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It was Raksha Bandan that day and according to their usual custom,Aliyah tied a rakhi on Abhishek's wrist and Abhishek promised to himself to take care of her always,just like every year. He gave her a platinum bracelet for a gift and his little sister was so elated that he got a hug and a repeat of her usual-almost slogan jaisa 'You are the best Bhai ever' in return.😆
"Pragyaaa! Look look ! Beautiful na?", Aliyah asked her best friend.
"Very beautiful", came the reply from a certain Pragya Arora,whose mind voice at that precise moment was 'It is Abhishek's choice after all, has to be good'..
"Okay now your turn"
"My turn for WHAT?!"
"To tie Rakhi ! He is my Bhai and you are my bestie and now that you are home today, you can also tie him a rakhi na" Aliyah explained to her..
"Me ..rakhi to Abhishek?"
"Yeah Prags , any problem?!"
"Woh..um.."
"You always think a lot for everything Pragya..chalo haath do aur pakdo isse", she said and handed over a nice red and golden rakhi to Pragya..
Pragya looked up at Abhi, whose face was stern with no expressions..
She slowly took the rakhi,not knowing what to tell Aliyah and walked towards Abhi..
She missed the expressions on Aalu and Dadi's faces though..the two ladies were trying EXTREMELY hard to not burst out laughing 😆
Purab, who walked into the house moments back, witnessed what was going on..
Two things happened simultaneously..Pragya, who was near Abhi now, looked at him and got her answer . OFCOURSE she could not have done what she was about to do now..She slowly lowered her hand, mildly shaking her head ..
Purab,on the other hand, wanting to avoid the disaster that was to occur in the next few seconds, called Abhi's name loudly with a "Abhi!! Come right now! Mr Khurana has been trying to contact you from morning and you haven't attended his calls.He is leaving for the airport in half an hour and we have to go!"...Well, that was the first thing that came to his mind..[:p]
Abhi mouthed a 'I love you Bhai, you rock' to Purab and walked out with him, after giving a quick glance to Pragya.
Aaliyah and Dadi hi fived each other, relieved that the plan didn't work.
Six months ago..
"Aliyah Mehra, I am exhausted and hungry! Can we PLEASE eat? You have been shopping for the past four hours !"
"Okay okay Bhai , sorry , I am done", Aliyah replied quickly looking around one last time,making sure she didn't miss anything..
"Thank you!",Abhi replied , grateful that she had finally agreed to leave. They decided to go to a nearby restaurant and have their lunch.
After ten minutes, a girl walked to their table..
"What would you like to have?", she asked looking at her notepad first and then at them.
Abhi was lost in her eyes and a sudden high pitched voice brought him out of it..
"Pragya? Pragya Arora?!"
"Aalu!!! OMG Aalu how are you?!" and the girls hug each other surprised and extremely happy at having met their best friend from school.
"What are you doing HERE? I thought you were an architect..oh btw my bhai here is an architect too!"
Pragya looked at Abhi and smiled at him.."how are you ?" she asked and Abhi,who was caught in her beautiful smile and her charming features,didn't realize she was talking to him..
"Bhai?",Aliyah placed her hand on Abhi's, calling him..
"Uh.. Sorry what?"
"Pragya asked you how you are"
Abhi turned red with embarrassment .."oh..Hey I am good! " , he said with a nervous smile..
'Why was he looking at me so intently?', Pragya thought and could feel the heat in her cheeks rising..
"Arey! What's wrong with you too? Prags I asked you something!"
"Sorry sorry Aalu! You know my cousin Puneet right? This is his father's restaurant.. Puneet fell ill today so I came to help my uncle ..And yeah i am an architect and am currently working in my friend's firm",she replied smiling at Aliyah.
The girls kind of lost touch after school as Aliyah went to Australia to pursue her undergrad and Prags was busy studying/drawing/working day in and day out that she hardly found time even to talk to her family.
