Later, Aanya spotted Aryan.
She was about to walk toward him, but Aryan looked at her and immediately walked away.
Seeing this, Aanya felt that Aryan was avoiding her.
Meanwhile, Devika noticed that Aanya was standing alone.
She thought it was the perfect chance to talk to her.
Just as she was about to approach, Aanya's father, Naveen, came over to speak with her.
Devika stopped.
After finishing her conversation with Naveen, Devika looked around.
"Aanya?"
She was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did she go?" Devika wondered.
Meanwhile, Aanya was searching for Aryan.
After a few moments, she spotted him walking while talking on the phone.
She quickly hurried toward him.
"Mr. Aryan!"
Hearing his name, Aryan turned around.
At that very moment, Aanya, who had been walking too fast, suddenly slipped.
She was about to fall.
Aryan's eyes widened.
Without thinking, he dropped his phone and quickly grabbed her hand.
His phone fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Aanya looked at him in shock.
For a few seconds, their eyes met.
Aryan helped her regain her balance.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes..."
Then Aryan noticed something.
Her mehendi had smudged.
Some of it had stained his hand.
Aanya looked down and then noticed his phone lying on the ground.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Aryan."
"Because of me, your phone fell."
Aryan looked at the phone.
Then he said,
"Well... I think I should be the one saying sorry."
Aanya looked at him in confusion.
"For what?"
"I ruined your mehendi."
Only then did Aanya look at her hand.
Aryan bent down, picked up his phone, and checked it.
"No problem, Mr. Aryan."
"It's okay."
After a pause, she asked,
"By the way... is your phone broken?"
Aryan checked it once again.
"No. Nothing happened."
Meanwhile, at the ceremony, Shreya asked Tara, "Have you seen Aanya anywhere?"
Tara replied, "No, Aunty. I haven't."
Shreya then started searching for Aanya.
Here Aryan looked at her.
"By the way, why were you running?"
Aanya lowered her gaze.
"I was looking for you."
"I thought you were avoiding me."
"That's why I ran toward you so fast, Mr. Aryan."
After a brief silence, Aryan replied softly,
"No... I'm not avoiding you."
"I just don't want to stay near you... because you don't like it."
Aanya remained silent.
She lowered her head.
Aryan looked at her.
"By the way... why were you looking for me?"
Aanya took a deep breath.
"Mr. Aryan... I wanted to say I'm sorry."
"For what I said last night."
Aryan looked at her quietly.
"Why are you saying sorry?"
"Because... I felt that I said too much."
Aryan didn't reply.
Just then, his phone started ringing.
"Mr. Aryan... your phone is ringing."
Aryan came back to his senses.
He looked at the screen.
Then he glanced at Aanya one last time before answering the call.
As he spoke on the phone, he slowly walked away.
Aanya watched him leave.
She was about to go back when suddenly—
"Aanya!"
She turned around.
It was Devika.
Devika smiled with relief.
"Thank God, Aanya. You were here alone."
Aanya looked confused.
"Aunty, what happened? Why were you running?"
"I had to, Aanya. Anyway, leave that aside. I need to ask you something."
Aanya looked at her curiously.
"But, Aunty... about what?"
Devika looked at her seriously.
"First, promise me that you'll tell me the truth."
Aanya looked puzzled.
"The truth? About what?"
"Just promise me first."
After a brief pause, Aanya nodded.
"Okay... I promise."
Devika took a deep breath.
"Do you lo—"
Before she could finish, they heard someone calling,
"Aanya!"
Both turned around.
It was Kavya.
The moment Devika saw her, disappointment flashed across her face.
Kavya walked over to them.
"Aanya, what are you doing here, beta? I've been looking for you everywhere."
Devika quickly smiled.
"Kavya ji, even I was searching for Aanya. I finally found her and was just about to bring her back."
Kavya smiled.
Aanya looked at Devika in confusion.
Then Kavya said, "Come on, Aanya."
The three of them started walking together.
As they walked, Kavya suddenly noticed Aanya's hand.
She stopped.
"Aanya beta... how did your mehendi get ruined?"
Devika also looked at Aanya's hand.
Only then did she notice the smudged mehendi.
Aanya became nervous.
"Well... Aunty..."
Kavya looked at her gently.
"Tell me, beta. How did it happen?"
Aanya lowered her head.
"Aunty... I ruined it by mistake."
"I'm so sorry."
For a moment, Kavya remained silent.
Aanya quickly added,
"Aunty, I'm sure the mehendi artist can fix it. Please don't be upset."
Kavya's expression softened.
