"Yes Mishra.. Just make sure you call and update me once it is done..Yes, thanks.. No no.. that can wait.. Alright. Call me back in sometime and let me know the status. Yes okay" Shivaay was busy on call with Mishra as he walked inside the main hall that he didn't notice he was going to trip and fall.

"Careful Shivaay.." said Tej and Shakti in unison which got him shook as he saw the front hall and widened his eyes in shock with the sight in front of him.

"Dad what's all this??" He was horrified.

"You should be asking this to the other people" Tej retorted.

"Exactly.. we are already frustrated with all this.." Shakti took his brother's side.

Shivaay just smiled seeing the sudden irritated faces of his dad and bade papa.. But, he was all the more surprised to see the luggages already piled up in the front hall. What was his family upto now?

"But, where are they all?" He asked.

"They are bringing the remaining baggages" Tej frowned.

"Remaining? Are we shifting or what?" He widened his eyes again.

"Ask them.. haa your daadi is coming" Tej said pointing towards Daadi.

"Billu.. you came? I tried calling you,but your number was busy" she exclaimed.

"Woh daadi, I was in a meeting. By the way, what is all this Daadi?" He asked her pointing at the decked up luggage.

"We are planning to start today itself" Pinky smiled as she walked towards them.

"What?Why suddenly?" He was amused seeing his over-excited family.

"This is exactly what we both have been asking since we came. But, they are too excited, running here and there and don't have a moment to spare for us" Shakti shrugged.

"And, we came back for lunch rescheduling the meeting to evening" Tej added.

"You guys can think nothing beyond office and business" Jhanvi facepalmed.

"Guys..ok relax.. but why this sudden change in plan? You haven't told me yet" he intervened.

"Woh Billu... all packing done.. Pinky and Jhanvi were excited. So, we decided to prepone. We are anyway travelling by ourselves. So, thought why not today" Daadi said thoughtfully.

"Even we are excited, not just them" Priyanka came pouting.

Shivaay just smiled at their antics. Of course, they had their own ways to melt him.

"Prinku... waise I know why you are so excited" he winked.

"But, have you informed them you are starting today?!" he asked.

"I tried calling them Bhaiyaa.. But, their numbers were not reachable.. So, I decided to inform them later" she stated casually.

"Not reachable? But, how come" He was kind of worried now.. "let me try"

In spite of trying multiple times, his call still did not get through. His panic was evident now.

"Shivaay.. now relax please. We can try calling later. And it's okay.. They are also going there soon. It is ok if we are not able to connect" Om came up with his ever convincing tone.

Shivaay was a little relieved with Om's words.. Although, was not completely convinced. He decided to shrug it off for now and went ahead to concentrate on getting ready for the trip.

Alright, they are travelling!

****************************************

" I am sure I will win this game too ;)" Rohit smirked raising his collars.

"Aah. let us see. I am used to winning over my hostel mates" Annika equally smirked.

"Annika.. Come here, take some of these snacks and go back" Her mom called her from somewhere inside.

By the time she went inside and came back,

"Here you go.. CHECKMATE" he tried to control his mirth.

"What the hell? I am sure you cheated this time also. Did you do something when I went inside?" She arched her brows.

" Hey no.. trust me" he pouted.

"Don't you dare Rohit.. Argghhh.. It is not possible, you cheat.. You will never change" she went along trying to smack him hard on his shoulder when he caught hold of her hand.

"I promise I did not Annika. Gosh! You haven't yet gotten rid of this hitting habit" he complained.

"Some things never change" she gave him back his own dialogue.

"Alright..forget it! I have something for you" he smiled as he walked into his room. "wait, I will get it"

He came out with a gift box and gave it to her.

"Here... this one is for you" he extended it towards her.

"Arre.. what is this?" She asked curiously.

"Open it and you will know" he shrugged.

It was a relatively big box. She carefully opened the wrapper.

There were two more boxes inside. She looked at him. He was just smiling. Was he upto some prank now? Possible. He was used to playing such pranks on her since childhood.

As though he had read her mind already, he said

"Hey not what you are thinking. There is surely a gift inside"

She opened one box finally and found a box of chocolates.

"Wow, thank you" she jumped in excitement.

"I got this from Singapore last week. Right, open the next one and tell me if you like it" he suggested.

"It seems heavy " she almost screamed as she opened the next box. " What was the need for this now?" she widened her eyes.

It was a very beautiful, hand-embroidered lehenga, a heavy one too.

"We chose it for you Annika. Use it for probably hmmm..one of the upcoming functions" he winked.

"Waise.. You like it?" He asked.

"It is just awesome, you chose it?" She interrogated.

"Actually, we chose it :)" he smiled with a pride.

Her aunt definitely had a great choice of colors. She decided she would wear this, probably for the engagement function.

"Thank you so much. It means a lot :)" she said with excitement.

"Glad you liked it.. And haan, Anything for you, Annika :)" he smiled yet again.

