was cold.

"You can't leave me like this... all alone..."

He didn't respond.

A tear fell from my eyes onto his hand, the same hand where he had tattooed #SidYa, a combination of our names.

"Siddharth..." I cried harder seeing the tattoo. "You have to get up... how am I supposed to say goodbye to you? Please don't do this to me..."

"I know it's hard... but try to hold yourself together, Kavya," Akriti said, her voice trembling.

Memories of our college days flooded my mind. Akriti had always been a part of our group. We were a trio.

"How am I supposed to say goodbye to the friend who stood beside me since college?" I cried.

"The boyfriend who supported me when my own family didn't... the fiancé who was so excited to marry me that he couldn't even wait for the wedding day..."

My voice broke again.

"And the husband... I can't even call him that... because before that moment could come... he left me."

"Why, Akriti... why always me?"

The doctor eventually told us we couldn't stay any longer as they had to complete the formal procedures.

"Let's go, Kavya," Akriti said sadly.

"Yes," I replied softly.

I hugged Siddharth one last time.

I looked at his face carefully, trying to memorize it so I would never forget him. Then I gently brushed my hand across his face to say my final goodbye.

As soon as we stepped outside, my grandmother spoke again.

"Here she comes. Where are you going to go now? You are a girl, you are our family's respect. You cannot go anywhere without marriage."

"Stop this! How much more will you taunt her?" Akriti shouted angrily.

"Don't interfere. This is our family matter," my grandmother snapped.

"She is family to me," I said firmly. "At least she understands me better than all of you."

"How dare you raise your voice at me?" my grandmother shouted.

She stepped forward and raised her hand to slap me.

But before she could, Krishav, Siddharth's friend, stepped in and grabbed her wrist.

"If you have such a problem with her, then I will marry her right here," he said firmly.

"Now you will marry someone as unlucky as her?" my grandmother mocked angrily.

"Yes. And stop all this nonsense," Krishav replied in a rage.

Before I could understand what was happening, he took a pinch of vermilion and filled the parting of my hair with it.

I stood there frozen.

By the time I realized what had just happened, I was suddenly married to a stranger.

"Don't you dare speak about her like that again," Krishav said angrily to my grandmother.

"She is my wife now. If any of you say another word against her, I will make sure you remember my name."

His fists were clenched as he tried to control his anger.

My grandmother left the hospital in rage after hearing his words.

I turned to Krishav, still shaking from everything that had happened.

"I am not your wife," I said firmly, anger filling my voice.

"This is not how a marriage happens."

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