Roshni sat down on the bed. Tears were unstoppable and kept rolling down her eyes.

Aditi Singh finished talking and grabbed her expensive purse to walk out. She could never forgive her daughter.

But before she could walk out of the door, she heard Roshni say in pain and sorrow, “Mom, you never treated me like I was your daughter. You always treated me like Ahana.

Aditi’s steps stopped. She suddenly felt deeply insulted. It seemed she had truly forgotten that Roshni Singh was her own daughter, whom she had carried in her womb. She had a blood relation with her.

She opened the door in embarrassment and walked out with staggering steps.

Jasmine came inside the room again. She put her hand on Roshni's shoulder. "Roshi, are you okay?"

Roshni picked up the powder puff and started patting her face. Her makeup was smudged again. But no matter how much powder she applied, she could not hide the fact that she was not beautiful. She was a very ordinary looking girl. Whereas her mother Aditi Singh was very beautiful even in middle age. And Ahana was also very popular for her beauty.

"Roshni, you should not get married, understand?" Jasmine pulled Roshni's hand. “Roshni, it’s not too late to back off. Leave him and go somewhere far away. Where there will be no Chauhan family, no Singh family and no Suraj Chauhan. Don’t ruin your future life for this ill-fated love

Roshni just shook her head. “I can’t do this…” She looked at her hands. She had mehendi on them.

“Jasmine, you know what?” She lifted her head and looked into her best friend’s eyes. She raised the tip of her lips into a stupid smile. “I want to gamble with everything I have. Just this once. If I leave now, I’ll never get another chance. Even if I never get that chance. Still, I still want to take this one chance.”

Even if it means destroying yourself and losing everything you have?" Jasmine's voice sent chills through the air. She couldn't understand why a stupid girl like her best friend was even on earth - willing to face a future full of pain and suffering? She was better off dead!

How could she be so crazy, knowing what was going to happen next? She was jumping into this fire.

"Huh..." Roshni put her hand on her chest, and physically there was nothing there. But deep inside her chest, there was a piece of memory buried deep inside; that no one else knew about. Nobody.

Jasmine extended her hand and picked up the makeup kit. She gently powdered Roshni's face, making the crazy girl smile, though there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

If she had the locket with her at that moment, would things have been better? Would it have changed her future? Would I go?

  If only... If only... And there were a lot of ifs and buts.

She closed her eyes and went back to the time when it was her eleventh birthday.

She was eleven that year and Ahana was nine

“Didi, what is that around your neck? Can I have it?” Ahana lifted her head like a princess. She looked at the locket hanging around Roshni’s neck. She had never seen anything like it. It looked so nice to her

“Didi, can I exchange my teddy bear with you?” She pointed to the teddy bear in Roshni’s arms, which was actually Roshni’s too.

Roshni shook her head and put the teddy bear down. Instinctively, her hand reached out to wrap the locket in her palm. She could live without the teddy bear, even if she got a beating from her mother for it – even if her younger sister made her a scapegoat

“Didi, give it to me.” Ahana had always been stubborn and ruthless. She stood up and walked towards Roshni. The only thing the little Roshni could do was to step back again and again.

"Aahana." Aditi quickly walked forward and hugged her little daughter Aahana.

As soon as Ahana saw her mother, she started screaming. “Mummy, I want that thing which is hanging around didi’s neck. But she refused to give it to me…”

“Roshni, give it to Ahana. It’s her birthday today.” Aditi looked at Roshni. She thought, “How can she be so selfish? She should have given it to her younger sister!”

Roshni’s grip tightened on her locket. Her lips were pressed into a thin line in silent protest.

Roshni, give me that locket.” Aditi extended her hand. Ahana started screaming even more in her arms. She was hitting Aditi and crying, “Mommy, I want it. I want it…”

“Give it to me.” Aditi extended her hand even more. “Give it to me.”

Roshni took another step back. She shook her head no. “Mommy, this is the only thing I have. Please… don’t take it away. Please?”

“Stop it Roshni!” Aditi quickly stood up. She reached forward and grabbed Ziya Roshni with one hand, and pulled the locket from her neck with the other.

“Mommy…” Roshni watched her mom take Ahana away. Then she was gone – just like that. Ahana was now holding her locket.

“Mommy…” She was so sad that she poked out her lips. He picked up a worn out bear from the floor. "Mummy... Roshni is feeling hurt..."

But there was no one to answer her.

“Roshni. Roshni, where are you?”

Roshni slowly opened her eyes when she heard Jasmine’s voice in her ears.

“I’m sorry, Jasmine. I just remembered something from the past.” She smiled apologetically, though her eyes were filled with tears.

“What did you remember?” Jasmine changed to a new powder puff. Roshni was crying again, and there was no way to wipe the tears away – they kept flowing. This girl can really cry.

“Nothing. Just some things from when I was little.” She brushed off her friend’s question lightly. Then she looked at herself in the mirror. She might be the ugliest bride ever.

Soon the wedding would begin.

  Her and Suraj's wedding. She managed to smile as she imagined it in her mind. Her smile was innocent and precious, yet it had the beauty of a blooming rose and it seemed to have lost many of its colors before it could fully bloom.

With the wedding veil, she managed to hide her sad face. She was so lucky to have a veil to hide everything - her embarrassment, her grief and her love.

  "Let's go, bride-to-be." Jasmine opened the door. A joyous wedding procession started playing outside the hall. This may not be the wedding everyone was waiting for, but it is a wedding nonetheless.

Roshni walked into the hall dressed as a bride, her gharara chosen by her herself. She selected and arranged everything herself. There was no wedding video shoot or attempted dulha-dulhan photo suit. He did not see her even during the preparations.

Ravindra Chauhan glanced at the watch on his wrist, while his wife, Sunita Chauhan, stared outside with worry slowly sinking in her eyes.

"Do you know what our son is doing? He wanted to marry this girl. Look at the time, he is nowhere to be found. Does he still want to go ahead with the wedding? How can one marry a bride without a groom?" Ravinder Chauhan told his wife.

After all, Roshni was the daughter of the Singh family and he couldn't do this to the daughter of the Singh family, could he? What kind of wedding would this be? Both families are influential. If this happens, it will be a scandal made for the next day's newspaper headlines.

"Don't worry. Suraj knows what he is doing." That was the only way Sunita knew to comfort her husband. However, she found herself looking at the bride who was dressed in her red bridal attire.

Deep inside she felt that maybe Suraj should not get married today? She wished from the bottom of her heart that she was wrong.

Roshni bit her lips in nervousness. Everyone was looking at her with a lot of mockery and contempt. She was standing alone on the stage without her groom. No one was with her.

Even her mother was not standing with her. In the name of friends, only Jasmine was there who had come to make her sit on the stage.

Seconds turned into minutes. She only gave a helpless smile and exhaled slowly. She was sure in her heart that he will definitely come, even if it is not for love but for hate.

Yes.....

He hated her.

Definitely hated her...

After all, he considered her the murderer

of his Ahana.