Chapter 67: Ch.66/ The Perfect Day
Chapter 67: Ch.66/ The Perfect Day
One year ago when Alessandro decided to marry Anupama, there was no feeling attached from both sides. Alessandro only wanted to have her as his wife, on the other hand Anupama was trying to save her father's business. But time has changed everything as now these two can not even think about leaving each other for a second. Both have come to the realization that how much love they have for each other and that's why their relationship has been getting stronger day by day.
Anupama was surprised at first that Alessandro didn't wish her on their first wedding anniversary. What she didn't know that Alessandro was already planning a very special gift for her. So, when she got to know about the proposal she cried like a baby as she wasn't expecting something so thoughtful from Alessandro. It's not like he hadn't done anything romantic or beautiful for her till now, but to propose to her for marriage was something completely different out of her imagination.
Now after three months from the proposal they are going to get married surrounded by all of their loved ones. Alessandro has booked Alexandria ballrooms for the wedding ceremony because he wants the best for his wife. There will be two marriage ceremonies as Anupama wants to get married following the traditional rituals of her Bengali culture. On the other hand, she also wants to follow the rituals of Christian weddings. So, in the morning they will be getting married following the Christian way and after that, they will be getting married again in the evening following the Bengali rituals.
Everyone is informed about the upcoming wedding of the great business tycoon Alessandro Bianchi and the paparazzi can not be more happier to have the opportunity to write about the big event. Although Anupama was not very happy with everyone knowing about the wedding, but when Alessandro assured her that nothing bad would happen she calmed down. A lot of relatives of Sengupta's have already arrived for the big day as they love Anupama very much. Alessandro has booked luxurious hotels for the guests to stay which makes them very delighted.
Alessandro has surprised Anupama by agreeing to follow all the rituals, especially the Bengali rituals which are not easy for any non-Indian person. However, this has made Anupama very pleased that her
husband treasure her so much. It has taken a lot of effort to select everything for the wedding as there are so many people to offer their own opinions. But in the end, the planning for the big day has been done perfectly.
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Anupama's POV:-
"What if I trip while walking down the aisle?" I ask looking at the ladies who are giving me bored looks.
"I have already told you numerous times that you won't trip over and if you do then we will catch you." Jasmine di says while attaching the veil with the hairpin Olivia has put on my hair.
"Anu please for God's sake calm your tits. You are going to ruin your makeup and hair." Riya comments and hands me a glass of orange juice which I take because I am seriously feeling dehydrated.
"I need to see my babies. Are they ready yet?" I ask no one in particular.
"Yup, I get them ready along with my kids. I also feed Ian a little rice pudding because you won't be able to breastfeed him for a few hours because of the ceremony." Bianca replies making me sigh in relief. I was extremely worried about Ian because he still dependent on breast milk. However, a week before I have tried to feed him some solid food, and surprisingly he likes them very much.
Suddenly, the door of the room where I am getting ready gets open by none other than my baby girl who walks inside followed by her Nonna who has my son in her arms. I awe looking at my babies because both of them are looking very adorable in their outfits which are chosen by their Papa.
"Mum-mum you look so pretty." My daughter says after standing in front of me.
"Thank you so much, baby. You are looking very pretty too." I let out while kissing her softly on the cheeks. After that, I take my son in my arms who is looking everywhere in wonder. He is becoming a
total carbon copy of his father as Mama Melody has shown me some of Alessandro's photos when he was a baby.
"My baby is such a handsome little man." I cooe at the five months old who is now busy blabbering something in his baby language.
"Dolcezza, you are looking ethereal." Mama Melody comments making me blush. I give Ian to Olivia before facing Mama Melody who is looking at me with teary eyes. I can feel myself getting emotional but I hold back my tears as I don't want to ruin the hard work of the girls.
"Thank you so much, Mama Melody. I can not believe that finally I am going to be married to the man whom I love with my all being. It still feels like a beautiful dream but I know that this time my dream will be fulfilled." I say with a smile while Mama Melody hugs me gently.
"I can feel your happiness dear and believe me, I have always believed that a caring person like you should be getting all of her dreams true." Mama Melody replies before kissing me on the forehead.
"Doll, are you rea-" Mamoni stops mid-sentence when she looks at me. I bit my lip in apprehension to know her thoughts on my look.
"Umm, how am I looking Mamoni?" I ask when she doesn't say anything for some time. She walks near me before caressing my cheek lovingly while putting a small kiss on my forehead.
"You are looking like a true fairy. I can not even form proper words to describe the beauty you are possessing." Mamoni replies softly with a smile.
