It was a bright, cheerful morning, and the entire Rajvansh mansion was blooming in yellow. Marigold garlands swung from balconies, laughter echoed through the halls, and the backyard sparkled like a Holi-themed Pinterest board.

Inside the guest room, chaos reigned.

Sarees lay crumpled like war flags, lipstick caps rolled under beds, gajras were tangled like fairy lights in December — and two best friends were battling the biggest crisis of the day:

"Sharuuu, decide fast! Green or yellow?" Saanvi groaned, holding up two blouses like they were life-saving options.

"Yellow, obviously! It's haldi! Following the theme is important, got it?" Sharanya shot back, trying to pin gajras into her hair bun which seemed to have declared war on gravity.

Sharanya stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the edge of her yellow saree. She looked like the sun itself had RSVP'd for the ceremony and picked her as its brand ambassador. Her kajal was slightly smudged, her nose ring a bit off-center — but her smile? That could make beauty queens file complaints.

"If we don't look stylish today, people will assume the bride's side gave up on fashion," she declared, proud and sassy.

Saanvi burst out laughing.
"Looking at you, people might just assume you're the bride!"

Sharanya flipped her hair like a Bollywood diva.
"If I become the bride, no one would mind... except maybe one person. He might get a bit jealous."

"Who? Kritarth Rajvansh?" Saanvi teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh! That grumpy penguin? Even if someone threw haldi on him, he'd still look like a statue," Sharanya scoffed — but her cheeks betrayed her. Just a faint pink flush.

Saanvi smirked.
"Ohho... just saying his name and we're already blushing?"

"I'm not blushing. It's humid in this room!" Sharanya snapped, fumbling with her bangles like they were alive.

Knock knock.

"Girls, Vaidehi's haldi is starting. And Mom said all the girls need to come out NOW!" Parth yelled through the door. "And by the way... Kritarth bhaiya is already here! so you better buckle up."

Saanvi turned with a devilish grin.
Sharanya froze mid-bangle.

"Sharuuu... are you sure this yellow isn't too much?"

"Why?"

"I just hope people don't confuse you with dessert."

They giggled as Sharanya picked up the haldi bowl, looked at herself one last time in the mirror and whispered,
"Alright Anya... from today, the game begins."

The backyard was alive.

Dhols  thundered. Haldi platters shimmered in the sun. Marigold petals swirled like golden snow, and cousins were already dancing like it was a full-blown music video.

"Wow, Rajvansh weddings don't just attack with emotions — they go for full sensory damage," Saanvi whispered.

And Anya just winked toward the armed guards at the gate.
"Bihar ki shaadiyon mein bas barood kam hota hai, baaki sab yahi milta hai."

Right in the center of this chaos stood Kritarth Rajvansh — calm, tall, untouched by drama, phone in hand.

"Yes, I said fresh gajras on every platter. No delays. The entrance needs—" he stopped mid-sentence.

Because something shifted.

The scent of haldi sweetened.
Laughter sliced through the air.
And then she walked in.

Yellow saree. Gajra in her hair. That kajal bold enough to start a rebellion. And a smile that dared the world to stare.

And just like that—
She walked right into him.

Thump.

"Ouch!" Anya gasped, saving the haldi bowl from disaster.

Kritarth caught her wrist — swift, steady, strangely soft.

"This... is a habit of yours?" he asked, calm as ever.

"What? Bumping into your kurta? Can't help it. You're everywhere."

"I don't know if problems follow you or you bring them along."

She leaned closer, eyes glinting.
"By the way, haldi suits you. For the first time... you actually look human."

He raised a brow. A flicker of a smirk teased his lips.

Before anything else could spark, Parth shouted from the stage.
"Bhai, get your haldi on or you won't get a bride!"

"Anya! Save some haldi, or this time his patience will stain more than his kurta!" Samaksh hollered.

Sharanya turned, cheeks blooming pink. She whispered to Kritarth:
"You think this is just haldi? Rajvansh ji... the party's just getting started."

And then she twirled away — into the crowd, into the laughter, into the light.

Kritarth looked down at his kurta — now proudly smeared in yellow.
He sighed.

"There's no escaping her... is there?"
His heart replied before his brain could.

Meanwhile, Parth was sprinting with a haldi bowl like it was a relay race. Samaksh filmed every second like a wedding vlogger on steroids.

"Vaidehi, ready? After this, even the groom won't recognize you!" Parth smeared her cheeks in haldi with pure sibling glee.

"And Kritarth bhaiya should get some too — he's the bride's brother after all!"

