It was yet another simple yet extraordinary day at the Sharma mansion. Like usual, it was a chaotic day, but the new thing was that no one was getting ready on time to go to Lavya’s graduation ceremony. Everyone, especially the ladies of course, were taking what felt like years to the men. The ladies started coming down one by one, irritated by the constant calling of the men visible on their faces.
“What is it? There are still 2 hours left for the ceremony to start.” Shanti said wearing her bangles which she got in her hands instead of wearing due to her husband’s constant reminder that they were getting late.
“Exactly, and it only takes 30 mins at max, to reach the university.” Anjali said coming towards Shanti asking which ring she should wear out of the two options she selected.
Deepak and Rahul looked towards each other with a hint of disappointment due to their eagerness which didn’t go unnoticed by their mother.
“You don’t have to be disappointed now, we all know you two were eager to see your wives dressed up in a saree.” Hetal teased her sons, making Lavya and Omkar stifle their laughs, while the two couples turned red with embarrassment. Anjali and Shanti, getting shy, go away saying they will check how much time Sunaina and Piya will take to get ready.
After about 20 minutes, Anjali and Shanti walk to see the eager faces awaiting in the living room.
“Where are Piya and Sunaina?” Omkar asked his daughter-in-laws who came with mischievous smiles on their faces.
“They are coming papa ji.” Shanti answered standing beside her husband.
Just then they heard the clicking of heels making them all turn their heads towards the stairs where the two girls walked down wearing a saree.
Sunaina stood in front of everyone, draped in a breathtaking baby pink saree adorned with intricate golden work. The soft pastel hue of the saree complemented her delicate features, while the shimmering gold embroidery—woven like delicate vines and floral motifs—catches the light with every movement.
The saree’s border, lined with fine golden zari, frames the fabric beautifully, adding a regal touch to its ethereal elegance. Tiny sequins and thread work create an enchanting play of shimmer, making her presence luminous yet sophisticated. The pallu cascades over her shoulder, revealing the intricate craftsmanship in mesmerizing patterns.
She pairs the saree with a matching pink blouse, embroidered with delicate golden accents, perfectly tailored to enhance the ensemble’s charm. Her jewelry—perhaps a pair of statement jhumkas and a delicate gold necklace—adds to her timeless beauty. With soft curls framing her face and a hint of kohl defining her expressive eyes, she looks nothing short of a vision—elegant, poised, and captivating.
Beside her, stood Piya, looking ethereal, draped in a breathtaking baby blue saree adorned with intricate silver work. The cool, pastel hue enhances her delicate beauty, while the shimmering silver embroidery adds a touch of sophistication and grace.
The saree’s border is lined with fine silver zari, woven into elegant floral and paisley motifs that glisten softly with every movement. Delicate silver threadwork, sequins, and tiny crystals are scattered across the fabric, creating a celestial shimmer, reminiscent of moonlight on a serene lake. The sheer, flowing pallu cascades gracefully over her shoulder, its edges adorned with intricate silver embellishments that catch the light beautifully.
She pairs the saree with a perfectly tailored blouse—either in matching baby blue with silver embroidery or a metallic silver hue for a striking contrast. Silver jhumkas dangle elegantly from her ears, while a delicate choker and shimmering bangles complete her look. With her hair styled in soft waves or an elegant updo and her eyes accentuated with kohl, she looks nothing short of a vision—graceful, radiant, and effortlessly captivating.
Lavya’s eyes fixed on Piya, taking in her ethereal beauty. He has seen her in indian clothes before as well, in fact in the past two years that he has known her, she has mostly preferred to wear simple indian clothes itself not caring about what others say about her and her style. But this was the first ever time he has seen her dressed in a saree. It was breath-taking. He couldn’t move his eyes away from her. And just then she too looked towards him.
The man exudes a blend of traditional charm and modern sophistication, dressed in a baby blue Indian kurta paired effortlessly with well-fitted jeans. The kurta, crafted from a soft, breathable fabric like cotton or linen, drapes elegantly over his frame, with intricate embroidery subtly lining the collar and cuffs. Its baby blue hue radiates a calm, refreshing aura, making him stand out with understated elegance. The lightweight material sways gently as he moves, reflecting both comfort and style. The fusion of Indian heritage with contemporary fashion gives him a relaxed yet refined look.