Abhi and Aaliyah placed their orders ad Pragya went to inform the cook..
"Aalu,your friend can also join us na,you guys have met after so long after all..",Abhi stated..
"Bhai you are right..great idea!" Aliyah said and turned to call Prags before looking back at her brother and asking .."Bhai you like her don't you? You generally don't like anyone around when you eat with your family"
"Woh.. She is your friend and"
"Okay okay Bhai..As you wish and I won't tell anyone don't worry", Aliyah replied with a wide grin,winking at him.
Aliyah invited Pragya to have her lunch with them which the latter gladly agreed to,after making sure all the customers have been served their food.
The three of them got talking and Abhi loved the way she spoke,her outlook towards life,the optimism and many other things..he couldn't stop the small smile that decided to stay on his face,permanently.
Abhi made note of Pragya's number when she was giving it to Aliyah and after a LOT of thought,texted her two days later. He couldn't get his thoughts off her and he decided to give it a shot.
Pragya and Abhi met frequently and had become very close friends over time..They had developed feelings for each other but were not sure what the other person felt and so procrastinated the confession..
Pragya,being Aliyah and now Abhi's friend, was like a family member in the Mehra Mansion. Dadi loved her and so did the others.
Present
"So..Pragya Bhabhi? You were about to tie a RAKHI on Bhai's hand OMG!", Aliyah said and burst out laughing,till she had tears in her eyes.Dadi joined her grand daughter and the two ladies stopped after a while..
"Bhabhi? What are you saying Aalu?"
"Oh come on Prags! I am your best friend so give me some credit. You both think you are good actors ,trying to keep what's going on from all of us,but trust me you aren't.."
Pragya blushed hearing that..'What did Aalu know?'
"I don't know what you are talking about"
"Oh really? So Bhai has saved your name as 'My Prags<3' just like that eh ? I was walking past his room one day and his phone seemed to be ringing continuously but he was nowhere in sight..so I checked it and saw your contact name..and okay what about the blushing you both do whenever you happen to look at each other 'by mistake'.. You remember we went shopping one day the three of us ? You think I don't know how you silently got his approval for the clothes you got? He stands there nodding his head or giving a 'No that's bad' expression and you replied to me accordingly..Come on Prags.. You guys are madly in love with each other..high time since you proposed! "
Pragya's eyes grew wider with every word Aliyah said..'OMG she noticed so much!! And wow 'My Prags<3? I didn't know that'
"Okay Pragya beta,blush all you want after deciding on how you will convince Abhi..He is going to be mad for the RAKHI thing.."
Pragya nodded and ran away from there before they could tease her further.
She was going towards the garden when she felt someone pull her inside a room and close the door.She was about to shout but he closed her mouth and her eyes widened when she saw it was Abhi..She could see he was angry but couldn't help getting lost in his eyes..
He had one hand on her waist and the other was over her mouth..
"Allah waariyan..mein toh haariyan..Tooti yaariyan mila de oye"
This was the first time they had been this close to each other..
Abhi remembered what he wanted to ask her.."So..Rakhi uh? What the hell were you thinking ? Here I am going mad every second thinking about how I should tell you my feelings and btw do you know where I was yesterday evening ? In Tiffany ! Buying a ring to propose to you! Nowadays I am not even able to finish my projects before deadline..You know why? Whenever I get all set to come up with a design,the only thing that I end up drawing is your face ! And here you are..",he stopped when he saw the tears in her eyes..he realized he still had his hand over her mouth and lowered it..
"Prags I am so sorry.. Please don't cry! I just got so mad that.."and he couldn't finish his rant thanks to the best first kiss of his life. He was shocked initially but joined her soon for one passionate kiss.
