He likes her sister.
She has a crush on him.
What will happen, when a Rishta meant for her sister is sent to her? How will he react? How will the family react? What's their story?
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"Thank you for your help," Aarohi said.
Her apartment was cozy, with velvet couches, a coffee table, and a candle lit on the end table. The curtains were draped open, letting the daylight in.
"No worries. Do you have a night shift today?" I ask. Maa wanted to meet her.
"No. I have a couple of days off. Why did you ask though?"
"That's perfect. Maa wants you to come over and have dinner or lunch with us."
She shifted her weight to the left foot. "I'm free today. Dinner would be fine."
"Great. I'll tell Mom. Bye." I leave her apartment and move to mine. Taking my shoes off, I step inside the living room. Mumma, Aarohi said she can come over for dinner tonight.
She closed her book. "Tonight?"
"Yes."
"Beta, inti jaldi kaise kanna banoungi main?" (How will I cook this fast?)
"Relax Maa. We can order online." I sit beside her.
"Par accha nahi lagega." (But it won't look good.)
Maa will be maa. I mentally shake my head.
"She'll understand. So don't worry."
Maa was about to open her mouth but I intervened. "I'll order and that's final!"
"Okay." She pouts.
"Good." I pat her head and she laughed it off. Getting up from the sofa, I said. "I'm going for a run and I'll order there. Ask Neil to help you with the plates, okay?"
"Haan Haan. Ab jao." (Yes yes. Now go.)
I walked out of the room and rode the elevator to the ground floor. Pushing the door open, fresh breeze hits my face. I breathe in and out, walking on the footpath as I smiled.
After a bit, I ordered the food and continued to walk.
.
.
.
It was six o'clock. I was clad in blue t-shirt and blue jeans. The doorbell rang. I stepped out of the room and Mumma had answered the door.
Aarohi stepped in, handing Maa a small bag.
"You didn't have to bring anything," Mumma said, already peeking inside.
"I wanted to, Aunty."
"Thank you, beta," Mumma said with a warm smile.
We sit down. Maa nudges Neil. Neil got up and headed to the kitchen. A moment later, he came out of the kitchen with a tray—tea, biscuits, and glasses of water. He set it down carefully and handed Aarohi a glass and a cup of tea.
I took one and passed another to Mumma.
"So, how's everything going, beta?" Mumma asked.
"Good, Aunty! I recently finished my MD."
"Wow, congratulations!" I said, genuinely impressed. "That's huge."
I hesitated, then finally asked what had been sitting in the back of my mind. "How's Akshara?"
"She's great. She is happy with her husband and daughter."
"Husband?"
"She got married three years ago."
Three years? So... a year after we broke up?
"She met Jiju on a vacation she took right after the breakup. They got close, told their parents... and voilà, they were married."
"Oh... okay." I managed to say, keeping my voice even.
A brief silence passed before I shifted the conversation. "So... why are you living alone? I mean, you've always been close with your family."
There was a big pause for a moment. I scolded myself for asking something personal.
"I wanted to live alone. It is simple as that. I share a great bond with my family however, I still need my independence... I hope I'm making sense," she said.
I nodded slowly. "Yeah. I get that."
We both smiled. There was no judgment—just understanding. And maybe a bit of shared peace in the fact that, despite the past, the present felt okay.
A/N:
I am sorry for the short chapter. I didn't get any time last week. A lot has happened since the last week. My dad is in the hospital. He is fine. He needs to get a surgery though. And I might not be able to update the chapter's consistently. All I want to say is get your medical test done yearly. It can save you life. My dad was lucky in this case. And I'm so grateful for that.
And one more thing. I wanted to address this for a while now. If you want to know why Akshara broke her and Abhimanyu's relationship read chapter 2 of ik fisana. It is all about that. If you don't want to i'll summarize it for y'all. When Manjari's accident happened. Abhimanyu was a bit rude to Akshara and that's when Akshara's attraction for him vanished. She didn't want to cheat or make what they had worse so she broke their relationship.
