Will you be my Valentine?
"Kya???? No way!"
both Virat and Manvi cried in unison nearly deafening Jeevika & Viren.
"For once, we have unity among our siblings unfortunately we can't enjoy
it. Now let's move to plan B" Viren told to Jeevika. Viren dragged Virat aside while Jeevika tried
pacifying Manvi."Bhai, are you out of your mind... Me aur woh Bandariya together on Valentine
dinner!!!" Virat finally spoke once they're out of Jeevika & Manvi's
earshot. "Virat mera bhai, take a deep breathe... Relax yaar, let me
explain" Viren. Virat nodded and anxiously waited for his Bhai's explanation.
"Yaar, I didn't know bua planned a Valentine surprise for me &
Jeevika. I have already made my plans and I don't want to disappoint bua as
well. I just want you & Manvi to go on the dinner planned by bua while
Jeevika and I will go on our date. Nobody will find out and bua or Jeevika won't
be offended. Please bhai" Viren pleaded. Virat was never able to see his
bhai in this state, but going out for a date with Manvi is equivalent to suicidal.
"Anyways I know things have not been smooth between you and Manvi recently
and this is a good time to patch up bhai" Viren continued and Virat was
stunned.
It was almost a week since
their argument, Virat had a row with Dadaji and poor Manvi was at the wrong place
at the wrong time. She became his punching bag to vent out his anger and this
time she was pissed off. He didn't want to apologize and she totally ignored
his existence for the whole week. He tried to pretend nothing happen and engage
into small talks with her she was different this time. She actually made him wonder
whether he was invisible. "Virat! Kaha koh gaya? " Viren's voice
startled Virat from his thoughts.
"Oh nothing... Bhai I just don't know whether all this will work out or
not. I mean I don't want to be highlight of the town tomorrow, imagine
headlines "Romantic Valentine turns sour for Vandhera's most eligible bachelor"
if we end up fighting like cats and dogs there. Bua's arrangement will always have
sophistication that is almost impossible to meet especially by souls like me
& Manvi" Virat voiced his hesitance. "Bhai, my Saali is not that
bad as you fear. She may be loud and impulsive but she is who she is and you
are not an angel yourself. We both know that, don't we?" Viren smirked and
continued. "Your crush on her is also pretty obvious as well, so I'm
giving you a chance to make up with her and make your brother happy. Well if you
still skeptical, I have another candidate in line for her. Rohan have been
pretty impressed with her since my shaadi and is ever willing to offer his hand
for marriage. So the ball is on your court" Viren concluded. Virat felt sudden surge of jealousy the
moment he heard the jerk, Rohan's name. "Bhai, no need to trouble any
Rohan or Rahul... I will take her for the dinner as plan, anything for you and
bhabhi." Virat immediately responded trying to hide his desperation. Viren
hugged Virat and both the brothers turn to walk back to the room when Virat
whispered to Viren "Was it that obvious?" "Kya?" Viren asked.
"Uff bhai, my feelings for your Saali" Virat replied. "Bhai huh
tera!" Viren chuckled and continued walking while being proud of
convincing skills as lawyer. Manvi obviously mellowed to Jeevika's request, she would actually date an
alien for her Di what is Chep compare to that.
Viren and Jeevika left for
their Valentine date while Virat and Manvi left in pretense of shopping.
Everybody was busy with their work to actually realize something fishy was
going on. Virat dressed in his best to impress his Bandariya especially when he
was aware of the existence of his competition.
He was looking dashing in his smart casual white linen shirt with jeans,
while Manvi was stunning with pink designer kurti and black leggings courtesy
of Viren for his dear Saali. Virat was smitten by her but he managed to remain
cool despite drooling over her inside.
Manvi was silent throughout the journey and her silence was killing
him. "Could you please pass me your
remote" he finally broke the ice. "What remote?" she shot him back. "Oh! So you
are not in silence mode…. I thought you accidentally went into silent mode and
didn't know how to tune back to normal so I decided to help you" he mocked her.
"Was that a JOKE Virat Singh Vandhera???? And what am I suppose to do???
Laugh??? Sorry, I don't know how to pretend to laugh at lame jokes" she mocked
back. "Man, she is still mad at me!" he thought to himself. "Dekho Manvi, with
the pace we are moving the night is gonna be a misery for both of us. Tummara
gusha chooda yaar, lets enjoy the dinner yaar. Please Manvi" Virat pleaded.