They pulled apart when they were breathless.."Those were happy tears Dumbo. I love you Abhi and I have loved you for sometime now..I knew you considered me very close but I wasn't sure if you actually loved me..We hadn't told anyone so I didn't know what to do when Aalu gave the Rakhi to me today.. I was too shocked to react and your face was expressionless and I didn't know what to gather from that..I was heartbroken..I wanted to see at least some small reaction from you that would tell me you didn't want it as much as I didn't.. And I guess you didn't notice because Purab called you at the same time but when I came near you and looked at your face ,I had decided it was impossible and mentally scolded myself for even taking it from her ..of course I wouldn't have tied it Abhi! Like I told you , I started moving towards you involuntarily.. Please don't be mad", she said cupping his face at the end..
Abhi was elated.."wow so you love me too! "
"Oh yea i do! And btw.. Guess who knows about us being in love even before we did?"
"Who?"
"Aalu and Dadi"
"Kya?"
Pragya told him whatever they had told her sometime back..
"Omg we have been such fools..I am proud of them", he replied grinning broadly..
Abhi then went down on one knee .."Pragya Arora..I don't think I can wait any longer..Will you be mine ? Will you marry me ?"
Prags sat down on her knees to come to his level and hugged him tight.. She later kissed him on his cheeks,looked at his eyes and gave a small nod.."I will"
Aalu and Dadi were in the hall when they saw Abhi and Pragya, walking out of a room , a ring on Pragya's finger..
"OMG OMG OMG!!!! Prags! Bhai proposed to you", Aalu ran and pulled Abhi and Prags in a big bear hug.. They blushed and grinned at her..
They then went to get Dadi's blessings.." This is the best news I have heard in ages..Welcome to the family Pragya beta..I will go talk to Sarla ji about a good day for the official engagement.."
The others resumed the group hug, Aalu on cloud nine that two of her most favorite people were going to be related lifelong..
"Hello.. Care to give me some credit? It was because of my whole Rakhi plan that you guys are together now"
"Aww we love you Aalu..thank you!", Pragya said pulling her cheeks and Abhi kissed her on the forehead with a "thank you so much Bacha"..😊 It was the beginning to a wonderful life for the Mehras/to be Mehra.
It was Raksha Bandan that day and according to their usual custom,Aliyah tied a rakhi on Abhishek's wrist and Abhishek promised to himself to take care of her always,just like every year. He gave her a platinum bracelet for a gift and his little sister was so elated that he got a hug and a repeat of her usual-almost slogan jaisa 'You are the best Bhai ever' in return.😆
"Pragyaaa! Look look ! Beautiful na?", Aliyah asked her best friend.
"Very beautiful", came the reply from a certain Pragya Arora,whose mind voice at that precise moment was 'It is Abhishek's choice after all, has to be good'..
"Okay now your turn"
"My turn for WHAT?!"
"To tie Rakhi ! He is my Bhai and you are my bestie and now that you are home today, you can also tie him a rakhi na" Aliyah explained to her..
"Me ..rakhi to Abhishek?"
"Yeah Prags , any problem?!"
"Woh..um.."
"You always think a lot for everything Pragya..chalo haath do aur pakdo isse", she said and handed over a nice red and golden rakhi to Pragya..
Pragya looked up at Abhi, whose face was stern with no expressions..
She slowly took the rakhi,not knowing what to tell Aliyah and walked towards Abhi..
She missed the expressions on Aalu and Dadi's faces though..the two ladies were trying EXTREMELY hard to not burst out laughing 😆
Purab, who walked into the house moments back, witnessed what was going on..
Two things happened simultaneously..Pragya, who was near Abhi now, looked at him and got her answer . OFCOURSE she could not have done what she was about to do now..She slowly lowered her hand, mildly shaking her head ..
Purab,on the other hand, wanting to avoid the disaster that was to occur in the next few seconds, called Abhi's name loudly with a "Abhi!! Come right now! Mr Khurana has been trying to contact you from morning and you haven't attended his calls.He is leaving for the airport in half an hour and we have to go!"...Well, that was the first thing that came to his mind..[:p]
Abhi mouthed a 'I love you Bhai, you rock' to Purab and walked out with him, after giving a quick glance to Pragya.
