"Deepika akka. Why are you supporting Vennu akka?" Shruthi opened the door to see Vennela standing with the support of Deepika.

"Long story. Take her inside." Deepika brought Vennela inside and made her drink juice.

"Now tell me. What happened?" Shruthi asked Deepika.

Deepika started explaining. "She donated blood to a boy. Actually, when we went to the park for morning walk, I felt thirsty. So I went to buy a water bottle. When I returned, I couldn't find Vennela. I asked a woman. She told me Vennela took an injured boy to the hospital."

"I wasn't me. It was a man." Vennela interrupted. "He carried the boy on his shoulders and refused to stop until we reached the hospital. The boy is alive because of that man. Good man."

"Does this good man have a name?" Deepika asked her.

"Don't know. I don't even remember his face. I wish I could meet him again. I want to tell him that people like him are the reason the world is still a good place to live in." Vennela smiled. "If only I could meet him again."

---***---

Vennela was unable to decipher the meaning of Amar's silence. 'What is wrong with Amar? Why is he avoiding me? Is this kind of behavior common among men? Or did he dislike the way it happened? I need to find out.' She decided.

She texted Lasya and Ragini. She avoided telling Shruthi. "Men are like that. It must have been overwhelming for him. Just wait for a while. Everything will be fine." Lasya replied.

Vennela was satisfied by the answer. She was about to quit worrying when Ragini replied. "He isn't talking. That doesn't mean that you should stay silent. How will you know what the problem is unless you talk? I was right. You are the laziest girl..."

Vennela was alarmed again. She followed Ragini's advice and searched for Amar. He was packing. She offered help. But he refused. He pretended to be busy and gave replies in single syllables. When she tried to talk about what happened the previous night, he changed the topic. "I can't find another set of keys." He left searching for them.

Vennela didn't know whom to approach with her problem. That is when she got the idea. She opened her account in a certain knowledge sharing website. She generally used it to ask or answer academic queries.

She decided to check already existing questions instead of asking the question herself. She felt weird typing the search phrase 'first kiss'. There were thousands of questions for that phrase. She opened the recent one which was on the top. The question read 'I kissed my girlfriend after several months of getting into relationship. Now it is awkward for both of us. What should I do?'

There were few answers which read, 'You should have gone a bit slower', 'She must be feeling embarrassed', 'Avoid that topic for some time', etc.,

Vennela read the answers. She was annoyed. She felt that the answers were completely wrong. She wrote an answer anonymously. 'All answers are misleading. You should talk to your girlfriend. She might have liked it. Not talking to her will make her feel restless.' She clicked the post button when the Wi-fi connection was lost.

She locked her phone and put it aside. 'Maybe I shouldn't comment on such things.' She thought. Just then, Amar entered the room. "What happened to internet?"

"I don't know" Vennela answered. She observed he has typed something in his phone. He locked the phone and put it aside. He left to check the internet connection.

Vennela was feeling bored. She unlocked Amar's phone to watch the video of their play. As soon as she unlocked it, she found the same knowledge sharing website opened on his phone too. It was a coincidence that he typed an answer to the same question. 'I am not an expert but I think girls tend to get emotional after first kiss. Few of them will have tears in their eyes. I know it is a bit scary. She might have disliked it.'

After reading his answer, she understood what he must have felt. She clearly remembered shedding tears. 'But those were tears of happiness. He mistook them for tears of sorrow. It must have scared him.'

She felt bad for Amar. She knew it reminded him of their wedding night when she cried for half an hour. She decided to set things right. She decided to tell him how she felt about him to avoid such confusions in future.

---***---

They reached Hyderabad. Amar was tired. He slept the entire afternoon. Vennela cooked dinner a bit early.

Anirudh was talking non-stop while having dinner. Amar and Vennela were silent. Amar finished eating very quickly and left. Vennela followed him.

"Amar, are you going to tell me how long you are planning to avoid me?" She asked him.

"Avoid you? Well, um, I was just--"

"Feeling embarrassed? Was it awkward? Is that why you left me standing there when I was expecting you to repeat?"

"I was--WHAT! REPEAT?" He couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes. I was so happy that I wept tears of happiness. But you being you, thought I was crying." Vennela explained.

"Vennela I-I am sorry." Amar apologized.

