By the end of that evening, the wedding date was decided. The Goenka elders consulted with their Guruji while the Birla's arranged the PR activities for the wedding.
"Iss khushi [the date fixed] koi mithai se commemorate karna chahiye" Harshvardan said.
"Sahi kaha Uncle. Main leke aati hoon" Akshara said rabidly. Only a fool would miss her displeasure for the situation as she rushed into the kitchen to escape Abhimanyu's taunting gaze.
The kitchen scene between Abhimanyu and Akshara happens as per 18th December's episode, except Akshara sinks to the ground when Abhimanyu leaves in tears.
"Abhimanyu!" Haider called. Haider noticed Abhimanyu sneaking away to see Akshara on the pretense of using the washroom and followed the agitated man.
The scene before Haider's eyes mimicked his mom's sappy Indian soap operas where the stupid sacrificial lamb heroine denies her love. At the same time, the hero goes on a self-destructive rampage. Pyaar hamein kis mod pe le aaya, Ke dil kare haye, koi to bataye, kya hoga Haider thought as these lines were apt for their situation.
"Can we talk? Akele mein?"
"Sure," Abhimanyu huffed. The exchange with Akshara left him exhausted and unsure of how long he could handle this charade of a rishta. Haider led Abhimanyu to a vacant corridor in the house.
"Look, main bhi tumhari tarah hi hoon aur mujhe jalebi jaisi baatien nahi karni aati. Tumhari aur Akshara ki baatien mein suni hai and it's fucked up man. What you're doing is fucked up."
"Excuse me?" Abhimanyu said, his chest rising in fury as Haider hurled accusations at him. "Do you even know what you're talking about?"
"Main sab jaanta hoon" Haider maintained as he stepped closer to Abhimanyu. The two men bore their chests at each other like a fight was soon to break out between two dogs in a pissing contest. "Do you think you're being fair to her? Telling her you love her one day and proposing to her sister the next? It's insane."
"Waah!" Abhimanyu clapped back hysterically. "Aur usne jo kiya woh sahi tha? Baar baar mujhe reject kiya, meri feelings ka mazak uradiya aur phir bhi, aap mujhe villian ka tag lag aa rahe ho. That's fucked up."
"Woh zaalim hai, main jaanta hoon. But at least her heart is in the right place. Lekin tum toh uske nazaar se halat ko dekh hi nahi re kyun ki tumhara pyaar conditional hai. Tumne to pyaar iss shart pe kiya tha ke woh bhi tumse utna hi pyaar karegi aur waise hi karegi jaise tum karte ho. Ki woh bhi cheek cheek kar bolegi ki 'I love Abhimanyu' aur sab ko chod degi. Par woh Abhimanyu nahi hai. Woh Akshara hai". Haider paused in exasperation, at a loss of what to say without disclosing something that only Akshara has the right to.
With blood rushing up to his face and his veins popping out, Abhimanyu growled, "how about this then? Woh bhi sahi aur main bhi sahi kyun ki pyaar aur jung mein sab fair hota hai."
"Toh ya kya hai, Abhimanyu? Ye pyaar hai ya jung?" Haider inquired.
"That's up to Akshara to decide." Abhimanyu stormed out of the corridor without any warning and rejoined the rest.
...
When everyone fell asleep, Haider and Kairav met on the rooftop to discuss their next steps.
"I don't know what to do man" Kairav sighed in helplessness. "They're my sisters. I can't intervene without it looking like I'm favouring one over the other. Especially with Aarohi, uski insecurities escalate karengi."
Haider patted Kairav's shoulders to comfort his friend while Kairav continued. "Aarohi won't back down easily."
"Especially if she thinks we're trying to change her mind or force her, she'll never give in," Haider added. "But if she arrives at this decision on her own, then we have a shot."
"Woh kaise?"
"Tum dekhte jao," Haider replied with a glint in his eyes that comforted Kairav more than words could ever.
For anyone wondering, I imagined Randeep Rai to play Haider. Love to hear if you guys can guess why I chose him specifically.
Please do comment with your thoughts :)
