~ 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 ~

Chapter 7. A Party

Author's POV:

Rishabh used the excuse of making a call to separate from Monika, cautiously making his way toward the main gate of the venue. Monika, left behind, muttered to herself, "Wait, uncle toh yahi h... toh ye kise call karne gya hai?" Rishabh's eyes landed on Riya standing alone. Oh God, finally some space... but why is she here alone? Without thinking, he moved quickly and grabbed her wrist.

"Oh, you're here... wait, are you crying? But why?" he asked, concern edging his tone.

"Please leave me alone..." Riya whispered.

"No way. I know you think I'm some rude, bad-boy type, but my grandmother taught me better—I never leave someone crying alone," Rishabh replied firmly.

"I don't want to talk to you... or anyone. Just leave me," Riya said, her voice small but resolute.

Rishabh hesitated, then gently released her wrist. "Miss Rival, I understand. If you want to be alone, I won't force you. Just remember, I'm here if you ever need someone to talk to." Riya looked at him for a moment, then finally spoke, a hint of curiosity breaking through her guarded demeanor. "Acha, listen... actually, can you tell me something?"

"Yeah, sure," Rishabh replied.

"So... if a girl—pre-pregnant, I mean—then the guy responsible must love her, right?" Riya asked carefully.

Rishabh froze. Wait... what the hell is she saying? Pre-pregnant? Does that mean she's... pregnant? His thoughts raced. Who did this...? And why am I even thinking like this?

"So... you're pregnant... seriously?" Rishabh asked, stunned.

"What the hell, Mr. Rival! I'm not pregnant—it's Monika. And you're the father of her baby," Riya said, rolling her eyes at his shocked expression.

"What? Oh... okay. Actually, we were just choosing names for our friend's baby, not ours," Rishabh said, relief washing over his face as he laughed nervously.

"Oh... really," Riya said softly.

"And you're not pregnant, right?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

"No way! How could you even think that?" she replied, blushing.

"By using my brain. Simple," he said with a smirk. Riya chuckled inwardly, then quickly left so he wouldn't notice her flushed cheeks.

Meanwhile, at the engagement venue, Pratha felt a sense of relief. Finally, I can go home. I wasn't comfortable here at all...

"Okay, beta, let's go now. We'll meet again sometime," Siddharth said warmly.

"Papa, you can meet me anytime," Archit replied, smiling.

"Bye, Archit," Pratha said softly.

"Bye, Pratha. Good night... hope I didn't bore you," Archit teased.

"Good night, Archit," she said, returning a small, genuine smile. All the guests left for their homes, while Shraddha and Gaurav headed to Mathur's house to continue celebrations. Garv sat alone, thoughts swirling. Why did I even call Pratha my future wife? All these memories from 7 years ago are flooding back... Garv, you rejected her. There's nothing special about her to attract you. SHE IS NO ONE FOR ME... He shook his head, then grabbed his phone. Better call Advik and let him know I'm coming to Delhi.

"Hello, Advik," Garv said.

"Hey bro, how are you?" Advik asked.

"I'm fine. What about you?" Garv replied.