Hello beautiful people,
Finally the next chapter is here. I loved writing the beginning and the end but was forever stuck in the middle. The chapter is on the mehendi ceremony so enjoy.
Neil tucked his white shirt in his bottle green pants. He put his suit coat of the same color as his pants on and sprayed his perfume on him. He looked at himself in the mirror one last time to adjust his hair and walked out of his room.
Saira wore a dark green color lehenga. Her cousins and Naira helped her with the white and green floral jewelries. The girls left the bride to be alone to see if they weren’t needed else where for the preparations. Saira looked at herself in the mirror and noticed that her floral tiara was falling off her head. She walked towards the door to get one of the girls to help her. The door opened wide on her with someone walking in and bumping into her. She screamed as she was about to fall while the other person caught her in time with a « Oh Jesus ! ». She recognized his voice and reopened her eyes.
« Miss Turbulence, why are you in a rush ? », Neil asked.
« Shut up. », she frowned her eyebrows.
« Why so much civility, girl ? », he poked her forehead. « Stop frowning. »
« Move. I need to see the girls. My tiara is falling off. », she said.
« Let me help you. », he replied.
« You ? », she asked amused.
He dragged her near the mirror and tightened the floral tiara while he couldn’t take his eyes off her reflection. He noticed that the frown in her forehead was still visible. He wrapped his arms around her from the back, placed his head on her shoulder and caressed her head with his.
« Why is your mood so off ? », he asked.
She was surprised even though this wasn’t the first time he was behaving so intimately with her but this was the first time she felt the butterflies in her stomach. She looked their reflections in the mirror and found the vision so perfect. He looked questioningly at her in the mirror.
« I look so ugly in this lehenga. I wish I could wear a saree. », she said making a sad face.
He broke the hug and turned her around, « Don’t ever say that. No matter what you will wear you will always look good even if I agree with you that you would have looked better in a saree. »
« Stop lying. You don’t like sarees. », she rolled her eyes.
« Wrong. You really don’t know anything about me. I love you in sarees. », he confessed.
Saira was stunned by the revelation. She always believed that he hated sarees because in the past he had always criticized it. She couldn’t figure it out if he had ended up accepting her with sarees or if he genuinely liked her wearing them.
« It’s hot here, don’t you feel so ? », he fanned himself.
« No, I am fine. Do you want me to open the window ? », she asked clueless.
« You can open every damn window of this house but it will still be hot because you are the reason of the hotness. », he winked at her.
« Your nonsense has no limit. », she rolled her eyes again.
« Believe me, you are looking adorably gorgeous. », he said cupping her face.
« And what does that mean ? », she asked looking into his eyes.
« You have always looked adorable and you are looking gorgeous in your bridal attire. », he looked at her lovingly.
« So you mean to say I never looked gorgeous before ? », she teased him.
« You always looked gorgeous but it’s the first time that you are a bride. », he replied squeezing her cheeks.
« Ouchhh !!! », she hit him on the shoulder.
He laughed. She pouted. And then both looked at each other. He checked her out one last time. She never looked that beautiful. She was right. She would have looked thousand times better in a saree. He himself didn’t know how he would have reacted if she was actually wearing a saree. He took out his phone from his pocket and captured this moment. Both in green and looking gorgeously perfect. She looked at the picture and realized how this man was capable of making her heart beat faster.
The family members and close family friends started showing up for the function. The youngsters put the music on. Saira’s parents for once didn’t mind it because they were simply happy for their daughter. Saira joined them a while later and the ceremony started. She looked at all the mehendi designs to choose one. Neil sadly looked at her from far.
« What’s up dude ? Why so melancholic ? », Shelly joined him breaking him out of his melancholy.
« Shelzy », he turned his head towards her.
She smiled as he was the only one calling her this way when others always called her Shelly, Shellu or even Shell.
« I am losing her. », he answered.
« She is not leaving the country, dude. She is just getting married. », she replied.
« It’s kind of the same thing. Soon she will have hundred excuses not to attend any gathering. Sorry I can’t come as my in-laws are coming for dinner. Sorry I have to urgently go to my in-laws. Can we postpone it, my kids are sick. », he said with a lot of pain in his voice.