Aaliyah and Dadi hi fived each other, relieved that the plan didn't work.
Six months ago..
"Aliyah Mehra, I am exhausted and hungry! Can we PLEASE eat? You have been shopping for the past four hours !"
"Okay okay Bhai , sorry , I am done", Aliyah replied quickly looking around one last time,making sure she didn't miss anything..
"Thank you!",Abhi replied , grateful that she had finally agreed to leave. They decided to go to a nearby restaurant and have their lunch.
After ten minutes, a girl walked to their table..
"What would you like to have?", she asked looking at her notepad first and then at them.
Abhi was lost in her eyes and a sudden high pitched voice brought him out of it..
"Pragya? Pragya Arora?!"
"Aalu!!! OMG Aalu how are you?!" and the girls hug each other surprised and extremely happy at having met their best friend from school.
"What are you doing HERE? I thought you were an architect..oh btw my bhai here is an architect too!"
Pragya looked at Abhi and smiled at him.."how are you ?" she asked and Abhi,who was caught in her beautiful smile and her charming features,didn't realize she was talking to him..
"Bhai?",Aliyah placed her hand on Abhi's, calling him..
"Uh.. Sorry what?"
"Pragya asked you how you are"
Abhi turned red with embarrassment .."oh..Hey I am good! " , he said with a nervous smile..
'Why was he looking at me so intently?', Pragya thought and could feel the heat in her cheeks rising..
"Arey! What's wrong with you too? Prags I asked you something!"
"Sorry sorry Aalu! You know my cousin Puneet right? This is his father's restaurant.. Puneet fell ill today so I came to help my uncle ..And yeah i am an architect and am currently working in my friend's firm",she replied smiling at Aliyah.
The girls kind of lost touch after school as Aliyah went to Australia to pursue her undergrad and Prags was busy studying/drawing/working day in and day out that she hardly found time even to talk to her family.
Abhi and Aaliyah placed their orders ad Pragya went to inform the cook..
"Aalu,your friend can also join us na,you guys have met after so long after all..",Abhi stated..
"Bhai you are right..great idea!" Aliyah said and turned to call Prags before looking back at her brother and asking .."Bhai you like her don't you? You generally don't like anyone around when you eat with your family"
"Woh.. She is your friend and"
"Okay okay Bhai..As you wish and I won't tell anyone don't worry", Aliyah replied with a wide grin,winking at him.
Aliyah invited Pragya to have her lunch with them which the latter gladly agreed to,after making sure all the customers have been served their food.
The three of them got talking and Abhi loved the way she spoke,her outlook towards life,the optimism and many other things..he couldn't stop the small smile that decided to stay on his face,permanently.
Abhi made note of Pragya's number when she was giving it to Aliyah and after a LOT of thought,texted her two days later. He couldn't get his thoughts off her and he decided to give it a shot.
Pragya and Abhi met frequently and had become very close friends over time..They had developed feelings for each other but were not sure what the other person felt and so procrastinated the confession..
Pragya,being Aliyah and now Abhi's friend, was like a family member in the Mehra Mansion. Dadi loved her and so did the others.
Present
"So..Pragya Bhabhi? You were about to tie a RAKHI on Bhai's hand OMG!", Aliyah said and burst out laughing,till she had tears in her eyes.Dadi joined her grand daughter and the two ladies stopped after a while..
"Bhabhi? What are you saying Aalu?"
"Oh come on Prags! I am your best friend so give me some credit. You both think you are good actors ,trying to keep what's going on from all of us,but trust me you aren't.."
Pragya blushed hearing that..'What did Aalu know?'
