Sneha slowly looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her palms were sweating profusely, something that always happened whenever she was scared. She was decorated with diamonds and gold ornaments that matched perfectly with her red-coloured wedding dress. Today was the most important day of her life. She was getting married into one of the most influential families of Mumbai. But, she wasn't happy. She was only terrified.

She touched her nose-ring with trembling fingers. It was beautiful but right now, she just wanted to rip it off. She didn't want this. She didn't want to get married to him.

At that instance, a few of her cousins entered her room and announced the arrival of the baraat (Groom and his people). If anything, it made her even more scared. Her resolution to run away from the premises increased. She bit her lower lip profusely as she tried to calm her breathing down.

"Come, didi (elder sister). See, jijaji (sister's husband) has arrived and he looks so dashing!" One of her cousins said as they looked at the baraat from the window of their room which was on the first floor. They did not know the truth. No one apart from her parents and sister knew what kind of man that dashing man is, she thought bitterly. They mumbled something amongst themselves and then ran out of the room while laughing and giggling among themselves, leaving her alone again. She wanted to smile like them too. But, it seemed like a mirage now. She would never be able to smile again if she married him, she knew.

Slowly and carefully, she stood and lifted her dress slightly up so that she could walk towards the window. Looking down, she saw a huge crowd. Everyone in his family and many of his friends was present. She could recognize some faces. All were dancing, laughing, and taking selfies. Her eyes travelled to one man in particular. Her soon-to-be husband. She gulped in fear when she saw him. Indeed he looked quite handsome in the traditional attire while he sat on the horse, as the custom demanded from the groom. She saw him laughing heartily at his friend's comment as they approached closer in the direction of the marriage hall. He appeared happy. He was happy.

"I hate you." She whispered. Her hatred was clearly projected towards her groom. How could he be happy after making her life miserable!

At that instance, she saw him taking his mobile phone out of his pocket and tap on it. After few seconds, she heard her phone ring. Looking at her phone's screen, she sighed. It was him. He was calling her. Wasn't he satisfied after seeing her photo in the wedding dress...all decorated...for him? She wondered.

She did not pick the call. She couldn't listen to his voice...his deep manly voice that always instilled fear in her.

She noticed how he narrowed his brows for a while before keeping his phone back in his pocket and engaging himself in his friends' conversation.

He stepped on the ground elegantly and proceeded towards the main gate of the hall. Her younger sister, Priya along with other cousins stood there to welcome the groom's family. She saw him smile warmly at Priya while her sister kept her gaze on the floor while holding a plate full of sweets, flowers, and colour. She felt bad for her sister. It was because of her that Priya and her parents had to see this day.

Her sister welcomed him traditionally and threw some flowers on him gently. Everyone in the groom's family cheered. She saw him saying something to her sister, but, in response, she only shook her head negatively. His face fell a little. But, then, he gestured to one of his guards. The guard brought an envelope and a velvet box. He then forced the items into her sister's hands. She understood what it was. He was giving his sister-in-law cash and jewellery, according to the custom.

The groom's family and friends entered the hall and the exterior was vacant again. Perfect opportunity for her to run away.

After five minutes, her sister entered her room.

"Didi, he has come." Priya, said.

"I saw." She answered. Her voice came low and sad.

She felt her sister's touch on her arms.

"Didi, papa told me to inform you that you can run away now. Everyone has assembled in the main hall. So, no one will notice you escape from the back gate." Priya murmured.

Sneha turned around to look at her sister.

"I shouldn't be doing this, Priya." She said.

Priya sighed. "Didi, we went through this conversation yesterday, right. Don't spoil papa's efforts, now, please. Just run away. You will never be happy with him. Go!"

"He...he might hurt you all. You know that he is in the mafia. He is the leader himself!" Sneha reminded her.

"He won't. We will tell her that you were kidnapped. Then, it will be his headache." Priya said. It was a part of their plan. Naive plan.

Sneha merely nodded.

"Now, go. He has seen your photo in the wedding dress, right. So, he won't doubt us that we helped you in the escape. He will doubt one of his rivals for this. Go. You are wasting time!" Priya stressed.

Sneha pulled her dress up again, held a small bag, and advanced towards the door of the room. But, after reaching the door, she turned around and hugged her sister. She couldn't stop the tears from making an appearance. It might be the last time she would be seeing her as she had to run away to a new place.

"I will miss you." Sneha whispered to her sister. "I will miss you all!" She added as she cried.

"We will miss you too, didi. It's for the best. Go and live happily. We will meet again when he would have forgotten about you." Priya said.

Then, Sneha sprinted out of the room and down the hall towards the back gate of the wedding hall. She held the small bag in her grasp protectively. Looking here and there, she made sure that none of his guards would see her. When she had come out of the wedding hall, she slowly walked in the direction of the bus stop. She didn't care about what others would say about her travelling in a wedding dress. Everything was planned. She will take the first bus and will reach the bus depot. There she will change her dress and then, she will board the bus to Pune. It was a simple plan. And, she begged God to make it a success.

She was not even 50 meters away from the marriage hall when a black-coloured car, out of nowhere blocked her route. Ignoring it, she tried to walk behind it. But, at that instance, a man, whom she recognized well enough came out of the car.

Her heart almost stopped beating when she saw him. The fear was clear in her eyes and her palms resumed their sweating process.

How was he here? Didn't he enter the marriage hall? She wondered. Behind him, two guards took positions with guns in their hands.

Seeing him standing so close to her, she recalled the moment that initiated the beginning of her gloomy days. It all began with the moment when she entered his life...when she saved his sister from a group of men who tried to assault her. She had always wondered how her life would have been if she had not saved his sister that day. Then, she wouldn't have met him. She wouldn't have faced his torturous ways...his definition of 'love'.

When their eyes locked, she whispered his name instinctively.

"Viraj!"

In response, he only smiled at her.

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(Hi all!

I hope you are all doing good.

I am so excited about this story and I am already in love with Sneha. If you have read Guns and a Rose and liked it, then you might like this one too. It has the same genre but of course, the storyline is different. I hope you enjoy this story too.)