Becoming Sweethearts [✓]

Epilogue

Six years later

The whole Oberoi Mansion stood decked up in bright fairy lights to celebrate the grand engagement of the youngest Oberoi, Rudra, with the woman he'd been dating for the last six years, Bhavya Pratap Rathore. While Omkara was overseeing the arrangements, Shivaay had been making last-minute phone calls to make sure everything was in place. "It's good you flew down last week. I would've gone crazy alone!" Omkara said, exhausted, and Shivaay nodded, "I had to! When I told Annika that Rudra suddenly decided to get engaged, she had almost bitten my ears off insisting she wanted to fly down to India and be a part of all the preparations and celebrations. By the way, where's Rudra? I asked him to make sure he has the ring ready." Omkara shook his head, "Who khud time pe ready ho, yehi bohot badi baat hogi."

Pausing for a moment, Omkara said in a nostalgic tone, "Can't believe our baby brother grew up so quickly to get engaged!" Shivaay chuckled, "You're talking about Rudra? What about our own babies? I remember you video-calling me and Annika from the hospital the day Appu was born, and how you were bawling your eyes out when Gauri first carried him! How quickly has he grown up!" Omkara chuckled, shaking his head, "True that. Vedu and Choti also are growing up so fast, it's as if time is flying by." Focusing on the present task at hand after coming out of that emotionally nostalgic moment, Omkara continued, "Anyway, I'll check on Rudra. The last time I saw him was an hour ago when he'd applied some face pack and some cucumber slices on his eyes."

"He must've dozed off to sleep, baithe baithe. Please check on him, Om. Meanwhile, I'll have a look at why the decorators aren't finished with setting the stage." The two brothers nodded and walked off in two opposite directions.

***

"Uff Appu! Stand straight!" Gauri said with a frown, trying to knot the strings of his pyjamas, but the little boy just kept wriggling. "I want to play with Vedu!" he said with a frown that mirrored hers. Vedu, that is Vedika Singh Oberoi, was Shivaay and Annika's three-year-old baby girl they'd adopted two years ago, who right now was getting dressed up in the next room. Both, Gauri and Annika had a tough time managing the two cousins who stuck to each other like glue ever since they'd met last week in person, after being in constant virtual touch.

When the little boy wriggled again, Gauri narrowed her eyes and said in a stern tone fed up with his never-ending mischief, "Apurva Singh Oberoi! You better stand straight and stop wriggling, warna aisa ek lappad lagaungi na, dekh lena! Baad mein Papa ke paas rote hue mat jaana ke Mamma ne gussa kiya!" The boy slightly frowned at his Mamma, but did not take her words lightly. If his Mamma threatened him with a lappad, which she did only when he was being very, very naughty, then she would definitely give him that lappad on his bottom to set him straight.

At that very minute, an exhausted Annika walked into the room with Vedika by her side, who had turned red with all the crying that she'd been doing. "Vedu? Kya hua?" Appu asked her in worry and instantly her face brightened up. Annika answered looking at Apurva and then at Gauri, "Vedu ko uske Appu bhaiyya ke saath khelna tha. Isiliye ro ro ke poora ghar sarr pe utha liya tha!" Then she continued in an apologetic tone, "I'm so sorry I brought her here. She wasn't listening to me at all." Gauri blinked at her letting her know it was perfectly alright and said, "Vedu looks so pretty in her pink frock! Only Appu isn't getting ready to look handsome!"

At that, Apurva stood still allowing his mother to dress him up. However, just when she had tied his hair into a tiny bun, the one he sported just as his Papa did, he shook his head and pulled the hair tie off, "No rubber band, please Mamma! I want to leave my hair," he pleaded with those puppy eyes. She sighed, knowing that by the end of the night his hair would be in knots because even if she forcibly tied his hair, he would pull it off yet again.