"Kill me... not her."
His voice was low, deadly calm, but his eyes-bloodshot, burning-never left mine.
Eyes that should have hated me.
Eyes that should have turned away after my betrayal.
But no... even now, he chose me.
And that was the worst punis...
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The two stood there - eyes locked, breaths tangled in the Holi-tinted air. One held a signature smirk that could make time falter. The other stood wide-eyed, her gaze fixated on him as if the earth beneath her had shifted. For a fleeting moment, it felt like the world around them had dissolved into nothingness - the chaos, the people, the colours - all vanished, leaving just the two of them suspended in time.
Hidden behind the bushes and pillars, the Masti Gang - Raina, Viraj, Sid, Karan, and Arjun - peeked out, their faces lit up with silent mischief. All of them snickered, biting back their laughter, while Arav stood with his arms crossed and a face so blank it screamed murder. His eyes bore into Devraj with a silent message:
"Touch her again and you're dead."
But even his death glare couldn't pierce through the blazing moment unfolding before them.
The families had begun gathering around too - Meera, Vikram, rajendra, Sumedha, dadasa and dadisa and even Sumitra and Arvind. While some of the elders politely looked away, hiding their grins behind dupattas and shawls, others turned pink - not from the gulaal, but from the secondhand embarrassment. A few cousins whispered, and one or two aunties elbowed each other knowingly.
But the magic bubble popped.
A cough. Then another. Then a very pointed throat clearing.
Saanvi jolted.
She instantly pulled back from his hold, her hands fumbling as she tried to hide her blush with zero success. She began dusting off the colour he had spread across her skin - though her fingers lingered a bit too long at her collarbone, where his touch still burned like a brand.
Meanwhile, Devraj... stood completely unbothered. Hands shoved deep into the pockets of his now multi-coloured kurta, posture as relaxed as ever. Not a single flicker of regret or embarrassment in his expression - only smug victory.
"Uh-h-" Saanvi tried speaking, but her voice refused to cooperate. Her face burned with the intensity of a thousand suns, every nerve in her body hyper-aware of Devraj's nearness, of the color he'd just smeared across her skin.
Viraj let out a loud, exaggerated whistle. "Love is in the air!" he sang out dramatically, grinning ear to ear.
Karan and Arjun burst into laughter, nearly toppling over each other, while Raina held her stomach, tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.
Sid simply stood there, arms crossed, smiling with a shake of his head.
But Arav... Arav was not amused.
He glared daggers at Devraj, who stood tall and unaffected, as if he hadn't just publicly painted his wife's neck in front of the entire family. His expression was cool, his body relaxed, and his drenched shirt still clung dangerously well to him - which only made Saanvi even more flustered.
