Hola Everyone,

It's Saturday and I am here with the next update, An early update as I had some free time.🙂🙂🙂

Thank you for your votes and comments. Means a lot.🙂🙂🙂
Without further ado, here is the next part of this story. Hope you like it :-

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The rage and anger on Dev's face were clearly visible for everyone, his jaws stiffened as he clenched his fists in anger as Jatin picked up the remote and switched off the TV. Everyone was looking at Dev, worried about his reaction. Sonakshi was about to reach out to him but Avni stopped her "Not now Sonakshi, not now" she said as she looked at Dev sadly, she knew what he was going through and right now she wanted to be beside him but Avni told her about Dev's anger and stopped her, just then Avni's phone buzzed with a call.

"Avni, I just saw the news. What's the matter? What's happening there?" asked Rajeev who had called her after seeing the news of the incident being telecasted. Avni narrated the happenings of the previous night to Rajeev who was flabbergasted listening to her. "Avni, so much had happened, and you guys didn't even inform us once?" asked Rajeev as she finished "Uncle, everything happened just so suddenly that we didn't get the opportunity to tell anything" she said as Rajeev sighed.

"Avni, how are Riya and Sonakshi doing now?" he asked as Avni replied "They are doing fine dad, Riya was a little shaken with the incident, but she is fine now" she said as he sighed in relief "Avni, Is Sonakshi there? Can you give her the phone once?" he asked as Avni handed over the phone to Sonakshi.

"Hello Dad" said Sonakshi as Rajeev replied "Sonakshi beta, how are you? And thank you for protecting Riya beta" he said as Sonakshi admonished him "I am fine dad and dare you thank me, does anyone thank a family member" she said as Rajeev smiled a little. Ishwari took the phone from Rajeev as she asked Sonakshi "Sonakshi beta, how are you? How is Riya? Both of you are fine right?" she asked as Sonakshi gave the same answer that she had given to Rajeev "We both are fine Maa but..." she paused as Ishwari asked hurriedly "But what beta?" she asked

"Dev does not look fine Maa..." she said informing her about his reaction the previous night and his current reaction to the news as well, it was then it dawned upon Ishwari that in all the hullabaloo they had forgotten about Dev, she was sure the incident would definitely rankle him to no end "Sona beta, leave him alone for some time. My son seldom gets angry but when he does then no one can control him apart from himself. Leave him, he will be alright in some time" she advised her as Sonakshi replied in agreement. She handed over the phone to Rajeev who informed Avni that the airlines would not release any statement till they are back to Delhi as she agreed to it. Asking her to take care of themselves he cut the call.

"Leave me alone for some time" said Dev in a cold voice as everyone left while he went outside on to the beach to calm himself down, he started running on the beach mindlessly, all this while Sonakshi kept looking at him wanting to go and calm him down but then she remembered the advise of Avni as well as Ishwari, somethings were better left untouched and this was one of those, an angry Dev was not to be messed up with.

*****-------*****

A couple of hour later everyone arrived at the airport, Dev had asked his secretary to prepone all the tickets as he wanted to reach Delhi back, he asked Avni to tell everyone that if they wanted they could stay back but no one seemed to be in the mood after the happenings of the previous night and today morning. That was the only talk he had in the last couple of hours. Even during the car journey, he was quiet.

As soon as they got down the car, they were surrounded by the media who were asking him questions incessantly "Mr. Dev Dixit, what do you have to tell about yesterday's incident? Do you take the responsibility of it? Who were the girls who were with you? Is this the way a MD of a big company behaves?" the questions were rapidly thrown at him as he calmly listened to them, but the others seemed to have been overwhelmed especially his sisters.

"Calm down everyone, I will answer every question of yours but first let them go. And no photos of them please, you guys have a problem with me so let's keep this between us" he said calmly in a sarcastic tone as everyone was stunned into silence including his friends, never had they seen this side of Dev. Dev asked Sonakshi and the others to leave while he dealt with the media. Just before he was about to start the Commissioner of Goa police had arrived and made his way beside Dev, seeing the police official the media were taken aback.

