SEAL THE DEAL

chapter 13

Despite what she'd said to Abhishek and what she'd said to her parents, she still was not fully sure; she'd just put her worries aside and decided to take the chance and trust her fate.

Vishal:-"Of course it's weird, you've only met the guy twice!"

Mani:-"I don't know, vishal. It's a safe and stable life guaranteed, and I do want JDB to prosper...so I'm just going with the flow of things now,"

Vishal:-"Yep, it's definitely because he's hot,"

Mani:-"vishal!" She protested with a laugh that came out slightly strangled because het facial muscles were growing tighter as the mask dried.

Vishal:-"So, engagement party's next week, huh?"

She responded with a hum, lightly patting her forehead and her cheeks to check if the
mask had fully dried. Nope, still slightly wet. She figured it needed another five minutes.

Vishal:-"Are you...have you invited your friends for the party? Will they be there?"

Manisha almost snorted at the question. She knew vishal well enough to instantly pick up on what he was actually trying to ask. Gosh, he really wasn't slick.

Mani:-"Of course I have. Ashika thinks I've lost my head, just like you do. Kritika agrees, but she says she understands my position too. They're both excited to be bridesmaids though," she answered, purposely with holding the one name vishal was eager to hear.

Vishal:-"...that's it? Just the two of them coming?"

Manisha laughed at the poorly concealed disappointment in vishal's voice, the action making her face hurt, "riya'll be there too, don't you worry," she satisfied his curiosity and his wishes. He could deny it all he wanted, (the tips of his ears would turn bright red and betray him
anyway), but it was no secret to manisha that he had the hugest crush on riya, one of her best friends. They'd met at her birthday party a few years ago and their paths had crossed frequently after that because of her. Manisha knew that Riya was interested too, but neither of them had acted on their feelings and she was considering locking them in a closet Somewhere this time so they'd be forced to confess instead of just shyly flirting with each other and leaving it at that.

Vishal:-"Who said I was worrying?"

Mani:-"Sure sure, whatever you say," she said, her tone light and teasing. She definitely needed to lock vishal and riya in a closet together.

Vishal:&"You...you're not doing this against your will or anything, are you?"

Manisha sighed when vishal switched the topic instead. He was one second away from going into full-on concern mode again and she was getting tired of explaining herself to everyone; for some reason, nobody was ready to be convinced that Manisha was actually being truthful.

Mani:-" nhiii yarrr vishal, as crazy as it sounds to you and to everyone else, I'm okay with this. Really, I am," she emphasised, slipping one of the cucumbers off her eyes to see what was going on
when her phone kept vibrating rhythmically, indicating that somebody else was trying to call her.

Mani:-"That's fine then, I -" she almost tumbled off her bed because she sat up straight so fast, the second cucumber
violently falling into her lap as she almost choked on her spit when her eyes fell on the caller ID.

Mani:-" Abhishek malhan is video calling me!" Manisha screeched in surprise, looking at her phone like it was a bomb.

Vishal:-"Really? I didn't peg him as the video calling type...interesting. God, stop freaking out and just answer it.

She quickly hung up on vishal without another word and cleared her throat, taking a deep breath. She swiped the accept button across the screen and held her phone upright before she missed the call.

Mani:-"Hi, Abhishek," she breathed out with a flustered smile once Abhishek's face popped onto the screen.

Abhi:-"Hi" he replied, grinning when he saw manisha, "Nice...nice look you got going on there," he added as his grin grew wider.

Manisha was puzzled for a moment before her eyes darted towards the corner of the screen and she saw her face.

Mani:-"Oh my god!" She shrieked in horror, dropping her phone at the sight of her red polka dot bow hairband and the face mask which had dried up and turned grey. How had she even forgotten about that?!

Mani:-"Can I call you back in 5 minutes after I, um, take this off?" She squealed, wanting the ground to open up and swallow her right then and there.

Abhi:-"No, it's okay, you can leave it on," Abhishek was quick to reply, and she could hear him chuckling softly. The sound of his laughter was still very new to her and her heart would have probably fluttered under normal circumstances, but she was way too mortified at the moment.

Mani:-"Stop it," she groaned as she picked up her phone again, stroking the big red bow on her head and sinking further into a sea of everlasting embarrassment when Abhishek's eyes Crinkled with laughter once more before he apologised. Putting her mortification and embarrassment aside for a second, she noticed that Abhishek
was dressed casually in what she could make out to be a black hoodie, and she realised that this was the first time (out of three times in total) that she'd seen him in something other than formal wear and oh my god,  she also noticed that he was
sitting in the driver's seat of a car, his features lit up with the dim yellow glow of the car light. He coughed, suddenly remembering the real reason why he'd had to go out of his comfort zone and call her like this, "Um, my dad said I should ask you about this so..." he trailed off
awkwardly, and it wasn't the nicest reason because it implied a lack of choice (again), but she nodded anyway, "I'm outside the jewellery shop right now...you should choose the, um,
engagement ring that you like before I get it and stuff," he explained, running a hand through his hair as his tone turned bashful and somewhat shy.

Manisha couldn't help but smile, wincing because her skin felt super stiff and the face mask was beginning to crack. He could have easily ignored his father's words and ultimately sent someone else to get the ring too, but no, he'd gone himself.
She shook her head, "No, I want you to choose it," she answered, her heart gently
pounding like there was no tomorrow,

Mani:&"Surprise me, Abhishek."