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"Actually Abhi, first promise me you wouldn't say this to Ekantha",she said, making Abhi confused.

"I promise, what's the matter by the way?",he asked.

"I don't know how to start, but I hope you don't leak the surprise to Ekantha!",Vennela said.

"If I die of suspense, then you will be responsible, Vennela. Just tell it already", he said.

"Aunty, I mean Ekantha's mother and your mother met this morning and since you both said yes to each other already. They are planning to conduct an engagement this weekend",Vennela burst the news.

"Are you serious, Vennela?"Abhimanyu asked her, being completely shocked by the sudden revelation.

He was not expecting this, at least not this soon. He thought both the families would sit together and talk about it in their presence. Hearing it from, Vennela indeed shook him. Numerous questions were in his mind, would she be able to take such news? Will he be able to be there for her like he is now to eliminate her insecurities from her life?

"How did you know about this and not me?",he asked, puzzled.

"Aunty is waiting for you at your home and I'll pick Ekantha from her duty and reach there too",Vennela said.

"But, I have a birthday event tonight and we are in the location right now. I won't be able to make it early", Abhimanyu said.

"Is it? Okay, I'll ask aunty to stay back in my home today. Tomorrow you guys can meet over and talk about it",Vennela said.

"Sure! I'll talk with amma regarding it and thanks a bunch for the news! It really did make my day, just not sure if Ekantha would be able to do it the same way as I did. Can I talk to her regarding it? I don't want to hurt you by breaking the promise but the decision is something that she also has a say in",Abhimanyu said.

"Such a gentleman! Go on, I won't stop you! I was just kidding about that!",Vennela said and after having a little more conversation he ended the call.

He didn't have time to call Ekantha and tell her about this. He plugged in his blue tooth and glanced at his watch seeing if it was lunch time or he was late in calling her up.

It was around 2pm, which meant her lunch time would be over. Sighing, he dropped the idea of calling her.

"Abhi, this person is saying something about the decor. Come here once,please",Poorna called him and he went there to check on things.

Roaming here and there and checking on things. Pre-planning entry shots, cake cutting shots and a few candids or photo shoots for the baby, he was planning all this with Kinnera. This would be her last event that she would be attending with Abhimanyu.

It was a busy day for him, though he still wanted to talk to her regarding things. He couldn't make much time. On the other hand, Ekantha was unknown to the news.

As usual she completed her duty in the shop. She was learning new ways and trying to experiment new things in that field. Emma even asked her to display them in the entrance.

Still some kind of fear was there when she was talking to new people coming to the shop. But slowly, she was finding ways to overcome it. The feeling that she had Abhi on her back; her mother on her back, her best friends and cousins on her back was pushing her to overcome her limits.

She completed her duty and helped Emma close the shop, once done she walked to the bus stop. She felt like someone was following her but when she turned around to see if there was anyone, she couldn't find any.

Shrugging, she continued to walk towards the bus stop again. After that she didn't feel like it again. She waited in the bus stop and got into the bus after like ten minutes. The bus was crowded again, and the traffic jam was a bit too much since it was night.

Ekantha got down at the bus stop, after one and half hours. Feeling completely tired and exhausted, she walked back to the flat lazily and knocked on the door.

Kanyaka opened the door, leaving Ekantha in surprise.

"Amma, what are you doing here?",Ekantha asked.

"Not just me, your grandparents are here too. We met Abhi's parents today and we made a decision",Kanyaka said and Ekantha walked into the home with a confused expression on her face.

"Anything serious amma? You told me to come home this weekend and you were here before I came there and surprised me?",she said, settling down on the couch putting her handbag aside.

"Nothing very serious, We met Abhi's parents today and we finalized the engagement date",Kanyaka dropped the bomb.

"En..Engagement? Amma, are you serious?"Ekantha was completely taken aback by this sudden revelation. This was the last thing she was expecting to happen today. Of course, they said yes to each other but didn't see this coming.

Why so soon?

This was the question in both of their minds.

"You might be thinking that it is very soon, kanna. But we won't force you to get married till both of you are ready, but just engagement. Can we do it this weekend? I've already told them we could do it but still if you are not willing to then we will talk with Abhi's parents' ',Kanyaka said and in this meantime Kanyaka's parents and Vennela settled down in the living room.

"Ekantha, you are just getting engaged. Don't worry, if something goes wrong..we",Vennela was cut down by Ekantha before she completed her words.

"As you wish, amma",she said, storming into the washroom, closing the door and standing in front of the mirror looking at herself.

"If everything goes as we planned then, why do we call it life? I can't believe this is happening. I feel like I am going to go back to square one again, I was just coming out of it. I don't want to go back to that phase again but I can't even say no yet. It feels like the steps that I've been taking ever since the past few days are going to be pure waste now. Did Abhi want this? Of course, it's not just him but it's us. Did he know about this? Why am I the one who is always left out from the beginning till now? Why me?" ,talking to herself she broke down into tears.

"I...this is way too overwhelming. I was not ready for this, just when everything was going to go well. This had to happen? I do not have the strength to face this. And NO, it's not just about the commitment that I am signing up, but I want something for a lifetime or nothing. I don't want either of us to be hurt in the end. Should I talk to Abhi? But what if he is so excited for this? We love each other, there is no going back on this,but it's just that I need some more time before I can take this step. Why couldn't I say this infront of amma when she asked me? Or maybe I did the right thing. What would people think when they see me just roaming with some guy without getting married or engaged?", these thoughts and voices from her mind were getting too much. She pressed her hands against her ears tightly trying to stop those voices from speaking further.

