“My back is gonna break—” before I could complain further about the slow ache crawling up my spine. Probably because of my terrible posture, Stella leans against me to support my body.

She chuckles softly. “You’ve been working too much.” Her voice carries the same gentle scolding I’ve been hearing from almost everyone in the family these days.

I groan, letting my head fall back against her shoulder, staring up at the blue sky “Perks of being the groom's sister. I am also getting good practice for your wedding” I add teasingly, while I nudge my head against her.

She grumbles under her breath, pushing me off her gently “Don't start. You know how many u aunties of yours have asked when I will get married and have kids?”

Gosh

They didn't leave her too

I roll my eyes in annoyance, “They don't have anything to do except asking about marriage and babies. You should have told them to mind their own business”

“They are your relatives, Jas. It would be rude if I said that”

I scoff “They themselves are a bad impression”

I glance at mehendi artist — neha, keeping her head down, fully absorbed in her work on my hand. I am still stuck with my first palm while half my relatives have already finished and now relaxing in the comfort of AC indoors. Meanwhile — Nyra, Sonia, Stella, and I were running around as if at a race — managing food, photos and greetings.

[Mehendi is wedding celebration where women and bride apply henna on their hands and feet as a symbol of beauty, good luck and marriage]

To top it off, this is a women-only event, so none of the guys even bothered to show up.

Typical then.

Kavya got her mehendi done first and disappeared inside to rest. She has been cold to me since the maze incident, speaking only a few words

“Do you like your design?” I ask stella, straightening up to glance at her design.

Stella nods, he eyes sparkling with satisfaction as she shows off her design proudly “It's so pretty, I can't wait to see the results when it dries off”

I smile, admiring the delicate flowers and curves adorning her skin. Her sage green anarkali makes the henna stand out even more. Stella has grown so fond of traditional wear lately and honestly, she looks breathtaking in it.

“You have Liam's name in it?” I ask slyly.

She smirks, her eyes mischievously “Yeah, Sonia told me about that, hiding your partner's name and he has to find it. It's quite interesting so I couldn't let the moment go” she replies excitedly.

“Are you going to do it too?” She asks wiggling her eyebrows

I shake my head immediately “No way, it mostly suits engaged or married people—”

“Why not!” Sonia pipes up from the other wooden cot set up in the garden. She was done with her mehendi and was sitting crossed leg while drying it in the sun.

“I just don't wanna!”

Stella and Sonia exchange a knowing look “What's the fun in that?” Stella teases.

“And it will make up for your drenching him at haldi!” Sonia adds

As if I haven’t already been paying for that incident.

The mehendi artist pauses, looking up at me for instructions, I shake my head politely “Nahi, aap same design continue karye”

[Translation - No, please continue the same design]

Sonia huffs dramatically, standing up and letting her dupatta fall onto the cot before walking over to me “Fine, if not his name, then at least let’s see how your colour turns out.”

Stella frowns “Colour? Why?”

I sigh, already knowing where this is going. “There is this saying… the deeper the mehendi colour, the deeper the love”  I have never believed in that thing, how is that even possible. It mostly depends on how long we dry it and ingredients.

I would mostly be delusional in such matters

Stella’s eyes widen, looking at her hands “Wow really? I can't wait to see how deep my mehendi’s colour gets!”

Sonia nods in agreement “Yeah! I wanna see both of yours!”

I roll my eyes, shaking my head. “Stop it and it's Mira's wedding, so you should check her colour!”

“She isn't even doing her mehendi here or else I would have seen it” Sonia points out with a shrugs and sits beside Stella.

Yeah, we did haldi together but Mira said she and her friends will get mehendi done separately instead of coming here. Maybe she was overwhelmed by all the people she saw at the haldi? Or she just wanted it done quietly because bridal mehendi takes hours on arms and legs.

“Also, where is maya?” I ask, my eyes scanning the garden at the remaining guest but she wasn't here.

Maybe inside? But I haven't seen her since this morning.

