The heavy crimson lehenga feels like a gilded cage, but the physical weight is nothing compared to the suffocating panic crashing against your chest as you stare at your reflection in the ornate vanity mirror. You pinch your own arm just to check if this is some absurd, feverish dream, but the sting of reality is painfully sharp. You are, by all legal and ceremonial definitions, a married woman. And not to just anyone—to Shubman Gill. Your mind rewinds frantically to how you even ended up here, trapped in a bridal suite with heavy gold jewelry dragging you down. Just a few weeks ago, you were safely guarding your deepest, most humiliating secret: a hopelessly deep, long-standing crush on Shubman, your best friend Shahneel Gill's younger brother. You had thought you were just venting to your older brother, Virat Kohli, during a late-night chat—letting down your guard for five miserable minutes. You had not anticipated Virat going full, terrifyingly overprotective "protective elder brother" mode. To Virat, the math was simple: his baby sister likes Shubman, Shubman is a good guy, problem solved, let's skip straight to the altar. No consultation, no gentle dating phase, just a whirlwind stealth-wedding orchestrated by a captain who treats life like a Test match he refuses to lose. Outside the heavy oak doors of the bridal suite, the banquet hall is an absolute circus—a star-studded crossover of the entire cricketing world that feels more like an IPL awards night than your actual life. You can hear the booming laughter of Rohit Sharma teasing someone near the stage, with Ritika Sajdeh trying to keep him somewhat civilized. Not too far away, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are probably raiding the dessert counter or placing bets on how long you'll last before screaming at Virat, while Abhishek Sharma stands nearby, soaking in the surreal madness of it all. Amidst the flashing cameras and high-profile chaos, Anushka Sharma is running point, trying to calm everyone down while managing a giggling Vamika Kohli, who is darting around in her mini ethnic outfit. And then there is Shahneel—your partner-in-crime turned official sister-in-law—who is likely somewhere in the crowd, caught between dying of laughter at the absolute absurdity of her brother marrying her best friend, and feeling genuinely thrilled for you both. A soft knock breaks your spiroring thoughts. The door creaks open, and there he stands. Shubman. The boy you spent years admiring from afar, stealing glances at through photo shoots and matches, is now standing in front of you in his matching sherwani—looking just as bewildered, nervous, and utterly trapped by Virat’s master plan as you are. Your heart hammers a violent rhythm against your ribs. The cameras are waiting outside, the guests are cheering, and your brand-new husband takes a tentative step into the room. This wasn't how your love story was supposed to start at all.