Chapter 46

She spied the man with a cunning and highly amused grin as he sat grumpily on the low wall, facing the setting sun while he downed bottle after bottle from a crate near his feet. Stealthily, she crept up to him and perched herself on the wall beside him.

"You are getting drunk?"

He turned to her with his eyebrows raised in surprise and she felt a bolt of pity for him. Was he really so lost in his sorrow that he had not even sensed her approach? Aww... The poor chap. She had know him to be rather sharp before but it seemed that thissabbatical' year had truly changed him.

"Hey, Anjali... How are you?"

She smiled at him. "Fine. But you don't look fine."

He shrugged with a soft sigh."Congrats on the wedding."

"Thank you."

"Tell me. Are you marrying that Shyam Manohar Jha?"

She almost felt like hitting him on the face, but she restrained herself only because she reminded herself that Khushi had already been there during the afternoon. And that poor puppy face that he was giving her... It did melt her heart considerably. But the tone of incredulity that had rang in his voice... She had gotten sick of it with time.

"Yes, Arnav," she replied stiffly. "I am marrying that Shyam."

The corners of his lips drooped as he caught her biting tone. "I didn't mean to offend you," he mumbled. "I was just... surprised... I thought he was your cousin?"

"Yes, he is. Does that cause you a problem?"

"No, but... Wow! Okay, personally, I feel that if you guys love each and you will be happy together, then go ahead with it. You deserve it. But knowing how conservative Indians can be on the matters of marriage... Your family actually agreed to it?"

And so, her sympathy returned."Ugh! It took some time and a lot of convincing. Our fathers are first cousins and we share the same family name so it couldn't be very easy. But his family had moved to England before we were even born, you know. I never felt like we were related, we always met as friends. For my other cousins, I feel as if they are my brothers or sisters, but I never had that relationship with Shyam. He was always just a friend. We really bonded while I was in London for my studies but then too, I could not think of him as a cousin, forget about brother. We had grown up as strangers, you see. Oh, and do you know that I had been trying to set him up with Khushi?"

He frowned ever so slightly in annoyance. "Yes. Khushi had told me. I guess my dislike for him roots from there."

"Well, you can relax now."

He nodded. "And when did this happen?"

"While Khushi and you were in New York. I was alone and there was only Shyaam who was there for me. Khushi had left such a gap... We spent more and more time together, and we didn't even realise when we fell in love. All of it seems so blurry now... But back then, it had felt like a bloody atomic bomb had exploded on us, especially when the family members got wind of it. Thank god Khushi came back, though. She was the only one who was finally able to cool things down."

"She convinced your family?"

She giggled at his aghast face."Who else? She was wonderful. Heartbroken," Anjali pursed her lips as he dropped his head in shame. "But wonderful. She swept in like a tornado and made everyone understand how... things are really between Shyam and me... And she succeeded! We had thought at some point that we would have to spend the rest of our lives apart, as a punishment for being cousins who fell in love, but she made everything right. Of course, we get the dirty looks from others relatives and people but it doesn't matter. Our close family understands us and are there for us."

He chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "I am not surprised. Khushi always knows how to persuade people and make them see sense."

"Yes, she's very good at that."

Arnav looked away and took a few nervous swigs from the bottle he had been holding. "How is she?" he asked in a low, hesitant voice.

"Fine, I could say. What are you doing, Arnav?" she nodded at the bottles with distaste and he smiled crookedly at her.

"This? It's not alcohol, Anjali! Believe me. I know how Khushi hates drunkards. It's just bottles from the kitchen. I asked them to be filled with water."

She stared at him in disbelief."What?"

He shrugged, sulkily. "I cannot really drink. I can at least pretend to."

"But why?"

"The Devdas look. I was thinking she might come down and see me and even if she is not going to take some pity on me, she would at least be angry with me..."

Anjali burst out laughing at his forlorn face. Resisting the urge to pull at his cheeks was so hard! "Arnav! She is a Salman Khan fan! How could you think Shah Rukh Khan would help you?"

He grimaced at her. "What, there are two Khans?"