It's okay beta.
"Let's ask the mehendi artist if she can fix it."
Aanya gave a small smile.
A little later...
At the ceremony, Nandini noticed Devika,
Kavya, and Aanya standing with the mehendi artist.
Curious, she walked toward them.
The moment she saw Aanya's smudged mehendi, her eyes widened.
"Oh no!"
"What have you done, Aanya?"
Her loud voice immediately caught everyone's attention.
"How did your mehendi get ruined?"
"You know, don't you? If a bride's mehendi gets ruined, it's considered a bad sign for the marriage."
Aanya lowered her head in embarrassment.
Meera looked at Tara and Nisha and whispered, "There she goes again... Aunty has started creating a scene."
Nisha and Tara nodded. "Yeah."
Devika frowned.
"Sister-in-law, please stop."
Nandini looked at her.
"Devika, did I say anything wrong?"
"What I said is true."
Devika turned her face away in irritation.
Kavya stepped in calmly.
"It happened by mistake."
"Aanya didn't do it on purpose."
Nandini looked at Aanya suspiciously.
"How do we know she didn't do it on purpose?"
Aanya immediately looked at her.
"Sister-in-law, it's better if you stop talking," Devika said firmly.
Just then, Radha arrived.
"What happened?"
Nandini answered before anyone else could.
"Look what your daughter has done."
"She ruined her mehendi."
Radha looked at Aanya's hand.
Nandini continued,
"Doesn't she know it's considered a bad sign if a bride's mehendi gets ruined?"
Radha looked at Aanya with concern.
"Aanya... how did this happen?"
Aanya lowered her head.
"Mom... I'm sorry. Actually—"
Before she could explain, another voice interrupted.
"What's the big deal?"
Everyone turned.
It was Kunal.
He walked toward them and looked at Nandini.
"Aunty, we all know Aanya didn't do it on purpose."
"So please..."
Aanya looked at Kunal.
Nandini fell silent.
At that very moment, Aryan also walked over after finishing his call.
Kunal continued,
"It's just mehendi."
"I don't think it's such a big issue that we need to create a scene over it."
Nandini replied,
"But, Kunal, your name has been erased from her mehendi. Look... it's considered a bad sign."
She turned to Kavya.
"Am I not right, Kavya ji?"
Before Kavya could answer, Kunal spoke calmly.
"Aunty, please. If we keep expecting something bad to happen, we'll only fill our minds with fear. But if we stay positive, there's no reason to believe anything bad will happen."
"So, please don't worry over a little smudge. It's just mehendi."
Nandini fell silent, unable to respond.
Then Kunal turn towards Aanya and said,
"Aanya, you don't have to say sorry or explain what happened to anyone, okay?"
Aryan silently watched the scene.
Kavya smiled.
"You're right, Kunal."
She turned to the mehendi artist.
"Please try to fix it."
The artist nodded and began touching up the design.
Nandini rolled her eyes and walked away.
Devika sighed before looking at Kavya and Radha.
"I'm really sorry for what happened."
Radha smiled reassuringly.
"No problem, Devika ji."
"You don't have to apologize."
"We all know that's just how Nandini ji talks."
A moment later, Devika noticed Aryan standing nearby.
She walked over to him.
"Aryan, where were you?"
"Mom, I had a work call."
As Aryan spoke, Devika noticed a dark mehendi stain on his hand... and another faint stain on the sleeve of his shirt.
She frowned.
"Aryan... what's this stain?"
Aryan looked at his hand.
"Well, Mom..."
Devika looked at it carefully.
"Wait... it's a mehendi stain."
Aryan looked slightly embarrassed.
He quickly tried to change the topic.
"Mom, where's Prerna?"
Devika immediately realized that Aryan was trying to avoid the question.
Just then, his phone started ringing again.
"I need to take this call."
He walked away.
Devika looked at the stain on his hand and smiled to herself.
Looks like it's Aanya's mehendi stain.
Maybe even God wants them to be together.
Just then, Prerna came running toward her.
"Mom, look! How's my mehendi?"
Devika didn't answer.
Prerna looked at her curiously.
"Mom? What's wrong?"
"Why are you smiling? And why aren't you answering me?"
Devika looked at her with a smile.
"Do you know how Aanya's mehendi got ruined?"
Prerna shook her head.
"No."
Devika smiled even more.
"It's because of your brother."
Prerna's eyes widened.
"What?"
"Because of Bhai?"
Devika nodded with a smile.
Prerna smiled excitedly.
"No wonder!"
"That's why Aanya wasn't telling anyone how it got ruined."