"Now please do ask your questions but one by one. Let's not make this a fish market. Let's do this in a civilized way" he said as once again the media was left speechless while the Commissioner couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Taken aback momentarily a journalist in her mid-20s regained her composure as she asked.

"Mr. Dev Dixit, what do you have to comment about yesterday's incident?" she asked in a bit of a belligerent tone, she had not liked the way he had put them in a spot as Dev calmly replied "Before I comment, Can you tell me what do you have to comment about yesterday's incident?" he asked back as the girl was once again taken aback "Mr. Dev it's media's job to ask questions" she shot back as Dev replied "That's right you guys need to ask questions not pass judgements and declare someone a culprit" he replied as the girl was left tongue-tied.

Turning towards the Commissioner he said "Sir, if you could please tell them what exactly had happened yesterday. You see if I tell them they will not believe me as they already have declared me a culprit" he said, he was mocking them by the minute and they were just keeping quiet, the presence of the Commissioner of police was doing the trick. The Commissioner informed everyone of the happenings of the last night including the fact that the culprits had been arrested before as well a few months back for indecent behaviour, as the media persons heard the actual incident they were left shocked, they had jumped the gin based on a video and were facing an embarrassing situation now.

"So, any questions?" asked Dev seeing the embarrassed faces of the journalists, he looked at one of them. He was a man in his mid-40s as Dev asked him "Sir, you had asked who the girls were right?" he said as the man nodded his slowly in agreement "Why are you so interested in knowing who they were?" he asked the man had no answer while Dev continued "Sir, do you have a daughter?" he asked as the man shot his head up and once again slowly nodded his head in agreement "Sir, god forbid but if tomorrow if your daughter is in a similar situation and I ask you the same question. How would you feel?" he asked as the man hung his head in shame.

"All of you here, just for a few newsbytes and TRPs are peeking into the personal lives of someone without knowing the authenticity of the news. Do you guys even have an idea how it affects the person in question. How it affects their families? Without knowing the whole truth based on half-knowledge you guys are passing judgements about them? Do you have an idea of what they go through?" he asked, his tone higher than normal as everyone hung their head down in shame as everyone including the airport staff and the police officials looked at them.

"Somebody was asking whether an MD of a company behaves like that? But you guys tell me do journalists from reputed media houses behave the way you guys are behaving? You guys tell me if any human being does not react to stop something wrong happening before his/her eyes is that right?" he asked as once again there was no answer to his question. All this while Sonakshi and others were watching the whole scenario unfold on the television where it was being telecasted live, even they were caught by surprise seeing this avatar of Dev.

"And moreover, are there no better news for you guys to be broadcasting? I mean there is so much happening around the country these days, yet you guys are interested in talking about someone's personal life and whom they have hit or whom they are dating. Don't you think its an insult to this great institute of journalism? Don't you guys think you have the responsibility towards the younger generation who follow you and your news ? What kind of a message are you giving to them?" he asked as the journalists looked at them with sorry eyes while he continued "I am sorry to use the harsh words, but unfortunately the level of journalism today has come down so much that I had to speak it out lest you guys go and destroy someone else's reputation" he said as there was a stunned silence.

"Mr. Dixit, I think we should leave" said the Commissioner as Dev agreed to him and turned to leave but just before he left he turned back as he spoke "A similar incident had happened a few months before with our Airlines a few months back and even at that time we had requested the media to respect the privacy of people but unfortunately the incident today re-iterates that It probably had no affect on anyone, So I have decided something, something which I guess should have been done the last time itself" he said as everyone looked at him with bated breathe wondering what he was talking about.

"Be ready with your answers guys for MYSTIQUE AIRLINES is going to SUE every media with a case of defamation" he said and stormed off as it left everyone speechless, they had never expected the things to go so awry. The crowd slowly dispersed still stunned at the happenings as Dev went back to his friends who themselves were unsure about how to talk to him. He thanked the Commissioner for his help as after an hour they left for Delhi.

