AbhiMaan: The Alchemy

6A. The Lucky One

Hey guys! Thank you so much for the votes and the lovely comments. Keep em coming. Here we go with another chapter which I've divided in two parts just cuz I felt like it. *author grins*
______
The Timeline is continued from where Chapter 2 ended.

3 Months After Abhira and Armaan's Wedding, Friday (Present)

The whole Poddar house was in a hustle bustle as a potential groom's family was coming in to see Charu. The family was very influential, and Sanjay felt like he was walking on clouds with the kind of family he had found.

"They are all businesspersons and doctors! If they join in with the Poddar firm as my clients, my name will skyrocket, and Ma Sa will finally make me the director of the firm." He thought in his mind and reprimanded a worker to place the garlands properly.

"Ma Sa, Kajal, Bhabhi Sa, Bhai Sa! Sab log neeche aa jaiye. Ladke wale kabhi bhi aate honge." Sanjay shouted from the living room, and soon all the family members descended from their rooms, dressed to the nines in various colours of sarees, shirts.

His beaming smile faded when he saw the people on his doorstep. It was Armaan and Abhira.

"Aa gaye tum bachho? Achhi baat hai! Hume toh bas itna batana tha ki aaj Charu ko dekhne ladke wale aa rahe hain. Humara yeh parivaar tum dono ki maujoodgi ke bina adhura hai, isliye tum bhi idhar hi rahoge." Kaveri said and smiled at them. Both of them left to get ready.

"Ma Sa!" Vidya exclaimed.

"Kuch problem hai tumhe Vidya? Kuch kehna chahti ho toh saaf saaf kaho!" When Vidya did not say anything else, Kaveri smiled again, but this time, it was not a genuine but a prideful one. "Hmm. Like I thought. Bhulo mat ki tumhari iss ghar mein kya jagah hai. Humari Bahu ho. Humse chhoti ho. Inn baaton ko bhulna mat."

"Aaj Charu, Jamai Sa aur Kajal ke liye bahut important day hai. Aur koi iss din ko apne nakhron ya kadwi zubaad ke saath kharab nahi karega." Kaveri added. "Kyu Vidya? Ruhi?"

"Ji Ma Sa." Vidya acquiesced, lowering her head while Ruhi too nodded, embarrassed that she was pointed out individually.

"Mummy Sa toh ekdum school ki principal vibes de rahi hain Mannu. Ekdum strict and intelligent." Manisha whispered and raised her hand in front of her husband for an unnoticeable high five.

Armaan and Abhira returned 10 minutes later, dressed in a black suit with a black shirt and baby blue saree, respectively.

The chorus gang sans Charu, quickly pulled their Bhaiya and Bhabhi to stand near them.

As everyone relaxed till the time the Rajvanshs arrived, they got involved in their own conversations. Vidya pestered Ruhi regarding her food and medication, Rohit standing near them - mute. Sanjay and Kajal fussed over the most minute details along with Manisha and Manoj. But the chorus gang and Abhimaan were busy in their own world, conversing in hushed whispers as Abhira nodded her head in no several times.

"No means no, Kiara. Pata nahi Ladke walon ki kitna time lagega jaane mei. Aaj nahi ho paayega possible baba." Abhira whisper shouted.

"Bhabhi. We decided on this a long time ago. Yeh rule koyi bhi nahi todega. Including you." Kiara answered back.

"Haan Bhabhi. Aaj Friday hai. Matlab humara weekly movie night! yeh humara ritual hai. Agar aapne mana kiya toh hum samajh lenge that you guys don't love us." Aaryan prompted and blinked innocently.

"Exactly! and vese bhi, today we are watching Ajab Prem ki Gazab Kahaani.. It's a Ranbir Kapoor movie Bhabhi. He's your favourite. "Krish also said, tempting her with Ranbir's name.

Abhira grinned widely at that and said, "Ab you guys are insisting so much then..-"

Armaan looked at her with shock. His Abhira! The betrayal. "Abhira! Itna convince kiya bechare bachho ne tumhe, tab toh no-no.. And as soon as Krish mentioned Ranbir Kapoor, you agreed! Ab mai mana karta hoon. No movie night. Aur tum! Mrs Khadoosmati. Stop watching these movies. Ese kisi aur ke pati par dore daalte sharam ni aati! Vese bhi, Tum Meri Ho." Armaan also whispered teasingly and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him.