A little later...
Aanya looked around for Kunal.
She spotted him talking to his friends.
She walked over to him.
"Kunal."
Kunal turned around.
"Aanya."
He walked closer to her.
Aanya smiled softly.
"I just wanted to say thank you for what you did earlier."
Kunal smiled.
"What is there to thank me for, Aanya?"
"Leave it."
Aanya smiled.
Kunal looked at her hand.
"So... did the mehendi artist fix it?"
Aanya showed him her mehendi.
Kunal nodded.
"Yeah."
"It looks much better now."
Then he smiled.
"Well, don't think too much about it."
"We have the haldi ceremony this evening, right?"
"So just think about that."
Aanya smiled.
"Okay."
Then she walked away.
The moment she left, Kunal's smile disappeared.
A disappointed expression appeared on his face.
His friend, Yash, noticed.
"What happened, dude?"
Kunal sighed.
"This Aanya always creates problems."
Yash looked confused.
"Why? What happened?"
Kunal replied,
"A scene was created earlier because she ruined her mehendi."
"I mean, she's like a kid."
"Doesn't she even know how to keep her mehendi without ruining it?"
His other friend, Dhruv, asked,
"Did your mom get upset?"
"I mean, she believes in these things, right?"
Kunal smirked.
Well, she didn't react that much.
It's just that another lady started creating an issue.
He shrugged.
"Well, this Aanya created the problem in the first place."
I mean, can't she keep her mehendi without ruining it?
Dhruv then asked,
Then what did you do? She thanked you just now, right?
Kunal chuckled.
Well, just to impress her, I had to act like a good guy and say all those nice things.
Both of his friends burst into laughter.
"You're unbelievable dude!
Kunal smirked.
Well, whatever she does, I have to be nice to her until our marriage.
His smile slowly turned into an evil one.
"But after that... she'll do exactly what I say.
Later, Aanya's friends stopped her.
Nisha asked,
"Where were you coming from?"
Aanya looked confused.
"What?"
Meera smiled.
"Who were you talking to?"
"Guys, what are you doing?" Aanya asked.
Tara folded her arms.
"No, you tell us. What were you doing?"
"What do you mean?"
"Where did you go just now?" Tara asked.
Aanya replied,
"I went to thank Kunal for what he did earlier."
I thought Kavya Aunty would get upset because of what Nandini Aunty said. But Kunal came and handled the situation, right? So I just went to thank him.
Meera nodded.
"Okay... but first tell us, how did your mehendi get ruined?"
Aanya hesitated.
"Well... I... I..."
Tara suddenly asked,
"Was it because of Aryan?"
Aanya looked at her in surprise.
Tara continued,
"I mean, I saw a mehendi stain on his shirt earlier, so..."
Aanya sighed.
"It happened by mistake."
Nisha's eyes widened.
"Oh, really? How?"
"I was about to fall, but he held me. That's how it happened."
All three of her friends smiled knowingly.
"Ohhh..."
Aanya frowned.
"What do you mean by 'ohhh'?"
Tara grinned.
"Don't you know, Aanya? There's a saying that if a girl's mehendi gets on a boy, it means they're meant for each other."
Aanya looked at her in disbelief.
"What? I've never heard of that."
Nisha added,
"Well, now you have."
Aanya looked at all three of them seriously.
"Well, don't you guys know that I'm marrying Kunal? That too tomorrow."
"So stop saying things like that."
Then Meera said,
Thank God, Aanya. At least you remember you're marrying Kunal and not Aryan.
Aanya frowned.
What does that mean?
Tara replied,
It means you should be thinking about Kunal, not Aryan.
Aanya immediately denied it.
I'm not thinking about him.
Meera raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Then why did you feel so bad about what you said to him yesterday?"
Aanya fell silent.
Nisha added,
And we've been noticing that you've been looking at Aryan throughout the ceremony.
Aanya shook her head.
"It's not like that."
"I just wanted to apologize for what I said. Nothing else."
"Sorry?" Tara repeated.
Aanya nodded.
"Yes."
"Because I'm not like him."
"I know which words can hurt a person and which can't."
I felt that whatever I said yesterday was really hurtful.
"So I apologized."
"That's all."
"Nothing else."
The three friends looked at each other.
Aanya continued,
I stopped liking him a long time ago.
"And I'll never like him again."
"Do you understand?"
With that, she walked away.
The three friends watched her leave.
Then Tara sighed softly.
"It's not us, Aanya."
"You're the one who still doesn't realize it."
"You still like him... and you still care about him."
---
End Of Chapter 82.