19. His Dulhan

Anika

It was around 12:30am when I heard my doorbell ring. Guests at this hour?

I grabbed my broomstick, feeling a bit freaked out, and cautiously approached the door.

Peeking through the peephole, I was relieved to see my two best friends.

I swung the door open, instantly getting engulfed in a group hug.

Diya, always the witty one, couldn't resist teasing, "Want to attack us already, bitch?"

"You guys scared the shit outta me. Who comes at this hour?" I rolled my eyes, trying to recover from the surprise.

I invited them inside.

"I missed you both so much," Nisha chimed in.

"Me too, babe, me too," I replied, genuinely happy to see them.

"So how's life?" Diya asked

"Soo good!"

"I need the tea. You are literally marrying your crush!" Nisha declared.

"There's nothing to talk about," I told them, although deep down, there were a million things on my mind.

They had brought two large luggage bags each, indicating they were here for the wedding.

I couldn't help but recall our conversations about who would get married first, with both of them thinking it would be me and Jai right after college.

Jokes on them, I didn't have the guts to confess it to him.

But then he went to the US and things changed. I was focused on my career and he I didn't know what he was up to.

"Oh please, start talking already" Diya interjected when we took a seat on the sofa.

"We went on a few dates, and we like each other mutually" I told them.

"Did you tell him about your feelingsssss?" Nisha asked winking. This girl doesn't talk to everyone but once she gets close, there's no stopping.

"Nooo. It'll be awkward, I guess. Things are going good right now," I confessed.

"When did you guys come??" I asked, curious about their sudden arrival.

"We are coming straight from the airport," Nisha explained.

"We would have come earlier by 2 hours though," Diya added.

"My flight got delayed! If it were up to me, I would have driven the plane myself. Wait, do we fly them? no we drive," Nisha joked.

"Did you meet aunty and uncle?" I asked them both.

"They are probably sleeping, so I decided to come to your place instead," Diya replied.

"What about you, Nish?" I inquired with concern, knowing Nisha's parents were a sensitive topic for her.

"They don't care Ani, so I didn't care about them this time," she said, but I could sense that she did. Nisha cared for everyone around her, and that was one of the things I liked most about her.

As we sat in silence for a moment, it wasn't awkward, just comforting. The three of us together after two years, with so much to catch up on.

"So, do you think the love's mutual?" Diya raised an eyebrow, breaking the silence.

"I don't know. I am definitely falling for him. My feelings before were not this strong before," I confessed honestly.

"He's an idiot if he doesn't feel the same," Nisha declared, trying to reassure me. My friends had a tendency to overestimate me.

"Shall we sleep? I need good sleep for tomorrow," I suggested.

"What's tomorrow?" Nisha asked innocently.

"You shouldn't ask such questions, Nish," Diya teased, giving Nisha a knowing look.

"Got it, got it," Nisha replied with a playful smile.

The night passed with laughter, gossip, and discussions about random stuff. The alarm jolted me awake, and I realized it was morning.

The sun must have risen, but we were so engrossed in our conversations that we hadn't noticed.

"It's 8 AM!" I said, horrified.

"Uh-huh," Diya replied.

"No beauty sleep today, Cinderella," Nisha grinned, and I threw a pillow at her.

"I need to get ready. Jai said he'll be here by 11."

I went to get ready in a good mood.

It was 10:55 AM when I heard my bell ring. I opened the door and found Jai standing there in a black suit. It wasn't his usual office look; he didn't wear a tie and left the top two buttons of his white shirt open.

Nisha stopped me, and Diya opened the door.

"Kya chahiye aapko?"(What do you need?) Diya asked Jai.

"Meri Dulhan,"(My bride) he replied, winking at me as I entered.

"These are for you, beautiful," he said, handing me a bouquet of red flowers.

"Thank you, Mr. Singhania," I accepted them.

Our eye contact lasted for about a few minutes or hours when a whistle brought us out of our thoughts.

"Introduce us too, Ani," Diya called.

"Ahmm, so Jai, these are my friends, Nisha and Diya."

"Hii Jiju," they said in unison.

"Helloo," he replied.

