Hey guys, well I'm hoping that none of you had expected that I would do this next, and I'm hoping that you'll be thrilled that I did!

Chapter Twenty One

Raj was in quite a bad mood by the time he returned to the academy. He had known all along that this wasn't going to work out, he had told Navin that it wouldn't. And now his parents had refused his marriage with Naina and he was feeling terrible.

As soon as he walked into the canteen, Navin and Tanu immediately approached him.

"Raj, what happened?" Navin asked him, "Did you manage to convince him?"

Raj just gave Navin a sour look, ignored him and walked to the table where the rest of their friends were and sat down, before resting his head on the table with a slight bang.

"Raj, come on, what happened?" Navin said, coming to sit opposite him even as everybody else crowded around, nervously waiting for the response.

"What do you think happened?" Raj asked, still not raising his head, "And for the record, I'm not talking to you."

"Why not?" Navin asked, "What have I done?"

"Well," Raj finally raised his head and glared at his friend, "I want somebody to blame and I've decided that it's going to be you. This is all your fault."

"How is it Navin's fault?" Tanu asked, "What did he do wrong?"

"Oh, I forgot." Raj said sarcastically, "This is your fault too."

"My fault?? But I…"

"Oh yes, great plan." Raj interrupted, "Well when you were scheming to get me and Naina to fall in love, you conveniently forgot to work out exactly how to get us married."

"Plan? Scheming?" Navin asked nervously, "Raj what are you…"

"Oh stop pretending," Raj told him, "Naina and I have both known about 'Operation Marriage' ever since Diwali time."

Navin and Tanu's mouths both dropped open, as did everybody else's at the table. Well almost everybody, Aalekh as usual looked calm, while Yudi looked a bit guilty.

"Navin, what is this yaar?" Abhimanyu asked, "What's Operation Marriage?"

"Well," Raj started off in an explanatory tone, "Navin and Tanu wanted to get married, but they couldn't until Naina got married first, so they hatched a plan to introduce us, make us fall in love and then get us married off."

Abhimanyu shook his head at the couple sitting together. "I can't believe this," he said, "Are you serious, Raj?"

"We didn't do it just so that we could get married," Tanu tells them defensively, "We honestly did feel that Raj was the best choice for Naina."

"But does this mean that you've really been pretending this whole time?" Navin asked Raj, "You were never really in love?"

Raj rolls his eyes at Navin, "Would I be this upset about not being able to get married if I didn't really love Naina?" he asks, "Instead I would've been happy that our plan finally worked."

"Your plan?"

"Yes, 'Operation Confusion', for a very long time it really was a pretence so that Naina could avoid her marriage being fixed up with anybody else."

"And then?" Tanu asked expectantly.

"And then our plan backfired at we really fell in love!" Raj exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And it's definitely all your fault, if it wasn't for you then none of this would've even started."

"Raj, I'm so sorry…" Navin starts to say, "I never thought that…"

"Well there's only one thing that I know," Raj tells him, "If you don't figure out a way for Naina and I to get married, then I swear I won't let you and Tanu get married either. And that is Rajveer Singh Shekawat's solemn promise."

And he stormed out of the cafeteria and headed to his room.

**

Navin didn't dare disturb him that night, and Raj was still in too bad a mood to talk to him the next morning. Instead after dressing he headed straight to the mess, honestly just wanting to be alone.

He had just asked Suriji for some chai when an orderly came and informed him that he had a phone call, Raj headed to the phone reluctantly, guessing that it would be either Naina or his parents. If it was his parents then he had no desire to talk to them at all, if it was Naina then he was dreading telling her that he hadn't been able to convince his parents.

"Hello?"

"Raj, It's me."

"Naina, I couldn't… I mean they didn't… they've refused."

"I was guessing that they would," Naina tells him, and Raj is surprised that she doesn't sound more upset. "You know Raj I've been thinking, in fact I was thinking the entire car ride back to Nainital, and then last night too and I've made a decision." This is it, she's going to tell him that she can't stand his parents and no matter how much she loves him, it's far too much trouble to marry him.

"I want to get married."

Well that's a relief, but…

"Naina, I want to get married too, and we definitely will, it's just that it will take a bit longer than we thought."