Contrasting the kurta, his dark blue denim jeans add a stylish, modern edge to his attire. The casual ruggedness of the jeans balances the traditional grace of the kurta, making his outfit perfect for both casual gatherings and semi-formal events. The jeans are slim-fit but not too tight, allowing for ease of movement while maintaining a structured look. Whether strolling through a cultural festival, attending a casual dinner, or meeting friends, his attire showcases a seamless blend of ethnic wear and western fashion, making a statement of confidence and versatility.
Adding a final touch of luxury, he sports a gleaming Rolex watch on his wrist. The watch, with its sleek metallic finish and precise craftsmanship, elevates his entire look, subtly hinting at his refined taste. The contrast between the traditional kurta, the casual denim, and the high-end accessory creates a unique style statement—one that speaks of a man who appreciates heritage while embracing modernity. With his confident stance and effortless grace, he commands attention without trying too hard, embodying a perfect balance of tradition, contemporary fashion, and luxury.
This was surely the first time Piya was seeing him dressed in a traditional attire. The moment her eyes landed on him, she looked from feet to upwards, stopping at his eyes. Their eyes met in a fleeting moment, creating a well-defined bubble of their own world. The other’s who were busy praising Sunaina seeing her wear a saree, noticed the eye contact and their own little bubble which they really did not wish to break. But, to their bad luck, they were getting late and they had to get the two love birds out of their bubble.
All of them exchanged amused glances, before clearing their throats loudly, making Piya and Lavya come out of their trance. They both looked here and there getting shy before Lavya spoke, “umm.. Everyone’s here, let’s go, we are getting late.”
“Of course, we are getting late bro, otherwise we would have never ended your talk through eyes wala moment.” Sunaina teased keeping her elbow on her elder brother’s shoulder making him flustered and running out of the house. Everyone laughed at his childish act while Piya controlled her smile, finding his act to be cute.
AT THE COLLEGE
Reaching the college, Lavya quickly went ahead with his other classmates while the others went ahead taking their place in the front rows. The ceremony started with the host calling out everyone one by one to receive their certificates.
During this time, Piya received a call from her aunt, making her tensed since it would currently be late night in India. Sensing something wrong, she quickly informed Sunaina about the call and went to the side to attend the call.
“Hello chachi.” Piya said as soon as she answered the call. But she didn’t receive any reply so she again called out her name only to hear the sobbing voice of her aunt.
“Chachi, chachi kya hua? Aap ro kyu rahi ho?” Piya asked, panic settling in her heart, feeling her heart getting heavy sensing something very wrong.
(“Aunty, aunty what happened? Why are you crying?”)
“B-b-be-beta, *sob* tere *sob* ch-cha-chachu *sob* *sob*” Her aunt tried to say making Piya tensed. What happened to her uncle? She was not getting a good feeling with this.
(“C-c-child, *sob* your *sob* un-un-uncle *sob* *sob*”)
“Chachi, kya, kya hua chachu ko?” Piya asked her, controlling her own emotions.
(“Aunty, what, what happened to uncle?”)
“Tere chachu ko heart attack aaya hai Piya.” Her aunt answered before again crying loudly.
(“Your uncle had a heart attack Piya.”)
Meanwhile, the moment Piya heard those words, she felt the land beneath her slide. She couldn’t understand anything. Her mind went blank hearing those words. Her knees felt weak, and she fell to the ground on her knees, forgetting about the graduation ceremony.
Her uncle, her support system, her father figure, her confidant, the man who raised her, the man who left his studies in between, the man who gave up on his dreams just so he could take care of her, was now on the hospital bed, fighting for life. And Piya? She wasn’t even near him to give him or her aunt strength. She was miles away from them, leaving them alone to handle this situation. She felt like a failure. A failure who could not even support her own uncle and aunt in their tough moment.
A faint sob escaped her lips, with the fear of losing her only family as well. No matter how strong she was mentally, everyone has their weak moments, and this was her weak moment. Losing her family is the only thing she is afraid of in this entire world. Her family is her biggest strength but it is also her biggest weakness, because even the thought of losing them can make her weak enough.
Her entire world shifted with just one sentence of her aunt. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do now. She felt her world crumble under her feet. She knew one thing for sure, she would not be able to live without her family. Her family was, is and will always be her first priority.
On the other end, Sunaina, noticing Piya’s absence for such a long time, went towards the direction where Piya had left only to see her sitting on her knees and crying. She immediately went beside her and sat down next to her hugging her trying to comfort her and asking her the reason for her breakdown.