"I'm supervising, not participating," Kritarth replied, not even looking up from his phone.

"This isn't a board meeting, bhai! This is haldi! Today even Rajvanshs are going yellow!" Samaksh winked.

Right then, splat. A spoonful of haldi landed on Kritarth's arm.

Oops.

Anya stood nearby, empty spoon in hand, looking very innocent.

"Oops. It fell. You looked too serious anyway — needed some color in your personality."

"No one does color coordination like you," he muttered. She didn't hear. But his mother did.

Kavita Rajvansh watched nearby — thoughtful, smiling.
She noticed the way Kritarth didn't scold her. The way his eyes followed her.
The way his smile wasn't accidental.

"She's blended in with everyone so naturally," she whispered to Purvi.
"And Kritarth hasn't said a word..."

"What are you trying to say, bhabhi?"

"Just this... if she became our daughter-in-law, everyone's life would light up."

Purvi smiled, eyes sparkling.
"Light has already arrived. Even his designer kurta couldn't escape it."

Later, after the chaos had thinned and Vaidehi was dragged away to change, Anya snuck into a quiet corner behind a pillar glowing with fairy lights — only to find Kritarth already there.

Of course.

"You really are everywhere. Do you have a GPS locked on me or what?" she said, stepping beside him.

"I was already here. You arrived."

"Oh, so now I deliberately ruin your kurta?"

He glanced at her.
"Honestly? Yes. But today... I don't mind."

She blinked. That teasing calm again.

"Wow. Raja ji has learned to flirt?"

"Blame the haldi. Or... maybe the girl in yellow."

"I thought you hated bright colors."

"They're loud. Annoying. But somehow... this one's growing on me."
He was still looking at her.

"You're getting good at talking, Raja Babu. Now try smiling too."

"Stand this close again — I might."

She reached out, touching the yellow stain on his chest.
"Your kurta's ruined."

"Yeah. But now it holds a memory I don't hate."

"You're not the old Kritarth Rajvansh anymore — the one with a 'touch-me-not' signboard."

"Maybe I'm not. Maybe... you're the glitch in my programming."

She laughed — loud, wild, unstoppable. And he watched, like it was the only sound he wanted to hear.

She leaned in close.
"Careful, Raja ji. Haldi lagti hai, pyaar ho jaata hai."

"I think... I already slipped."

Their eyes locked.

And then—
"Bhaiya! Leave the rasgulla and come here, otherwise Sharanya bhabhi—I mean... guest—has taken away the haldi bowl!"

Anya blinked. Kritarth raised an eyebrow.

"They're definitely onto something," she muttered, stepping back.

Kritarth smirked, leaning on the pillar, watching her disappear again.

The courtyard was now a full-blown wedding stadium.

The dhols had been replaced by Bluetooth speakers blasting Desi Girl, cousins were lobbing marigold petals like grenades, and a boy-vs-girl haldi dance-off was underway.

Anya stood near the swing — half-mussed hair, crooked jhumkas, hands raised in the air, voice the loudest in antakshari.

"Now the boys are doomed! Sharuu's voice even makes heartbreak dance!" Saanvi hollered.

Anya twirled and belted out:
"Piya tu ab toh aaja... Aaja aaja aaja aaja!"

Everyone screamed. Except one man.

Kritarth stood under the marigold arch, unmoving. Watching.
Completely, helplessly smitten.

"Sir," Mayank whispered, sipping thandai, "what's going on in your eyes?"

"Nothing," Kritarth replied a little too fast.

"Oh come on. You're looking at her like her eyes just launched a billion-dollar IPO."

"Shut up."

"No, seriously," Samrath chimed in, "you've been staring at her for fifteen minutes. What kind of data analysis is this — a haldi stock chart?"

Kritarth ignored them. But his eyes stayed locked.

"She's laughing again," he murmured.
"So messy. So loud."

"...And you're loving it," Mayank smirked.

"She's chaos," Kritarth said quietly.

"And you're addicted," Samrath added.

"Bhai, I think she already got to you during the haldi. Might as well seal the deal."

At that very moment, Anya dashed across to grab fresh gajras — and bumped into him. Again.

"Ohho! Do you follow me? Is your GPS permanently set to me?"

"Feels like it," Mayank muttered under his breath, smirking.

Kritarth simply handed her the fallen gajra. Their fingers brushed.
She blinked.

"Thanks..." she said softly.

"For you... everything seems to appear exactly when you need it," he replied.

She looked up.
But he was already gone — back into the crowd.

Back into the noise.
But not quite out of her orbit.