Silence, and then…

"No Raj, I mean I want to get married now."

Raj stopped, stunned and unable to think. "You mean right now?" he asked, "On the telephone?"

"Well alright, not right now." Naina told him, "But definitely as soon as possible."

"Naina, you know how much I love you and how badly I want to marry you, but if we do it then my parents will stop paying my academy fees. I think it's best that we wait until I finish my training, then I'll have an income and can provide for you."

"And what if your parents didn't know?" Naina asked him, and Raj can tell by her voice that she's perfectly serious.

"And what about your parents? Would they really agree to it?" Raj asks, beginning to get intrigued by what it is that Naina is thinking about.

"What if they didn't know either?" she asks him.

"Naina… are you suggesting that we get married secretly?" Raj asks, "Navin has already forbidden me to elope with you."

"Well…. What if he didn't know either?" Naina asks, and for a moment Raj is too surprised to even speak.

"Naina, what exactly do you want to do?" Raj asks her, wanting her to explain the plan secretly.

"Raj, I'm willing to wait to get married to you, but I'm also afraid that our parents might arrange our marriages elsewhere." Naina tells him, "And, well, I just thought we could do with some insurance."

"Insurance?" He wasn't sure that he was following her exactly.

"Alright, this is what I was thinking. We get married in a registry office, that way it's legal and nobody can separate us. Then later when your parents give in we'll get married properly with all the rituals. What do you think?"

Raj had to admit that the idea sounded quite good to him. Naina as his wife… he wouldn't need to worry about her parents getting her married to that Bhais-wallah or anybody else.

"What about next weekend?" he asks her, "Can you come next weekend?"

"No, I looked up the laws on the internet." Naina tells him, and he realises that while he was despairing, she was researching ways to fix the problem. "We have to give notice of our marriage thirty days beforehand so that they can receive any objections. So go to the office there as soon as possible and give our notice and we'll get married in thirty days time."

Thirty days…. Well, it was a long time away but it was also sooner than he had expected they could get married an hour ago.

"And what if somebody raises an objection?" Raj asks.

"Well they can only raise one if they know about it," Naina tells him, "And they won't."

This plan was beginning to sound better and better by the minute…

"Is there anything else we need to do besides give this notice?" Raj asks her.

"Well we need three witnesses so choose trustworthy people," Naina tells him, "Aalekh would probably do it for us, so we need two more."

"And then we'll be married?"

"And then we'll be married!"

"I really love you." Raj tells her, his attitude completely changed now, "And in a month you're going to be my wife."

"Secret wife." Naina says, "That sounds so cool, doesn't it?"

"Very cool." Raj agrees, "I'll go and put the notice in today, the sooner we get married the better."

They say goodbye and he heads back to the cafeteria, trying not to smile. It's better if nobody becomes suspicious about why he's suddenly so happy again.

Raj gets his tea off Suriji and serves himself breakfast. He's just sitting down when Navin and Tanu walk in together and head in his direction.

"Raj, we are so, so sorry." Navin tells him, looking very guilty "Honestly we might have done this for our own benefit, but honestly we want you and Naina to be able to get married, I always knew you'd be the best husband for my sister."

"We really didn't think it would end up like this," Tanu tells him pleadingly, "Please forgive us, and we'll try our best to fix this."

"It's okay guys," Raj tells them calmly, "I'm sorry about yesterday, I was just really upset. I've just talked to Naina and we've decided that we'll wait until I finish my training and then try again."

He's surprised by how easy it is to lie, but then again he's had quite a bit of practice over the last few months.

"Well thank god," Navin tells him, "I don't know what I'd do if you stayed angry with me, I don't want to lose my best friend."

Raj gives both Navin and Tanu warm hugs, not angry at them at all anymore.

Now if everything goes according to plan then within one month, he would not only be Navin's best friend, he would also be his brother-in-law.

**

Raj was able to sneak off to the registry office during their free time in the afternoon, asking Aalekh to cover him without telling him the reason.

Once it was done, Raj returned to the academy with a huge grin on his face.

"Oy, chakkar kya hai?" Alekh asked him.

"I'll tell you soon." Raj promised him, not wanting anybody to actually find out until the end of the month in case something went wrong.

He called Naina on her birthday, making sure to do so at a time when her parents weren't home.

