INSEPARABLE I

XX

They grabbed every eye in the vicinity as soon as they came out of the hallway. People watched them curiously as they passed by. Some murmurs filled the air as they neared the hall the festivities were underway in. Prem and Noor kept their eyes focused ahead, ignoring the stares of the onlookers. Once they entered the hall, every pair of eyes abandoned the newlywed couple at the center of the room and rushed over to them. Family members of Chand watched them rather distastefully while the friends and relatives dearest to them silently whispered prayers in their direction. The hall had grown dead silent by the time they made their way to the bride and groom.

"Come, Prem!" Prince Udam exclaimed patting the empty space next to him. "I was waiting for you guys."

As Prem took a seat next to the Prince, Noor hesitantly sat down right beside him. It was at this moment that Chand rose to her feet and stormed towards the corner of the room. Fuming, she pushed a maid out of the way before grabbing herself a drink from a nearby table with her eyes still on them. Noor exchanged a look with Prem.

Noticing the inevitable awkwardness lurking in the air, Prince Udam spoke up. "Okay...let's just address the big fat elephant in the room..." He said looking around at the guests. "Prem Dhaliwal and Noor Sandhu turned out to be married!" He exclaimed. "AND.." He emphasized the word, "they hid it from everyone for two whole years."

Prem and Noor looked at him in surprise unsure of where he was headed.

"You guys are understandably shocked. And it will be extremely unfair for us to demand that you ignore the explosive news and focus on Gulab and I." He smiled eyeing his intrigued audience. "Because let's be real...we're all little curious about this particular pair. I mean how do children of two hardcore enemies end up so insanely in love that they not only get married in secret but are willing to walk away from their titles, their thrones, and their families at the blink of an eye for each other." He held up his hands stating the obvious as their friends now let out a few laughs accompanied by some nods of agreement.

"You know..." One of their friends finally spoke up. She eyed Prem and Noor in a pleasant smile. "Having grown up watching these two, this news shouldn't come as a surprise and yet for some reason, it does."

"Yeah, this truly should not have come as a surprise." Another one of their friends added, "and yet it did...probably because they did such a flawless job pretending to be enemies. They ignored each other so perfectly in public, we had almost forgotten about the undeniable connection that existed between them once upon a time. Fucking morons!" She cursed at them. "How dare you hide this from us?"

Prem smiled at her while Noor made an apologetic expression.

"Noor..." One of Prem's friends spoke up this time. "Didn't you also study abroad for some years?"

Noor slowly nodded in response allowing their group of friends to connect the dots. She watched some jaws drop in realization.

"Don't tell me it was you all along!" One of the girls suddenly exclaimed. She had questioned Prem regarding this the night before. "The girl from the rumors..." Wide-eyed, she gasped clutching the hand of her neighbor. "The girl Prem fell for while he was studying abroad...was you?! Did they really end up sending you guys to the same school?"

Noor slowly nodded once again.

"Praise the lord!" Her astonished friend carried on. "Of course, they did...and of course, it was you. It makes perfect sense! The Prem we grew up with couldn't think of a thing beyond Noor. Of course, it was you."

"There weren't too many options when it came to the schools abroad. Our families did the research and finalized the school that ranked the best in the studies of politics and leadership without realizing their enemy may be planning the same thing." Prem laughed a little rubbing his hands together. "They wanted to keep us so far away from one another that they ended up bringing us closer than ever with no interruptions for nearly eight years."