14. The disguise

Jai

I used to believe in the kind of love where your heart skips a beat, where you can't help but miss someone when they're not around, and their every hug feels like the warmest embrace on Earth.

The kind of love my parents had, the forever kind.

But then, college happened, and it brought me back to reality.

People seemed to love the idea of money more than anything else.

I had a few girlfriends in college, but I broke up with them because they were either after my dad's money or they just found me handsome.

I was popular, sure, but I kept a small circle of friends, mainly consisting of three of us: Me, Rahul, and Naman. We were like three different flavors of ice cream—I was the reserved one compared to the other two.

After college, we managed to stay in touch. Rahul and Naman were my closest friends, the only ones apart from work if I exclude Anika.

Ah, Anika, she was different.

I genuinely enjoyed spending time with her, making her smile. She was a firecracker, not just in terms of looks but also in personality. Her contagious laughter and those incredibly lame jokes of hers could brighten up anyone's day. I'm glad she'll be mine very soon.

Being around her, I started feeling things deep in my chest that I'd never felt before.

The day we watched a match at her place, it was exactly how I had envisioned my love life back in college, and it terrified me.

I never felt that around any other person and around her I was a teenager discovering new feelings in my chest and butterflies in my stomach.

We were in an arranged marriage, and I had doubts if she had any feelings for me.

I'd been in relationships before where I'd been treated poorly, and I didn't want history to repeat itself. I trusted her, but I couldn't ignore the fear. So I decided to let things progress naturally and see where they'd lead.

Two days ago, we told our parents about our decision, and they agreed to meet today.

Anika did something that I couldn't quite figure out—she created a WhatsApp group for the four of us and gave me a wink when they said we weren't allowed to attend the parents' meeting.

This girl was something else. I often found myself smiling at the thought of her, and only her.

In the past few days, I'd been busy shortlisting homes for us to live in after marriage. They were all apartments since Anika preferred them over villas. I hadn't told her yet, but I figured I'd bring it up soon. Let's see how that goes.

At noon, our parents left for their meeting, and by 12:05 pm, Anika and Varsha were already at my place.

I didn't even have to tell them my parents were leaving; Anika somehow knew. She was like a friendly neighborhood stalker, and it was both amusing and scary.

"How did you...never mind," I started, and Anika cut in with a playful greeting, hugging me.

I could've stayed in her embrace all day if I could, but I had to remind myself to keep my emotions in check.

"Hello to you too, mister," she said.

"So, what's the plan?" Aarav asked as he joined us in the living room. It looked like the four of us were in for some fun today.

"We definitely can't eavesdrop on them" Anika began.

"Well, actually, I don't want to hear them at all. Just let's see what they're up to and how well they bond."

Aarav, looking a tad lost, chimed in, "Are we using doreamon's gadget then?" Varsha playfully hurled a pillow at him, which he clearly deserved.

"So, Jiju, are you ready to step out of your comfort zone?" Varsha asked me.

"Should I be scared?" I asked.

"No, quite the opposite," Anika replied with a sly grin.

Aarav, still feeling left out, exclaimed, "Could somebody please tell me what we're going to do?"

He was such a baby sometimes, and I couldn't help but chuckle at his impatience. This was going to be an interesting day, and I had a feeling that with Anika by my side, it would be nothing short of an adventure.

"Varsha got the address from Mom's phone, so we know where they'll be meeting. As for us, we're going in disguise to watch from afar and make sure everything's going well," Anika explained with a sheepish smile. Honestly, it was a pretty good idea.

"So, what are the costumes?" I asked.

"Here you go," Varsha tossed each of us a bag filled with clothes.

"You dyed your hair?" I hadn't noticed before because she had her hair tied up with a clip, but now that she'd let it down, I could see the dark red strands at the ends. It looked quite striking.

"No, it's temporary colour," Anika replied, waving her hand in front of her face. "We have approximately 10 minutes to get ready and leave. Let's go!"

Anika had this way of taking charge, and I couldn't help but follow her lead.

I quickly got dressed in loose jeans, a tee, a shirt on top of the tee , messy hair.  I never not style my hair and messy was out of the equation.

I've never dressed like this; my go-to outfit was usually just casual jeans and a tee or a suit.

I returned to the living room, where Varsha was already sitting, fully prepared. She was dressed all in white, with straight hair and shades. She looked nothing like the Varsha I knew.

Then Anika walked in, rocking an all-black look, and I was stunned. She looked incredibly hot and left me speechless.

Her outfit was the total opposite of Varsha's—black straight-cut pants, a curve-hugging top, little curls in her hair, makeup, and black shades. I had never seen this side of Anika before, and I was eager to explore every phase of her.

Finally, Aarav joined us, dressed like a nerdy character with glasses that genuinely transformed him into a nerd. His tucked-in shirt and old-fashioned jeans completed the look.

He already had glasses so plus points for the costume. He looked hilarious!

"The best outfit," I told him trying not to laugh.

"Why am I the only one who got such an outfit?" he replied, feigning sadness.

"It definitely suits you," Varsha chimed in sarcastically.

Aarav looked towards Anika.

"I wasn't the one who picked the outfits" she admitted in surrender.

"Why didn't Jai get similar outfit to mine" Aarav asked Varsha.

"Ani picked Jiju's outfit that's why." Varsha shrugs

I gave Anika a look that said, "We'll talk about that later." I was genuinely curious why she had chosen this outfit for me.

We headed to the restaurant, found a seat a bit farther from our parents, and settled in to observe them.

Anika and I had a clear view, and it was heartwarming to watch them chat, share jokes, and become friends.

I was genuinely happy about the progress.

After our parents left, Anika let out a sigh of relief, and I could see the tension visibly melting away.

I gave her knee a reassuring squeeze; she tended to get anxious over the smallest things, her brain always overthinking.

We chatted for a while, had lunch, took a long drive on the highway, and finally returned home. Before going inside, we changed back into our regular clothes.

My mom greeted me with a smile as I walked in.

"Hi, Mom," I said casually, hoping we wouldn't get caught.

"So, is Anika becoming my Bhabhi?" Aarav asked.

"Yep," Mom started.

"We had a chat about it, and looking at the dates, apart from this month, the next few months don't seem to be in our favor. So, you'll be getting engaged next week and getting married the week after that."

Two weeks? That was very soon. My whole life is going to change.

In just two weeks, Anika was going to be my wife. The thought brought a mix of excitement and anticipation that I couldn't help but smile at.

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❀₊˚⊹♡

Jai catching feelings??👀

The story is gonna be uphill from now on🤍

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