"Sorry Virat, unfortunately I don't have split personality like you. I can't be
normal one minute and burst out in anger another minute and then pretend
nothing has happened the next minute. Yeh mujhe paar nahi hoga. I agreed for
this dinner plan for the sake of Di and Jiju. That's all, let's get over the
stupid dinner over and get on with our life" she answered him. He could feel
the pain and the sarcasm in her voice and he knew she was not to be blamed. He
mentally vowed to make it up to her by tonight. "Dude, your mission tonight is
to bring back the Bandariya and her smile" he made a mental note.
"Welcome Mr & Mrs Vandhera" the waiter greeted them as
they entered the restaurant. Manvi wanted to rebut him when Virat held her hand
to stop her. He signaled to her that they are pretending to be Viren &
Jeevika today. She understood and acknowledged the greetings. It was weird that
they felt awkward pretending to be their sibling for the second time after the
Rishikesh fiasco when they pulled it so well during the first attempt. The
restaurant was lid with candles to create the romantic ambiance. Manvi nearly
tripped while walking in the dim light but Virat manage to hold on time. "Careful
Mrs Vandhera" he whispered to her and she shoot him her killer look. "They can afford to charge a bomb but can't
even provide proper lighting in the restaurant" she cursed softly but loud
enough for Virat to chuckle as he pulled her chair. "What is so funny?" she probed
him. "Kuch nahi Bandariya, the restaurant owner would have died of heart attack
if he heard your comments. The poor fella tried to create romantic ambiance and
here you are cursing them about not providing proper lighting. Tooda romantic
mood meh aaja meri Bandariya" he smirked while he took his seat. "Romantic mere
joote. The place is so dark, you won't even know whether you are seating with
your partner and what the hell they are serving you on your plate" she mocked
again. "Oye deft footiya, can't you think of anything else besides food. About
not knowing your partner, I'm not sure about others but I won't be able to miss
you even if it was pitch dark" he replied her with his mischievous grin. She
was too busy cursing to realize the hidden meaning Virat's statement.
Manvi was sighed in relieve
that it was Indian restaurant instead of Chinese or Continental else she would
have to endure the torture of eating something that she despise as Virat
proceed to order their dinner. Manvi was twisting the napkin in irritation as
wait for their dinner to be served that seemed almost eternal. "Oye mere bookhi
sherni, please spare the poor napkin from your torture" Virat finally broke the
silence as she hardly uttered a single word since they were seated. "Shall I twist your neck instead?" she shoots
him back. "Baas meri maa, I can take it any longer. I know you are still mad at
me for last week's incident". "You expect me to be in love with you after what
happened last week" she interrupted Virat before he could complete. It only hit
her on what she actually said when she saw the mischievous grin Virat was
giving her. She mentally slammed her head for speaking before thinking again.
"Dekho Manvi, I'm really sorry for what happened that day. I'm really sorry and
I really mean it yaar. Please mujhe maaf kaaro" he pleaded while pulling his
ears and giving his most angelic smile.
Manvi instantly melted in his smile, her anger vanished into thin air
but she wasn't going to give in easily. She folded her arms pretending to be
still angry. "Manvi, do you want me to go on my knees to beg forgiveness?" he
pleaded again pretending to get up. "Chep hoh tum? You want to embarrass me in
front of this entire crowd?" she quickly stopped him. "Acha, so you are more
concern about the embarrassment I would cause you instead of sincerity of my
apology" Virat replied with solemn voice pretending to hurt but he was
delighted to hear her call him "Chep". He knew her anger was gone the moment
she addressed him as "Chep" but decided to play along with her. "Mera matlab
woh nahi tak…." she stumbled for words. "Phir kya matlab tah tumara" he asked
her. "Kuch nahi, you are forgiven Chep. Ab khushi?" she exclaimed. "Such meh?"
he requested for confirmation. "Hain baba, mere kasam" she replied as her lips
curved into a smile. "Then will you be my Valentine for today?" he asked the
million dollar question. Manvi was speechless while Virat took out the small
box from his pocket and handed to her, "Please bestow your grace upon my token
of apology Mere Bhabi Ki Behna" he told her. Manvi was too stunned to react
until he nudged her to accept the gift. "Virat, yeh gift aur mere liya? But I
don't have any for you…" she finally spoke. "Tell me you will be my Valentine tonight;
that is my best gift of the night" he assured her. "Come on, open your gift and
let me know how it is?" he told her.