"There are more than two! Gosh! How can you now know that? Everyone..." she sighed heavily, rolling her eyes."I guess Khushi was right when she said you are a duffer at Bollywood?"

With a sheepish grin, he dropped the now empty bottle in the crate. "I don't have the time for that... You can't blame me!"

"You still love her, don't you?"

"Never stopped."

"Then why the hell didn't you try to contact her?"

He rubbed his face in defeat. "I had explained it to her, Anjali. She needed space and I wouldn't be able to give it to her if we kept in touch! I would have ended up at her door someday and... You know how upset she would have been... She absolutely hates it when things don't happen her way. She may not show it but it eats at her. But I love her, I truly do. I wish I had not been such an ass to her. Not one year ago, and not today..."

"Hey," she punched his shoulder lightly. "We can help you, you know?"

"We? Who is we'?"

As a reply, he only got a mysterious smirk which definitely made him shudder. Why was he getting this uncanny feeling that he would be making a complete fool out of himself in this whole redemption process?

***

He felt her dart several glances at him but he forced himself not to reciprocate. Damn! It sure was hard. He had chanced to look at her out of the corner of his eyes when she had been busy talking to someone and she was looking so irresistibly beautiful... No, Arnav! Focus!

You will talk to her only if she talks to you, and even then, act like you are not interested.

He played Anjali's voice again and again in his mind to keep his thoughts off her but it was not so easy either. He clenched his jaws tight and went back to sorting the marigolds with redoubled ardour. It was the last batch of flowers, then god knew what task Ulka would throw upon him.

"Do you always take so much time to do something?"

As he looked up, his heart beating erratically, he met with eyes flashing with anger. Glee almost shook the skin off him. Shehad spoken to him! But he needed to keep himself in check. So, he tried to look as indifferent as he could.

"Yes."

"No wonder you are always at it,"she muttered sourly, turning on her heels and leaving.

***

"Can you stay in one place for a minute? I am trying to talk to you here!" he whined exasperatedly.

"Oh my poor Arnav! Didn't it occur to you that I might not be interested in listening to you right now?"

Heinhaled sharply. "Look... I don't... I cannot do this..."

"Are you freaking out?"she immediately turned her round, amused eyes to him.

He cleared his voice and shifted on his feet, running a finger in the space between his skin and the collar of his shirt. "I... I am not freaking out, dammit! I just... I just think that this is a bad idea... A very bad idea."

She rolled her eyes dramatically and waved her hand, dismissing him recklessly. "It's stage fright, Arnav. It surprises me that a businessman like you should have it but well... Get over it quickly."

"I don't have stage fright!" he exclaimed vehemently, turning slightly green and following her tersely as she walked on. "Anjali! Will you please listen to me? Okay, fine! Maybe I have stage fright... Hey, seriously! I cannot do this!"

Anjali [jewelleryand coiffure] stopped again to look at him. "Arnav Singh Raizada. You can totally do this and you are going to do it." He opened his mouth to protest but she merely lifted a perfectly straight finger to shut him up. "Not another word. You owe me this and you want to win a certain friend of mine back, remember that. This is the right way to start it, Arnav, believe me. Do what I say and we will all get what we want. And honey, be careful you don't mess up my pre-wedding reception because I will make sure that your ass gets kicked."

Arnav blinked at her with some sort of a fearful admiration. "You are one badass bride."

She shrugged. "I guess."

"But I still don't feel good about this... Look, she thinks it's going to be that friend of hers who will be performing with her right? And they have practised together too. So, why don't you just... I mean... She hates me!"

"No, Arnav, she is angry with you. She cannot ever hate you. Listen, just cool down and wait for your turn, and then you stun the socks off my best friend's feet, okay? You make her jaw fall to the ground. Just remember the steps exactly how we have been coaching you the whole day yesterday and today, it will be fine! Think of it as a presentation, man! You are use to giving presentations, right?"

He clenched his jaws and squared his shoulders. "Yes, I used to that. You're right. I can do this. Just a presentation. I can do it."