"Thank you." I respond while grinning from ear to ear. I wasn't sure about my choices on the wedding dress and other accessories as I don't like to wear too flashy things. But now seeing everyone's reaction I am positive that my choices are not so bad.
"Oh, I forget to tell you that Borda is waiting for you outside. So, if you are completely ready then let's go." Mamoni says making me feel like I don't know what to do anymore. I think Bianca must have seen my hesitation so she puts her palm on my back before giving me a side hug.
"Don't worry too much, Anupama. Everything will be going as planned." Bianca lets out making me nod my head. I look around the VIP room which is provided by the ballroom authority to make sure that all the ladies are ready or not. Riya hands me the flower bouquet before giving me a thumbs up making me giggle.
Olivia opens the door for me so I give her a small smile before walking out of the room to see that Baba is facing the other side of the hallway. So, I go near him and clear my throat to get his attention. When he turns around and notices me, his eyes widen before a full-blown smile takes over his face. I walk near him before stopping in front of him.
"Anupama, you are glowing my child." Baba comments while looking at me with eyes full of adoration.
"Thank you, baba." I reply feeling happy that my father is the one who will be walking me down the aisle.
"Your mother would have been so happy to see you in a wedding attire." Baba says with a sigh but then smiles when he sees that I am getting emotional.
"Maa is always with me, baba. Please don't cry or I will start crying." I let out making him laugh. He holds out his left elbow for me to take which I do with a big smile. We walk towards the door of the ballroom while the flower girls Delilah and Advira walk ahead of us along with the maid of honor Riya and the other bridesmaids. Finally, the door of the ballroom gets open indicating that it's time for us to get inside. I can feel my heartbeat getting fast but baba squeezes my hand gently making me feel better.
I take a deep breath before looking ahead of me to see that the arrangement of the ballroom is exactly like I have dreamt of. The light color of the flowers has me smiling in delight. I can hear the murmurs from the guests while walking through the flower-covered path.
But what has my attention is the look I am getting from my man, Alessandro who is looking so handsome in his crisp wedding tuxedo. When our eyes meet, I can see the way he is holding back his tears. However, I know that my stubborn husband will not cry in front of so many people. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
Soon, we reach the altar and baba puts my hand on Alessandro's and ask him to take care of me before taking a seat beside Kakai on the chair. Both Alessandro and I look at each other with big smiles when the Pastor starts the procedure of the marriage by saying "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today...."
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Alessandro's POV:-
I am not paying attention to what the pastor is saying because all of my attention is on my Cara who is looking so stunning that I can not take off my eyes from her. Now I understand why she didn't want me to see her wedding dress before the wedding. Because I am not complaining a bit as it would not be felt this good if I had seen it before. I know that this is not the first time that I am marrying her, but it feels like I am getting married for the first time.
I am feeling proud of myself that I have decided to ask Anhuphama to marry me again. I know that the way I married her before was not a very good move of mine. That's why I have decided to change the horrible memories of our first wedding to the loving memories of our current wedding. The bright smile on her face, the happy glow around her, the excitement in her eyes are the proof that I have done the right thing.
"Do you, Alessandro Bianchi take Anupama Sengupta as your lawfully wedded wife; to live together with her in the covenant of marriage? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor, and cherish her? Do you promise to be faithful unto her as long as you both live?" The pastor asks me.
"I do." I reply while looking at Anhuphama who gives me a soft smile.
"Do you, Anupama Sengupta take Alessandro Bianchi as your lawfully wedded husband; to live together with him in the covenant of marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor him, and cherish him? Do you promise to be faithful unto her as long as you both live?" The pastor asks Anhuphama.
"I do." Anhuphama replies confidently making me smile.
Then the pastor asks for the ring bearer to come forward with the wedding rings. On the cue, King starts dragging a little wagon where Ian is sitting with the help of pillows and the other furry babies are following behind them. We all cooe at the sight of our boys because I didn't know till now who is the ring bearer. When they stop in front of us, both I and Anhuphama bend down to give head scratches to our big boys before I pock up Ian in my arms. I kiss him on his chubby cheeks and takes the ring box from his hand which makes him whiney. Marco takes my son from me while I give the ring box to the pastor.
The pastor gives me a wedding band and ask me to put it on Anhuphama's left hand's ring finger which I do. He then gives Anhuphama a wedding band before asking her to put the band on my left hand's ring finger.
"Now, it's time for the vows. The groom will go first." The pastor says gesturing towards me. I take a deep breath before looking at the love of my life.
