***Amogha's P.O.V***

The week passed by quickly and before I knew it, it was the day for the groom's family to meet the bride - i.e, for Sidharth's family to come and see me. This whole week everyday Sidharth used to come home to meet me and make sure I'm doing okay. While everyone teased us, saying Sidharth can't even be for one day without seeing me, we just smiled it away. The truth is, I liked his company. I'd finally started trusting him enough to tell him about my life and he told me stuff from his past.

We started bonding so well, it was as if we had known each other for years! We could talk for hours and hours without getting bored! Every night I used to sleep thinking of his words or about our conversation. Was I falling in love with him? No... It had been so long since I spoke to someone like this, carefree, without any thought of being judged that I started liking his company. It was a very platonic relationship and I wasn't complaining!

I know I can talk to Pri but he's somewhat different than her...Sidharth reminds me a lot of Adi... Even Adi was someone whom I trusted and with whom I could be carefree...And Pri was busy in her own world now-a-days, what with the office stuff and her engagement coming up! Oh I forgot to mention - Pri and Rishi are getting engaged in 3 days. They would get married in a week after that. Pri's father didn't approve of this love marriage at first, saying Rishi is too jovial but he changed his mind after he met Rishi's parents and saw how much Rishi cared for Pri...All in all, everything feels just happy and right..

"Ahem ahem...lost in thoughts about Mr.Husband to be, are we?" Pri teased, bringing me out of my thoughts. Today is the day when Sidharth's family is supposed to come and formally see me. I didn't want anything too fancy so I had worn a simple blue-colored saree, left my long hair open, put on eyeliner and a little of that red lipstick. 

I sighed as Pri started again "Look at you Ammu!! You've gone from I don't even like him to now getting lost in his thoughts every second of every day! I must say, Sidharth's jaws are going to touch the floor looking at you today! You look so pretty....not to mention hawt" Pri hugged me and I hugged her back. 

Just then, the door bell rang and I knew it was his family. I don't know why but I got the feeling like I have a tight knot in the pit of my stomach and I started feeling very anxious.

"Don't worry baby girl, Sidharth already loves you! This is all just for the sake of formality "Pri said soothingly. I smiled at her. Amma poked her head in my room and called me out. I took a deep breath and walked out, turning to the living room and smiled at the new arrivals. Asha and her husband Vishnu beamed at me when I saw them, and so did Asha's parents. I hadn't expected him today but Rishi was there too, beaming at me. But my eyes were searching for a certain tall hunk.... where is he?! Sidharth?!

 As though reading my mind, my soon to be mother-in-law said "Sid is in the basement, parking the car. We were so eager to see our daughter that we came up straight and left him to his work" smiling at me. I couldn't help but blush at her words! 

I walked to my to-be in-laws and touched their feet to take their blessings.

"Bless you beti. But don't do this again. You are our daughter and you are like Goddess Lakshmi, you even look like a Goddess. It doesn't do well for a Goddess to touch our feet" said my mother-in-law, pulling me up from my half-bowed state.

I smiled at her as I said "You are like my parents now and I have every right to take the blessings of me parents aunty" and pouted at her. She smiled at me and kissed her forehead.

"You say we are like your parents but call me aunty? Now that won't do. I want you to call me mom" she said and uncle added "and call me dad" smiling at me. 

"Okay aun...I mean..mom" I said and smiled at her.

"Good girl" said dad, patting my head. 

"And you can call me attige" Asha said and hugged me.

"I am of course your brother, so call me anna" Vishnu anna said, smiling at me.

"And I'm your bro anyways so you can just call me Rishi" Rishi said, making me giggle.

Just then the door bell rang, and I went to open the door. It had to be Sidharth. Even though I was expecting him, I still couldn't help feel shocked when I saw him infront of the door when I opened it.

Dressed in a black shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbow, he had worn a mundu in place of his usual formal pants. His silky hair ruffled up as his hand went to it again, messing it up more, while his beard was set and looking perfect.

I couldn't help but stare at this incredibly handsome man standing infront of me! He looked oh so perfect in that traditional attire, that for a moment I found myself unable to speak! 

Sidharth rubbed the nape of his neck, looking as dumb-struck as I felt. I looked up intently at his face to find his eyes roaming through my body and I quickly recovered myself. I cleared my throat and said a "Hi" which made his cheeks tinge with pink. He looked into my eyes and smiled, again, rubbing the nape of his neck before sying a "hi".

I moved aside to let him in and closed the door behind him as he walked into the living room. Not wanting to look at him, I quickly went to the kitchen and busied myself with making tea and coffee. I put the tea and coffee mugs on a tray and took it to the living room. As I entered the living room, I felt all eyes on me and I bent my head, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. I moved around offering tea and coffee to everyone. Finally, I reached Sidharth who took his coffee and said a soft "thanks". I looked up to see him smiling. I smiled back, moved aside and sat at the only empty space which was infront of him. 

They stayed for lunch for which I had prepared most of the dishes. We all were having a good time, until of course, Asha attige started pulling Sidharth's leg by saying "Oh look at these dishes! Amogha you're such an excellent cook!! Sidharth is going to soon become fat eating such delicious food everyday" and winked.

To my amusement, everyone joined in, teasing him. It was actually quite fun to watch Sidharth shoot daggers at them, but say nothing. I had no complaints as nobody was teasing me much - it was all like Tease Sidharth kinda session! Soon, the day ended, much to my disappointment and they were getting ready to leave. 