Sonia's lips curve downwards “She had some meeting with a client. She said she will get her mehendi done afterwards”

I nod at the information, looking up at the window of her room that's closed. I forgot for a moment that she is a lawyer and deals with mean people.

“And you know bade papa, Nikhil aur Kunal bhai Delhi” Sonia says in a hushed tone as if telling a top secret.

I couldn't help but be taken aback a bit “Really? But why?”

She shrugs nonchalantly  “Something about a problem in the company. I don't know much”

My eyebrows furrow at her words even more. This has never happened before. What's the problem that made them leave in the middle and that too all of them?

Sonia squeezes my wrist gently “Di, don't worry, they said they will be back soon” She assured me, seeing my tensed face. I force out a smile, pushing the negative thoughts away  “Just focus on your mehendi”

“Come on Jasmine. Lucas will be speechless!” Stella says, trying to convince me and gives my shoulder a playful dump.

“What are you doing again to make him speechless?” Liam's voice grabs our attention, he walks towards us — dressed in a pastel green kurta. His gaze instantly flickering towards Stella. A soft smile tugs at his lips as she shows him her hands.

“It's nothing, brother in law, please focus on your finceè” I didn't need to say it because his attention was already swept away by her.

Whom am I kidding? It's obvious

He takes her arms gently, examining her designs with such adoration. Stella beams happily at his attention.

After a while he turns to me, pulling Stella up with him “You have been giving him jump scare every now and then. I wouldn't be surprised” he comments with a hint of wit behind it.

I open my mouth to argue but there is nothing I could come up with.

Liam chuckles at my reaction, “Well I wish you good luck with that. I need to take my lady and feed her so excuse us” Liam says, wrapping his arm around Stella's waist and guiding her away.

“Alright alright” Stella waves with a laugh as she waves at me.

“You also go inside and rest” I suggest Sonia, nodding towards the door. She nods and gets up, gathering her dupatta clumsily before going inside.

I exhale sharply and loosen my back feeling tired. Only one hand is done now, and I already feel the irritation on my skin forming as the mehendi starts drying slowly. I feel itchy here and there when my hand is totally inaccessible.

“Aap theek ho?” Neha asks in concern, looking up at me.

[Translation - Are you alright?”]

“Haan” I reply, “aapko thoda break chahiye?”

[Translation - Yes.

Would you like to have a break?]

She smiles, shaking her head and adjusting my fingers for a better angel. “Mujhe aadat hai aur main mostly bride's ku bhi assist karti hoon” She replies.

[Translation - I am used to it and I mostly assist brides that's why]

I was getting bored out of my mind. She was at my left hand and my right one was already covered in mehendi — which meant I couldn’t even use my phone.

Pure torture.

After this I am gonna have a movie marathon until the mehendi dries.

“Hey” the cot dips with a weight, I look behind me to see Lucas sitting with his body angled to face me. An instant smile appears on my face at his presence, forgetting the tiredness

“Hey” I whisper back

“Is it done?” He asks, his gaze dropping at my hand curiously.

“It will take sometime” I mutter, lifting my hand carefully to show him“How is it?” I ask, watching his reaction keenly.

He leaned closer, studying the intricate design like it was a maths problem. His eyes softens“It’s beautiful” His fingers hovers over the design without touching it “The way this rose vein twists into a leaf… it’s almost…alive, alluring”

His words made me pause and look at my hand to process his words

Only an artist like him could feel life into lifeless things

A chuckle escapes my mouth “Yeah, good things take time in making”

When I looked back at him, the breeze was brushing through his hair. He wore olive green, the same shade as my suit — every ceremony, we would match.

“Till then” he says suddenly, shifting fully toward me. My eyes dropped to the plate in his lap, piled with food.

“Oh my God” My gaze flickers between the plate and his face, wondering if I was hallucinating from hunger. He laughs at my expression and picks up a spring roll, holding it out to my lips. “Here”

I am gonna cry

This man knows exactly what and when I want something

“I was starving” I say, in almost a squeaky tone while taking a bite of the crunchy roll “Thank you” I add with a mouthful, my stomach grumbles wanting more.

