Laxita's POV

I was pretty confident when I said - 'Hey Veer! Let's pretend to be in love.' But now, when the reality's sinking in, I don't have any idea about how one pretends to be in love. Not to mention, I have decided to get married. And that too, with Veer. Marriage is a huge commitment and I am not too sure that I am ready. Maybe, this is as ready as I will ever be. The toughest part about this arrangement was breaking the news to my family. I still haven't figured out a way to tell them.

That's why, the next morning, I began searching for Veer, hoping that he may have some ideas to solve my problem. I found him loitering in the kitchen as it was the time for breakfast. As soon as our eyes met, I gestured him to come to me.

We took a spot in the corner of the kitchen, away from prying eyes. "Why are you seeking me out so early in the morning? We met just last night..." He said in a mischievous tone.

"Stop. Don't say such misleading things!" I whisper-shouted. "This is no time to joke around, we have an important mission today."

He gave me a quizzical look. "Important mission?"

"Yes. We have to inform my family about our decision and seek their blessings."

"And the problem is?

"The problem is, I don't know how to break the news to them. Do you have any ideas?"

"The best way is to tell them directly. Delaying or beating around the bush isn't going to help. The sooner we tell them, the better. We just have to be honest about it. Also, we can spin off the story we discussed."

I sighed. "Fine. But first, we have to find everyone and then, we can tell all of them at once."

"Yeah, good."

"Good."

On usual days, finding all of them can be really tough as they're scattered in the association. But today, when I didn't want to find them so fast, I found them relatively quickly. Despite what Veer said, I wanted to delay this conversation for as long as possible. But I didn't even get time to mentally prepare myself before all of us gathered in uncle's office.

"So, what is it?" My aunt asked. We were in the sitting area of my uncle's office. Uncle and aunt had taken a seat across from Veer and me. The twins were standing at the side, leaning on the wall to listen in to our conversation. God, this is nerve-wrecking.

I do stupid things when I am nervous. So, when my aunt asked me that, I panicked and held Veer's hand. "We have decided to get married." Like I said, I do stupid things. An advice - Never, and I mean never ever, hold a man's hand in front of your family while announcing your marriage. It will haunt you for years.

To my absolute horror, there was silence. Absolute, total and utter silence.

To what it felt like an eternity later, my aunt finally said, "I approve."

"What? That easily?"

"Would you rather we oppose your marriage?" Uncle asked.

"No....But I assumed that there would be some opposition or shock from our sudden announcement." How come there's nothing?

"That's because, a few days back, you were giving heated glances to each other in the arena. It didn't take a genius to figure things out." Devansh said from his spot.

Oh God! To say that I was mortified is an understatement. This has to be the most embarrassing thing I ever experienced. How many people saw us that day? I was so lost in the moment that I didn't even pay attention to my surroundings.

As if his previous comments weren't enough, Devansh smirked and continued his onslaught, "And not only that, both of you spend a lot of time together. It's as if you're stuck together. Did you really think that no one will notice?" Devika was trying to control her laugh but was failing miserably.

"Anyways, we have known Veer ever since he was a kid and we really have no grounds to reject him. He's a great guy. But we weren't expecting this sudden marriage announcement. It's a fast development. What happened behind our backs?" There was a smile playing at my aunt's lips.

I had to say something. We had already decided on the story but I couldn't utter a single word as I was still reeling with previous embarrassment.

"It wasn't a fast development. It had been brewing under the surface for years...." Luckily, Veer took over the conversation and explained the entire story. His hold on my hand tightened when he saw that I had frozen. If someone saw him right now, they would believe that he was truly in love with me. The way his eyes shone when he was describing how he fell for me made my heart flutter. No wonder, my family was truly invested in the story with a huge grin on their faces.

After the impromptu yet eventful meeting, all of us got up to leave. Uncle and aunt blessed us for our future. "Veer, keep my daughter happy." My aunt said with a twinge of emotion in her voice.

"Ji, Shobha ji. Mai apki beti ko humesha khush rakhunga." He said in a soft voice.

("Yes, Shobha ji. I'll always keep your daughter happy.")

Just one sentence from him and butterflies erupted in my stomach. It was not the sentence, it was the way he said it. Maybe, married life with him would not be so bad afterall. After a while, everyone left.

"That went well," Veer said.

"Well? It went amazing, much better than I originally expected."

