Chapter 55: "Trial Room Temptations – A Saree, a Sigh, and a Stolen Kiss"
Scene: Village Trip, Family Shopping Day – City Mall, Ladies' Floor
It was supposed to be a normal shopping day.
But nothing was ever "normal" when Raviel was around.
---
The family had arrived in the nearby city mall for pre-wedding shopping. Dadi wanted a silk saree. Mummy needed matching bangles. Chachiji was bargaining for a lehenga like it was a war treaty. The ladies formed a chaos unit, storming stores like queens in flip-flops.
Raviel, who had barely worn a dupatta until last week, found herself dragged into a dressing room with ten sarees, four suits, and a confused salesgirl asking, "Madam, do you want Banarasi or Bollywood style?"
> Raviel (murmuring to herself):
"Banarasi… Bollywood… why is nothing named after Boby?"
She picked a deep crimson saree with gold embroidery, one that shimmered like flames at dusk. Carefully, curiously, she undid the hooks of her current dress and began wrapping the unfamiliar cloth, fumbling adorably with the pleats.
Her back was bare. Her blouse still unhooked.
Just then—the changing room curtain slid open.
> Boby (walking in, wide-eyed):
"DAMMIT."
Raviel froze in shock, half-dressed, the saree hanging loosely from her waist, the back of her blouse still open.
> Raviel (blushing):
"Boby! What are you—? This is the ladies' trial room!"
> Boby (stepping closer, breath caught):
"You look... absolutely divine."
He wasn't thinking. He wasn't acting.
He simply moved, drawn by a force greater than logic—perhaps love, perhaps lust, perhaps something deeper that he couldn't name.
> Raviel (whispering, eyes wide):
"We're not home…"
> Boby (pulling her gently into his arms):
"I don't care."
And he kissed her.
Softly at first. His lips brushing against hers with reverence, with longing, with awe—as if she were still the divine being from his manga and he was still the foolish boy who dared imagine her.
But then she responded. Her fingers reached up, tangling in his hair. Her body leaned into his warmth. And the kiss deepened.
Ten minutes disappeared like dream-dust.
No clock ticked. No world existed.
Just her half-wrapped in a saree and him full of emotion, as if the entire cosmos had shrunk into that tiny changing room.
When they finally broke apart—breathing heavy, eyes dazed—Boby leaned close again, lips brushing her cheek.
> Boby (whispering):
"I want more… More kisses. More of you. But…"
He glanced toward the outside, where Dadi's voice was shouting, "Where's the red blouse with the parrot border!?"
> Boby (smirking):
"Time's run out."
He kissed her lips once more—quick, full of mischief, full of promise—and stepped back.
> Boby:
"Come out faster. But not too fast. I need to calm down first…"
And just like that, he vanished behind the curtain.
---
Raviel stood frozen, heart pounding, cheeks glowing, fingers still trembling where his lips had touched her.
She looked in the mirror—messy hair, lips slightly swollen, eyes dazed, saree halfway on.
> Raviel (smiling, whispering):
"This world's trial rooms are dangerous."
Behind her, the mirror flickered just once.
Perhaps even the universe blushed.
---
Cutaway Scene: Outside the Trial Room
> Dadi (to the salesgirl):
"Arre, why is the curtain shaking like that?"
> Salesgirl: "Maybe AC, ma'am?"
> Bunty (eating popcorn):
"Or maybe bhaiya went in by mistake…"
> Chachaji: "Impossible. Boby never makes mistakes."
> Chachiji (snorting): "Then why did he write that chapter with Raviel kissing a dragon?"
---
Next Chapter Preview: