Page 115 of Since You Stole My Heart

She had been right. It suited him, painfully so.

The tailored sleeves fit him snugly, defining the strength of his muscular arms. It hugged his chest just right and fell cleanly along his tall frame, giving him an effortless, regal look.

‘Oh, look at you! This is absolutely perfect,’ Malini clapped with delight. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. ‘Wait, let me call Lavanya. I need to show this to her.’

‘Yeah, I mean, it works. But could you not close the top buttons?’ Luv scoffed.

‘Because I don’t care,’ Swayam mumbled.

Luv turned to her and raised a brow. ‘Kashu, why don’t you help him with that? Clearly, he’s not going to do it himself. Right, Maasi?’

‘Hmm, yes, that’s fine,’ Malini replied absently, her attention caught by her phone. ‘Arrey, there’s no network here. I’ll be back. Kashvi, please just fix it for him. If Dhanush comes on the video call too, he’ll have my head for it.’

With that, she walked out of the store.

Luv gestured towards Swayam. ‘Go on.’

Kashvi shot him a look. ‘Why don’t you do it?’

‘You’re the expert here,’ Luv said, raising his hands in surrender, then walked away whistling, entirely unbothered.

With his gaze fixed on hers, Swayam crossed the small distance between them and stopped right in front of her. He pointed to his collar, waiting.

Kashvi rolled her eyes as she stepped closer. He looked so good it hurt to look at him, so she focused on the buttons as she fumbled with them. ‘You’re going to break a lot of hearts tonight.’

Swayam brushed a finger along her cheekbone. ‘Of course I will, once they find out I’m your man.’

Her heart stuttered against her ribs, and she felt it everywhere. She looked away, focusing on what she could fix, and noticed the small square of red tucked into his chest pocket.

‘This doesn’t really go with this,’ she said, lifting her hand to pull it out, but Swayam caught her wrist, pressing it flat against his chest.

The sudden contact sent a jolt through her. She felt the steady beat of his heart echo up her arm into her chest, throwing it into a frantic rhythm.

‘I’m not changing it,’ Swayam said, resolute.

Her brows knit together. ‘Why?’

‘It’s a special colour for me,’ he said, looking at her intently.

She glanced at the pocket square again and realised it was the exact same shade of deep, rich red as her ruby pendant.

The distance she had been trying to maintain collapsed under the weight of his gaze.

Just then, a weight settled over Kashvi’s head and soft fabric brushed against her cheek. She looked up in confusion, her breath hitching as she realised it was a deep red bridal pallu cascading over her hair, its intricate beads glimmering under the light.

Luv stood beside her, draping the pallu, his expression unreadable.

‘What… what is this?’ she asked.

His gaze flickered between her and Swayam. ‘I forgot to get you a gift, so I thought I’d fix my mistake. This one’s on me.’

‘For what?’

‘Your wedding,’ he said, stepping back again, leaving them be.

She turned to Swayam, who was looking at her with misty eyes. He let out a long breath, then tapped her nose gently once. ‘There she is, my bride.’

His words hit her with blinding force, making her clutch the pallu tighter.