INTEZAAR-11♡

As Srishti worked diligently on her files, a melody filled her headphones and enveloped her in its soothing embrace.

Meharbani jaate jaate mujh pe kar gaya...

Ghuzarta sa lamha ek daman bhar gaya...

Tere nazara mila, roshan sitara mila, Taqdeer ki kashtiyon ko kinara mila...

-raabata

As Srishti immersed herself in the melody playing through her headphones, the sound of her door opening pulled her out of her reverie. She quickly paused the music and turned to see who had entered.

SRISHTI POV

"Saru, come have your food," my mother yelled as she entered my room for the fourth time. I responded with a casual, "coming in 2 minutes," but it seemed her patience had reached its limit.

"Saru, your 2 minutes! It's been an hour! Are you coming or not?" she shouted as she approached my desk, and I found myself momentarily deafened by her loud voice.

"Alright, I'm coming," I said in pain as she yanked my right ear. "Ouch, Mom! Okay, okay, you can let go of my ear. I'm coming. Just let me save my work, okay?"

After having dinner with my family, they settled down to watch TV or chat. I was late for dinner because I had lost track of time. However, my little rocket kept me company, excitedly telling me about a cartoon movie she had recently watched. I couldn't help but chuckle at her adorable expressions.

"Hey Saru, did you talk to him?" my sister-in-law inquired.

She was referring to his call, which hadn't come in almost two days. He hadn't reached out or left a message. Quite rude, I thought.

"No, bhabhi," I replied, and she simply nodded, understanding that I didn't want to discuss the topic further.

After dinner, as I returned to my room to complete my remaining work, my phone started ringing. I dashed towards it, hoping it might be a call from an unknown number. To my disappointment, it was Isha calling me, which made me smirk.

"Why would he call you? He probably doesn't even remember you exist," I teased myself before picking up the call.

"Hi Isha, how are you?" I asked as I switched between applications on my laptop.

"I'm fine, how about you? What are you up to?" she inquired, and I was pleased to hear her usual way of asking what I was doing.

"Nothing much, just re-reading the patients' files. What about you?" I replied.

"Same here, I was doing some intern work. So, what's bothering you? You looked tense today," Isha observed.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just received a marriage proposal," I shared. There was a brief pause on the line, as if Isha had received a shock.

"A proposal? Oh, that's nice. So, what do you think?" she asked.

"My family has already said yes, and honestly, the family seems good, so I think it's a good choice for me," I sighed.

"Have you met the guy and talked to him?" inquired Isha.

"Yeah, I met him a few days ago. He's good-looking, no doubt, but we haven't really had a deep conversation yet," I added.

"Ohh, I think you should listen to your heart. By the way, what's his name, future brother-in-law?" Isha teased, making me blush.

"Aahan Oberoi," I murmured softly. I didn't know why, but I liked his name.

"Oberoi? Is that the same Oberoi from the magazine?" Isha exclaimed, causing me to pull my phone away from my ear.

"Srishti, what a stock of luck,yaar, why him? I mean, where is he , and you?" Isha taunted, clearly enjoying teasing me.

"Well, he's...," I started to explain, but Isha's tone was making me furious.

The Srishti family was thriving. We could say that her family held significant influence in North India, but Isha remained oblivious to this fact. It had all been carefully concealed from her. Srishti didn't want others to equate her achievements with her family's wealth. She was determined to reach her goals through her own efforts, a principle instilled in her by her father. He wanted his children to learn self-reliance and achieve success through hard work.

After Isha's comment, Srishti simply nodded. Isha warned her to be cautious of the ongoing scams where people impersonated wealthy individuals from society to deceive others. In response, Srishti chuckled, confirming that her friend was indeed naive. After ending the call, she put her phone on silent mode, believing there was no chance he would call her today. With a wistful smile, she returned to her work.

She became so engrossed in her tasks that she lost track of time. Since she had a night shift at the hospital tomorrow and no morning classes, she decided to complete her work during the night and enjoy a restful sleep in the morning. While lost in her thoughts, she absentmindedly checked her phone, which displayed a missed call from an unknown number 20 minutes ago.

After contemplating whether she should redial the number, given that it was nearly 2 a.m., she decided to go ahead. She patiently waited for the other person to pick up. When the call was answered, Srishti inexplicably began to feel nervous. She greeted hesitantly, saying, "Hi?" She knew someone was on the other end because she could hear irregular breathing.

She inquired once more, "Is anyone there?" A voice finally responded, "Hello, it's me," and in that moment, Srishti realized something was amiss. Her heart skipped a beat, leaving her utterly speechless.

As she spoke again, her voice quivered with unmistakable nervousness, adding a touch of sweetness to the moment.

For the next 15 minutes, they talked, clearing up any doubts she had. She couldn't help but feel a warm glow inside as he expressed his support for her dreams. When he casually mentioned "soon to be Mrs.," her heart somersaulted with joy, beating so loudly that it felt like the soundtrack to a cute love story. But she didn't want to overwhelm herself with these emotions just yet, so she ended the call with a shy smile on her face, leaving a hint of sweetness in the air.

AUTHOR POV

Because Srishti and Aahan were both caught up in their demanding schedules and exams, they hardly found time to communicate. Their lives were consumed by their respective commitments.

One morning, as Srishti rushed off to college for her third and final year exams, her mother intercepted her.

"Srishti, Rekha ji inquired about your availability for the engagement dress selection. Would you like to join?"

Both families had confirmed the engagement date, set for one week after Srishti's exams. However, given their distant geographical locations, this posed a significant challenge. The women from Aahan's family had decided to stay in Kashi only until the wedding, as the men were occupied with work and other responsibilities.

"Mom, not right now," Srishti responded as she prepared for her exam.

"Yes, I informed them, but they mentioned that Aahan will be accompanying them for your shopping tomorrow because he wants to meet you," her mother casually mentioned, as if it were not a matter of great concern. However, when she turned to look for Srishti, she sighed in frustration, realizing that Srishti had vanished, indicating that she hadn't heard her.

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hey lovelies

how are you all

why don't you all introduced yourself

like let me know you all

stay tuned

-aein