He patiently feeds me one bite after the other. The glances and whispers of other relatives don't go unnoticed by us — even Neha rolls her eyes at their nosy behaviour.

People have everything to do except minding their own business

Lucas noticed it too but he didn’t care. Not one bit. His voice stayed soft and calm “What do you want next?” I point towards the panner tikka sticks — I am so glad he brought almost everything on the platter along with sweets.

He nods, sliding the panner cube off the skewer with a fork and holding it towards me. He does the same with the second piece, making sure to remove the onion and capsicum because I hated eating those with panner

I blink, no no no

I am done.

I can't keep up with this man.

“how do you do this?” I blurt out “ like how do you get me right everytime?”

“You are too perfect sometimes. It’s suspicious. How can you remember every tiny detail about me?” My eyes narrows playful but also genuinely curious too, “Wait… did you study me? Don’t tell me you stalked me or something”

Lucas lets out a sigh at my rampage of questions while he feeds me another bite. “You realize you have stayed at my house for almost two years? And during that time you have made sure to express your likes and dislikes quite openly”

I flush in embarrassment, feeling the heat on my face. Okay, maybe I would have been a little too comfortable at their house. But how could I not? Aunt Lia and Aunt Emily had treated me like their own from day one — encouraging me to be myself.

“You could have said something romantic instead of that” I mutter under my breath.

The corner of his lip curves up into a smile, he leans slightly closer with a mischievous glint “Romantic, huh? How about this — your presence was so distracting, I couldn’t focus on anything else. And now that I finally have you…I want to make sure you can only focus on me.”

Oh no. No no no.

The embarrassment has turned into something more — giddiness.

I bite back a grin, staring at him “Do you think it's working?”

He shrugs his shoulders, tilting his head up as if thinking before looking back at me with a smug expression “I think my method is pretty effective, right?”

Before I can even throw a comeback at Lucas, my eyes land on Veer walking into the garden with Mira — hand in hand, but their faces are all closed off and pretend

What in the TV serial is happening now.

“One minute” I excuse myself from Neha and get up, approaching them while Lucas follows me behind. I frown upon the scene, Veer looks uncomfortable while mira looks annoyed.

“Is everything alright?” I ask carefully.

Veer gets distracted and looks at me, giving Mira the opportunity to free her hand from his. Veer glances at her, giving her some kind of look that only she understood.

“Mira’s mehendi artist cancelled at the last minute.” Veer explains, his voice strained. “We have been out looking for another one but no one is available this late”

Right on time, Sehr and Aditi follow behind along with Aryan who is hopping happily, unaware of this crisis here.

They don't even seem to have their mehendi done.

It's already nearing dawn and with the way their shoulders are slumped down, it seems like they have been hunting for hours. I don't think any artist would take a booking while being unprepared and this palace is quite far from the city, practically on the outskirts.

“Just get it done here” I suggest, gesturing towards the set up “You can ask my mehendi artist, Neha. She mentioned she does bridal designs too — sounds like a perfect solution, right?”

Veer and Mira exchange a long look. Mira’s gaze flicks back to me then drifts down to my half-finished hand “But your mehendi isn’t done yet”

Her words made me pause. I glance at my unfinished hand and wave it off “I can get it finished later, it wouldn't take much time anyways”

Veer frowns, stepping forward and scanning the area for any free artist over “You sure?”

I nod quickly “Yeah, totally. Honestly, I am exhausted and a nap sounds better than anything right now”

“I’m really sorry about this. And thank you and so much” Mira says, her expression soft and almost solemn.

I smile at her. “It’s fine, really. Just make sure you guys get yours done too” I say, looking at her colleagues who are slowly arriving now.