"My silly boy! Woh to movies ka hero hai. Tum toh mere real life hero ho. Itna insist kara bachho ne, isliye mai maan gayi. Haan lekin the fact that it is a Ranbir ki movie is an added bonus." She giggled and placed her palm on his lapel, smoothening it as a habit.

"Awww!" The chorus gang chorused, making all of them laugh softly.

By this time, every family members' attention was on the group of 5 and all of them sobered from their jovial talks.

Ruhi seethed in anger and a little pain watching Armaan and Abhira together - their need to hold or place their hands on each other and then looked at Rohit, who was so far off from her that you'd believe he was following covid guidelines. Her mother-in-law stood closer to her than her actual husband for God's sake.

She walked towards Rohit a little but he shifted away from her like the like poles of a magnet repelled each other.

"I'm not gonna bite you Rohit! Stand a little closer to me. I'm your wife, not your neighbour's wife." Ruhi whisper-screamed at her husband.

"Yeah! You'd like that na? Considering Bhai is our neighbour now." He scoffed and taunted.

"Oh for goodness sake not this again Rohit! How many times are we gonna have this fight?" She muttered and rolled her eyes.

"Till the time you stop being envious of Armaan Bhai and Abhira Bhabhi standing together." He replied.

Before she could reply, the bell rang and everyone stood up frantically, setting their clothes properly and dusting off the imaginary dust from the sofas and the tables as a final check. The Rajvansh's were here.

"Abhira, Kiara, Ruhi, please go and bring Charu downstairs." Kajal said and the trio left the room.

Kajal quickly rushed to the door, everyone following suit and opened the door.

"Namaste. Jai Shri Krishna." Kajal smiled and folded her hands in front of the prospective groom, his parents and 3 other people who she assumed were the siblings. "Andar aaiye na please."

"Namaste Aunty." Abhishek said and bent down to touch her feet.

"Khush raho beta." She replied and took him to Kaveri first. "Abhishek, this is my mother, Kaveri Poddar. She's the head of our family and Charu's Nani Sa." Kajal introduced.

"Namaste Nani Sa." Abhishek said and touched her feet. Kaveri blessed him and noticed how handsome he was. Sanjay had chosen a good one for their Charu. "Khush raho."

Kajal quickly introduced everyone to the Rajvanshs.

"Aur yeh hai humare ghar ka sabse bada beta, Armaan. He is the managing partner of our law firm." Kajal said while introducing them.

Armaan brought his hand infront of Abhishek for a handshake and noticed his face and features, finding them so similar but he couldn't quite place it.

"Nice to meet you Abhishek. But.. have we met before? You look so familiar.."Armaan said and trailed off.

"I'm not sure Mr. Poddar. Though this is the first time I'm meeting you, I have heard a lot about you. Maybe you were at the hospital I work at sometime and saw me?" Abhishek replied.

"Achha yeh baat cheet hoti rahegi. Aap log bethiye na." Vidya said and brought them to the couches, asking them to sit.

"Mr. Bansal, it's so good to finally meet you and your lovely family. Kaafi bada parivaar hai aapka." Mr. Rajvansh said.

"Likewise Mr. Rajvansh. As soon as Niti showed me Abhishek's picture and told me that he's your son, I didn't even hear anything else. Aapke baare mei toh iss sheher mai kon nahi jaanta. Mujhe tabhi se mehsoos ho gaya tha ki meri Charu iss ghar mai bahut khush rahegi." Sanjay replied.

"Thoda makkhan rishta tai hone ke baad bhi lagaiega Mr. Bansal.. Sab kuch hi aaj laga denge?" Mr. Rajvansh said and Sanjay laughed tersely, feeling humiliated.

"Ajeeb Rajvansh! Kya tum bhi? Iska woh matlab nahi tha Sanjay ji." Mrs. Rajvansh said and smiled tightly, noticing the fact that not everyone in this family had the same range of humour as her husband.
________

byeee *runs off*

Please do vote, comment and share.

Love
Misha