Falling For You ✔

Bonus Two

Shehnaaz took a deep breath, steadying her hands as she reached for the doorbell of Sidharth's apartment. She was close to a meltdown and yet she had to do this. She desperately wished Sidharth was here, doing this with her but of course this was her battle.

She had never had a boyfriend. She had never had the need to be liked by anyone. She had always been polite and brilliant with anyone who met her and didn't exactly care what others thought of her but this was different.

This was the family of the man she loved. She wanted to be liked, to be loved by every single one of them. She had watched Sidharth make an effort for her, get the approval and blessing of every person she loved. He had won her family over and she needed to do the same for him.

She closed her eyes for a moment before she heard the door being opened. She was greeted by a graceful woman with a sweet smile and beautiful, shining eyes.

She had seen so many pictures of all of Sidharth's family throughout the trip and after that she couldn't mistake any one of them. On the contrary, she actually adored them.

Sidharth's girl gang.

She smiled nervously at Sidharth's eldest sister and opened her mouth to greet her before she was interrupted by the frown and confusion on her face.

"Who do you want to meet?" She asked Shehnaaz whose eyes widened in alarm.

"Actually— I am Shehnaaz. I.." She stopped short— Run. Run. Run. "Sid.. I am a friend of Sidharth's.."

Shehnaaz fought the urge to bolt. You love him. He loves you. "Then why isn't he here with you?" She thought to herself and curled her fingers around her cellphone.

"He's not home." Neetu said. "Are you a colleague of his?"

Shehnaaz bit her lip. What should I say? Had he not yet told his family?  "I am not a colleague.. I—" She sighed. "I'm his friend. We met in Maldives."

Neetu nodded curtly.  "That explains it." She mumbled.

"What?" Shehnaaz asked nervously.

"Well.. you just met him two weeks ago." Neetu shrugged.

Shehnaaz nodded slowly. "Yeah.. it's not been long."

"Well he's not at home."

Shehnaaz chuckled nervously, "Yeah.. you're.. you're  right, I should have called before showing up un.. unannounced." She said quietly. "I'm sorry.. I'll come.. I—"

Abort.
Abort.
Failure.
Failure.

She turned on her heels and ran aimlessly trying to get away from the apartment. This was foolish. She cursed at herself. You're an idiot!

"Why did Sidharth not tell his family?" She wondered aloud as she saw the lift opening in front of her. She was breathing heavily, running towards the lift.

She didn't realise that she was crying till she saw a blur of a man catching her into his arms, pulling her away from the closing lift door. "Shehnaaz.. kya hua?"

Of course you'd show up now, after I've made a fool of myself in front of your sister. Shehnaaz tried to push him away, breathing heavily. "I have to leave." She grunted, struggling in her boyfriend's grip.

Sidharth pulled her into a hug. "Shhhh… it's okay. It's alright. Ro kyon rahi hai? Kya hua?" He asked frantically.

She sighed, relaxing in his embrace. At this point, she didn't have a rational instinct. She was not thinking straight but being held by him startled her awake.