For a person who’d once told him that she rarely cried, Aditi found that Rian had a penchant for making her emotional. In the year and a bit since they’d gotten together, his ability to render her speechless with his thoughtfulness, a reflection of his selfless love, had only increased.
True to his word, he had done what he could to leave the past behind so that it never again hindered their future together.
“Careful with this.” Aditi handed the lengthy gajra to the stylist, letting her sister step in to finish sliding bangles on both her hands. Anika’s happy face beamed at her, clearly excited that her two favourite people were getting married today.
Rian had quickly endeared himself to her entire family. Where she’d once been worried that he’d find it overwhelming to accept her large family, he’d turned around and effortlessly slipped into the role of a big brother for her siblings and cousins. His patient and calm demeanour made him their go-to person for problem solving.
To her never-ending amusement, he took this responsibility very seriously, which is why he was also privy to every school crush and romantic problems of her teenaged cousins.
The drama was better than his Korean sitcoms, he’d once told her.
At one point, she’d returned after multiple weeks away at medical camp, only to find that he’d coerced her parents to come to Mumbaito spend time with him, citing that he was lonely. Her mother doted upon him, her father trusted him like he would a son, and Rian soaked up every bit of their attention with a hunger she knew was a result of the loss of his own parental relations.
With his hesitancy fading in time, Rian had taken over as the darling of the house and her family members had unequivocally declared him their favourite.
She’d have been jealous, but seeing his efforts to establish familial relationships given his past made her heart swell with love and respect for the man she’d claim today as her husband.
Aditi took a moment in front of the mirror to sweep her gaze over her bridal outfit. The dark mehendi designs adorning her hands bore evidence of being deeply loved by one’s spouse as per an old wives tale. Ancestral jewellery graced her forehead and neck along with the waist chain that Rian had gifted her with express instructions that he’d be the one to remove it on their wedding night. Her diamond ring glinted every time she wiggled her fingers to reduce her nerves.
Every part of her today represented an amalgamation of her past and present, as she stepped into a future she’d once prayed for. With one last look, she turned and walked towards the door where her sisters and friends waited patiently to escort her to him.
Her love.
Rian sat on his groom’s throne, offering prayers directly into the holy fire as directed by the priest. Every so often, his eyes would travel across the open gardens in front of him. It had been transformed completely with chairs laid out in neat rows for attendees to sit in, white tents in the back where the party would shift to later. Gauzy curtains wrapped the trunks of the tall trees that shaded them, creating an almost mystical greenwood feel around them.Long ribbons with crystals and pearls formed a glittering archway above the carpet of flowers that led from the back of the mansion to where the wedding dais was.
The crash of ocean waves behind him added to the enchantment of the venue.
That his wedding was taking place on the grounds of his childhood home felt surreal. When Aditi had suggested it, it had made perfect sense. This place had held only bad memories for him. Step by step, little by little, he’d replace them all with good ones. He would fill every nook and cranny within this manor with laughter for the family he would have with Aditi.
His lips curved softly, recalling her surprise when he’d brought up accepting his inheritance.
“You told the investing board you’re dyslexic?” She'd stared at him like he’d grown a third eye.
“Yes,” he’d sheepishly admitted, lying down on their couch with his head in her lap. He nudged her belly with his nose, annoyed that she’d stopped massaging his scalp in shock.
“I’m recovering all of myself that I hid before,” he told her, grabbing her wrist to direct her to keep stroking his hair, sighing in happiness when she did. “I had a hard time talking about it, but I’m in a position where I can affect change. We’ve come a long way as a society to accept that disabilities exist, but we can be better. I want to make conversation around it normal whenever I can.”
“That’s. . .I’m proud of you, sweetheart,” Aditi had murmured, bending down to brush a kiss across his lips. “There truly is nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Hmm. I’ve put into motion changes on hiring practices at my restaurants already. I’ve given instructions to open up employment for differently abled individuals in Singapore as well.”
“And the school?”
“I have money.”
“I know,but. . .”
“No, Sunshine,” he’d interrupted her. “I mean, I have a lot of money. My inheritance—I’m claiming it.”
At her blank stare, he’d shown her the papers he’d been sent by his lawyers.
“My father left all his assets to me,” he’d revealed to a bewildered Aditi. “He changed his will before his death. I’ve known since I turned twenty-one but I thought leaving everything behind would let me escape my mother and help me forget my past. It didn’t. So, I’m facing it now. Whatever weird connection I still held with her, I’m severing it. I meant it when I said you’ll never have to come in contact with her again.”
“What did you do?”
His look of innocence had not fooled her one bit.
“I didn’t do anything. My lawyers did. She’ll be moved to a different home and will subsist on what I allow for her living expenses.”