"I don't know what you are talking about"
"Oh really? So Bhai has saved your name as 'My Prags<3' just like that eh ? I was walking past his room one day and his phone seemed to be ringing continuously but he was nowhere in sight..so I checked it and saw your contact name..and okay what about the blushing you both do whenever you happen to look at each other 'by mistake'.. You remember we went shopping one day the three of us ? You think I don't know how you silently got his approval for the clothes you got? He stands there nodding his head or giving a 'No that's bad' expression and you replied to me accordingly..Come on Prags.. You guys are madly in love with each other..high time since you proposed! "
Pragya's eyes grew wider with every word Aliyah said..'OMG she noticed so much!! And wow 'My Prags<3? I didn't know that'
"Okay Pragya beta,blush all you want after deciding on how you will convince Abhi..He is going to be mad for the RAKHI thing.."
Pragya nodded and ran away from there before they could tease her further.
She was going towards the garden when she felt someone pull her inside a room and close the door.She was about to shout but he closed her mouth and her eyes widened when she saw it was Abhi..She could see he was angry but couldn't help getting lost in his eyes..
He had one hand on her waist and the other was over her mouth..
"Allah waariyan..mein toh haariyan..Tooti yaariyan mila de oye"
This was the first time they had been this close to each other..
Abhi remembered what he wanted to ask her.."So..Rakhi uh? What the hell were you thinking ? Here I am going mad every second thinking about how I should tell you my feelings and btw do you know where I was yesterday evening ? In Tiffany ! Buying a ring to propose to you! Nowadays I am not even able to finish my projects before deadline..You know why? Whenever I get all set to come up with a design,the only thing that I end up drawing is your face ! And here you are..",he stopped when he saw the tears in her eyes..he realized he still had his hand over her mouth and lowered it..
"Prags I am so sorry.. Please don't cry! I just got so mad that.."and he couldn't finish his rant thanks to the best first kiss of his life. He was shocked initially but joined her soon for one passionate kiss.
They pulled apart when they were breathless.."Those were happy tears Dumbo. I love you Abhi and I have loved you for sometime now..I knew you considered me very close but I wasn't sure if you actually loved me..We hadn't told anyone so I didn't know what to do when Aalu gave the Rakhi to me today.. I was too shocked to react and your face was expressionless and I didn't know what to gather from that..I was heartbroken..I wanted to see at least some small reaction from you that would tell me you didn't want it as much as I didn't.. And I guess you didn't notice because Purab called you at the same time but when I came near you and looked at your face ,I had decided it was impossible and mentally scolded myself for even taking it from her ..of course I wouldn't have tied it Abhi! Like I told you , I started moving towards you involuntarily.. Please don't be mad", she said cupping his face at the end..
Abhi was elated.."wow so you love me too! "
"Oh yea i do! And btw.. Guess who knows about us being in love even before we did?"
"Who?"
"Aalu and Dadi"
"Kya?"
Pragya told him whatever they had told her sometime back..
"Omg we have been such fools..I am proud of them", he replied grinning broadly..
Abhi then went down on one knee .."Pragya Arora..I don't think I can wait any longer..Will you be mine ? Will you marry me ?"
Prags sat down on her knees to come to his level and hugged him tight.. She later kissed him on his cheeks,looked at his eyes and gave a small nod.."I will"
Aalu and Dadi were in the hall when they saw Abhi and Pragya, walking out of a room , a ring on Pragya's finger..
"OMG OMG OMG!!!! Prags! Bhai proposed to you", Aalu ran and pulled Abhi and Prags in a big bear hug.. They blushed and grinned at her..
They then went to get Dadi's blessings.." This is the best news I have heard in ages..Welcome to the family Pragya beta..I will go talk to Sarla ji about a good day for the official engagement.."
The others resumed the group hug, Aalu on cloud nine that two of her most favorite people were going to be related lifelong..
"Hello.. Care to give me some credit? It was because of my whole Rakhi plan that you guys are together now"
"Aww we love you Aalu..thank you!", Pragya said pulling her cheeks and Abhi kissed her on the forehead with a "thank you so much Bacha"..😊 It was the beginning to a wonderful life for the Mehras/to be Mehra.
Udne Ki Aasha
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