✄┈┈

“Are you sure about that?” Lucas asks while closing the door behind us

“Yeah” I sigh, tossing a couple of cushions onto the bed for more comfort “I have been craving sleep for hours and now that you fed me, I can barely keep my eyes open. I will finish it after a power nap”

He moves around the room, switching on the AC and pulling the curtains shut. The cool air rolls across my skin, making me sigh in relief as I settle on the bed. “It might be too late by then” he warns gently.

“It's fine” I mumble. Maybe I was lying to both of us but I hoped at least one artist would stick around long enough for me to complete it.

I wasn't that eager to get mehendi done on my hands despite it being common at festivals or weddings. Maybe because my school had a strict rule about it or maybe because my hands never got that perfect shade to show off?

This feeling also came because I couldn't sit without moving for hours, especially my hands.

But still…. it's a beautiful thing that I admired from afar and then in college I never had time to get it done properly.

It's been a while since I got mehendi. I finally had the chance this time thanks to my brother's wedding.

I hoped this time I could admire it closely.

“I will just rest for a bit” I lay back with a sigh. Lucas steps forward, sliding a cushion beneath my arm so my mehendi won’t smudge in my sleep. My heart clenches at the quiet care in the gesture

“Should I wake you up?” He asks, gently brushing off a stray strand of hair off my eye. I smile as his fingers brushed against my skin like sweet whispers “Yeah, maybe in two hours please” my voice already gets drowsy.

He nods “As you say, milaya” He whispers, leaning down to kiss my forehead. I close my eyes, savouring the moment.

My breath hitches — no matter how many times he does it, I still unravel. Still crave more.

He pulls back with a smile, leaving a hallow feeling at the loss of his presence “Want me to stay here?” He asks, maybe noticing the way I was looking at him.

“Yes, please”

✄┈┈

I stirred awake groggily, feeling a strange tinglish feeling against my skin. My first instinct was to rub my eyes, but the stiffness in my hands reminded me all too quickly — mehendi.

A light soreness was blooming in my throat as I blinked trying to wake up properly. The first thing I come across is darkness and the only source of light was coming from the lamp beside the bed

I blink my eyes, reducing the sudden pixels that were in my vision. My eyes fell upon Lucas sitting beside the bed, his head dipped low in concentration.

My eyebrows knit in confusion, I try to push myself up “Lucas what are you—”

“Wait. Don’t move” he cut me off, his voice low but firm as he gently held my arm, preventing me from any further movements.

My eyes widened when I caught sight of what he was holding. A mehendi cone.

“What on earth are you doing?” I gasp, watching him as though he had just been caught red-handed.

His eyes flicker to me sheepishly before looking away. Slowly he released my arm, giving me the opportunity to sit up. He scratches the back of his neck nervously, a few dark brown stains visible on his palm

“You have been asleep for a while and I didn't wanna wake you up. I also wanted to try something…” He trails off, his eyes flickers with hesitation

My eyes trails down to my empty palm which is now filled with strokes of rich mehendi. I reach out for the remote with my free hand and switch on the lights. The brightness stung my eyes first but I adjust my vision

He did my mehendi

“Lucas…” I feel my throat dry due to the emotions building inside me.

On my palm were two swans, their graceful necks curved into the shape of a heart — just like the one we saw at the lake. Tiny lotus buds surrounded them like a frame. The design wasn’t perfect, not like a professional’s but it was his.

His patience

His effort

His love drawn out on my skin.

Tears formed at the corners of my eyes “it’s beautiful.”  The words left me like a broken whisper due to the sweet ache in my heart “I love it…”

He smiles faintly at my words, the kind of smile that tugged my heart. “You were tired, I thought I could finish this for you. It's not that perfect. I realised that a live canvas is much harder to work on than a still one”

A small laugh erupts through me at his words, I shake my head and open my arms for a hug. Without another word he moves forward, eloping me in his arms “It's perfect because it's done by you” I mutter.

I have gotten so emotional lately.

His tender gestures have bared me to the deepest. Showing me the best form of emotion.

I feel grateful to feel this emotion towards him.

That he makes me feel the emotion called love.