Laal Ishq

12|Tune Jo Na Kaha

Mahnoor posed as Lea took pictures with all their friends.

" Wait are you going to cover your whole arm ? "

Noah asked making Mahnoor smile, she shook her head and told him,

" Nope, that's just for the bride. I'll just get enough to cover the part below the elbow. "

She explained how things are in a typical desi mehendi function.

" Are you going to get one too ? "

Mahnoor nasked with a teasing smile when she saw Cole looking at her mehendi with full concentration. 

" Shut up ! It just looks pretty. "

She laughed at that, she was really happy that her friends were able to join her, she knew she was really going to enjoy the wedding.

" You should try the jalebis, trust me if you like sweets, you are going to love it. "

She heard Rasha discussing this with Jaden and Lea. Zeenat came closer to her, 

" Mehendi toh bohot sundar lag rahi hai tumhari ? "

She beamed with happiness and nodded, She got up and told Zeenat, 

" Ab aap bhi mehendi lagwa lijiye. Mai naaki chize dekh loongi. "

Zeenat cupped her face and said, 

" Baitho aaram se, maine bohot mehndi lagwai hai. Ab tum bachche lagwao. Aur khaana kaise khaogi tum ? Adil is feeding Rasha. "

Cole was about to intervene when Shahzain came with an ice cream cone and kept it near Mahnoor's mouth. 

" Mai khila dunga, aap pareshan mat hoiye. "

Zeenat nodded while her eyes lingered between the two for a while before she went. 

" Dekh kya rahi ho ? khao "

His nonchalance irritated her and she rolled her eyes before licking the cream and said,

" Banda pyaar se baat hi kar leta hai ! Magar tumhe ye kaun sikhayega. "

A faint smile appeared on his lips and he was quick to hide it.

" You will be staying with your friends ? Bina bataye gayab mat ho jana, tell me I'll drop you. "

She shook her head, 

" Nahi, I'll go with them but fir mai raat mai aa jaungi. Itna kaam pada hai aur waise bhi bhabhi aur khala bohot tension lete hai, I want to help them. "

He nodded at her and asked if she wanted to eat something else, but she denied saying she'll eat something later. 

•|•

" Mahnoor ! Mahi ! uff kaha gayi ye ladki ? "

She heard Fabia call for her and rushed through the corridor, she panted and Fabia rubbed her back,

" Ye tumhare kuchh documents aaye the, aur itna bhaag ke aane ki kya zarurat thi ! Bachchi hi ho tum. "

She caressed her hair and left Mahnoor standing in the middle of the hall all alone, with brown paper envelope in her hands. 

Mahnoor carefully kept the envelope in her cupboard in between a couple of dresses and closed it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as if preparing herself for what was about to come.

A knock on her door brought her back to present and she opened her eyes, 

" Han "

A maid informed her that her friends would be leaving for their hotel now and Shahzain was asking for her. Mahnoor roughly wiped her tears and opened the door and giving a smile to the maid, moved out.

" Kaha thi tum ? kab se wait kar raha hu tumhara ! "

Shahzain asked as soon as she came to him, Noah and Lea gave each a teasing glint and looked back to see Mahnoor rolling her eyes at him. 

" Woh mera phone mil nahi raha tha, ab chale ? ya yahi khade hoke mujhe daantne ka irada hai ! "

Shahzain took a deep breath and moved to the driving seat. She observed that Shahzain was actually vibing well with all of her friends but with Cole, their seems to be a bit of a cold war. She thought she might be reading too much into it and dropped the issue, 

" You should go, mujhe late hoga. "

" Aur tum ghar kaise aaogi ? "

" I'll take a cab. "

Shahzain rolled his eyes at that and ruffled her hair, 

" You've lost your mind if you think I'm going to let take a cab late at night. "

She smiled and realized that Shahzain was always playing with her hair, 

" Come let's go. "

She held his arm and he let her drag him in. 

" Dude is this some royal palace shit ! I love it. "

Shahzain let out a laugh hearing Noah, he liked the kid, all her friends actually, except that....

" We get seperate rooms ! You really didn't have to. "

Cole regarded Shahzain and he shrugged it off with a smile. 

" You should relax. "

They settled it and soon enough he saw Mahnoor yawning. 

" We'll leave now. You guys can call Mahnoor if there's any issue. "

He motioned her the clock and nodded. 

" Bye guys "

They all hugged her and soon enough, they were in their car with Shahzain driving and Mahnoor looking out of the window. 

" Kal baarat ke liye ready ho ? "

He asked, not liking the silence between them. She gave him a smile and then nodded. 

" I'm really happy, Rasha deserves the best, you tell me, chhoti behen ke rukhsat hone par rooge toh nahi ! "

 The obvious tease in her voice made his heart beat faster and the smile on his face made it evident that he liked this new change. 

" Uski khushi me meri khushi hai, bura toh lagega hi, par tasalli bhi hogi ki woh apne ghar gayi hai. "

They continued to talk and soon enough reached home. Fabia served the two of them food and seeing biryani on her plate reminded her of how Shahzain had fed her the same earlier and she found herself smiling at that. 

" Mai dekh ke aati hu ki Rasha soi ya nahi. Kal baarat hai aur ye ladki pure ghar me daud rahi thi. "

Fabia excused herself and that night, Mahnoor and Shahzain both found themselves stealing glances of one another. 

.......

Vishakha