The camera flashes were bright enough to blind her for minutes. The last visit to the outer world when they had the opportunity to go on o drive with Deepika and Vikrant did give her an idea of how loved she was going to be but what she was witnessing now was maddening. The world around her felt surreal. There was a crowd of people with cameras and microphones and notepads scribbling what she was uttering even when she was not even sure of what she was uttering. That was how important she suddenly felt. Her words mattered, though she herself knew that half the times they were not very intelligible. Her existence mattered, her presence mattered. She was someone now and all of it happened because of the opportunity she had stumbled upon and the challenges she gracefully accepted, while at it. She was tired but extremely grateful of what life has bestowed her with.
"Toh, Shehnaaz ji, abhi Bigg Boss ke aage, aapka aur Sidharth ka kya relationship rahega?", she was asked by a chubby, cheerful reported and she sighed. Her eyes drifted away to him, who was sitting right across the hall, similarly surrounded, by perhaps, a larger group of reporters. He smiled at them and conversed, making them all laugh and at times, cheer at him. Before she could get drifted further away, she brought herself back and managed to respond - "Bagwaan ne chaaha toh aise hi rahenge. Mera bohot accha dost hai woh....dekhte hain kya hoga".
She was escorted to her vanity by the crew. She could see Shehbaaz jumping here and there in excitement. This was perhaps the biggest day of his life too. He saw Shehnaaz and rushed to her, with his selfie camera on.
"Tu live hai?" she asked in almost a whisper. She was dead on her feet by now, ready to change and go back to the bed. But will she be able to sleep tonight, without him snuggling close to her?
"Haaan! Guys, dekhiye aapki Shehnaaz Kaur Gill..." he pulled her closer as the entered the vanity.
"Hi guys, sorry main na bho thak gayi hun. Aise, baal waal, makeup-wakeup sab nikal gaya hai ab mera....lekin guys, thank you. Thank you, so much! Itna pyaaar dene ke liye. Aur hamesha aise hi dena bas aap. Main jo hun, woh aapke wajah se hun. Aap ke bina main kuch bhi nahi hun" she said, her heart welling up as she sat down on the sofa. Sensing her tearing up, Shehbaaz kissed her forehead and left her to it.
"Ye isko hello bol dia hai toh main aapko doosre logon se milata hun. Aao guys..." he left the vanity and bumped into Rita Aunty and a candid conversation followed. She could hear the two of them, as she pulled a hairpin out of her hair, waiting for the Mujhse Shadi Karoge team accompanied by her father to gather for a discussion. In was a moment of calm before the storm and one after one. She grabbed a water bottle and took a few sips. It was then she felt a shiver run through her body. How were things going to go from here? What would life bring to her next? What will happen to her? To him? To them?
"Umm...Ma'am, woh aapke father aur Team Sidharth Sir ke vanity mein hain. They had some differences, toh Sidharth Sir aaye hain sort out karane. Unhone bola hai ki aap 15 minute baad join kar lijiyega...." a woman came and informed her. She seemed familiar.
"Okay.." she smiled back politely and wondered what was happening. There was a knock before she could further daze into a sequence of thoughts.
"Ma'am, autographs aur pictures ke liye log aaye hue hain bahar" the woman reappeared.
"Accha, okay, bhej dijiye...aap kaun?" she asked.
"Woh, M'am Mehul Sir ki team se...Should I let them in? 2-2 karke bhej dun?..." she smiled.
"Haan ji...bhej do" she smiled, standing up, slightly nervous. The feeling of having 'fans wanting autographs and photographs' was new and scary and she wished she had been told what was the 'right way' to do it. She decided to be herself and see how it went. And it went okayish.
YOU ARE READING
Perfect Mismatch
FanfictionSidharth and Shehnaaz were destined to meet on the stage that day but little did they know what future held for them.