"Is everything going according to plan?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Naina told him, "I've told Ma and Baba that one of my friends has invited me to go away with her that weekend, and Neelu has promised to pick me up and take me to the registry office. We'll have a three hour gap in which to get married and then I'll get back on the bus again."

Yudi had been crossed off the list of potential witnesses for the marriage. Raj still hadn't forgotten about him telling Navin when Raj climbed out of Naina's window.

"Then in less than a month, we'll officially be married." Raj tells her happily, "And then nothing can come between us."

"So have you chosen witnesses yet?" Naina asks him, wanting everything to be sorted out before time.

Raj had been going through a long process of elimination. First he had decided that Yudi couldn't be trusted to keep his mouth shut, then that it couldn't be Shalini as she would probably tell Yudi.

Navin and Tanu also obviously couldn't be asked, since they were the ones the marriage was being hidden from.

Pooja was too likely to accidentally say something to be trusted, and Ali was so principled he would probably oppose a secret marriage.

And so that had left Raj with exactly three choices, Aalekh, Abhimanyu and Nandini.

He tells Naina exactly that.

"Sounds good to me," Naina tells him, "Neelu will be there as well so we'll have a spare."

"I can't wait to see you," Raj tells her, "I've got a present to give you for your birthday."

"Then I can't wait to get it," Naina tells him, "But nothing will be better than finally getting married."

Raj can't help but agree.

**

The rest of the required time passes torturously slowly, and every day Raj fears that somebody will find out and raise an objection, but nobody does.

Finally the day before the marriage is due to happen, Raj asks Abhimanyu, Nandini and Aalekh to all join him in the games room at dinner time when everybody will be busy.

"I need a favour to ask from you all," he tells them, "Tomorrow you have to come with me somewhere, it's important."

"Where do you need us to go?" Abhimanyu asks him curiously, wanting to know the reason for Raj's secrecy.

"You'll find out tomorrow," Raj tells them, "Just don't let anybody know that we're all going together. You and Nandini should pretend that you're going on a date, and I'll tell them that I'm taking Aalekh out shopping for some clothes."

"Raj this is all very mysterious," Nandini tells him, "Exactly what are you up to and why can't anybody know about it?"

Aalekh was looking at him in a very appraising way, and Raj was wondering whether he had already guessed what was going on.

"Wait and see," Raj tells her, "Everything will be revealed tomorrow."

**

The day dawned bright, and just as they had promised, everybody made their excuses and left separately, Aalekh and Raj on one bike and Abhimanyu and Nandini on another.

When they met further up the road, Raj gestured to them to follow him, and they reached the registry office quite quickly.

He was just looking around when a taxi pulled up and Naina and Neelu got out. While Neelu paid the driver, Naina leaped out and ran to Raj, throwing her arms around her neck. Raj picked her off the ground and swung her around before hugging her tightly.

"I've missed you so much," he tells her, "I can't believe this day has finally come."

Naina just nods, grinning so widely that it fills her entire face.

"Uh, what's going on?" Nandini asks, "Can we finally know now?"

"Well we're here today to get these two lovebirds married." Neelu tells them cheerfully, finally joining the group and coming to stand beside Aalekh, joining her arm through his. "You're all here to be witnesses."

"Marriage? Witnesses?" Abhimanyu asks, "Does Navin know about this?"

"No, and he won't either." Raj tells him, "We chose you because we knew you'd be trustworthy. We need your support, if we manage to get legally married then we don't have to worry about anybody separating us."

"Well who are we to separate two people in love," Nandini says with a shrug, "Lead the way, and let's get you two married."

"Bole to… this is the best plan yet." Aalekh tells them, "I wouldn't have guessed you two would do this."

They walk inside and approach the registrar.

"We're here to get married." Raj announces, not sure how else you're meant to get it done.

"Did you file a notice?" The man asks.

"Yes," Raj tells him, "Thirty four days ago."

"Well what are your names then?"

"Rajveer Singh Shekawat and Naina Singh Ahluwalia." Raj informs him.

"And you are both above the required ages?"

"Yes we are," Naina tells him, and they both show some identification.

"Well then there shouldn't be any problem." The registrar tells them, "We can conduct the ceremony now."

