“Karke gustakhiyan, maange na mafiyan”

Advait’s POV

“Chalna phirse aagaya ho toh aage chalein kya?” I spoke, trying to break the awkward silence that had been created after I pulled her back. I mean, however much I don't like her presence, I can't just let her fall off the stairs, right? The expression of worry on her face changed to annoyance when she heard this sarcastic statement, which was exactly my intention.

(If you've learned walking again, shall we go?)

If I hadn't tried to get her head off of almost falling and dying, that would be the only thing she would think about the whole time and that was the last thing I could ask for right now. And so, to my liking, she just looked at me for a second and started walking ahead.

We looked around the terrace for a few minutes and then around the other floors, the rooms, and galleries there. Our final destination was my bedroom. We went in and I asked her to wait for me because I wanted to change my clothes. She sat on the bed and I went into the bathroom with a comfortable shirt and pants.

When I came out, I saw that she wasn't on the bed anymore. My eyes scanned the whole room, only to find her on the balcony, leaning against the railing. Rolling up my sleeves, I walked towards her and stood next to her, leaning against the railing too.

I looked at her, looking at the beautiful pinks in the sky as the breeze moved her hair, and she was enjoying every bit of it. Though she didn't even glance at me for even a second, I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. It felt like I was slowly forgetting what happened, it felt like all the weight was melting off, it felt good.

“What are you looking at?” I asked, finally moving my eyes off her and towards the sky.

“Just the same thing you're looking at, smarty pants.” Inayat turned her head towards me and smiled sarcastically.

“Smarty pants? We're still using that? Sorry, I didn't know we came back to 2010.” I scoffed and she rolled her eyes.

“I'm just used to high-school vocabulary. But anyways,” She spoke and looked at the sky for a second just before staring right into my eyes and speaking ahead. “We can't really be back to 2010, ever. You weren't such a jerk then, you know?”

“You know what you're right, actually. Back then, I was naive and stupid enough to believe whatever you, a liar, always said.” I stared right back at her.

“Oh, so you think I'm a liar, huh? Or did you just say that because I said you were a jerk?” She didn't break the shared eye gaze we held as she spoke. 

“I never said I thought you were a liar, I know you were a liar.” I slowly walked towards her, trying to cover the distance between us. Why'd I do that though? I don't know either.

As I went towards her, she took steps back and went farther away. For some reason, my legs were still working their way towards her. They didn't even stop when she hit the railing and held with her palms. They stopped when I held the railing with my hands and there was only a few centimeters worth of distance between Inayat and I.

Before I could say anything else, she took her arms off the railing and pushed me away with all the strength she had in herself. Surprised but not shocked by what just happened, I just looked at her.

“Call me whatever names you want, Advait. But make sure a liar isn't one of them. I have never lied to you about anything. But, because I don't owe you any explanations, let's keep it at this.” She declared and went inside the room with anger clearly visible on her face.

Did I go too far with saying that she's a liar? In spite of knowing what she thinks about lies and liars? But, don't I know she lied? Am I so sure? I don't know.

Brushing the thought off, I walked on the white marble flooring that felt a little cold on my bare feet. I peeked a little inside the room just before entering to see what she was doing. There she stood, near the rosewood door with her arms crossed around her bosom. I walked towards her and sighed, she glared at me, as if giving me some sort of ‘warning’.

“Can we just get this over with now?” She spoke in a very nonchalant tone. Trying to make me believe she didn't care, but too bad I've known her for so long, I know exactly what she's trying to do. Her crossed arms weren't a ‘I’m so disappointed’ or ‘I can't believe you said that’ move, they were more of a ‘I’m done with all your nonsense, don't ever speak again’ thing. That's exactly what she did when she wanted to convey those things.

I twisted the doorknob, she walked outside and I followed right after closing the door behind. I walked towards her and she started walking quicker to stay as far as possible from me. Why was I even walking towards her, though? It's not like I'm supposed to brighten up her mood, it's not like that part of my responsibilities.

She stopped to adjust her Saree right before she entered the area where everyone was. I pretended to adjust my shirt and hair standing next to her and all she did was look at me and roll her eyes. We walked inside and I sat on one of the sofas, right next to Bhai Sa. While she walked towards the part of the sofa on the opposite side of where I sat and next to Priyanka.

“Laado, tumhare iss mangetar ne kya tumhe ghar acche se dikhaya?” My aunt asked and eyes me with a smile on her face.

(Dear, did this fiancé of yours show you around the house nicely?)

“Accha waise, kamra pasand aaya tumhein iska?” My mother spoke before even giving Inayat the chance to reply to the first question.

(Oh, by the way, did you like his room?”)

“Ji, Bua Ji, Advait ne mujhe sab acche se dikhaya. Aur kamra bhi kafi sundar hai.” She spoke politely and gave a small smile and then looked right at me.

(Yes, aunt, Advait showed me everything quite nicely. And the room is very beautiful too.)

The room slowly started falling silent, everyone around seemed to be busy with their own thing and so, I looked right back at her, which made me feel like the things around had started disappearing, and it didn't stop feeling like that till she looked down to check her phone.