Shelly felt like her own heart was broken. These two idiots were so much in love with each and yet were unable to understand it. One was trying to find her happiness in her parents’ happiness and the other one was still stuck in friendship. She knew that his heart wasn’t afraid of losing her just as a friend but he wasn’t ready to introspect why he couldn’t accept to see her go away from him.
« You both are sisters and have no secret from each other. Did she tell you something about the wedding ? », he continued.
« If we don’t have secrets from each other as sisters then you two also don’t have as best friends. If she didn’t tell you anything then she didn’t tell me either. », she replied.
« I can see the turmoil in her eyes. She is not telling me anything but her eyes are trying to tell me something. I can’t help her if she isn’t willing to share her problems. », he said helpless.
« Maybe there is nothing like that and you are just seeing what you want to see. », she repied.
« Why would I want to see her unhappy ? », he asked confused.
« That my friend, you have to figure it out on your own. », she winked at him.
He walked up to Saira and sat next to her. He took interest in the design. Saira whispered near his ear that she was hungry. He smiled and went to get her a plate full of snacks. She pouted and showed both her hands. He fed her with his own hand and he himself took a bite expecting her to hit him with her elbow as she never liked someone taking a bite from her food nor eat someone else’s food but she didn’t do anything like that.
Once her hands were filled with henna, he pulled her up and invited her for a dance. The song mehendi laga ke rakhna was playing on and they joyfully danced on it. Then the song suna hai started playing on, changed by Shelly after she saw both of them dancing together. He asked her for a slow dance which she accepted. He carefully pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked at him intently while he checked her henna design and read the names written on her right hand « Samir & Saira ». He looked up and saw her gazing at him. « Dekho na meri aankhon mein tum. Chhipa hai mera khwaab chhipa hai. Kaise bataoon kitna chahoon mein tumhe. », was playing on in the background. His eyes questioned her why she was staring at him like that but she continued to be lost in his eyes. « Le jaa zaroorat ho toh meri dhadkanein. In mein sunayi degi meri khwaishein. », the song continued. Neil tried to read her eyes questioning himself « What are your khwaishein, Saira ? » They continued to dance and then suddenly her eyes moved on his chest and she looked into space. « Suna hai teri taqdeeron mein tumhara mera mel likha hai. Joh aisa ho toh kya darrna phir. » They were destined to be together but only as friends and no one can separate them. He lifted her face as he knew she was again lost in her thoughts. « Maar jaane se pehle mein jee loon tumhe. Le jaa zaroorat ho toh meri dhadkanein. », continued in the background while she tried hard to hide her emotions but he could see her eyes welling up with tears. « Khone se pehle tumhe aur is pal ko jee lene do mujhe. », he requested her inwardly as he knew nothing would be the same anymore.
All the girls interrupted their moments and forcefully took Neil away. They made him sit ready to apply the henna on him.
« No no no no I am not going to allow you put it on me. Hello, I am a guy. », he said trying to protect his hands.
« Please, please… a small design we promise. », Khushi said.
« Since when do you even care about being ridicule ? », Naira instigated him.
Saira burst out laughing seeing him in such an awkward position. When his eyes met with hers, she made a puppy face. He couldn’t refuse her anything.
« Ok just write my name and nothing else. No flowers, no hearts. », he instructed them.
« Ok ! », the girls agreed.
As if they were going to listen to him. They encircled his name with a big heart. Saira walked up to him and looked at the design. She teased him with a « Beautiful ! » while he rolled his eyes.
Some time later, Saira looked at her hands annoyingly. The hanna didn’t dry out yet but she was already tired of it. She decided to wash her hands. On her way to the washroom, she slipped on the stairs due to her lehenga and for the second time she was saved by the same man. He managed to keep her on top of him so that she doesn’t get injured. Her entire weight on him and his body pressed against the stairs, his back was hurting him but he didn’t care at all. She was safe that’s all it mattered. She tried to get up but fell back on top him due to the « S » pendant that got tangled in one of his shirt buttons, the pendant he had gifted her on her birthday a year ago.
« This is the second time I am saving you today. I seriously need to wear a cape now. SuperNeil the savior. », he joked while she looked at him intently. « You are tickling me. », he added showing with his eyes her hand that was on his chest near the heart.
« Sorry. », she replied embarrassed before quickly running away.