The meeting was over and Veer and I were strolling in the garden after breakfast. It was a nice day and for first time in days, I could finally breathe. Last few days have been so hectic that I barely had time for anything else.

"So, what comes next?" He asked.

I stopped to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"How are we going to pretend that we're in love? I mean, there are eyes everywhere. Sooner or later, our story is going to spread in the entire association. Don't you think we should start this 'pretend love' already." He emphasized the words pretend love.

Hmmm, makes sense. "So, what do you suggest we do?"

"We can start by holding hands." With that, he took one of my hands in his and continued walking. Just a simple gesture of holding hands was giving me goosebumps. I couldn't help but notice that my hand looked so small compared to his.

The conversation flew easily and we started talking about more mundane topics, all while holding hands. It felt like a second nature, like if we've been doing this for years. His close proximity, which made my heart race earlier, now gave me comfort. Maybe, I was getting used to him.

Just as Veer had suspected, the news of our upcoming marriage spread like wildfire and by evening, everyone at the association knew. Many of the younger mages found our story quite romantic and the elders blessed us for our future.

The way he casually draped his arm over my shoulder whenever someone came to congratulate us sent sparks across my body. Those lingering touches and stolen glances made me feel alive. It was as if we really were in love. I thought that transitioning from friends to a couple would made things awkward between us. But Veer was so natural and genuine that I didn't even feel a little bit of discomfort.

We were in dining hall and both of us had settled in our seats after dinner. He used to sit across from me but now, he sat beside me.

He looked at me with assessing eyes and asked, "Are you tired?"

"Just a little bit."

After our morning stroll, both of us went to the training arena where he gave me another one of his special trainings which left me blushing. And yet, he seemed unfazed. Unfair, so unfair. The training left us all sweaty so, we headed to our respective rooms to take a bath. I had never taken such a quick bath in my entire life.

After that, we had lunch together and then we went on another stroll around the pond which was located at the far end of Soma Sangha. We silently sat under the shades of the trees which were around the pond, enjoying the gentle breeze. And then, as soon as we came back, we were hounded by everyone about our sudden announcement. Veer handled everything with so much ease that I didn't have to worry about a single thing. I don't know how the day passed and it was already time for dinner by the time everyone's interrogation finished.

"Hey! How's it going lovebirds?" Devansh dropped into a seat which was across from ours.

"Stop. You're going to scare them away." Devika took a seat beside her brother.

Veer draped an arm around me and pulled me closer. "The answer to your question is, it's going wonderful."

"Devansh smirked, "Someone's happy."

Veer gave one of his answering smirks, "Maybe, I am. Do you mind if I steal your sister for a little while?"

"Sure, sure. We don't mind, at all" Devika emphasized the last two words.

"Just make sure that you don't cross boundaries. You aren't married yet." Devansh waggled his eyebrows at us. I was sure that my face was beet red by his comment.

"We won't." Veer said with a wink and then held my hand to whisk us away from the dining hall.

Veer and I had spent the entire day together but I still thought that it wasn't enough. I wanted to be with for just a bit longer. Maybe, he had the same sentiments as me because we took a small detour and took the longer way to reach my room. We were silent for the entire walk back but we continued to hold hands. Like I said, it felt natural.

When my room was in sight, I grew disappointed. I didn't want to part from him just yet. Even a whole day felt smaller.

We stopped in front of my room and I turned to look at him. He looked so handsome in the soft glow of moonlight. "That's my room. I should go in."

"Laxita?"

"Hmmm?"

Before I could understand anything, he cupped my face and placed a kiss on my forehead. It happened so fast that I didn't even get any time to react.

"Just in case, someone's watching. Good night, Laxita." With that, he jogged away from there.

I entered my room and slumped against the doors because what just happened?! The area where his lips touched was still tingling. My face was hot and I was sure that if I looked into a mirror right now, I would find my cheeks tomato red.

That night, sleep eluded me. I kept thinking of him. Him holding my hands, him draping his arm over me and pulling me closer, him calmly telling our story to everyone over and over and in the end, him kissing my forehead.

And with that, sleep evaded me entirely and I laid awake all night. For the first time in forever, I was this excited to meet someone again in the morning.

Hello cuties💖

Did you like this sweet chapter? I for sure enjoyed writing it!

The next chapter is going to be even more romantic. So, stay tuned✨