Just a little story that was playing in my head about Vikrant and Mannat's confrontation about this fake engagement fiasco. Hope you guys like it .
“Ms. Mannat, please… stop…..” Vikrant called out as he ran behind Mannat.
“Ms. Mannat… please…. just stop so we can talk about this….” Vikrant called out again.
“This engagement isn’t real… I only did this because I wanted to know what your feelings were towards me…. I wanted to know if you feel for me the same way I feel for you,” he blurted out in hopes that Mannat would stop running away from him…. and it seemed to have worked.
Mannat stopped in her tracks, a myriad of emotions coursing through her as she turned and faced Vikrant.
Vikrant’s breath caught on his throat as he stepped forward, guilt written all over his face as he tried to reach out to hold Mannat’s hand. “Ms. Mannat, I just… I just needed to know, I needed you to acknowledge how you felt for me. I see it in your eyes, and I thought that if you saw me with someone else, if you thought that I was serious about marrying Mallika, it would bring your feelings for me to the surface.”
“... and…. and… Mallika knew, in fact it was her idea, she said that….,”
“Malla knew???”
“Yes…yes… she was the one that suggested we do this drama. She said that the only way to know how you felt about me, to make you realize your feelings, was to make you jealous, to make you feel that I was going away from you.” Vikrant blurted, hoping that Mannat would understand why he did all of this.
Mannat closed her eyes, a thousand thoughts running through her mind, replaying the conversations she has had with Malla in the past few days and Malla’s reaction every time she saw Mannat and Vikrant in close proximity. If all of this was a hoax and was being done to make her realize her feelings, why did Malla ask her to promise to stay away from Vikrant? Unless…
“Ms.Mannat, please say something.” Vikrant called out, his voice laced with guilt.
Mannat turned around, another question occurring to her as she looked at Vikrant.
“Does your family know?” Mannat asked quietly
“No….no, they don’t, but…” Vikrant answered but before he could say anything further, Mannat stopped him.
“So, they think that your proposal, all of these rituals, and the wedding preparations are real?
“Yes, but…”
“But what….what is all of this then? A joke… a performance?!?!” Mannat asked, gesturing towards the engagement hall - the flowers, lights and extensive decorations that were put together.
Vikrant fell silent. The weight of her words—of the truth—hung in the air like thick smoke.
“Mr. Saluja sir, do you have any idea what this looks like?
She took a shaky breath and stepped back, folding her arms tightly against herself. “You think this is just about feelings? About whether or not I’d get jealous enough to confess?” Her voice cracked slightly. “Your entire family thinks this wedding is real. And when all of this falls apart, they’ll blame me.”
Vikrant’s eyes widened. “No, they won’t. I won’t let them…”
“You won’t be able to stop them,” she interrupted, her gaze fierce. “You never have. Not when they questioned my place in your life. Not when they accused me of being too ambitious, of trying to lure and trap you, of trying to sabotage my best friend's wedding functions…” Mannat’s voice trailed off.
Vikrant’s shoulders slumped as if the air had been punched from his lungs. He tried to reach for her again, but she stepped away “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I thought…”
“No, you didn’t think, you just wanted something and were willing to go to any extent for it. You say you see my feelings in my eyes? Then look now, see what you’ve done to them.” Mannat said, her eyes glistening, holding back on the tears that were threatening to fall.
Vikrant looked at Mannat, the realization of what he had done, what he had put Mannat through in the past few days weighing on him.Silence stretched between them, heavy and unresolved. He knew that there was nothing he could say at that moment that would make things better.
And with that, she turned and walked away, her silence bearing the weight of her emotions. Vikrant watched her go, his heart aching with the weight of what he’d broken… and what he still prayed he hadn’t lost.
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