She splashed cold water on her face, hoping that might help and surprisingly it did. She did it multiple times and after a while those voices seemed to lower down. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down. As soon as she came out of the washroom, she saw her grandmother and mother still waiting for her.

"Ekantha! Come and sit here, dear. We need to talk to you",it was her grandmother this time.

Ekantha quickly wiped her face and went to sit beside her grandmother. She had developed a good bond with her grandmother since her childhood, but as distance grew the bond faded with time.

"Ekantha, this is a serious matter. No matter what your mother says or what Abhimanyu says or what your in-laws say. Yours would be the final word to say. Do you want to wait for a while before getting engaged?",her grandmother asked.

"I don't know, paati [grandmother]. You..you all know what is best for me! If not now then maybe in future we will, right? So it's okay",Ekantha said, trying not to stutter anywhere.

"It's not about all of us, Ekantha! It's about you. What do you have to say?",she asked.

Ekantha fisted her hands trying to hold herself from getting another attack. She was trying to take deep breaths and looked everywhere except her grandmother.

"I..I..I will talk to Abhi also once and then tell you,paati", Ekantha said.

Her grandmother nodded and Ekantha excused herself from there. She took long strides towards her room which she shares with Vennela.

"You okay?",Vennela asked.

"Abhi already told about this, he wasn't sure if you would be able to take this news",she said, sighing.

Ekantha who settled down on the bed, snapped her head towards Vennela hearing the name of Abhi.

"He knew about this?",Ekantha asked.

"Yes, I told him this afternoon, you all were supposed to meet in his home if not for him having an event today. That's why aunty and all stayed back today so that you can meet again tomorrow to see the preparations and all",Vennela said.

Abhi knew about this? She was supposed to be the first person to know about her engagement, at this point she didn't know if she had to laugh at her fate or cry at it. Doing either of them isn't going to help, she was sure about it this time.

It took a while for her to absorb the news that she heard from Vennela. She came back to the world, hearing Vennela calling her.

"Where are you lost? Do you want to talk about anything?",Vennela asked.

"No, I'll be in the balcony. Just need to spend some time alone",she said and grabbed her phone walking towards the balcony.

"At Least freshen up, have something.."Vennela said but Ekantha was not in a position to hear about all this. She settled down on a chair in the balcony looking at the night sky which gives her utmost peace.

Thoughts disturbing her, emotions which were not under control, everything was going wrong but she felt like she had no control towards it. The wind started flowing, making her shiver, rubbing her palms. She just thought about everything that has been happening. One thing she was sure of now, she would do her best to do anything for the things that are in her control and care less about the other things.

Healing doesn't mean the damage never existed in your life, it's just that it no longer controls your life. Every one's phases in healing are different. She plugged in her earphones and started listening to her favourite songs.She didn't want to hear people advising her about life now, neither something positive that would even mess her brain more. She just wanted to get lost in the world of music for now and that's what she did.

On the other hand, Abhi was neck deep in work. Coordinating with everyone and everything that was happening was hectic but this was what he enjoyed doing. Stressful or overwhelming, at the end of the day he was doing what he loved and that mattered. Nobody's journey is a cakewalk, neither was his. But he was brave enough to take risks and if ever things go wrong he would sit and discuss with everyone being open to suggestions.

Out of all days, today was something different. He loved birthday parties especially of the kids who were turning one year old. He was happy to be part of such intimate celebration, capturing kids would be a hell tough task, but as Abhimanyu believes what is life without challanges and risks?

At around 2am in the midnight the event was wrapped up and they called it a day and Rehman dropped Abhi at his home and returned back home. Till he came home, the thought of the engagement didn't hit his brain again, he was busy in something else that had his complete attention.

He took out his phone to see if there was any call or text from Ekantha, but as always there was none. He had a lot to deal with and tomorrow might be a long day for him,he unlocked his home with spare key and entered in, he found Tara laying down on the couch along with his sister who was having books all around her.

Putting Mayuri, to sleep properly and covering her with duvet he went to his room.

Quickly after freshening up, not having any more energy he dozed off into deep sleep as soon as he hit the bed.

In middle of his sleep, he felt like someone was waking him up.

He opened one of his eyes to see who it was and...

To be continued..

Hello dear readers, yes I am very much alive guys! Sorry for being so late, no amount of excuses will make things up but yeah I'll try my best to make it up to you guys!

How are you all doing? I am doing good btw!

And before I forget, Merry Christmas guys!

You might feel Ekantha's overthinking and insecurities have gone a little over broad, but hang on that's how the character development will take place! I hope you guys understand!

And then we hit the 50th chapter, Trust me I really wanted to make it special but life does not go always as planned and this is an example for it. I hope I was able to reach your expectations 💙💫

How was the chapter? I think you might have to re read the previous chapter to understand the flow again.

I promise this time I'll be back with an update soonish soon.

Don't forget to vote and comment your views! They mean the world to me and thank you so much for sticking by my side 🫂🫂 you guys are love ❤

Thank you for reading, will see you soon!

Take care and live life to fullest

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Sakshi Devi