Back in Delhi Dev had calmed down after returning home as he apologized to everyone for his sudden outburst at the media, but his family supported him more so the Bose family who were being hounded by their relatives and in fact were proud for the stand he had taken for them. The next day the media houses which ran the news rendered an Unconditional Apology to the MYSTIQUE AIRLINES and to Dev and his friends as on Rajeev's insistence Dev decided not to sue them anymore. The incident was forgotten within one week as everyone from Bose and Dixit family awaited for the big day, the day when Dev and Sonakshi along with Jatin and Avni would get Engaged.

*****-------*****

Ten days later it was the day of the engagement. Since it was a cross cultural wedding it was decided that the wedding rituals would be a mix of North Indian brahmin and Bengali traditions. While the wedding was to be conducted according to Bengali tradition the engagement along with Sangeet was to be held according to the traditions of the Dixit family, an Aashirwadi ceremony blessing the couples according to Bengali tradition was held on the morning of the day of engagement at the Bose house, generally this ritual was conducted 2-3 days before the wedding but since Dev and Sonakshi's wedding was just 10 days after the engagement the Aashirwadi ceremony for them was conducted on the day of engagement itself while for Jatin and Avni it was decided that the ceremony would be conducted when they decide to get married. Dev and Sonakshi were teased incessantly by their cousins through out the ceremony which finally concluded with the blessings of the elders of both the families. The engagement was to be small family affair with only the Bose and Dixit families along with a few friends before the grand wedding and it was decided that it would be conducted at the Dixit house. The Bose family had arrived a couple of hours before the time for the engagement as Sonakshi was whisked away along with Avni by their sisters for getting them ready for the evening.

A couple of hours later, Dev and Jatin were standing restlessly waiting for their partners looking continually at the stairs. The Dixit house was decorated with the favourite flowers of the girls for the big occasion. While Dev was dressed in a Lavender coloured Jodhpuri suit coupled with a black pant, Jatin was dressed in an off-white silk sherwani coupled with a magenta coloured bottom, both looking handsome as ever in their attire.

"Patience my boys, patience" said Rajeev observing the restlessness of both the boys as the rest of the guys chuckled while Dev and Jatin ducked their heads and ruffled their hair in embarrassment just as suddenly everyone turned quiet, Dev and Jatin looked up and their they were. The love of their life looking as beautiful as ever. Avni was dressed in a magenta coloured lehenga while Sonakshi had donned a peach coloured one. They had put on minimal make-up because they knew their better half liked it that way, the boys believed and loved the natural beauty of their love.

The boys could not their eyes off from their respective partners just as the girls looked up to take a glimpse of their partners. And the moment they did that they regretted it for their breathe hitched looking at them, their legs had become jelly and if not for the support of their sisters both the girls were sure to have embarrassed themselves.

"Sona...Stop ogling at Jeeju" said Elena as Sonakshi's eyes widened, she ducked her head to hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks, the same mirrored on Avni's face as well when she was teased by the Dixit sisters, slowly descending the steps they first went towards the elders to seek their blessings.

"You both are looking beautiful" said Dadi as she blessed them, she put a black teeka (nazar teeka) behind their necks to protect them from evil eyes, the girls then took the blessing of everyone after which they stood beside their respective partner.

"You are looking absolutely stunning jaan" whispered Dev into Sonakshi's ear as she blushed hearing him, he caught her hand and brining it near his lips he kissed it as Sonakshi looked at him with all the love, but their moment was broken by his devil sisters "Bhaiya, control for some time. We know Bhabhi is looking beautiful but first let the engagement get over" they said and before Dev could respond they pulled Sonakshi away from him and went with her towards the elder ladies of the family as Dev pouted sadly while Sonakshi looked at him helplessly, suddenly she did something which even shocked her. She blew a kiss to Dev who for a moment was taken aback wondering if it was really the shy Sonakshi who did that as a bright smile formed on his face, he could not wait to get engaged to the love of his life.

