Until I Found You

~Chapter 8~

Disclaimer: All the characters written below are imaginary. This is a work of pure fiction. There is no resemblance to any incidents or situations. A few instances have been taken up from their real lives, as and how they have happened (for which we do have documented proof). Happy Reading!

A/N - This has not been proofread. Please ignore the grammatical errors. Awaiting your feedback.

"Sir, fir toh saara surprise hi khatam ho jayega na, agar maine usse bata dia ki main usse Shaadi ke liye ek pre-proposal dene wala hoon, voh bhi National TV pe.", replied Karan.

"Chalo, fir bhi ek baar pooch lo, varna main Varun ko bata deta hoon, kuch impromptu kar lega voh. Chalega na tumhe?", asked the Director.

"Hanji sir, correct hai. Varun se impromptu kara lo kuch. Mera surprise bhi reveal nahi hoga fir."

The Director nodded, patted him consolingly on the shoulder, and asked him to start the next set in 15 minutes. Karan smiled a little and went to sit on a chair in the wings of the stage.

And once again, he touched his heart with his right hand and kept it there for a minute before reaching into the pocket inside his coat. He pulled out a small box containing a Princess Cut Diamond ring. He especially got it made for the proposal he had planned for her birthday. It couldn't happen as they had to go to Goa for their music video and he didn't want to mix it with their work. So, he decided to postpone it. His second plan was to propose to her after their Music Video was released, for he knew how people will start mocking & trolling them. They'd call it a publicity stunt. Not that he cares about any random faceless, nameless stranger, but he cares about Tejasswi and wanted to make this moment special for her. Karan sighed, closed the box, kept it inside, and went to the stage, to face the third failed plan of proposing to the love of his life.

The rest of the shoot was fine, except for the part where he had to propose to Tejasswi, but couldn't. "Ab Laddoo khud hi dekh legi aaj raat ko, promo mein, ki Varun ne kya kia.", Karan thought to himself while driving to their date location shared by Tejasswi.

After telling him a half-truth about the Pandit issue, Tejasswi went to the market to buy some things for decorating Karan's place, to execute her surprise plan. She was on her way to his house when she got a message from Srushti, her stylist, who asked her to get her dress fitting done today. Tejasswi had completely forgotten about the Pinkvilla awards. She had no choice but to go there first.

"Is this for real now? How will I decorate his place and also reach his set on time? I should text and tell him that I have to go to the stylist now. Main nahi chahti ki usse mere dubbing wale jhooth ka pata lage. Aur mujhe decorate karne ka time bhi mil jayega.", Tejasswi thought to herself and asked Parvez to drop her home after they were done at the Stylists' office.

With the help of Parvez, it took them 2 rounds to bring everything that she had bought for the decoration, upstairs, to the living room of Karan's home.

"Parvez aap ab Sunny ke paas jao, aur usse please mat batana ki main yaha hoon. Uske liye surprise plan kia hai. Theek hai?", she asked Parvez.

"Ji theek hai Teja ma'am, main sir ko nahi bataunga. Par yaha aapko agar koi dikkat ho, toh aap mujhe zaroor phone kar dijiyega. Main chalta hoon abhi.", replied Parvez and left for the set.

It took her 4 hours to completely decorate the house for her surprise and now she had just 1 hour left to get ready and leave for their dinner date. Tejasswi wore an orange dress. Her hair was tied in a low bun which she thought of opening once she reached the restaurant. She booked a cab and left for Bandra, where they were supposed to meet at Bastian. She had already booked a small private section for just the two of them. They had live music and served the best Chinese food, one of their favorite cuisines.

Tejasswi was entering the restaurant when she heard him calling her from behind.

"Oye Laddoo. Ruk ja zara, main bhi aa raha hoon. Tejaaaa, sun le, saath chalte hai.", shouted Karan and saw her turning towards him.

"Sunnyyyyyyy, I missed youuuuu", Tejasswi shouted back and ran towards him.

Karan kissed her on the cheek, hugged her tight, and then they went inside the restaurant. The concierge took them to the reserved private section. It was dimly lit, and had candles on the table. There were balloons on the floor. They could hear Live Music too.

Their date was going well when suddenly they heard a familiar tune being played. They looked at each other and gave a knowing smile.

Humko mili hai aaj yeh...

ghadiyaan naseeb se...

Jee bharke dekh lijiye...

humko kareeb se...

Karan held out his hand for Tejasswi to place her hand in his. When she did, he made her stand and went to the empty space near their table.

Phir aapke, naseeb mein...

yeh baat ho naa ho...

Shayad phir iss janam mein...

mulakaat ho naa ho...

Lag jaa gale...

He pulled her close, made her keep her hands on his shoulder and held her by the waist, and started swaying to the music.

Paas aaiye, ki hum nahi...

Aayenge baar baar...

Baahein gale mein daalke...

Hum roley zaar zaar...

Tejasswi looked at Karan, her eyes were all moist and so was his. She hugged him tightly. Karan felt something. His heart was aching a little and he didn't know why. He didn't want this night to end, ever. The hug felt familiar to him. It felt like home. Tejasswi was on the verge of crying, for this was one of their last dates, one of their last special moments with each other. She didn't want this night to end either.

Aankhon se phir yeh pyaar ki...

Barsaat ho naa ho...

Shayad phir iss janam mein...

Mulakat ho naa ho...

Lag jaa gale ke phir yeh...

Haseen raat ho naa ho...

Karan broke their hug and kissed her on her forehead. His lips lingered there longer than intended. Tejasswi was guilty, for making him go through all this, only to break his heart in the end, but she was also selfish. She wanted to capture all these moments and cherish them forever. She knew she would never be able to love anyone else again, but for her, Karan's life was more important.

The song changed and they sat down to have Karan's favorite dessert, hot chocolate brownie, gulab jamun, and vanilla ice cream. Tejasswi always laughed at this combination, but today, she ordered it herself. Karan was surprised to see her enjoying this dessert. After having dessert, they left for his place.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Precap -

Karan texted Tejasswi, but there was no response. He tried calling her but her phone was out of network area. He was getting tensed with every passing minute. He could not believe what he just did. He knew he crossed a line, he knew it was all his frustration and Tejasswi was not at fault, but, he was angry and emotional at that time. He couldn't control himself. But after reaching home, he started feeling guilty. Especially when he saw her surprise. Now all he wanted to do was to be with her, but she wasn't answering. It was past midnight but Karan was determined. He took his car and sped off to her Parent's house. Upon reaching there he found out that Tejasswi wasn't there. Her parents thought that she was at his home and now everyone was worried for her. Karan's mind, although quite sharp, stopped working here. Multiple possible scenarios were running through his brain, and none of them were happy ones. He was beyond frustrated and was blaming himself for everything when suddenly something struck his mind. He quickly started his car and drove off.