“Cha-chachu *sobs* got a *sobs* a *sob* heart attack” Piya said, hugging Sunaina and crying in her best friend’s arms trying to seek comfort. Meanwhile, Sunaina’s eyes widened in shock and she immediately tried to comfort her best friend though she knew it’s of no use since her uncle means so much to her.
Not understanding anything, Sunaina immediately called up her parents asking to come with the entire family, since the graduation ceremony was almost over, just the graduates were having class photographs and some photo sessions from the university’s end for their alumni album.
Everyone came there shocked to see Piya’s state. In the past 2 years, this was the first time they saw her crying, seeing her, everyone’s eyes filled with tears though they controlled their emotions trying to comfort her.
“Piya, calm down, look, we will book a ticket for you to go back to India, you will reach back in no time, you anyways have your VISA so that is not an issue, and Deepak will go with you, to help you manage everything there. He anyways has the Indian VISA since he was supposed to go to India next month for work purposes. Alright? Now please calm down bacche!” Omkar informed Piya, making her nod her head.
“Deepak Shanti Piya and Sunaina, you four go back home, do your packing and leave for the airport, we will go back with Lavya. And we will meet you after you come back okay?” He said to the four, while the last sentence was directed towards Piya.
Soon, the four left for home, while the others with a smile went back into the graduation ceremony hall, not wanting to ruin Lavya’s mood on his happy day.
In the graduation hall, after the photo session was done which took about 2 hours, Lavya came towards everyone, immediately asking about Piya at first.
“Bhai, even your parents are not here, but you are just asking about Piya?” Vaidehi teased her brother-in-law not wanting him to know right now, since it would spoil his mood.
“Now why hide it from you all? I decided to propose to her today. I love her. I mean I don’t know if she also loves me, but I want to take the risk and propose to her.” Lavya dropped the bomb on them, making their faces go pale. They knew that he was in love with her, but he didn’t know he was going to propose to her today. No one had the guts to tell him that she went back to India, therefore they just told him that she went home since she wasn’t feeling well and his parents and Sunaina went with her to take care of her.
“Then why are we waiting? Let’s go back then, anyways the ceremony is over.” Lavya said going out of the hall with others following behind stressed about what would happen when he gets to know that she went back to India for a few months.
On the other side, at home, Piya packed all of her belongings not leaving anything out making Shanti and Sunaina confused who were helping her pack.
“Beta, why are you packing all your things? You are just going for a few months, you will come back here right?” Shanti asked Piya, right when Deepak walked into the room.
“No aunty, I am not coming back.” She dropped the bomb on them, making them stunned. She took such a big decision without informing anyone. Before they could oppose, she continued, “before you all question my decision, I want to inform you, I took this decision after a lot of thinking. Chachu chachi are alone over there, we have no relatives, no one over there who could take care of them, and with what happened, I don’t want to take any risks, I want to stay with them to take care of them.”
Her strong stance made everyone silent, since she was right at her place. Maybe if they were in her shoes, they would have taken the same decision, therefore they supported her decision, no matter how much it was hurting them.
Soon Deepak and Piya left for the airport. Deepak had managed to convince his friend to let him have his private jet, therefore they didn’t have o go through the airport formalities, and they took off for India even before Lavya or other’s could know that Piya had left forever.
Meanwhile, as soon as Lavya came home with others, he immediately called out for Piya while going towards her room leaving everyone standing in the living room. Entering Piya’s room, Lavya’s eyes widened in shock seeing her room empty, none of her stuff was present in the room making him confused. She was not feeling well, therefore she had come home, but then where was she? And where was her stuff?
Millions of questions filled his mind, and he knew only his family could answer. He immediately went out of the room, towards the living room to see his entire family standing there with emotional faces.
“What is happening, will someone tell me? Where is Piya? And why is all her stuff not in her room?” He bombarded them with questions hoping for some kind of explanation.
“She went back to India, because her chacha got a heart attack.” Omkar answered his grandson hoping he would stay calm and handle himself.
“Okay, that’s okay, after some time she will come back right?” He cross-questioned, but before Omkar could answer, Sunaina answered her brother.
“No bro, she won’t come back. She went back to India, forever.” Sunaina said, making Lavya lose his balance and fall on the couch while the others too stood in shock, even they didn’t know that she left forever.
“Forever?” Lavya whispered, hoping he heard something wrong.
“Yes. Forever.” Sunaina said, breaking Lavya’s heart in pieces.