"May I have a word with you, in private?" Sidharth asked me all of a sudden.

"Oho Sid, you literally spent the entire day with her and now you want to talk to her in private? Have a little patience and wait for a week, then she's all yours" Vishnu anna teased him.

I don't know why but heat rushed to my cheeks and I can't believe I'm actually blushing at this!

"Oh no it's nothing like that...it's...office work" Sidharth said, looking seriously at anna.

"It's okay beta you both can speak in her room" amma said, gesturing me to lead him to my room. Once inside, he asked me if we could talk in the balcony. Quite puzzled at his behavior, I moved out to the balcony and he followed suit.

"Please don't mind their teasing and stuff. They all tend to get carried away at times! You know my parents have been pestering me to get married for a few years now and I had always pushed it aside, saying I'm not interested. They think I'm in love with you because I agreed to marry you. Don't mind..." he said, and broke off abruptly, looking flustered.

I laughed. He looked puzzled at my behavior and frowned a little.

"I'm sorry for laughing Sidharth but please don't misunderstand...I know that you agreed to marry me to get your parents off your back. I agreed to marry you to get my parents off my back. They don't have to know that we're not in love! It's okay, let them tease. They have every right to tease 'coz finally the Mr.Extremely-Sexy-and-Attractive is ready to get married! They have been waiting for a long time and they deserve a chance to pull your...our leg! We'll do our bit and blush when they tease...Right?" I asked him.

He smiled and said "Yes, you're right".

As I turned to leave, I heard him ask "So, I'm Mr.Extremely-Sexy-and-Attractive huh?".

I turned back to look at Sidharth who was looking at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

I could feel my cheeks burning but yet I said defiantly "Well, yes Sidharth, you are really attractive....I'm stating the fact" trying to cool but he chuckled!!

"Well, as we're just stating facts....might I state the fact that you are Ms.Extremely-Beautiful-and-Cute-and..." he broke off, looking intently at me. I thought I saw his cheeks turning pink. He surely looks very hot and sexy with that blush!

"And?" I prodded him to continue. "...and amazing and sexy-in-a-saree" he said. 

Now it was my turn to blush. I couldn't look at him. I felt my heart jolt when he said the words -sexy in a saree!

No it's nothing - I told myself!! He's just being kind! I brushed the thoughts away and composed my self before muttering a small "Thanks" to him.

I dared not look at his face. We stood like that for some time - in pure silence.

A sudden cough made me look up, thinking it was him. But it was Asha attige and Vishnu anna.

"Are we interrupting the love birds who're talking office stuff?" winked Vishnu anna.

"No no...we're done talking" Sidharth said and moved towards the door. I walked behind him back to the living-area.

I bid them all good bye and lastly to Sidharth. He said a swift bye and left. 

The next day passed by quickly. We had gone to his house and the place was beautiful! A huge kitchen with dining table, opening to a very elegant and classy living-area. There was a sit-out leading from the living-area. The door leading to the master bedroom and the door leading to one guest room were facing each other. The other guest room was at the end of the hallway. There was a small work-out area near the second guest room. This house was perfect! 

Finally came the not-so-awaited-day -  I woke up feeling gloomy because I am to join back office from tomorrow. Cherishing my time on my bed, I looked through my social media accounts. A Whatsapp notification caught my eyes and I could feel my heartbeat quicken as I read his name - ADI.

I quickly opened the chat and played the audio message that Adi had sent - "My love..I mean..Ammu..I can still call you Ammu right? My mother told me yesterday that you're going to get married in a month to one of your colleague? You never mentioned anything to me. At least you could have given me a chance to confess my feelings for you? Please call me when you hear this message. It's urgent"

I heard Adi's voice after such a long time!!How could I have forgotten to inform him? After that whole Vikram fiasco, I hadn't contacted Adi. There were a few missed calls and whatsapp messages from him but I never replied to them as I was in hospital for the past 1 month. But after I got back, I never got any time to even think about him, let alone talk to him!!

Should I call back Adi? I remembered the little flirting exchange with Sidharth yesterday and I realized that maybe I'm moving on from Adi. I really wanted to move on so why should I call him? Even though I and Sidharth aren't in love, I can never cheat on him!! Won't it be cheating on Sidharth if I talk to my ex after getting committed to Sidharth?!

I was lost in thought about Adi and Sidharth when a ping on my phone brought me back to the present. It was a message from Adi - "ignoring my messages are you?"

Now what? Sighing, I called Adi.

"Hey" he said in a cheery voice. Before he could say anything else, I began "Look Adi, we're done okay? We did have feelings but all that's in the past now. I am getting married to the love of my life. The guy is really great and I really love him. I want to be happy and I want you to be happy too. Please move on and be happy. I have also moved on and am happy "I said in one go - because I know that all my resolve would just shatter if I let him speak in between!!

There was a long silence and I thought that the call had actually been disconnected. But then, I heard his sigh. "Fine Ammu...Amogha...I just want you to be happy. If that guy can keep you happy then I don't think I have anything to complain. I will always look for your happiness" he said, his voice sounded weird. "He will" I said. He didn't say anything else but hung up the call.

Maybe he still has feelings for me. Heck even I do have feelings for him. But what do I do?? Sidharth!!

To be continued...