Chapter 14

Niharika got back home at around 5pm. She was tired by spending the entire day outside.

She was supposed to go to office and simply sort out her holiday—but it turned into a big day's event as she sat for a bit, then got into a meeting and attended a few more calls with whoever were present on the Saturday.

When she finally got back home, she was greeted by Mayank, who was sitting on the couch watching TV. Mayank, who had wondered where she was, finally looked up to see her.

"Where were you?" He asked, casually.

"I got stuck at work. I was supposed to only give in my holiday submission but it went into a louder thing and we all started to—" She stopped talking midway after relating that there's no point. "Sorry."

Mayank wasn't happy that she stopped talking. He wouldn't ask why she did. But he tried to change the topic, "It's alright. I was just asking because it took you much longer than before."

"Yeah," She said, "I'll freshen up." She walked over to her room.

After changing, she came back outside and saw Mayank bringing his bags in front. She watched him, "Why are you bringing them out now?"

"Because our flight is early tomorrow. 8am. We need to leave by 5am. I don't think I'll have the energy to be doing things then." He replied.

Niharika nodded, "I agree." She went and got her bag as well and kept it beside the door.

~•~

Dressed in a pale pink salwar suit, with white patiala pants and a pale duppata, Niharika braided her hair as she applied bindi and her signature kajal and mascara.

She was going to apply sindoor and mangalsutra but she realized that they were going to keep their marriage a secret. Sighing and trying to bury the sinking feeling in her heart, she kept the box in her bag—just in case.

But she kept her hair partition and neck empty.

Then, she walked out. 5am. Right on time. She looked to see Mayank in a kurta and pant. They drove over to the airport—where they met her and his parents as they got into the flight.

3.5 hours later, they were standing outside the Hilton Hotel in Kolkata, where they marriage was going to take place. They walked inside and were greeted by Deboleena—Madhun's sister.

"Dada!" Deboleena said, touching her brother's feet, "How are you? How is everything?"

"All good Debo. How are you?" Madhun smiled.

"I'm good," she then turned to Maya and bent down to touch her feet, "Boudi. How are you?"

"I'm good Debo." She said hugging her sister-in-law, "I'm really liking the decorations done. How is Arundita doing? Excited for the wedding?"

"It is a love marriage, boudi, of course she is excited! Waiting for the ceremony to start." Her eyes then fell on the family standing next to the Datta's. Confused, she looked at them and then at her brother, "Dada?"

Madhun smiled, "These are our friends from Dubai. They had come to explore Kolkata, and we were coincidentally coming today. So we asked them to join the wedding."

Deboleena smiled and introduced herself. "Nomoskar, Ami Deboleena. Ami —"

"Debo!" Maya stopped her, "They are Marathi, they won't understand Bengali."

"Oh," Deboleena said, "I'm sorry. I thought you all spoke. I'm Deboleena, Madhun Dada's sister. Very happy you all could come. I'll just arrange your rooms—give me sometime."

"No worries at all." Yangeeta said, "Thank you for having us."

"Please. Shaadi ka ghar hai, make yourself comfortable. You are all ladki waale now!" Saying so, she left, leaving all of them behind. Madhun got their bags taken care off and they all started walking towards the functions.

Niharika noticed the vibrant energy in the functions—the festive energy was oozing in the atmosphere. Somewhere, she felt bad. She wanted a marriage as such as well. Everyone gets married once and it's natural to want the wedding to be done on a full swing. She did agree that she kept it lowkey by her own will, she saw this and her old self—her loud self— wanted this for herself too. She sighed.

Meanwhile, Mayank was walking around next to Niharika, maintaining a decent distance. He had felt weird seeing her without her sindoor and mangalsutra this morning. Even though he told her it's not needed, she would also have it on.

And somewhere it made him feel nice.

He looked at his own wedding ring. It was the same unique shape which she had. Their ring was made by the same stone—just for both.

He watched her walking and exploring the place in awe. And it made him feel nice. Surprisingly.

"The first event is mehendi." Madhun's cousin, Binoy, came towards his brother, "You all should go and get ready."

Everyone nodded and by then, a room had been assigned to the Doshi's as well. 2 rooms. Rahil and Niharika were going to share one. She smiled, "Just like old times." They walked into the room. Mayank went to his own room.

After changing into a better kurta, he came outside to see his cousins and friends. Arundita, his first cousin, was getting married. And she was his junior in school. So they had a few mutual friends. Seeing his friend group, he walked over to them.

"Aru! Are you ready?" Mayank asked, "You're just 24, why did you decide to marry so fast?"

"I like him Dada, why wait for another 1/2 years when we are already settled. We have stable jobs. Why wait?" She smiled and replied, "But, you are 25. Why aren't you married yet?"

Mayank felt a knot in his stomach. He was married, he just didn't want to say it. He smiled, "Amar preyo behen, you focus on your marriage. Don't worry about mine."

Just then, Niharika walked in. She wore a plain pink saree, hugging her figure yet covering her modestly. She walked towards the functions with her brother, unaware of what to do. Arundita saw her from a distance—a wave of memory coming back. They were from the same school!

"Dada!" She said, grabbing Mayank's hand, "See. Look at her! Doesn't she look like someone? I can't remember but I've seen her before! In school!"

Mayank followed her pointing finger and landed his eyes on Niharika—who looked stunning. He kept his eyes on her for longer than he should, before finally looking away. He looked at her, "I know. She's Niharika."

"Niharika!" Arundita realised, "Dada, you two were friends, right? In school?"

"Classmates. I mean, ya, friends." Mayank said, not sure what to say. Then, he looked towards her again and yelled, "Niharika!"

Niharika noticed her name being called and turned to the source of the voice. Mayank. She walked over to them and noticed a familiar face. She recognized her instantly, "Arundita?"

"Wow!" Arundita smiled, "I am surprised you remember! Hi Niharika. It's been a while." She engulfed Niharika in a hug, which she smiled and reciprocated, confused by what's happening.

"How come you're here?" She asked her.

Niharika froze. She knew what to say. But she wasn't able to say it. "Um, I... I'm—"

"She's here with her family. To explore Kolkata. Our families are friends in Dubai, so when we found out that they're here, we invited them."Mayank completed her sentence.

Niharika looked at Mayank, giving a very small smile. Arundita nodded in understanding, "You might remember a few faces from here."

She looked around and smiled, "Yeah. A little."

"Come." She said, "Let's start mehendi."

Niharika smiled and nodded. Then, she saw everyone walked ahead while she stayed behind. Unaware of how to be involved in this. Mayank noticed her discomfort and walked over to her, his one hand in his pocket and the other holding a glass of juice, "You okay?"

She looked at him, and nodded. "Yes."

"We need to get our story right, Niharika. Or else it could become an issue." He was polite.

Niharika nodded, "Yeah. Sorry."

"No. It's alright. I know it's weird to—act like we aren't married. But, it's the right thing to do." He said, more to himself.

"If that's what you think." Niharika said, "Thank you for helping me out there. I'll go now." She said and walked away—merging into the crowd.

Mayank watched her retreating, pondering over her words. Was it the right thing to do?

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