THE ROYAL AFFAIR

FRIENDSHIP

The Maharani welcomed Shnaya wholeheartedly .

Vikram was still absent from the scene . He was still stuck in Mumbai

By the end of the week a royal feast was planned to introduce Shnaya to her subjects and many neighbouring royal families were invited . So preparations were already on .

Maharani suggested Shnaya to get two new outfits . One for the royal feast which was to be a traditional dress and another for the evening which would be only for the royal families so any ball gown would be appropriate.

Shnaya was not very fussy regarding clothes so she asked the Maharani to select something from her trouseau .

Maharani selected a Golden Lehnga with intricate embroidery but insisted that Shnaya buy something for the party afterwards .

Maharani had invited a few designers the next day so thst Shnaya could choose from their latest collections .

The next day after breakfast Vishal joined Shnaya and the Maharani when they were selecting outfits .

He could sense that Shnaya was not very pleased with any of the options . He asked Shnaya to select a few dresses and then leave the party dress for later on . Maharani agreed to his suggestion . After the designers had left Vishal told Shnaya that a local designer who was excellent in his work but not very famous yet was his friend and he would take Shnaya there.

True to his word the next day Shnaya went to visit Shekhar the designer and was surprised to find him very young about Vishal's and her age .

His collection of gowns was excellent. They were neither Very heavily embroidered nor in very flashy colours .

She selected a simple piece . It was dark brown in colour .with a halter neck and a long flowing skirt . There was some work done on the bodice but the skirt was plain pure silk . Though it was backless but a net was added so that her bare back would not be visible .

Vishal though that Anyone else would have selected a much flashier and expensive piece but this was Shnaya and she was never known to flaunt . Vikram was lucky to have such a pretty and sensible wife but what the hell was he doing in Mumbai ?

Vishal had become close friends with Shnaya . The more he came to know about her the more he admired her .

The next two days Vishal was busy at the office so he couldn't spend much time with Shnaya . However he would go in time for dinner so that he could catch a glimpse of Shnaya . These days she seemed to be a little subdued and he decided to cheer her up .

On Thursday after breakfast Vishal asked Shnaya to get ready as they were going shopping . He had already informed the Maharani of his plans .

Maharani was not keen on the growing friendship between Vishal and Shnaya but when she saw Shnaya's sad face she relented. After all Vishal was her brother in law and Shnaya was too sensible to cross her limits .

Still Maharani had a feeling that Vishal was attracted to Shnaya and he cared for her .

This time when Vikram came she would reprimand him for his behaviour. Shnaya was his wife and he needed to take care of her ,spend some time with her .

Shnaya enjoyed spending time with Vishal . Though she liked him but only as a friend as her husband's brother and nothing more .

Vishal took her shopping for matching shoes and accessories to go along with her party dress.

She bought a new pair of matching stiletos and a brand new clutch .

Then he took her for a typical Rajasthani dinner owned by another of his friends Rohit

She loved the warm ambience of the place . Later on his friend Rohit joined them for dinner sharing anecdotes of their school days .

She learnt that Vishal was very naughty and a ladies man.

"It seems that I should be grateful that the casanova of Rajgarh is having dinner with me even though a line of beautiful ladies awaits their turn " Shnaya teased him .

" Shnaya Rohit tends to exaggerate so please don't believe him "Vishal blushed .

"Oh no Shnaya I am speaking the truth . He was one of the popular guys of our school and girls were always ready to date him . But you know whom the girls were ready to die for ? Your husband Vikram . He was the most popular guy and he was known to crush the hearts of most of them . It was goid that he was senior to us by many years otherwise we stood nochance against him"Rohit spoke to her .

"Can we change the topic Rohit or do you want bhaiya to kick me out of the palace for giving away his secrets?"

The rest of the dinner went of perfectly well with Rohit entertaining them with some stories of many wierd restaurant guests.

It was getting late so they declined desert .

Shnaya sat in the car while Vishal went to thank Rohit again .

Rohit remarked ," Vishal be careful she is your bhabhi "

Vishal was surprised ," What do you mean by careful ? Shnaya is a good friend and nothing more . We enjoy each others company "

"Careful bro if I didn't know she was your bhabhi I would believe you were already in love with her ."

"Rohit just shutup. I don't love her . I just like her "

"Tell me Vishal if she wasn't married to Vikram could anyone stop you from getting her ?"

"Rohit don't talk rubbish . She is not my type . I would never fall for her " saying this Vishal left the restaurant with a worried looking Rohit .

Shnaya was tired and she slept on the way back . Vishal was driving his car with the hood open .

When they reached the palace he called her gently but she seemed to be deep in sleep . He knudged her and she woke up abruptly .

Shnaya thanked Vishal for yet another wonderful evening. Vishal bowed in front of her ," At your service madam " . Shnaya laughed out aloud.

Shnaya was laughing and Vishal smiled in return because after her marriage he had rarely seen her smile .

She quickly moved out of the car and slipped . But before she could fall to the ground Vishal rushed to pick her up . He checked her foot to find a swollen ankle . She tried to walk again but the pain was severe so he lifted her up gently and carried her to her wing of rooms .

He had just laid her on her bed when he heard a voice behind him ," Thanks Vishal for taking care of my wife So well . I will take over from you from here . I hope you realise that this is her bedroom and its basic manners to ask before entering anyone's bedroom ."

"Someone has to care for her when big brother is too busy to look after her "remarked Vishal before going out .