The priest informed that the auspicious time for the engagement had arrived. Jatin and Avni were first called upon the small stage that was built for them as they exchanged the rings as everyone broke into a huge applause. Seeing everyone's happy faces Avni's eyes were filled with tears of joy which Jatin did not miss, he wiped her tears and pulled her into a hug as everyone's eyes filled with tears of joy as well more so Rajeev and Ishwari, they considered Avni as their daughter and seeing her getting the happiness in her life made them happy as well. The couple posed for photographs with everyone after which they descended the stage as Dev and Sonakshi were called upon for exchanging the rings.

Just as Dev was about to put the ring on Sonakshi's finger Riya stopped them "Just a minute...just a minute" she said as she went up the stage along with Nikki as everyone looked at them surprised. "Riya...Nikki...What's this? Why are you interrupting the engagement?" asked Ishwari in a high tone as Riya replied "Maa...Just a minute before Bhaiya and Bhabhi exchange rings we want to do something" she said as Dadi reassured Ishwari, she knew what the girls were up to.

Nikki came down the stage and switched on the projector that was setup as after a few moments the photo of a young 8-yr old boy showed up on the screen as Riya said "Bhabhi, can you guess who is this?" she said as Sonakshi looked closely at the photo as she realised who It was, she slowly whispered "That's Dev" she said as everyone hooted "Not bad Bhabhi, not bad at all" screamed Nikki as Sonakshi hid her face trying to hide her blush while Dev who was holding her palm in his gave it a gentle squeeze.

Nikki then changed the picture as noa a 6-yr old girl's photo was on the screen as Riya asked "Bhaiya, can you tell us who is this? Dev did not need a second to realise who it was for he had already seen the picture when he was doing the arrangements for his proposal "That's Sonakshi" he said instantly as once again everyone hooted in appreciation "Hmm...Very good Bhaiya" said Nikki as she changed the picture and asked "And can you both tell us who are these kids?"

But the moment both Dev and Sonakshi saw the photo they were left stunned. It was a collage of two pictures, on the left-hand side were a girl and boy posing for the camera while on the right-hand side the same duo could be seen dancing at a wedding.

But what had shocked them into silence was that the girl and boy in the photo were none other than a 6-Yr Old SONAKSHI and an 8-Yr Old DEV respectively.

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Done, the longest part till date.

How was it? To be honest I don't know how it has come out but this was something I wanted to write from a long time, how level of journalism today has gone down and how much the media houses are interested in the personal lives of not only celebrities but common people as well forgetting that they are human and have feelings as well. My sincere apologies if anyone is offended.

Also as everyone know that KERALA is going through one of the worst floods of all time. So my humble request to all my readers, please help them in any way possible. You can look up on the web on the ways to support them. As a start if you wish you can contribute to the CM's relief fund, the details are given below:-

Name of the donee: Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund
Account Number: 67319948232
Bank: State Bank of India
Branch: City Branch, Thiruvananthapuram
IFSC: SBIN0070028
PAN: AAAGD0584M
Account type: Savings
SWIFT Code: SBININBBT08

Let's show this Independence day that we truly are ONE INDIA and we follow and believe in our age old teaching of VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM (The world is one family).

I want to confess another thing today, I know many of you might think that majority of my stories tend to have a lot of preachy stuff regarding life, relationships, society etc. And to be honest even I want my stories to be that way because as a story teller I feel that along with entertaining the readers I have a responsibility towards them as well and I do not want to show ideas or things which I myself do not believe in or if they are not with respect to the principles on which I live my life. At the end of the day even if one reader thinks about this and maybe takes the right message from it I will feel that I have been successful in writing that story.
But if anyone feels that I tend to overdo it please let me know I will surely try to reduce it.

Please ignore the grammatical mistakes and see you in the next update 🙂🙂.

PRECAP - 😮 💍💃🕺🎺💑