FF: An Arranged Affair: Note: Pg.19 - Page 2

Chapter 2:

But before she could respond, the doorbell rang, and wondering who it could be, Gopi went to open the door while the rest of the family sat in the living room.

"Aap? Please, come inside" smiled Gopi as she saw the Modi family all standing outside the door, wondering why they would possibly be here again. "Woh actually, we wanted to talk to Urmila and Jitu Bhai about something" and saying so, Kokila, Parag, Hetal, and Chirag made their way into the living room, while the four youngsters just stood around, waiting to find out what was going on.

Jigar and Rashi were ready to try and sneak around to listen to the conversation, but Gopi held them back, planning to drag them into the kitchen with her.

And he was just standing, going through his phone, a serious, uninterested look seemingly permanently plastered on his face.

"Mr. I'm-Always-Absorbed-in-Work, are you not planning on joining us?" asked Jigar, turning to his cousin.

However, he didn't even bother to look up. "I'm fine here, you can go."

Just as Rashi was about to say something, Gopi took her hand and dragged her towards the kitchen. "Those who don't want to come don't have to. Come on Jigar!" she called out, and the three of them headed inside, while he just looked up, confused hearing the attitude in this little chit of a girl.

Who cares? Why waste your time thinking about her? It's not like you'll see her everyday after this wedding is over. And with those thoughts, he returned to his phone, his emails, his clients, and his business work.

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Twenty minutes later, all four of them were all called into the living room, where they were made to stand in front of their parents, who all had extremely serious looks on their faces, especially Kokila and Urmila.

Parag cleared his throat "Aham, Gopi, we have decided that along with Jigar and Rashi, you both are going to be getting married too, same day, same time, same everything."

His jaw dropped. Aham Modi, the man who had despised the idea of love and marriage, the most eligible bachelor in town -the self proclaimed bachelor for life-, the man who religiously believed in the idea of flings, was stunned speechless.

And Gopi Malhotra? She just gaped at the idea, her jaw dropping in shock as she looked at the four adults in front of her, all serious and glum looks on their faces, knowing that this was no joke, no one would come out screaming April Fool's! They were serious.

"Aham? Gopi?" asked Jitu Bhai softly, surprised as to how quiet the two were being.

The silence before the storm.

And all hell soon broke loose.

"What are you thinking? I'm not getting married to ANYONE!" screamed out Aham, as he threw his hands up in the air in frustration, wondering where his parents conjured up these crazy ideas from.

"Ma! Papa! We discussed this twenty minutes ago. I AM NOT getting married now. Not happening. At all!" yelled an exasperated Gopi, her face going red as her anger level rose.

The parents didn't react at all. Rather, they all just sat down and simply watched their kids have their outbursts, and waiting for them to take a breather. In fact the only two that were ruining the tense atmosphere were Jigar and Rashi who were covering their mouths with their hands to stifle their giggles.

Gopi shot the young couple and angry glare, before she turned back to the 6 parents sitting around her. "Well, are you all not planning on saying anything?!" she yelled out, frustrated at the poker faces.

Parag smiled, "No, we all obviously have lots to say. But don't you think you guys need to be quiet for us to even speak in the first place? Take a seat and then we'll calmly explain what we have in mind."

Aham and Gopi looked at each other in disbelief, What had gotten into their parents?!

But both of them sat on the two seater sofa, the only place with empty seats in the living room and looked at their parents expectantly, waiting for them to come up with their explanations.

"So, as we said before, you both are going to get married, regardless of whether or not you want to or not" began Parag, but Aham quickly interrupted. "Dad, you can't make us get married, when BOTH of us are against this idea."

But none of the parents reacted. Jitu Bhai began this time, "We know that both of you are dead against the idea of marriage, but we feel that you both are perfect for each other. And before you both begin to threaten us or start denying this, let me tell you right off, that if you both do not get married then neither will Jigar and Rashi."

Chirag spoke this time, "And you both know how in love those two are. Now do we really want to separate them?"

The mothers all smiled at Aham and Gopi, each sympathizing with "poor" Jigar and Rashi who wouldn't be allowed to marry if Gopi and Aham didn't.

This was utter blackmail. Just utter epic blackmail. Gopi and Aham glanced at one another, actually they glared at one another. They didn't want to be stuck with each other, and that too for life. No Way. Not at all.

Good god of  heaven. Aham and Gopi were stuck in a tight corner, and were smart enough to realize that there was no escape.  Jeopardizing the other couple's wedding was not an option, especially when they were looking over at them with cute pouts on their faces.

There was no way around it.

Aham took a deep breath before he looked at his mother, and nodded slightly. Kokila and Hetal broke into automatic smiles, no, actually grins, as they turned to look at Urmila and Jitu Bhai smugly. "See, we told you that our Aham Dikhra would not say no to our wishes"

"Yeah, like they had given me any other option" Aham mumbled under his breath, his words only audible to Gopi, a smile automatically growing on her face.

"Awww Gopi is blushing. So is that a yes on your side too Gopi? You accept this rishta?" asked Hetal, smiling as she saw Gopi with a sweet smile on her face, her cheeks already glowing a bright red as she tried to stifle her laughter.

But of course, it was misinterpreted.

"Of course she accepts. Our Gopi here can be very shy at times" interrupted Urmila, not allowing a surprised Gopi to even get a word in. "Gopi, come take the blessings of your future mother in law" Urmila glared at her daughter, as she nodded her head towards Kokila.

Gopi glared at her parents before she slowly got up and made her way towards Parag, then Chirag, and then Hetal, bending down to touch their feet, before she finally got to Kokila.

Kokila smiled proudly at her future daughter-in-law, and didn't allow Gopi to touch her feet. Instead, she placed a kiss on her forehead, as she welcomed her into the Modi family. "I knew it Gopi beti, I knew that you would agree to this too. You and my Aham dikhra are perfect for each other, and we would love to have you along with Rashi step into the Modi house as bahus."

Gopi smiled weakly, She was officially trapped. She glanced back at Aham, who looked like he was ready to kill himself.

This was it.

Gopi Malhotra and Aham Modi were getting married.

Chapter 3: Page 5 (Click Here)