“I, uh…” She tried to break the silence. “I guess, I should get going? I mean, it's already seven-thirty and taking the traffic to account, it'll take me almost forty-five minutes to actually reach home.” She looked at her sister, who was sitting next to her husband. Bhabhi Sa nodded as a reply.

“Won't you have dinner with us?” Maa Sa asked her, looking a little disappointed.

“Don't get me wrong, Maa. I would love to have dinner with you guys, but I have a few presentations to make and a student's submission to read. So, if I leave after dinner, it'll be too late and then I have work tomorrow too.” Inayat explained and I cracked my knuckles.

“Oh, fine then.” Maa Sa gave her a slight smile and then looked at me. “Ladesar, bindani ne ghar toh chhod ke aaja.”

(Dear son, go drop your fiancé home.)

“Ji, Maa Sa.” I nodded like an obedient son should, and stood up to get the keys. She followed behind me.

(Okay, mom.)

I sat down on the driver's seat and waited for her to sit. She opened the door, adjusted her Saree and sat. And for the next two or so minutes tried to adjust the loose end of her Saree in a way that the golden threads wouldn't hurt her.

“If you're done with whatever this is, shall I get the car started?” I spoke and made sure the irritation I felt was clearly visible in my tone.

“Whatever,” She gave up trying to adjust her Saree, looked out of the window with her arms crossed and rolled her eyes.

For the next few minutes, she didn't say anything, the only sound audible inside the car was that of music playing through the speaker. Though, soon enough, we were stuck in traffic and the honking took over the music.

“You know what?” Inayat's voice made its way to me and suddenly the honking went silent for a second. I turned to her and raised my eyebrows.

“Next time, we have to go out somewhere, you should wear a Saree this prickly. It's fun, you know?” She spoke and squinted her eyes at me angrily.

“Right, and you'll—” I tried to speak but my phone's ringtone interrupted me. I had to pick up, it was my assistant, who I'd assigned the work of dealing with the problem that caused this wedding in the first place. Because, the sooner this gets dealt with, the better.

I picked up, only for it to play straight on the car's speaker as my phone was connected to it.

“You were right, it was him. That bastard paid the guy to do all of it.” My grip around the steering wheel’s sides. I could feel the anger rising up in my body.

“But, we need a plausible explanation, Ravi. We need proof.” I said as I slowly let go off the brake as the lights had turned green.

“Still working on that part,” He spoke hesitantly. “And because I'm working on that part, you're supposed to go—” I couldn't have let him speak further, realizing what he was talking about.

“Not now, Ravi, I'm driving. Text me.” I spoke and hung up. How could I have let him spoil this surprise, the one I pretty much forgot about. But still, it was meant for my ‘to-be wife’, how could I have let her know so early? Where's the fun in that?

I looked over at Inayat, she looked confused and a little worried seeing my demeanor while replying to Ravi. Her eyes had a million questions behind them that she wanted to ask, but it seemed like she just blinked them away.

I was supposed to reply to her sarcastic comment from a minute or so ago, but I just decided to let it be. I just let the music take over again while also stealing a few glances of her looking out of the window till we reached her place.

Once at her place, I parked the car and we walked in together. Entering there, I felt a little awkward. I mean, I am not given this ‘son-in-law treatment’ everyday, am I?

I sat there for about fifteen minutes before I asked for their leave. I honestly wasn't even in the mood of doing any of the— ‘we couldn't be happier together’ act, but I could at least pull it together for such a short time, unlike her, who couldn't.

I came back home right in time as the househelps were preparing the dining table for dinner. I walked in and sat down next to my brother, whose eyes were locked on the love of his life as she tried to feed their daughter.

Not that he didn't appreciate the food he was eating, instead he was the one to make all of us thank God before starting to eat. But, there was something, he didn't even look at food much, his eyes were locked on his wife and daughter. He looked like he was so in love, he looked like he felt complete. Will I ever get the chance to feel that way?

My train of thoughts was interrupted when my mother called my name. So I hummed and looked at her. “Your assistant is coming in tomorrow, right?” She asked, after taking a sip from her glass of water.

“No,” I took a piece of the Roti and dipped it in the Dal before taking a bite. “I am.” I spoke after finishing chewing.

“Why are you going instead of him?” Bhabhi Sa questioned. “If he's not available, send someone else.” She added.

“It’s not that big of a deal, besides it'll be better I go myself, creates more of an impact on them, you know?” I spoke and then took a few sips from my glass of water.

“Is that really all, Bhai Sa? Are you sure you're not going there for more reasons?” Lakshay spoke in his usual teasing tone.

“Of course, there's more reasons. No, Advait?” Bua Sa added to the teasing fire and chuckled.

“It's nothing like that, Bua Sa.” I tried to defend myself.

“Stop teasing my son, you guys. I'm pretty sure there aren't any more reasons behind you going there. Right?” Finally, someone spoke up from my side. Baba Sa was the last one I expected would say anything, though.