She slowly opened the box
and was impressed with the beautiful earring he got her; it was simple yet so exquisite.
She was indeed impressed with his choice. "Thank you Virat, it is really
beautiful but I don't think I can accept such an expensive gift" she told him. "Shhh… I don't want to hear any explanation.
If you have really forgiven me, then accept it…. " he told her. She nodded
hesitantly. "Come on, try it on" he urged her. "Now …. Here? I already have my earrings on. "she answered
him. "Well, you can always remove your earring and try this on. I m sure it is
not that difficult to change a pair of earring" he questioned her. Manvi
excused herself to the ladies and changed the earrings. The earring
complemented her so perfectly; she couldn't help admiring herself in the
mirror. Virat was proud of his choice, he didn't know whether the earring
complemented her or she complemented it but it was perfect. Both of them
enjoyed their dinner while Manvi shared with him how she and Jeevika celebrate
their Valentine together in Rishikesh. Virat excused himself to settle the bill
and whispered something to the waiter. The waiter was perplexed as Virat spoke
and finally nodded. Minutes later, the waiter passed Virat a bag.
As they were about to
leave, the manager requested them to stay longer as they will be opening the
dance floor shortly. Virat politely declined saying they have other plans lined
up. "I wonder how these people will dance without tripping over in this dark"
she naively asked Virat as they walked out. "Of course they will have the dance
light on Bandariya" he chuckled at her. "Chep, what is in the bag? Why the
waiter looked so puzzled and where are we going now? Di and Jiju are not due to
return till 11 pm and we are suppose to wait for them na?" She asked him as he
drove. "All your questions will be answered soon, now let me concentrate on the
road Bandariya" he told her. After almost an hour, they reached their
destination. "Virat, where are we going? The place looks so deserted." she
asked him. "I'm not going to kill you,
just follow me" he assured her sensing her worries. Manvi's leg froze and she
was stunned with what she saw.
The lake looked so scenic under
the moonlight. It was so serene except for the cold breeze that blew and the
trees that danced like maiden to Mother Nature's rhythm. "Chalo Manvi" Virat
nudged her breaking, stirring her from her amazement. "This place is awesome
Virat, I didn't know such a place exist in Chandigarh! " she finally spoke. "It
is indeed beautiful, I always come here whenever I need solitude" he told her.
"Now we are going to celebrate Valentine's Day your style Bandariya" Virat
announced as he bent down to take for something from the bag that was given by
the waiter earlier. "My style of Valentine Day?" she wondered. Virat lit the
tea candle on a ceramic plate, decorated it with some rose petals and handed it
to her. "I know I can't bring Ganga ghat to Chandigarh and there is no diya
here, so lake and candles in substitute. I'm sure your parents will accept it
yaar" he told her. Tears flow from her eyes as she stood watching him in
amazement. She randomly shared with him on how she has enjoyed Valentine
celebration over the years with her Di just hours ago and here he is trying to
fulfill it for her. "Oye Bandariya, kaha ko gayi?" his voice startled her. She
took the candle from his hand but still stood there speechless. Virat had
another set of candle as well. "Another one? What is that for Virat?" she asked
him. "That is for my dad, something that I learned from you. Ab chalo" he
answered while walking towards the lake, gesturing her to follow. They both
silently spoke to their demised parents and let the candle go on the lake.
Virat placed his hand on her shoulder, "You look very scary when you cry
Bandariya, please don't scare me any further" he joked to cheer Manvi.
Virat guided her back to
the car but instead of the getting into the car he helped her to sit on the car
bonnet. "Ab ek aur bhi surprise baaki hai" he announced. Virat emerged with 2
kulfi packed in the icebox from the restaurant. Manvi was totally swept off her
feet by Virat's surprise. He joined her on the car and handed the kulfi to her.
"Happy Valentine Bandariya" he whispered to her in his husky voice. Manvi's
check turned pink to match her kurthi. "Happy Valentine Chep" she replied
shyly. They spend hours talking until Viren texted them. Both of the happily
drove back to meet Viren and Jeevika as planned. Manvi never thought her
Valentine would be so special without her Di and she owed it all to her Chep.
Virat was contented to see the smile on his Bandariya's face, he was glad that
he has successfully passed his first hurdle in impressing her.
Please share with me your comment and criticism. Really appreciate it😊
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