"And stop this thank you huh..we are not some strangers for god's sake." He warned her.

"Hey, that just slipped out of my mouth.. Not intentional" she pouted.

"Yeah whatever, just telling you.. Just because we are meeting after so long doesn't mean, we become way too formal, okay" he stressed.

"Ok ok.. Relax... Huh.. you talk a lot these days Rohit" she sighed.

"Whatever" he said as he walked towards his room.

Of course, nothing had changed between the two :)

'But, what is this sudden cheesy behaviour of him?' she wondered.

'Okay.. let me not overthink.. Probably because he is meeting me after so long, all this.. Waise, it is aunty's gift :)' She decided, trying to control her overthinking brain.

****************************************

It was almost evening. Raj and all others were seated in the hall after a short nap. It was time to discuss things.

"Ok.. so we have something important to talk" Raj began with a curt smile.

"Dad, may I?" Before Rohit could complete,

"Huh.. one minute" Vanitha interrupted.

"Rohit, you said you had to make some call this evening?" She asked him.

"Oh yeah.. Good you reminded me, Mom. Will be back in a while" he said quickly and excused himself.

"Go to the terrace, ...terrace Rohit.. I mean signals would be better" his mom suggested

"Right.. Will meet you in a while guys.. You keep talking" he smiled and left :)

****************************************

"These things need to be discussed by us. He is still a kid" Vanitha sheepishly smiled.

Annika felt it kind of strange but she just shrugged it off.

"Hmmm.. let me come to the point directly. It is about the marriage" Raj started again.

"Yeah Bhaiyaa..we know that.. We have already started making various arrangements. But, we were wondering why the sudden and urgent planning. Yeah, I know there must be some reason.. But..." Meera went on and on. She was too excited to stop.

"Meera.. Relax.. They are here to talk about that only" Harsh cut her off.

"Thanks Harsh.. But, please listen to me carefully. Just give me five minutes. I will keep it as brief and accurate as possible" Raj requested.

Harsh and the others realised that there was much more to what they were actually thinking. Harsh just signalled him to go ahead.

"This might come as a surprise for you, rather a shock. But, I have no option. I definitely need to tell you. Yes, it is about Rohit's marriage." He spoke carefully.

Rohit's marriage? Why were they so specific?

"Huh.. ok... Rohit is actually... Rohit is in love with his collegemate, from Australia. He said he wants to get married to her. And, he seems pretty serious about it. This came to our notice only about three months back. Initially, I thought it was one of his pranks. But, when I enquired further, I came to know, he was indeed quite sincere about it. We were very skeptical in the beginning. In fact, Vanitha was completely against it. Huh, yeah.. she was still very particular about Annika. Yeah, I know we had discussed something of that sort when the kids were young. But, they have grown up now, well..grown up to an extent that they take their own decisions. So, After giving it a lot of thought, we gave him a green signal. It took me almost two months to convince Vanitha. We did not want to tell all this to you over the phone. So, we came over. We were very particular about the wedding happening here. They eventually accepted. I decided it happens sooner, before my son changes his mind. That was the reason, I kept emphasizing that it happens in a month. I know you both would have still had thoughts that we were coming here for Annika. I feel bad too. But, this was the first thing he asked me in these many years. I could not really deny. I am sure my daughter has something better coming her way. And, I am also sure, you guys will be our support system and help us through this" He said it all finally. His voice almost cracked as he said the last few lines.

Vanitha was seated with her head mostly bent down throughout.

The whole world came crashing in front of Annika and her parents. Harsh and Meera were good at controlling their emotions. Yet, did not know how and what to react.

Annika, who was a combination of their genes, was one step ahead.

Yes, she was broken, in fact very much. She felt why she had to be here at this moment to listen to all of this directly. It would have been better hearing it from her parents. But, truth was always rude and bitter. She still decided to take a step forward.

"His happiness is our happiness too, maamu.. It is our responsibilty to ensure that everything happens smoothly. Don't worry" she tightly held back her tears and held on to the chair for support.

Harsh was proud to see his daughter speak up, in spite of the emotional turmoil she must be going through. But, they were mature enough. And, after seeing his daughter herself speak, he gained a little more confidence and finally opened up.

"All ok but I am a bit upset with Rohit" his words came as a shocker for the others. Annika was trying to calm down the situation, but what was her dad up to now. Yet, he continued.

"Then what.. This boy is closer to me than you guys and he never confessed this to me. Yet, he has told you. Let him come. I am going to pull his ears and confront him" Harsh smiled with great difficulty, and the rest joined in too.

Nobody was wrong here. But still, a few moments of silence followed.

They then spoke about the marriage, rituals and other details, regarding the bride and their family too. They were really surprised that for the first time, a wedding in their family was taking place in the groom's side. When all of them were almost composed, Annika said -

"She must be really lucky, for Rohit is becoming a part of her life"

"No, actually I am lucky that she is being a part of my life" Rohit answered as he came down the stairs.

