Do opposites really attract?

Chapter 41 - Is marriage on the cards?

"Manik, why did you say no to marriage?" I asked quietly, still in his embrace.

"Nandini, the words did not come out how I wanted them to. I meant to say that I don't want to get married right now." He explained.

"You're seriously saying that? You've been dreaming of getting married to the love of your life for ages. You love the idea of marriage. Wait, am I not the girl that you would want to marry?" I said as I pulled out of his hug.

"Don't be stupid Nandini. I've been wanting to marry you since the day I fell in love with you. I can get married right now because you are the person for me. My better half, my everything, my Humesha."

"Cringe mat bano Manik. So why did you say no to Amms?" I asked curiously.

"I said no because of you. You don't like the concept of marriage, I didn't think you'd be ready for that. I also knew that if you said no your Amms might try to convince you so I just thought of saying no. Of course, I should've worded it better. It came out so wrong! No wonder why Cabir was so pissed off at me!" Manik explained.

"Jiju is very protective about me. He only wishes the best. Manik, the Nandini that did not believe in love and marriage is long gone. Since you've entered my life, it has completely changed. I am constantly imagining a future with you in it. I couldn't care less whether we were married or not, I just want to be with you. But I know how much you love the idea of marriage, it makes you so happy and so I am ready to give you that happiness. So Manik Malhotra, will you marry me?" I asked softly.

"What? No!" He exclaimed.

"No? Are you serious about us or not? Why are you saying no to marriage?" I said frustratedly.

"Silly, I'm not saying no to marriage but I don't want to say yes like this. I want a proper proposal. I'm not saying yes so easily."

"Hang on a minute, isn't the boy normally supposed to propose to the girl?" I questioned.

"Nothing about our situation is normal! I am the one that always wanted marriage, I'm the hopeless romantic, I'm the one who loves grand gestures and normally it's the girl that likes all this. So I think you should propose to me in a grand manner and then I'll say yes." He said with a smirk. This man is something else.

"Ketlo bhaav khaaych (How much attention do you want?)" I questioned in Gujarati forgetting that he had started to learn it for me.

"Don't go all guji on me! Even I understand some of it!"

"I don't care!"

"Manik, Nandini, what are you guys doing? Everyone is waiting." Zoya bhabhi said as she walked out into the garden.

"Sorry bhabhi, we're coming." Manik responded.

"So what did you both decide?" Amms asked as we walked inside the room.

"Amms I want to get married to Manik but....."

"But?" Amms interrupted me.

"But we want to do everything properly. We want a proposal, then engagement, then all the rituals according to my Punjabi and Nandini's South Indian, and Gujarati traditions. Nothing should be missed out." Manik explained.

"That's not what we discussed Manik, I want an intimate ceremony." I stated.

"Haan toh ceremonies will be intimate with only the people we love but we're doing all the ceremonies. I want to experience every single ritual."

"But Manik....."

"Hang on a minute! You want to get married? My Nandini wants to get married. This is the biggest news of my life." Mum shouted in excitement.

"I know, I never thought I'd hear this." Dad now joined in.

"Why are you guys so shocked?" Nyonika Aunty asked.

"Actually Aunty, Nandini has been against the idea of marriage for ages. She had agreed to meet Manik because Amms had forced her otherwise Nandini would never agree for marriage. That is why we're all shocked. Manik must be truly special for Nandini to have changed her mind." Navya di explained.

"She's the one whose special Navya di. She has changed my life for the better and I can't imagine a life without her." Manik said with a smile.

"May God bless you both. I can't wait for this marriage to happen." Dadi said with a smile and Manik and I proceeded to take her blessings. We then took all the elders blessings.

"Nandini beta, us Punjabis do everything in a grand manner. So we respect that you only want close family and friends at the wedding but we are going to make sure every ceremony happens in a grand manner." Manik's dada ji explained to which I nodded.

"Of course. Our choti is getting married. We also want to make sure it's done in a grand manner." My grandad said.

"It's decided then. We will speak to our panditji today itself and find the best dates for the engagement and then the wedding. I am so excited." Amms said as she hugged Manik's dadi. That is when it suddenly hit me! I'm going to get married! Married! I'm actually going to get married. I suddenly started feeling hot and breathless. I left the room and went outside in the garden. I sat on the swing and tried to steady my breathing when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Zoya di, aap?" I asked softly.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she took a seat next to me.

"Yes, no, I don't know. It suddenly hit me that I'm actually going to get married to Manik. Before I met him, marriage was out of the question and now I'm actually agreeing to it."

"It's completely okay to feel this way because it's a lot to take in. Can I share something with you?"

"Yeah sure!"

"Before I met Adi, I was exactly like you. I did not want to get married, I felt like it would take away my freedom from me. But Adi and his family have actually helped me grow. They've treated me like they treat Mukti, like their own daughter. It was so scary thinking about getting married but I made the best decision of my life saying yes to Adi and our little Amayra is a proof of that. What I'm trying to say Nandini is that it's okay to feel scared and nervous, this is a big step. You'll have to leave your family, your home behind and become a part of another family but I promise you, every single one of us will treat you like our own. We are so excited to have you join our family. Manik can be a little annoying but he's my brother in law, so it's a given. But I know that you two won't find anyone else better. You're perfect together." Zoya di managed to make my worries go away within an instance. It felt nice speaking to her, knowing she was once in the same position as me.

"I appreciate this so much. Thank you. You've made me feel a lot lighter."

"Anytime! Now let's go in before they start searching for us." Zoya di said with a giggle as we went inside.

"Where did you two sister-in-laws go? Plotting against me?" Manik's mum said with a smirk.

"Maa, you're so cute how could we plot against you?" Zoya di replied to which we all giggled.

"Zoya bhabhi, don't forget about me now that your new sister-in-law is going to be here." Mukti said with a pout.

"Aray Mukku, how can I ever forget about my baby? We have an extra member added to our girl gang now, how lucky are we?"

"Indeed we're very lucky to have you on our team Nandini Bhabhi..... ooops sorry."

"I don't mind Mukti, bhabhi sounds good!" I replied and I could see my entire family and Manik's eyes being wide open. They were all shocked at this new me.

4 months ago, I would have never agreed to this. But meeting Manik has changed me and while 4 months may not seem like a lot for others, it's enough for me to know that Manik is the only person I can imagine spending the rest of my life with. I want to make this marriage thing work with Manik because he's worth it. Aiyappa, thank you for sending Manik into my life. I cannot wait to see what married life will be like with Manik.

A/N: Chapter 41 updated. I hope you're all well. I'm sorry this is so late but work has being very busy. Hope you guys enjoyed this update! 😊💕