Ishqana Dil

Part 28

"Why did you bring me here?" he blurted, his eyes fixed on the door as horror unravelled itself in his gut.

Rama grinned cheekily, twirling the keys of his bike in his finger. "You had promised me you would take care of all the preparations for the wedding, na? Shaadi ki saari rasmein agar yahi ho rahi hain toh-" He was cut off short when his keys flew out of his hold and several metres away. As he dived after them, Mantu mentally cursed him. He was not even prepared to see Amaya and...

The door opened and there she was. She looked completely stunned to find him there, then the corners of her lips dropped and her brow furrowed as she surveyed him. He tasted bitterness in his mouth. So, the great Madam was still angry? Would she just tell him why already or would he have to die with the mystery?

"Amayaji!" Rama bobbed in front on him, making her eyes shift to him and Mantu exhaled, looking at his friend too. "Namaste. May we come in?"

Her smile was half-hearted but she moved aside to let them in. He kept his eyes away from her carefully and followed Ramashrey in while she closed the door. Her mother appeared, followed by the grandmother and aunt. "Arrey, Rama, Mantu... Come in. Have a seat."

Rama made himself at home instantly but Mantu realised that something was off. Sneha Aunty looked so tired and not really happy. He frowned, trying to add things up. On the day of the prayers Rachitaji was looking so indifferent, there was the issue with Amaya and now he had noticed their mother...

"Kya hua, Mantu beta? Baitho na," she smiled. He tried to smile at her too and sat down politely but it was haunting him. Her smile had not reached her eyes as usual. "Is everything alright, Rama?" she asked calmly, although her eyes were filled with worry. Mantu felt his frown deepen.

He looked at Rama, who seemed to see past all of it. He grinned and shook his head. "Everything is fine, Auntyji! I'm sorry I came here so early without saying anything beforehand but it was very important and I could not wait. You see, Mantu is best-friend, he is just like my brother. And he had promised me he would make all the arrangements for my wedding. That's why I brought him here. Mantu will take care of everything."

He glanced at Sneha Aunty uncomfortably. Rama could be so annoyingly impossible. He had just dumped his decision on them without wanting to know if it was going to be fine with them. They already looked like something was wrong... But Sneha smiled gracefully, and this time, it looked more real.

"That is so nice of you," she turned to Mantu. "I was stressed about how to get everything ready in such a short time but now that you will be helping us, beta, it relieves me. Thank you."

"It's n-nothing, Aunty," he shifted uneasily. His eyes caught a movement behind Sneha. It was Amaya who was tucking her hair behind her ear. There was that look on her face... she looked so... irritated... which irritated him as well. "I would just like to clarify one thing though," he bit out as politely as possible, staring at her. "Hum shaadi ki saari taiyaariyaan apne tareeke se kareinge. Aur humein kissi ki bhi dakhal andaazi nahin chaahiye." It was only when the words had left his mouth already that he realised he might have hurt Sneha Aunty more than Amaya. With a wince, he tried to form an apology but she nodded, looking down.

"Jaisa tumhein theek lage, beta."

He had hurt her. Guilt pooled in his heart and he opened his mouth to apologise but Rama was getting up, still ignorant of everything that seemed to be going on. "Achha, toh hum ab chalte hain."

"Ek minute, Rama," Amaya stepped forward. She looked angry and offended. Mantu cringed mentally. That had been such a bad move. He knew he was angry at Amaya because of the way she had behaved with him but what he had just done was far worse. He had hurt her mother, perhaps even insulted her in a way, and now he could not really blame her if her behaviour towards him worsened. Rama sat back down as she pasted a smile on her face. "Rama, shaadi toh meri behen ki bhi hai, na?" she said coolly. "Toh humaari taraf se saari taiyaariyaan main karoongi. Aur ek shart meri bhi hai. Please mana mat karna."