"Waise, you never told me.. Too rude huh" She smiled and stared at him.

"Woh.. haa.. I never had a means of contacting you, hai na?" He reasoned.

She raised her brows at his comment and came to pull his ears!!!

"Accha thik hai thik hai.. My fault.." he surrendered.

"I am waiting to meet her" Annika said sternly.

They both smiled. He was happy, her uncle and aunty were happy. And, that is all she wanted.

"I was thinking if we can go to the Shiv temple and come. It has been so many, so many years" Rohit asked the others.

"Woh.. you guys carry on.. I had some work actually.." She did not want to go now. She wanted some alone time. She wanted to sit in her room, cry her heart out.

Meera also gave an excuse of making dinner for the family to stay back.

Her aunt, as though understanding their woes, said they would go by themselves and come.

A little while later, they left, and Annika immediately rushed into her room.

Her tears were never stopping. What went wrong? Why was she feeling so bad? A little moment back she was happy for Rohit. But now? Why did such a thing have to happen with her, with her family?Was this a normal thing? Or, were they cheated and betrayed. No, her maama and maami could never do that. Then why?

She had so many questions, but no answers.

Harsh and Meera entered the dim room, where their daughter was crying continuously, and switched on the lights. As they walked towards her, she went and tightly hugged her dad.

"Papa...."

****************************************

The entire family was completely excited to begin their journey towards their hometown.

As their luggages were loaded and everyone was going to step out, Tej got a phone call.

"Hello? What? What is this? I had asked you to reschedule all the meetings to next week. I told you I will come for a day or two to attend them.. But.? This is too bad.. Ok.. I will call you in a while and let you know" Tej spoke angrily into his phone.

"Kyaa hua Tej?" Jhanvi asked looking at a fierceful Tej.

"This meeting.. These delegates were supposed to come two days back. But, they had got another meeting and so I had postponed it to next week. Remember, we told you that Shakti and I will be coming here once or twice in between to check on stuff here.. Those guys are coming tomorrow due to some other reason. Mishra has tried convincing them, but in vain.." Tej seemed furious.

"Huh.. Bade papa.. Don't worry.. I will stay back" Shivaay immediately volunteered.

"Shivaay Bhaiyaa.. Aapke bina kaise.." Priyanka was upset.

"Haa Shivaay.. You are her Bhaiyaa.. You are supposed to.."

"Mom.. mom relax pleaseee.. I am just coming a day later, not a week later" he shrugged.

"But Shivaay.."

"Bade papa.. I will say something? As elders, you people have to be there. That is more important.. Me coming a day or two later does not matter. Waise bhi, this deal is important, Bade papa..And, I believe you trust me in taking this up and handling the meeting" he tried to confirm.

"Shivaay.. There is no question of trust here.. In fact, I was going to hand over this one to you once we were back.. But, then.." Tej replied.

"Then what.. You guys are worried about leaving me back and going? Don't worry about that. And, yeah, I promise you guys, as soon as the meeting is over, I will take my chopper and come there" He smiled reassuringly.

"Daadi.. Explain them na.. You are the only one who can convince them.. I will come tomorrow itself Daadi.. I promise" he whined.

Daadi thought for a while and then sighed.

"Acchaa.. Thik hai Billu.. As you say.. But, remember that.." she paused.

"Haan.. haan I remember, I have promised and I will keep up the promise" He smiled again.

The others gave a faint smile in return.

"Now, come on guys.. You are all going for a trip.. Go cheerfully" he tried convincing them again.

He looked at Om and said - " Look Om,, it is your responsibility.. Make sure you guys reach safely and then call me.. I will also keep you posted.. And yeah, one more thing.. Since you guys are soo not believing me" he smiled " do one thing.. Take my bags along..I will anyway have to come then. Coz, mom has packed almost all my clothes in it"

While his mom and Om stared at him,

"As though you can't, rather won't afford to buy new clothes" Pinky commented.

"Hmm.. I know.. That is there.. But, don't worry guys, I am not doing any such thing..I will be there tomorrow, I promise" he assured.

Finally, all of them had no option, but to leave him behind and depart.

"God.. Family.. I can't live with them, oh wait.. I can't live without them either.. Hmmm.. hope the meeting goes well tomorrow and I reach there as early as possible.. Or else, I am done with!!" He thought to himself.

His thoughts then travelled to the place he was going to..And, got reminded of the incident that happened the other day..

"Oh sigh.. No.. Let me go do some other work" He murmured to himself, but with a smile that never left his face.

*****************************************

Phew.. that was a late update owing to work schedules 🤧 A little longer than expected!! Not edited though😕

Dedicated to arshi-suchi for keeping me hooked to this place 🙃

Ok... So, you think Rohit and his parents are serious or playing some kind of prank??!

Poor Shivaay is left behind. Do you think he will be able to reach the place tomorrow safely? Or is some other obstacle awaiting him?

Can you guys please comment and make it interactive?😞😞😞