Get on & Get off
âWe havenât had a lot of time to get to know each other or do couple things togetherâ âDo you want to start meeting once a week?â he asked pleasantly
âSo I quit asking you stupid questionsâ
âYou are gorgeous, I should be more worriedâ âI am probably dull as a doorknob compared to the people you hang withâ he chuckled
âNo you are notâ she mumbled
âI can prove you wrong Viveka, meet with meâ he begged
âI want to spend every moment of my life with youâ she said haltingly
âthanksâ
âI am just afraid we may not be the best choice for each other, and then there will be a lot of tears and a giant heartbreakâ
âWow you do love living on the edge donât you?â he laughed
âthanks for mocking me, mujhe dar lagta hai, everyone around us knows more than we doâ
âthat will always be the caseâ
âI knowâŚâ
âI am not a douchebag Viveka, I can promise thatâ
âThatâs a giant reliefâ she chuckled
âso? Can we meet tomorrowâ
âTum aa jao Bua keg harâ
âI was going there hoping to meet youâ he said coolly
Otherwise dude had no intention of socializing with Harsha
âTo tum unko help nahi kar rahe?â
âI was⌠but I visited to catch a glimpse of youâ
He made her weak like a person made of jello
âDoes Harsha know?â
âI told him a week agoâ he laughed
âFunny!â
âDo u want to know what he said?â
âhmm?â
âHe said âI am shattered my complex business problems were not itâ
She was blushing real hard right now
âDoes anyone else know?â
âMy Dad, Mom and rakshitâ
âRaanavâ
âU askedâ
âI knowâ
âTomorrow at 4?â
âWhat if Bua pulls me into wedding workâ
âAssign it to your sisterâ he said a little awkwardly
âNaina doesnât go anywhereâ she said spontaneously
There was complete silence afterwards
âI called Inderâ she told him candidly
âI heardâ he said quietly
âOh? He hasnât called me backâ
âHmmâ
âI will worry about Naina Raanavâ
âHmmâ
âWe had the best friendship, its like she is on another planet now⌠unreachableâ
âU feel the urge to fix it?â
âAgar Rakshit ki baat hoti to?â
âI get itâ he said quickly without arguing
âI am going to do what feels rightâ
âKâ
âI want to be honest with you, though you seem to be aligned with Inderâs decisionâ
âUmm.. lets meet tomorrowâ
âTum ek dum lawyer ki tarah baat karte ho kabhi kabhiâ
âOnly kabhi kabhi?â he laughed
âGood change of topicâ
âViveka I cannot say anything without making you upsetâ
âUmm.. OK fineâ she sighed
âDo you want to get married before or after Rakshit?â
âAfter is fineâ she said quietly, sighing audibly afterwards
âThis is happening Vivekaâ he said firmly
âJaanti hoonâ
âFrom my vantage point it seems very complicatedâ
âDid u expect something easy?â
âHar koi easy shaadi hi karta haiâ
âAhâ
âKal aaogey Bua keg har?â she asked with longing
âI could come tonight if u promise to sneak me inâ
âDadi is a night owl, so noâ
âFineâ
She hung up and walked out of her room with a smile
Dadiâs dinner drama ensued
She watched the YT video with Papa
âKab karogey beta shaadi? Everything was left open endedâ Akash reminded
âRaanav asked me before or after Rakshitâ
Oh?â
âHmm.. I told him afterâ
âGreatâ Akash yawned, it was after 1 AM
âI think I will have a easier time if I live in Kharagpurâ she finally aired her fear
âOh?â
âAapko nahi lagta aaj my future MIL completely ignored me?â
âUmm.. completely nahiâ Akash was gracious, âhave u talked to him?â
âUski Ma ke baare mein?â
âHahaha Dadi abhi bhi Ma ko tok tee hain agar Ma mujhe TUM keh de toâ
âWell itâs the 21st century we almost 1/4th of the way there, so yeahâ she curled up on the divan with a bookâ
âHave u?â
âNo Papa I havenât⌠I was supposed to todayâ she mumbled
Trying to hide behind her book as to how every free minute with him was spent making out, getting on like a house on fire
âInder se baat karni padegi mujheâ Akash said with worry
Vivekaâs heart skipped a beat
They were SO similar
âAapko bhi lagta hai?â she asked with a gentle smile
âHaan, hua kya us kisse mein?â
âMa should not have been so suspicious about herâ
He looked at her neither agreeing nor disagreeing
âI think she may have overdone some of her reactionsâ
âMa didnât goad her to overdo betaâ
âHmm.. I guessâ
âI cannot see her be distant and cold agle teen mahiney, aaj kaha usne Mauritius nahi jaayegi Harshu ki shaadi meinâ
âOh?â
Viveka wondered if she had begun seeing someone
That thought jolted her to sit up
âDiya se baat karte ho aap?â
âwhat about her?â
âshe seems to be on SM too muchâ
âAap Ma ki tarah mujhe spy karne ko keh rahe ho?â
He smiled and did not disagree
âI cant do that papaâ
âChaloâ he mumbled
âshe is a teenagerâ
âAa paise baat kar rahe ho jaise aapki umar 40 hoâ
âI feel like it sometimes, or I should say I wish I was⌠I donât have to deal with the dramaâ
Of husband cheating, or being insecure, I would be like Ma, plugging away at my career, and kicking butt
âJan ke liye aap waitlisted hoâ âIf u get in, have you told Raanav you have to look for a place and move?â
âI havenâtâ
âWill he divide his time between Aurangabad, UK and Singapore?â
âYes, thankfully u did not mention Dilliâ she laughed
âYou love Smritaji so much huh?â
âMujhe pasand nahi kartin whoâ
âWho Ma ko bhi pasand nahi kartiâ
âI feel bad for Ma, ek who hain, ek Dadi hain, she cannot catch a breath can sheâ
âKya kiya jaaye ab aisa hi hai, jab hamey chance mila UK jaane ka jab aap tabhi tabhi hue they, hum gaye nahiâ Akash sounded despondent
âOh wowâ
âKya hua?â
âU were always happy u didnât goâ
âAbhi shaayad pata nahi age bhi ho gayi, Dadi se bhi thak gaya hoon main, mujhe lagta hai Anil Chachu ke hawale karke chaley jaana tha mujheâ
âU can run but u cannot hideâ
He laughed
âI say that for both of usâ
He smiled got up and sat by her, pulled a blanket up to her chin and hugged her like a bundle
âHave u talked to Abhishek?â
âOnceâ
âWas he upset?â
âThoda saâ
âKya kaha?â
âUmm⌠u knowâ âU wanted to marry someone rich, tabhi mujhe patak diyaâ
âDid u tell him you are doing a prenupâ (Viveka had told him she wanted one when they started watching the video 3 hours ago)
âNahi⌠its not something to brag aboutâ
âGalat kar rahe ho betaâ
âI cant marry him otherwiseâ
âI get the part of keeping finances separateâ âBut this is taking it a bit too farâ
âI want to feel good about myself Papahâ
âIs shaadi ko lekar kitni saari baatein hainâ he mumbled
âIf u ever feel this is not the right thing for me will you tell me?â she asked him worry enveloping her face
He was taken aback
Anu and him had discussed it frequently the last 3ish weeks
âI have always told youâ
âBut I feel you two are being especially generousâ she sighed and followed it with a âUffâ
âNahi toâ
âOh please Papa donât lieâ she opened her eyes and pushed her glasses in
âI hope you get off the waiting listâ he said gently getting off the divan
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