#Fun Fact- No word in the dictionary rhyme with the word orange.

"So both are married?"

"Yup."

"And you didn't inform us. Your besties, me or Sid."

"I didn't notify my family then do you think I intend to tell you."

"I had planned everything for your wedding. I would have danced throughout the baraat. You were my only chaddi-buddy."

[Trans- In Indian weddings, a celebratory wedding procession escorts the groom, who is traditionally on horseback, to the site of the wedding.]

[Trans- close friends.]

Annika rolled her eyes watching Siddharth weep, pointing his fingers, accusing Shivaay of his failed planning. Well till yesterday Annika had the best impression on Mallika, she thought her to be more sensible than the duffers however she was no less the two idiots.

"Mallika." Mallika stretched her arms as she introduced herself.

"Aree! Mallika nahi Annika." Shivaay facepalmed, hearing his wife. She shook her head and made a 'logic sign' the same as his cousin Rudra. He was reminded of him.

[Trans-Hey! It's not Mallika it's Annika.]

"Mallika meet Annika. And Annika she is Mallika. Understood?" Shivaay raised his left brow asking her as acknowledgement.

Nodding at him both Mallika and Annika greeted each other with huge smiles. After many years Annika felt like having a friend and Mallika's warming nature felt welcoming her. Without wasting a minute or so, Annika charged Mallika with a bone-crushing hug.

"Dude your wife is over-friendly like my girlfriend, Mallika. One day they would dump us for chit-chatting." Siddharth leaned closer to Shivaay and whispered in a minimal voice. Hearing him, Shivaay gave a stink eye and clenched his jaw tight, controlling himself not to beat up his shit.

"Zip it."

Following the past days, Shivaay had a certain image of Annika in his mind. He thought her to be bratty, non-friendly, a kid; who always seems to complain to her mother perhaps watching her mingle with Mallika at ease he realised this sketch was due to his interaction with her. Seeing her talk with his friends at the very comfortable, a small smile formed on his lips.

"Chalo, you both can have girly talks later but now hamen baat karane kee jaroorat hai. An important one." Sid shushed both the girls who were deeply in the conversation and gestured them to join.

[Trans- come. We have to talk. It's important.]

"So. The thing is, I couldn't manage this wedding because I was busy." Sid started, rubbing his nape with embarrassment. His ears tips were visibly light shades of rosy. Mallika hid behind her straight brown hair and drew away her eyes.

"No. You were busy fucking. Idiots" Annika suppressed her laugh as Shivaay mumbled under his breath.

"As I said." He cleared his throat. "I was busy, so I asked Shivaay to organize on my behalf. We had mutually pledged with me having eighty per cent and him getting twenty of the profit." Shivaay nodded his head understanding at Sid and decided to continue himself.

"And as Mrs Hitler-" his sentence halted in the midway as Annika whacked his arm and glared at him.

"She is my mother and your mother-in-law, behave well." Siddarth cooed, jumping at his seat seeing his girlfriend's best friend being dictated by his wife.

"Yeah I mean, Sid says Arundhati aunty wasn't satisfied. And by that, he isn't ready to give my twenty per cent of the share." Rolling his eyes, he added querulousness.

"So what is there in that Shivaay? He is willing to give ten per cent." Mallika added and stood up gazing at him.

"That's the main reason. If I would not have been there, this wedding would have been cancelled and at least Mrs Hitler would have given zero stars as rating." Shivaay too stood up, edging his anger. "It's because of me the wedding went on without a problem."

"That was because you both told an untruth. And somehow those lies were interlocked." Siddharth cackled, holding his stomach. Laughing at his expense.

"I will myself go and notify your family. And then the bomb blast. Boom." Mallika imitated the sound of the blast and chuckled.

Annika looked at Shivaay with a concerned look. Sensing her apprehensive feel, he blinked his eyes assuringly and smiled at her.

"Ohh. Great. Imagine Mr Vikram Rana knowing that his one and only son is in love with his opponent, Mr Sameer Sheikh's daughter Mallika Sheikh." Shivaay described the plot outline as a scriptwriter, with his hands zooming in and out.

"And that too, both are planning for live-in. At least I and Annika have a license called 'marriage' ." Shivaay bright grinned at the drained faces of his friends and mentally did a victory dance.

"Also, my parents aren't against this wedding. Even if you both inform Shivi's family Aai would handle it." Annika hi-fied with Shivaay and gleamed with the happiness of blackmailing.