“You should do your actual work, Kunwar Sa, your old man can handle all this, can't I? Afterall, there are no other reasons behind it, right?” He spoke while looking seriously at me and waiting for my reply.

“I— it's nothing like that— it's just—” I tried to explain myself again, to all of them but almost all the people on the table burst into laughter following my father's loud chuckle.

My eyes went towards Bhabhi Sa, she looked at me with some kind of discomfort in her eyes as she fake-laughed with a little chuckle, trying to join the others. She even signaled my brother to do the same.

I couldn't fully understand the discomfort in her eyes, though. It was like— she felt okay pushing her own sister and brother-in-law into a marriage neither of them wanted and ruining both their lives. But she felt uncomfortable trying to lie about it to the others around. Hypocritic much?

The rest of the time at the table, which was around thirty minutes or so, went quite quickly as all of them teased me a little about going out of my way to see my to-be wife the following day. Were they wrong, though? I don't think so.

I mean, although the main reason for me to schedule the day this way wasn't her, but it was like the cherry on top—  being close to her and annoying her. The irritated look on her face gave me some sort of satisfaction.

The sort of satisfaction I haven't experienced in quite a while, it's quite hard to top it. But soon enough, I will. Once I've finally cleared my family's name, not just in front of everyone, but also legally. Once I'm actually able to read articles about how it was truly that bastard, Aryansh Shekhawat that was playing the dirty games and not Mewars.

And when I'm done with that, it means that I won't have to tolerate her for much longer either. I'll be set free of her quite quickly after I'm done with that. Which is part of the reason why I want this Shekhawat thing to be over with as soon as it can.

I brushed off the thoughts of Shekhawat from my head as I tried to sleep. I laid down on my bed. After an hour or so, after having turned left and right countless times, I finally laid straight as I waited for sleep to come to me.

I stared at the fan moving above, my left hand on the silk pillow cover as my head rested on its palm. It felt like the black center of the fan which hid the motor stared back at me. My eyes went towards the golden bordered blades that looked like they were making a circle and going round and round and round.

That's when my mind moved from the moving fan and to what exactly I was supposed to be doing tomorrow. How would I address everybody? Would they find me too pretentious or feel like I'm trying too hard? What if they don't like me? What if this idea is a flop? Though, before my brain could actually answer any of these questions, I dozed off.

~

The black iron gates of the school opened as I walked in towards the corridor, my sunglasses made an image of the sun as it reflected the light away from my eyes. The white archaic-looking arches one after another and the partially visible ivory-coloured marble floor through the footsteps of students not so excited to be back to school as they headed towards their friends or maybe just acquaintances with a slight smile on their lips brought the building to life.

I waited for the rush of students to clear, before I made my way to the managing office area. As I walked towards the office, I could hear slight whispers in feminine voices. They came from a group of girls, standing across from me, with notebooks in their hands. One of them had a book titled Biology in their hands, but I couldn't see what grade it was.

I walked into the office and saw a lot of teachers on their way to punch in for the day. I was just about to open the door to the principal’s cabin, my mother's office with my head turned the other way, just in case I saw her. And, as I was just about to walk in and close the door behind me, she walked in.

A pink kurta with flowers embroidered on the border of the sleeves and the neck cut, she paired it with loose white cotton pants. Small silver earrings adorned her ears, and strands of loose hair tucked behind those adorned ears. A black bag visible from her left shoulder.

She walked in with another one of the teachers with her, both of them engaged in their own conversation, probably unaware of my presence and I wanted to keep it that way. So, I went inside before she even got a chance to look that way.

My mother raised an eyebrow at me as I turned around and I brushed it off. I comfortably sat on one of the blue chairs in front of her desk. I was confused about where I should ask her about the schedule for the eleventh and twelfth grades, so I could know when to go in which class. Though it would seem a little too much, I decided to go with it anyway.

“Maa—”

“Here, it is Ma’am not Maa.”

“That's inconvenient and not personal at all, I will call you whatever I want to.” I winked.

“That's not so good for your profile as a businessman, Mr. Mewar.” She chuckled.

“I guess that's quite irrelevant here, as you're here as a lovesick teenager all over again and not a businessman. Isn't that right, Mr. Mewar?”

“That is not—”

Before I could say anything else, someone knocked on the door and came in after a second. It was her. My mother gave her a warm smile.

“Ma'am, I was wondering—” She spoke and then her eyes fell on me.

“What are you doing here,” She looked at me surprised, trying to contain some kind of— anger, maybe. “You know what, it doesn't matter.”

“Teri chahat ne balda mere, dil ka jugraafiya...”

~

a/n—

hiiiiiiiiii people!!!!! i ghosted y'all for what 2 months? anyways I'm sorry for that, but idk if the next chapter is coming soon or not. (blame JEE for that)

anyways, what do u guys is going on w/ advait and stuff? and how'd you like this chapter? the main story (like the main parts of the story) will start in a few chapters, so make sure to be updated with the chapters.

and if you want, you can follow me on instagram too, @being.a.tithi is my id there :)

with love,
tithi <3