"I wasn't looking for love or anything like that when you come into my life. Actually, you didn't come into my life willingly because I was the one who forced you to be a part of my life. But the moment I realized
that you are not a person who has a bit of interest in my wealth I know that I have made the mistake of forcing you to do something you never wanted to. However, I don't regret it because otherwise, I wouldn't be getting to call you mine. You have become the light of my gloomy life and believe me when I say that I will not have it change by any means. You have shown me that a person like me also deserves love and a companion. You have given me the best gift by bringing our children into the world without any complaints. You have made me complete, Cara. So, today I am promising you that I will be with you forever. I will love you, respect you, cherish you the way you deserve." I let out while feeling my throat form a lump trying to block the cry that is trying to burst out of me. Anhuphama is already crying so I wipe her tears with my thumbs. The pastor gestures her to say the vow to which she nods her head before looking at me eyes full of love.
"I was a broken soul when I first got married to you. I didn't have any ambition in my life, I only had my daughter to live my life. But then you made me realize that I can do better. Not only that, you have shown me that there is nothing I need to be scared of because you're always there to protect me. You may have forced me to marry you at first but I don't regret being married to you. Because without realizing you have saved me from the dark side of my past. You have successfully erased all the awful memories of my past by replacing them to the loving ones. You have accepted me with all my flaws, yet you never complained about anything. So, today I am promising you that I will never leave your side. I will be there to support you, love you and our children till the end of my life." Anhuphama lets out and this time a lone tear slip past my eye which I wipe quickly.
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you as the husband and wife. I would like to introduce the happy couple of today's ceremony, Mr. And Mrs. Bianchi to you all." The pastor announces before facing me.
"You may now kiss the bride." The pastor tells me so I softly hold Anhuphama's face in my palms before kissing her gently on the lips. I can hear the loud cheering and clapping sounds around us so I pull away from the kiss before putting a small kiss on her forehead.
"I love you, Tesoro." I whisper in her ear.
"I love you too." She whispers back with a smile.
I take Anhuphama's hand in mine before facing the crowd and walk towards our families who have smiles on their faces. I pick up my princess in my arms while Anhuphama takes Ian in her arms. Everyone congratulates us on the wedding before Mama Melody asks us to follow her which we do without any hesitation. She stops in front of a very beautifully decorated cake and asks us to cut the cake as per ritual.
After the cake cutting is done, it's time for lunch as we have to get ready for the Bengali-style wedding ceremony. I can not wait to see Anhuphama in the Bengali wedding attire because she looks elegant whenever she wears Indian clothes.
"Umm, Alessandro I need to feed Ian." Anhuphama says in my ear making me understand that she is talking about breastfeeding our son. So, I excuse ourselves before taking her to a secluded area where no one is around. She sits on the chair available there before starting to breastfeed our son who holds his mother's dress in his tiny hands.
"Do you like the arrangements for the wedding, Cara?" I ask when she is done with feeding our son.
"I love it, Alessandro. Everything is looking so wonderful it's hard to believe that you have never done it before. Thank you so much for making this day so amazing." She replies while caressing my cheek softly. I put my hand on top of her before putting a kiss on her palms.
"As I have promised, I am going to do everything that makes you happy." I let out making her giggle.
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Anupama's POV:-
It's now evening time and Riya is getting me ready for the wedding ceremony. I have worn a red color banarsi saree which is gifted by Mamoni. Baba has given me Maa's gold jewelry to wear with the saree and order me to keep them to myself because according to him, Maa would have done the same. What brings more tears to my eyes is that Kakai will be the one to do the most important ritual of a Bengali wedding which is Sampradan. This ritual is done by the father of the bride. But baba has said that Kakai deserves to perform this ritual as he is the one who has showered me with fatherly love from the start.
"What are you thinking, Anu?" Riya asks me.
"I am thinking about baba's decision to let Kakai do the ritual of Sampradan." I reply looking at her with a small smile.
"Yes, it's unbelievable that boro mama has asked chhoto mama to perform the ritual. But it's also reasonable that chhoto mama is the person who has provided you with the love of a father." Riya says making me nod my head.
"Kakai has always been there for me when I needed baba. Also, because of him, my daughter is alive today. So, I can not be happier that I have him in my life." I let out with a sigh.
"Umm, but what's this ritual about?" Olivia asks making us look at her.
"In this ritual, the father of the bride or any elder person give the bride's hand to the groom's hand and bind their hands together with a sacred thread while chanting some Vedic mantra." Riya explains while putting the gold bangles on my wrist.
"Wow, that's so great." Bianca comments with a smile. Just then walk inside the room my Jasmine di along with my two babies who have also changed their clothes.