"Ok fine. Take an extra five per cent and don't tell your parents. Please. We will tell them when the time comes." Siddharth sulked with sadness.

"No. Wait." Shivaay grabbed Annika's arms as she walked to him and interrupted the distribution talks. He didn't want to lose his hard-worked prices though.

"I'm fine Shivi. Now shush." She placed her index finger on her lips and asked him to be silent for a few minutes. Having no alternatives, he blankly stood waiting for her to speak.

"50-50 each." His eyes flew wide open with her negotiations. She was partnering with a huge amount.

"No. Nah. Nahi." Siddharth vigorously shook his head in negative. He was scared of Shivaay and his wife added much more to it yet he stood rooted to his place strong.

[Trans- no]

"Shivi?" Annika turned her heels and faced her husband who was by now agonizing with all the dramas.

"Yea?"

"You have Mr Rana's phone number?"

"Yup. I have his mother's, his grandfather's, even his cousin sister's." Shivaay proudly answered understanding her moves.

"Call them. And inform all their karnaamas. Even tell them, how we found them nude under the blankets yesterday, night." Shivaay smugly looked at Sid and threw a nasty smile of warning.

[Trans- stunt]

"Yes, baby!" Wasting no time, his hands moved tenderly to grab his phone in his jeans pocket. He took his time by seeing the scared faces of them as his pleasures. It was sweet pleasure torture to Shivaay to glimpse both of them all shaken and dripping with sweat.

"Sid! Do something. I will kill you if my parents kick me out." Mallika threatened her boyfriend.

"Wait. Wait. Shivaay. We will have an equal share." Sid snatched his phone and tried handling the situation.

"Sixty - forty." Shivaay proudly noticed Annika.

"A while ago it was 50-50," Mallika asked Annika with amusement filled within her.

"Great deals won't last a minute later. You relinquished the opportunity." Annika arrogantly raised her brows and pouted like a typical businesswoman.

"Aren't you being greedy?" Sid begged.

"I'm not hungry. This is an art. An art of manipulation in business." Shivaay whistled forgetting about the manners his mother taught and cheered Annika.

"Fine." Sid accepted with a fallen face.

"Please transfer in now." Shivaay rubbed his palms excitedly.

"I will do it tomorrow, as I need to bring my cheque book."  Sid reasoned.

"I guess you have internet banking? Or least Google pay? Do it now." Annika commanded.

Rolling his eyes at her tone, Sid pulled out his phone and started working on the process. On one side Mallika was mazed by Annika's character, a few minutes back she was friendly and now unexpectedly transformed. On the other side, both Shivaay and Annika were eagerly waiting for him to credit the money to Shivaay's account.

"It's done." Sid pulled his lower lip in a pout and added.

"Amazing! My wife has a brain. She has many brain cells. I thought she is childish. But she feisty dude." Shivaay praised. "By the way, what are you studying?  I mean to say is that I'm twenty-four and by that guess, you should be younger than me. Right?" Shivaay happily asked her after his squealing session.

"I'm in my last year of graduation with bachelors in commerce. Mithibai college." She shyly added.

"That's so cool." She froze when his cold fingertips made a contact with her warm surface. His arms wrapped around her shoulder like a side hug.

Realising the proximity of both, Shivaay awkwardly parted and started scratching his jawline in his fluster.

"I thought only Shivaay was a manipulator but his partner is incredible than him." Sid annoyingly stomped his foot and playfully glared at the husband-wife.

"I will not forget this. I am coming for my revenge, one day. Remember every dog has a day." Saying so, Sid marched out with huffing and puffing. Watching him fume Mallika herself laughed unskilled to control the cuteness of her boyfriend, who felt offended.

"Shivaay you got a perfect match for yourself. Voh kaaminee hai jaise tum ho." Mallika glimmered heartily.

[Trans- She is a meanie just like you.]

Hearing the appreciative and also insulting words from Mallika both Shivaay and Annika flickered lightly and were looking at everything but each other.

"What did you think? Of this marriage?" Mallika seriously asked, being only the best friend of Shivaay she was too concerned for his future.

"We have decided to give it a chance. And importantly we are sulking down, professionally front so the sole concentration is on my blog and her college." Not having more words to describe, Shivaay shrugged his shoulders.

"I will see you then Annie." Annika wildly smiled at the new nickname and waved her hands at Mallika as a goodbye.

*****

I loved writing this. It was too fun jotting down this crazy person.
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