"So Sai Joshi, are you ready to move back with me? Back to Chavan Nivas?"
"Virat Sir..."
"Arre phir se? We just agreed na?"
"It will take me some time to get used to it...."
"Ok, I will keep correcting you." Virat laughed. He was a happy man.
"So?"
"Virat Sir, I was never the type to think about love, marriage. But there were moments because Abba would broach the topic, and it would make me think. If I was to marry, I was sure it would be with a person I chose, not with someone who has been forcefully thrust upon me.
"Abba would have never done that to me. I did fall in love with you, or at least I think I do, but what if we had never needed to do this jabardasti wali shaadi...would I have fallen in love with you? In Gadchiroli, I hated you. You were the reason why Abba and I had not gotten away from there, away from that Mane. Perhaps until recently, I did blame you for Abba's death. So if I had not been forced to marry you, would I have fallen in love with you?"If I come with you now, this question will keep nagging me and not knowing the answer to this I know will come in between us someday. So can I take the time to be absolutely sure? Can I see the world as Sai Joshi and not Sai Virat Chavan for a few years?"
"Sai, but..."
"I know, perhaps I am asking for too much, but please. And this arrangement will also let me focus on my studies. Coming back to Chavan Nivas, means going back the drama. Right now Virat Sir, I don't think that is best for us. I want to enjoy our relationship. Can we pretend we are not married? Can we do this like how other girls my age do....first friendship, then love, then shaadi...Can you and I become friends first?"
"Friend with benefits kind of friends?!" Virat winked as he continued. "Yes, I can live with that."
"Finally, a good joke Virat!'
"Jokes apart Sai... I will do what makes you happy. Just don't shut me out of your life. Promise me, you will never do that."
"I promise, and you need to promise me the same. My Abba used to say that the first and the last rule of friendship is honesty and trust."
And that is how Sai Joshi and Virat Chavan's love story began.
A severe jail sentence was imminent with the evidence that Sameer and Sai had gathered against the Manes and their cronies. Both of them got recognized by the Maharashtra government for helping them bring to justice the culprits the police force had been after for several years now.
Sameer never confessed his feelings for Sai. When she visited him in the hospital, she had taken Virat along.
"Sameer, I am so sorry to drag you into all this. Please forgive me."
"Are you crazy?! This has been the most adventurous ride of my life...I owe you so much, Sai."
Virat stepped out, perhaps to give the two their privacy.
"So your hospitalization has not gone in vain," Sai chuckled. "The entire toli has been arrested, Sameer. There were so many doctors involved in this mess. It's unbelievable what people do for money. How many innocent children? I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without you. Thank you so much."
"Ok ok, you can take me out for a nice treat when I am out of the hospital."
"Of course!"
"So, this Virat Sir is the lucky guy huh...." Sameer managed a weak laugh.
"Huhhh?"
"Sai, I have known you for some time now and this is the first time your eyes don't seem sad.
That restlessness inside you, you thought you hid it well, but your eyes gave it away. They never smiled when you smiled. But not today."
Sai blushed. "Well, Virat Sir and I go a long way. That is a story for chai and lots of glucose biscuits, so get well soon. My becoming a doctor hinges on that, my mentor."
In Sameer, Sai Joshi had found a friend for a lifetime. In Virat, she had found the most loving boyfriend, who eventually she was sure she would want to elope with and get married. So, yes, someday, Sai Joshi would choose to become Sai Virat Chavan.
