Dusk to Dawn (The Legacy Duet - 1)

𝖁𝖊𝖓𝖎, 𝖛𝖎𝖉𝖎, 𝖛𝖎𝖈𝖎

𝕱or the next two days, the entire house went over wedding plans. For my mother, the wedding was as much about image as it was about helping us. And she rose to the occasion spectacularly. At my behest and Taimoor's intervention to get us all out of his hair, Asfand and I were to be married in a rooftop garden, overlooking the hills at sunset.

A dream wedding, really.

It was the antithesis of how I had pictured my wedding. The theme of my imagined nuptials would have been modern. Chic, black-tie, smoky jazz, and chandeliers a bright and bold celebration. Making professional inroads at my own wedding would have been a given. I would have been marrying to continue my name. The fast-paced, often ugly, no-time-to-cry business of networking and keep your social status intact.

But I'd never, not once, envisioned myself getting married in a rooftop ceremony at dusk, followed by drinks and intimate mingling with everyone. There would be flowers and a cake, musicians, and ribbons. It would be small, held in the grandest rooftop garden at sunset.

Flawless beauty greeted my eyes and a crisp breeze blew the white curtains aside. Heavy monsoon rains the night before left the entire world fresh and green, and each breath I took felt like being reborn. The flowers along the walls swayed gently as soft sunlight bathed the area. The setting was unmatched. The hills were clear as a bell in the distance, smothered in sunshine. The greenery putting its best foot forward, rows of lush greens and rich browns rolled out like shiny ribbons in the flattering evening light.

Today was the day.

Sara had outdone herself with the flower arrangements, guiding the event planner and her small team, to create a tasteful color scheme of cream and blue with pops of peach woven into the ribbons, somehow grasping my style without me having to say a word.

Asfand's mother had taken charge of the arrangements and a tent for the small reception was already in the process of being erected and decked out at the club.

Everything was ready to go and I didn't even have my dress on yet.

Hair and makeup was done - my glam team had taken care of that. Everything was being handled.

All I needed to do was get married.

And yet, I searched for the one person who'd made all of this possible. Who'd barricaded himself inside his wing so we would not be disturbed. Who had gone against his nature to make this possible.

He was avoiding me.

And I knew why. But being his twin, he should have been aware that I wasn't going to let this go. Knowing he was watching me, I dropped to the ground, the grass cushioning my fall, the light scent of moss and nature filling my nostrils.

"I hope that's not how you're planning to get married."

"Nice to see your brain hasn't completely rotted away while you skulked in the dark."

He looked at me, his expression unreadable. "I was giving you space."

"You were hiding," I said after letting his features continue to fall to the shadows. "Wait, don't leave."

"What?"

My heart sank in my chest painfully. "Thank you."

"I haven't done anything."

"You did everything," his expression faded into a darkness I was slowly becoming accustomed to. It only tended to happen when he thought he wasn't getting his way or he thought I might be wanting to do something he wouldn't approve of. "You're the reason I have him."

"Take care of him, he's not like us," he said gravelly. "He's a good man."

"And so are you."

Taimoor exhaled, deep and steady. "I'm not going to go up in front of all of the people-"