Amazed by the way she ran away without helping him, he got up on his own. This wedding wasn’t doing her any good he thought with a smile. Her face so close to him flashed back in front of his eyes and strangely felt her entire body on him as if his hands were still wrapping her around.
Saira leaned against the wall and breathed in and out to calm herself down.
« Thank God, your parents didn’t see the scene otherwise they would have created unnecessary drama. », Shelly came from nowhere scaring Saira.
« My parents, Samir and his family can create as much drama as they want but they won’t be able to separate me from Neil. », Saira replied annoyed.
« Haan haan pata hain ab chal. », Shelly grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of there.
She didn’t get the time to compose herself that she was dragged on the dance floor.
Meanwhile, Neil closed the washroom door and started to pour water on his hand. He rubbed his palm and saw Saira’s name written backwards just under his name. Their names were encircled with the heart. He looked at his palm while his heart got hit by a strange feeling. He caressed her name with his finger and whispered a soft « Saira ». He was unable to control his heart from racing fast. He looked up and noticed that her name was written even on his shirt close to his heart. He recalled how he saved her from falling a few minutes ago. This was how her name got printed accidently on his hand and also on his shirt. He closed his eyes but his mind threw all their memories back at him. He held his head with his hands to calm himself down while noticing in the mirror that his tears were rolling down his cheeks. He leaned against the wall and let himself slide down to the ground. Suddenly the strange feeling turned into a pinching pain in the chest.
« Saira, why are our beautiful memories suddenly haunting me ? », he asked to himself.
He looked into space and recalled all the times Naira had hinted that their names belonged together. He always took it as a joke but now he was wondering if she wasn’t right all this while. Then he also wondered that if she was right about them then why did neither him nor her ever feel anything for the other one ? Why didn’t he consider her as a girl he could fall in love with ? Why didn’t he ever feel anything special when he touched her or when she touched him ? Why didn’t he get any sign from his heart that she was the one ?
« Ahhhhhh!!! », he clenched his fist.
Then an inner voice replied to his question through flashbacks. The first time when he had met her, her shyness had brought a smile on his face and he wanted to converse with her so that he could make her feel comfortable. He remembered how he got impressed by her on their first day itself with her principles about never let anyone pay for her. He remembered how he was so happy when she called him for the first by his name. He recalled that moment he thought he was losing his mind when for the first time he heard the jingling sound of her bangles. The sound he always despised was suddenly music to the ears. He remembered the first time he saw her in a saree and couldn’t take his eyes off her. Sarees ? Something he never liked before knowing her. And since that day, his eyes always longed for her in sarees. He remembered all the times his heart actually raced fast for her but he was unable to realize it. His inner voice then forced him to compare his friendship between Naira and Saira. With Naira more than best friends they were like two siblings. He loved to annoy her and make fun of her. With Saira their friendship was more like two partners walking in one direction. Their moments were more flirtatious and meaningful. Their vision of the world was same, their habits were similar and their passions were common. They didn’t need to speak to understand each other. They could understand one another’s silence. He recalled all their memorable trips. His head rested between his knees, he realized how he has always been in love with her but he couldn't see it because he has always been blinded by their friendship. Naira always hinted about it but he always pretented not to understand. Even Shelly understood his feelings before himself.
« Was she right that I am desperately trying to see Saira unhappy because seeing her with someone else was affecting me ? », he asked to himself. « No no no that's not possible. I am not in love with her. », he tried to convince himself but then he broke down again, « I am in love with Saira. »
He was shocked by his self confession. The realization of his own feelings started to suffocate him. He needed air. He got up and buttoned his suit coat to hide Saira's name from his shirt. He got out of the washroom and rushed out of the house without saying goodbye to anyone.
Saira managed to escape from everyone and went to the washroom. While washing her henna off her hands she realized that Samir's name got so messy that it was impossible to read. She didn't even know when did this happen and what will people say. She looked in the mirror and her inner voice told her that even God didn't want Samir's name on her hand.
« Shut up. Then whose name should have been written ? Neil's ? Why would God want me to be with Neil by going against my own family ? Wake up Saira, wake up. », she shouted at herself.
