ADHVAIT'S POV

Being a brother is hard. You spend your whole life with your sister—handling her mood swings, her demands, her tantrums; irritating her, disturbing her—and then suddenly everything comes to a halt when she gets married. Reluctantly, you have to let her go to her in-laws’ house, and things are never the same. No matter how much you want to stop her, you can’t. Why? Because that’s how things are.

Priyu Di has been a pillar in my life. Without her help, I might not have been as strong as I am today. She was there when I cried for our parents, she was there during the toughest phase of my life—teenage. She cooked for me at 3 a.m. while I crammed for exams. She believed in me when I didn’t. I’ve grown so used to having her by my side that now, as she’s leaving, I don’t know how I’ll manage. When a sister gets married, everything changes. You can’t disturb her for little things. You have to take care of the house she handled so beautifully, so smoothly, without a single complaint. You have to fight your demons alone now because she can’t come every time and hide you in her embrace like the old times. Why? Because she has her own family now.

Watching Di go is hard—very hard. But what can we do? Even though she’s marrying my best friend, I can’t help but worry about her future. I truly hope her life is filled with nothing but happiness.

Among all these thoughts about Priyu Di’s wedding, someone else has been overpowering my mind again.

My best friend’s sister—**Sunaina Vashisht**. I’ve been intrigued by her for five years now.

I’ve known her since the day she was born. We used to play together as kids, but later, her parents sent her to boarding school. We never met after that. My parents used to visit her and her brother every month. Then came the accident. She couldn’t attend the funeral because of her board exams—her parents forced her to stay. Avinash told me later how much our parents’ death affected her.

Avinash is the best brother disguised as a best friend I could ever ask for. I’ve never told him—and I never will. The guy would fly in the air from pride.

Sunaina came up in our conversations often. Slowly, and unexpectedly, I started thinking about her. I don’t know why, but I did see a future with her. Her unconditional love for my parents, her kindness, her determination, her smile—everything about her overpowered my senses. I don’t regret it, not even a bit. My only regret is that I haven’t seen her in years. I wanted to, but we never got the chance to meet. Thankfully, she never had a boyfriend, so I still have a chance. Avinash, Devesh, and my sisters are well aware of my feelings for her. I never told them, but they figured it out when they saw her photo in my wallet. Thankfully, our parents are unaware.

When I saved her from falling for the first time, I wanted to hold her in my arms and drown in her beautiful eyes. She looked so pretty in that yellow dress, I forgot to breathe. But of course, I had to act normal. Not that I mind—as long as she talks to me, I’m fine.

The second time she bumped into me, she was wearing a green suit. For a moment, I was lost in her. My friends and sisters were smirking at me the whole time. I ignored them, warning them they were making it obvious.

At the *mehendi*, I saw her crying, and it broke me. I wanted to hold her and never let anyone hurt her, but I had no right. So, I sent Priyu Di. Thankfully, she consoled her. Later, I irritated her a bit to distract her, and it worked.

Honestly, when that *kiraya* came and clung to me, I just wanted to leave. I couldn’t, so I kept my attention on Sunaina—or my phone. For a moment, I thought she looked jealous, but I don’t want to assume anything. There’s still a long way to go.

(*No, ‘kiraya’ is not a typo, just letting y’all know.*)

Pari and Eshu almost blew my secret. Thankfully, I interrupted in time and gestured for them to stop. I was nervous as hell to talk to her, so I quietly sat like a good guy. I even tried feeding her with my own hands—I sent everyone away—but that cheeky little monster ran off. Later, I took a plate of food to her, but she was sleeping so peacefully that I left a peck on her forehead. She smiled in her sleep—probably thinking it was her brother. I sat there for 15 minutes admiring her. She was uncomfortable in her posture and her earrings were bothering her, so I gently removed them and wiped her makeup. I applied sugar and lemon syrup to her *mehendi* and left, quietly closing the door.

Her *sangeet* look had me in a chokehold. I couldn’t take my eyes off her the whole evening. I know she noticed my gaze but chose to ignore it. My friends and sisters caught me multiple times and warned me, but I was a lost cause.

I just hope the parents didn’t notice anything. I don’t want to land her in trouble—not yet. We’ve got a lot to do before I can call her mine.

As of now, I only know one thing:

She unknowingly became my solace and my escape from the world. Her thoughts made me smile—unknowingly, but beautifully.

Not everyone will understand, because I’ve barely spoken to her. But I’ve *seen* her—I’ve *heard* her. When she called her brother and scolded him playfully, when she gave that toothy grin to escape his scolding—I saw her. During her graduation and master’s in the USA, I was always around Avinash. Devesh, who was with her there, developed a brotherly bond with her. Me? I developed something deeper, something purer. But she doesn’t need to know that. Not yet.

Still, I couldn’t get her out of my head. I never talked to her, but she lived in my thoughts and prayers. The wedding is ending soon, and there’s been no progress between us—except the tag of "brother’s best friend." So Devesh, Avinash, and I planned something to help her interact more with me. As soon as the wedding is over, we’ll execute the plan.

She can at least *like* me, right? I’m not that bad. Or am I?

I hope she does.

With those thoughts, I went to sleep—hoping to interact with her more.