"By the way guys, can you believe that Alessandro has accepted to wear the traditional Bengali attire for the wedding?" Olivia says while laughing aloud. I try to hold my laugh but the thing is really funny.
"But still, we have to accept that he loves our Anu very much and can do anything that makes her happy." Riya retorts making me blush because it's true that Alessandro will do anything that makes me happy.
After a few minutes, Riya announces that she is done with my makeup and all so I can look at the mirror. I face the mirror while admiring the way I am looking in the wedding attire. I love the way my makeup is simple yet beautifully contrasted with my red saree.
"You are looking like a goddess, Anupama." Bianca comments from behind while the others agree with her.
"Yes, I never knew that Bengali brides look so beautiful in the heavy saree and the gold jewelry." Olivia lets out making me chuckle.
"Okay, now enough with the talking. Chhoto mami is already done with the Bor Boron ritual so it's finally time for the Subho Drishti where the bride and groom will be seeing each other for the first time. Here take these betel leaves in your hands while hiding your face with them and sits on this pidi." Jasmine di instructs me so I do as I have asked to do. Dadabhai along with some of his friends from India pick up the pidi before walking out of the room towards the ballroom where the wedding will be done.
When we get there, the first ritual that gets performed is the 'Saat Paak' where the ones who are holding me on the pidi start to go in circles around the groom seven times. Then the priest asks me to look at the groom to perform 'Subho Drishti', so I remove the betel leaves from the front of my face and look at Alessandro while holding back a gasp. Because he is wearing a complete Bengali attire for the ceremony.
After completing the ritual of Subho Drishti, we both ask to exchange flower garlands three times to perform the ritual named 'Mala Badal'. Then we both ask to sit on the mandap while facing each other, to begin with another ritual of the marriage.
Just as I know Kakai performs the ritual of 'Sampradan' which is known as Kanyadan in most places of India. After completing the ritual, the priest starts to do 'Yagna' while asking me and Alessandro to recite the Vedic chants after him. I can feel Alessandro getting nervous so I give his hand a little squeeze to let him know that he doesn't need to recite as it will not be easy for him to do.
After doing the Yagna, the priest asks us to stand up to perform the ritual of 'Saptapadi' where we instruct to make seven circular rounds around the holy fire to solemnize the occasion. After that, I am given a bronze plate where Dadabhai puts puffed rice that is known as Khoi to perform the ritual 'Anjali'. Alessandro stands behind me and we together pour the puff rice on the fire.
Then we both sit down beside each other and the priest hands Alessandro a silver coin while putting some sindoor on it. The priest instructs Alessandro to put the sindoor between the hair partition of my head which he does while Jasmine di covers my head with a saree as a veil. Finally, the priest announces that the marriage ceremony is completed and asks us to take blessings from the elders.
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Alessandro's POV:-
I didn't know that there are so many rituals in a Bengali wedding. So, you can guess how surprised I am performing the rituals. However, the smile on Anhuphama's face is enough for me to forget about everything. No doubt she was looking extremely beautiful in the white wedding gown, but after seeing her in the red saree I can not believe that this goddess beside me is truly my wife.
Currently, we are playing some post-wedding game and I am surely enjoying while seeing the frown on Anhuphama's face who is losing constantly. Finally, I decide to show mercy on her and let her win the
game which makes her very happy.
"Papa, me play games wid you." My princess says while fidgeting with her dress.
"Of course, baby." I reply before putting her on my lap.
"That's cheating, Alessandro. If you are taking help from Advira then I will take help from my son." Anhuphama whines making me chuckle.
"But Cara our son is sleeping." I comment with a smirk.
"I think you're forgetting that I have six more sons to help me. Come on my furry babies, help mum to win against papa." She replies and the dogs come running towards us before sitting beside their mum.
"You both are so childish." Mama says making everyone laugh around us.
"I am pleased that both wedding ceremonies have been completed without any problems." Uncle Gabriel says who is now holding a sleeping Vivaan in his arms.
"You are right, Dad. Because I can not take any more nervousness from Alessandro." Marco comments making me want to smack him. However, Miss Ganguly does this on behalf of me.
"Ouch, babe! I am your boyfriend, show some mercy on me." Marco whines but Miss Ganguly completely ignores him by getting up from her place. Marco follows her making us laugh at them.
"God knows when Riya will forgive Marco." Samuel comments with a dramatic sigh.
"I don't know about Riya but I am not going to forgive you if you don't marry me fast." Olivia threatens while pointing her finger at a terrified Samuel.