Neil drove like a crazy to his favorite place. A place where he brought both the girls. A place where he came alone with Saira but never with Naira which was another proof that his feelings for Saira was different. He loved the quietness of this place. He loved admiring the stars and the moon from there. He parked the car and came out of it. He stood quiet for some time looking up at the moon and then screamed loud to take out all the rage that was inside him. He opened the car trunk and picked the Ruinart bottle of champagne he had bought for his aunt's birthday gift. He took off his coat and sat down leaned against the car. He started to drink but with every sip his restlessness was increasing. He inwardly cursed himself for taking so long to understand his true feelings. He felt like his inner voice was making fun of him. Even if he knew from the beginning about his feelings what would have he done ? It was pretty clear from the beginning that Saira would never choose a non muslim. Her parents were just enough open minded to let her get married with anyone from any other origin but not another religion. It took them two long years before finally accepting them as best friends. It would take them forever to accept them as life partners. Life partners ? Neil laughed at himself. He was stupid enough to fall in love with her but she wasn't. His heart was weak unlike hers. He laughed again with tears. He always believed that relationship shouldn't be mixed. There were so many girls who were his friends but ended up liking him more than as a friend and he immediately put an end to the relationships. But this time the role was reversed. He has fallen in love with his best friend. The best friend who didn't reciprocate his feelings and who was getting married to someone else. Stuck in between, he didn't know what to do. He knew he wouldn't get her as a lover nor he could let her go as his best friend. Unlike how he always did with others, this time he couldn't even run away as losing Saira even as a friend was unthinkable for him. This thought made him feel like he got stabbed a thousand times in the heart. He couldn't stop from crying.
Naira was worried for Neil as she couldn't find him anywhere. He wasn't also picking up his phone. He would never leave without saying goodbye unless something happened to him. She knew that he was quite restless nowadays and the only place that always calmed him was his favorite place.
Neil stopped crying and wiped his tears away hearing the sound of a car. He picked his suit coat up as soon as he saw Naira walking towards him and hugged it tight to hide Saira's name on the shirt.
« Dude, I was so worried for you. Why did you leave without telling anyone and why is your phone off ? », she asked. « Are you ok ? », she added seeing that he was looking quite awful.
« Yup ! One of my best friends is getting married tomorrow so I wanted to celebrate it. Cheers to her. », he replied lifting up the bottle.
« Celebrate ? Alone here ? », she asked.
« You want me to get kicked out of the function by her parents ? », he questioned her with a chuckle. « Nini, wanna drink ? », he asked.
« No thanks. I don't have any pain to hide. », she murmured.
« I don't have any pain to hide. », he replied with a squeezing pain in the chest.
« Yeah of course. Get up dude. », she pulled him up but he almost lost his balance.
Naira sighed seeing him drunk. She called his younger brother and requested him to help her. She texted him the address and half an hour later he showed up.
« Brooooo, I just wasted eighty six euros. », Neil informed gigling and swaying the bottle. « Do you think aunt Catherine will mind if I gift her the empty bottle ? Oopssss !!! », he laughed.
« I have seen him drinking before but never drunk like this. », Naira said.
« Neither did I. What's wrong with him ? », Neil's brother asked.
« Saira is getting married. », she replied.
« Yeah I know that but why is he drunk ? », he asked.
« You are smart enough to know why her wedding is affecting him. », she said.
Neil's brother knew Saira meant his world but he never thought he would fall for her. They helped Neil get inside the car. Naira noticed a stain on Neil's shirt which he was trying to hide his best.
« Heeeeey don't look. », he scolded her then added with a smile, « My entire world is here. Shhhh don't tell anyone. »
His brother chuckled. He had never seen him like this before. Naira was curious but didn't want to invade his privacy. She closed the door and said bye to both the brothers.
Neil compliments her and confesses to her that he always loved her in sarees. He openly flirts with her but for the first time Saira feels awkward because her feelings have changed or should I say she knows her true feelings now.
Neil's realization is finally here. I hope it turned out as beautiful as Saira's and you enjoyed reading it. Even though Neil was already unknowingly fighting his feelings since a few days, his realization also happened quite instantly like Saira's. Her name tagged with his was all it needed for him to understand his feelings.
I just realized that both accidentally helped each other which turned out interesting.
I loved writing his restlesness and how he was fighting with his inner voice that was mocking him.
Anyway guys, I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. Thanks for reading and your support.
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