"You wanna come in?" I asked him.

"No, we're gonna be late if I come in," Jai replied, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ahm ahm," Nisha prompted.

"Let's go!"

"Wait. Let me bring my bag," I told him.

"Take a pair of sneakers with you," he said.

"You underestimate me. I can rock heels." I headed to my room and came back with a bag that had my essentials.

I flipped my hair and headed towards the lift, and he followed me with a chuckle.

When we got into the lift, he brought me close by my waist. I think he's growing into this gesture. Or maybe I am. But who's complaining, I love it!

"You look so beautiful, baby," he said with his voice husky, and I really tried to maintain composure. The way he compliments me has my stomach dropping.

"You have a good taste, Mr. Singhania," I told him.

"Of course I do," he winked at me. He was referring to me!

Jai had called me in the morning around two hours ago that I had a parcel waiting in front of my door. When I opened it, I found the bag and a red rose with a handwritten note that said

"Can't wait to spend the whole day with you. This dress is for you, sexy lady."

I opened the box and found a satin dress. I paired it with hoop earrings and did makeup. I loved how the makeup turned out.

My love language is acts of service. I've always felt that it made me feel like I'm close to the person. That person being Jai always.

The way he always said and does the right thing makes my heart so full.

When we reached the car, as usual, it was a posh one. I didn't know which one, but it looked so good.

He opened the car door for me, and I got in.

"So, where are we going?" I asked when we headed out of my apartment.

"It's a surprise," he said.

"What is it?" I asked excitedly.

"Surprise ka matlab samjau?" (Should I explain the meaning of surprise?) he said, and I rolled my eyes.

"huh," I fake pouted and turned my face.

"Stop making those expressions, or I'll kiss those lips right here." Not a bad idea, you can surely go ahead, I thought but didn't say.

Then after a few minutes, he asked, "Like the view?" knowing I was staring at him.

"Yeah, it's so handsome," I said with a smile. This is the first time I'm complimenting him in all the years that I've liked him.

He just laughed. The sound that I'm burying in my heart.

Then the next song came up, which is "pehla pyaar" by Armaan Malik. All the feelings I've had for him throughout the years come rushing back.

And when I start singing, surprisingly he joins me.

"You know the lyrics?" I asked him, surprised. Jai doesn't listen to songs like I do.

"I know you liked the song." Is all he said.

"You learnt the lyrics for me?" I asked, tearing up a bit. He just shrugged.

I went closer and gave him a kiss on the cheek. I wanted to do more, but at this point where there are feelings only from my side, I didn't want to complicate things.

Then I got surprised by watching his cheeks turn pink. He's so cute while blushing.

Right at that time, we stopped near the foot of a hill, small one though. I realized we had come near the outskirts of Hyderabad.

"Madam," he opened my side of the car door.

I laughed and took his hand. Then we headed to the start. I saw that we needed to climb a little. It was mostly a path of sand uphill, but with heels, it became difficult.

"I can rock heels," Jai mocked me. Asshole.

"I can walk," I started walking again. It became difficult, but I didn't want to prove him right.

"Hey hey!" he came jogging behind me.

"Let me help," he asked.

"I am perfectly fine," I replied. I was not.

"Stop being stubborn, Ani," he said pleasantly.

"Get on my back." He asked softly.

"You want to give me a piggyback ride?"

"Yes?"

"No, I'm good," I replied.

"You won't listen? okay...." He started to throw me over his shoulder when I said, "Okay, okay."

It's better if I can see the world with straight eyes rather than upside down.

And when we reached the top, almost, I could see what this actually was.

There was a beautiful proposal arrangement with a 'will you marry me' board. This man is out of the fictional world for real. Or am I in a dream?

He is proposing to his soon-to-be arranged wife!

I'm still on his back, and when he asked me if I want to get down, I hugged him harder, staying there. My face in buried in his neck.

"You wanna stay there?" he asked, laughing, and I nodded.

Then I got down before I embarrass myself even more and smoothed my dress.

He took my hand and led me to the center of the decorated place.

Then he knelt on one knee, bringing out a velvet box from his pocket-

..........................................................................

❀₊˚⊹♡

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