"Wait, wait!" Neelu tells them, and pulls some garlands out of the plastic bag she's carrying. "If you're getting married then you should at least garland each other."

Naina and Raj happily garland each other, both grinning widely. Neelu makes sure that she takes a photo.

"And now can we proceed with the ceremony?" The registrar asks, sounding a little bored.

"Yes Sir, of course." Raj tells him.

"Alright, then sign the forms, and then your witnesses should sign and you'll be officially married."

Raj and Naina both sign their names quickly, followed by Aalekh, Abhimanyu and Nandini while Neelu takes photos of everything.

The registrar then adds his own name and stamps the form, before handing it over.

"You are now officially married." He tells them, "Congratulations."

"Thank you, Sir!" Raj tells him enthusiastically, "Thanks so much!" then he turns to all of his friends, "And thank you to all of you, we couldn't have done it without you."

He then turns to Naina, gazing at her with love.

"Well, you're my wife now." He tells her happily, "Which means that I don't have to stick to just holding hands with you any more."

And sweeping her up into his arms, he kisses her soundly, not caring about who's watching.

The sound of Abhimanyu's embarrassed coughing causes them to break apart and they part reluctantly to find that their friends have all turned their backs. Naina blushes slightly but still can't get the grin off her face.

Raj holds her hand tightly, and they walk out of the registry office. Raj and Naina remove their garlands and Neelu places them back into the bag while Raj puts the certificate into his bag.

"Well let's treat the newly married couple to lunch," Abhimanyu says, "And then we'll give them some time alone before Naina has to leave."

"Thanks Abhi," Raj tells him, and they head to a nice restaurant for lunch where they toast the newly married couple, and tell stories and jokes.

Finally Raj and Naina say goodbye to the rest, and Raj promises to be back in an hour to take Aalekh back, giving him some money and asking him to go and buy some clothes so that their lie doesn't get found out. Aalekh heads off with Neelu while Abhimanyu and Nandini also head off together.

Raj takes Naina to a park and sits down with her on the ground, wishing that she didn't have to go back again so soon.

"So we're married now," he tells her, once again unable to stop himself from smiling.

"Don't think that that means we're going to have our wedding night now." Naina tells him sternly, "You'll have to complete the proper rituals first."

"Of course," Raj tells her, "Otherwise Navin really would kill me."

They lie down on the ground and he places his arms around her, as she lies with her head on his chest and her arm over his waist. He could be content to lie there with her forever, but he knows that they have very little time left together.

Pulling a small box out of his pocket, Raj gives it to Naina who sits up to open it.

Looking inside she finds a thin gold chain with a heart shaped locket on it.

"I obviously can't give you a mangalsutra yet, so this will have to do for now." He tells her. "I hope you like it."

"Of course I do!" Naina gushed, "I think this is the best birthday present that I've ever received, can you put it on me?"

Raj put the necklace around her neck and did it up, trying to shake the feeling that he actually was tying a mangal sutra.

"Can't you stay for just a bit longer?" Raj asks her, as they lie back down on the grass again, their hands now joined.

"Well I could if you want my parents to become suspicious about where I've really gone." Naina tells him.

"Good point," Raj replies, "If that happened then we might have one of the shortest lived marriages in history."

"Well mere pyaara pati, how about we make the best of our time together?" Naina asks him, rolling onto her stomach so that she's leaning on his chest, her face above his.

"I think we can certainly do that," Raj says, a sly grin coming onto his face, "After all, you are my wife now…"

And as Naina giggled, he began to kiss her all over her face before finally claiming her lips.

**

They barely arrived back at the bus station in time for Naina to catch her bus, and Raj kissed her on the cheek and hugged her one long last time before letting her go.

Watching the bus depart, he combed his fingers through his short hair, unable to get the smile off his face.

He was married.

To Naina.

Well perhaps not entirely properly, but at least it was legal, the rest would come in time.

And nobody except them and four of their friends had any clue at all.

Raj's grin then turned very mischievous.

It served Navin and Tanu right, after all, this was what they had wanted from the very beginning.

Could they really complain if Raj and Naina had decided to make Operation Marriage a success?

Whistling a happy tune, Raj got back on his bike and left to pick Aalekh up.

He might be married, but he still had to get back to the academy on time.