Anaya-His heartbeat

CHAPTER -15 The day of engagement

ANAYA'POV

I woke up with a heavy heart, the weight of the day pressing down on me before I even opened my eyes. Today was the day—my engagement. It felt surreal, like my life had slipped out of my hands, spiraling into something I couldn't control.

As I lay there, trying to steady my thoughts, the door to my room suddenly burst open with a loud bang. Startled, I shot up in bed, only to see five familiar faces grinning back at me."Surprise!" they all shouted in unison.Standing there were Vaani, Mahi, Chavvi, Manav, and Hardik—my sweethearts. My heart instantly lightened at the sight of them, a smile tugging at my lips despite the turmoil inside. These were the people who knew me inside out, who had always been by my side, no matter what."You guys..." I muttered, blinking away the grogginess. "What are you doing here so early?"Mahi laughed, stepping forward. "Early? It's your engagement day, and you thought we wouldn't barge in first thing in the morning?""Exactly," Vaani chimed in, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "We're here for moral support—and to annoy you, of course."Chavvi grinned, holding up her phone. "Also, we need a picture of you looking like this. You know, for blackmail purposes."I groaned, pulling the covers over my head. "Please don't."But Manav wasn't having it. "Oh, no. This is happening. Come on, Anaya, your disheveled look needs to be documented before you transform into the beautiful bride-to-be.""Too late for protests," Hardik added with a smirk, already posing with his camera.Despite myself, I couldn't help but laugh. Their energy was infectious, and for a moment, I felt like the old Anaya—the one who wasn't tangled in complicated emotions and life-altering decisions.We sat around my bed, reminiscing about the good old days. Chavvi started with a story about how we had once sneaked out to watch a midnight movie, and the laughter erupted from there. Vaani brought up the time we had all gone camping and gotten lost in the woods for hours. I found myself smiling more than I had in days."Remember how you screamed when you saw that squirrel?" Manav teased."That squirrel was huge! Or manav aaj koi batamizi ni vrna tu dekhio " I protested, but we all burst out laughing anyway.For a little while, it felt like nothing had changed. We were just a group of friends, sharing memories and teasing each other, as we always did. But deep down, I knew everything was about to change. My life was about to take a 360-degree turn. Soon, I'd be married and living in someone else's house. The thought made my chest tighten again, but I pushed it aside. For now, I just wanted to enjoy this moment.Eventually, after more teasing and laughter, they left me to get ready. I took a deep breath, heading into the bathroom. As I stood under the warm water, I couldn't help but think about the journey ahead. In a few hours, I'd be engaged to Shivarth. My life would never be the same. I tried to remind myself of the silver lining. Samaira and Ayaan—I'd bonded with them in such a short time. Samaira, with her light-hearted humor and warmth, and Ayaan, who always found a way to bring a smile to my face with his teasing. Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be as bad as I feared.When I stepped out of the bathroom, there was a knock at the door. The makeup artist had arrived. She gave me a warm smile as she set up her tools, and soon, I was seated, ready for the transformation.As she worked on my makeup, I stared at my reflection, trying to imagine the future. A new house, a new family... and Shivarth. The man who had hurt me with his words but also intrigued me in ways I couldn't quite explain. What kind of life would we have together?I didn't know. But I would find out soon enough.

SHIVARTH'S POV

The rhythmic pounding of my fists against the punching bag was the only thing keeping my mind from spiraling completely out of control. I had been here for almost an hour now, working out the tension that had been building up inside me for days. Today was the day. My engagement.
I still couldn't wrap my head around it. My life was about to change in ways I wasn't prepared for. No more carefree days, no more solitary nights where I could just lose myself in work or workouts. I'd have a wife—*Anaya.* I thought back to the apology letter I had written her. It still felt strange, apologizing to someone I barely knew, for something I had said in a moment of frustration. But Vivaan had been right. I couldn't start this... *whatever this was*... with that kind of baggage hanging over us. She didn't deserve my anger, and I wasn't proud of the things I'd said to her. I wasn't even sure why I was still thinking about it, but something about her... stirred things inside me. I gave the punching bag another hard hit, trying to work out the thoughts I couldn't put into words. *I don't love her,* I reminded myself, wiping the sweat from my forehead. That part was clear. But still, the thought of marrying her, of this life I was about to enter... there was a knot in my chest I couldn't untangle. "Bro, you're going to destroy that bag if you keep going like that," Ayaan's voice cut through the sound of my breathing. I turned to see him and Samaira standing by the entrance, both of them grinning like they were enjoying every second of this."You know there are better ways to handle pre-engagement jitters," Samaira added with a wink.I shot them both a glare, though it didn't hold much fire. "I'm not jittery. Just... thinking.""Oh yeah, we can see how much 'thinking' you're doing by the state of that poor punching bag," Ayaan said, walking over and inspecting the bag like it was an injured pet."Yeah, yeah," I muttered, grabbing a towel and wiping myself down. "What do you two want?""We came to tell you to get ready, obviously," Samaira said, her grin widening. "Unless you plan to show up to your engagement party in your gym clothes. Might make quite the statement."I rolled my eyes, tossing the towel aside. "I'll get ready.""Good, because everything is set. The decorations, the food, the guests... everyone's waiting for the star of the show," Ayaan teased, throwing an arm around my shoulder. "And don't think you can run away. We've locked all the exits."Despite the tension I'd been feeling all morning, I couldn't help but smirk. "You two really enjoy this, don't you?""Enjoy?" Samaira's eyes sparkled. "We live for this. Now hurry up and get dressed. We're leaving for Sharma Palace soon."The mention of the place where the engagement was being held sent another wave of uncertainty through me. The Sharma family's house. Anaya's house. The place where I'd be taking the next step in this strange, tangled journey. I showered and got dressed, trying to block out the flurry of thoughts that kept creeping in. My mind kept wandering back to Anaya. I wondered what she was thinking, if she was as confused as I was. Would this be the beginning of something neither of us wanted? Or could we somehow make it work?Before I knew it, we were in the car, driving to the Sharma estate. Ayaan and Samaira were laughing and chatting in the back, teasing me whenever they got the chance, but I barely paid attention. My heart was heavy with confusion, and no matter how hard I tried to shake it, the feeling wouldn't go away. I glanced out the window as we pulled up to the grand gates of the Sharma Palace. The sight of it made everything feel so much more real. The engagement, the marriage, the life that was waiting for me on the other side of today.Whatever happened next... there was no turning back now.