"No. You don't have to apologize. It's my fault too. I friendzoned you. How can I expect you to behave normally after that?" Vennela looked into his eyes.

"I was nervous Vennela. I wasn't ready to get my heart broken again. That is why I avoided you." Amar smiled sadly.

"If I broke your heart, I should be the one to heal it. I can't undo what I did six months ago, but I can give you a moment of happiness." She gave him the painting she made three months ago. The one with a man giving lotus flowers to a woman.

"Is this...us?" Amar stared at the painting in disbelief. "Vennela, this is, I am, it's..."

"You don't have to say anything." Vennela gently rubbed his hand. "I understand."

"Thank you Vennela." Amar smiled.

"There's one more thing I wish to tell you." Vennela smiled at him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Nothing much...I Love You" said Vennela.

Amar gasped. "What did you just say?" He whispered.

"I said I love you" Vennela's smile widened.

Amar's heart started beating wildly. Words failed him. He never thought he would be fortunate enough to hear it. He knew she loved him. But when she uttered the three magical words, he felt like the king of the world. He wished to freeze the moment forever.

"Vennela, please say it one more time. Just once."

"I can say this a million times. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you Amar." She hugged him. He hugged her back.

She broke the hug after a while. "I never knew life could be so beautiful until I met you. I never knew dreams do come true until I met you. I never knew I am destined to fall in love with someone until I met you. I never knew it is possible to love a person more with every passing second, until I met you. How could I be so lucky, Amar? How could I be so lucky?"

She entwined her fingers with his and continued. "I wish I could go back to the day we got married only to tell my past self 'Stop crying idiot. You are going to marry a man who is an absolute gem. Love him, respect him, adore him, cherish him and worship him.' I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from calling you just a friend. I am sorry. I am so sorry. I was so scared that I couldn't see how good my life was turning out to be. If I did anything good in my life, it was when I gave my heart to you. It is amazing how I have unknowingly filled my days with your smiles and my nights with your dreams. "

She paused to control her emotions. She drew in a deep breath. "I agree I was forced to marry you. That day, I envied the girls who got married to men of their dreams. But today, when I stand here, holding your hand, I wouldn't be anyone else for all the world. I want you. Only you. And everything that makes you the person you are. Meeting you was the best thing that could have happened to me. And I wish to thank everyone who made this happen. The boy from the park for making you notice me, the nurse from the hospital for making you know my name, Lasya akka and Surya bava for running away, Ragini for helping them, Shambhavi aunty for threatening my family, Prakash uncle and Nanditha aunty for forcing me and all other family members for not opposing their decision, Grandma Janaki for supporting us, Anirudh, Shruthi, Rishi and Raj for bringing us closer and the list goes on. I want to thank every single person and thing that contributed beautifully to our love story. Our story is so perfect for me that I don't want it to change a bit. I love you Amar. I love you." Vennela kissed his forehead and held him in a tight embrace for a long time.

She looked into his eyes after releasing him. "Amar, thank you for giving me an opportunity to express my feelings. It really feels good. I know I shouldn't force you, but I am greedy. I want to hear it from you."

"Hear what?" Amar frowned.

"The three magical words" said Vennela.

"What magical words?" Amar asked her.

"Stop joking. Come on. Say it. Say that you love me." Vennela cupped his face.

Amar stared at her without blinking. He removed her hands and burst into laughter.

"Amar?" Vennela was puzzled.

"What?"

"Why are you laughing?" asked Vennela.

"How can you be so foolish Vennela? How did you believe that I, Amar Pratap, will waste my time loving you?" Amar stopped laughing.

"What are you saying?" Vennela was shocked.

"You know why I agreed to let you stay with me despite knowing that you don't like me? Not because you are strikingly beautiful or something like that. It's because of your grandfather's wealth. Getting associated with his company was very very advantageous to my company. I am just a new comer. I needed support from an established businessperson like him. That, my darling wife, is why I didn't break our marriage." Amar smirked.

"How could you..." Vennela's throat was dry. She wanted this to be a bad dream. Her husband, her Amar, was saying something she could never have imagined him to say.

"I was dreaming of a blissful married life with you. You broke my heart mercilessly. So, it is only fair that you suffer heartbreak because of me" said Amar, refusing to look at her.

"Amar, why?" Vennela asked in a distraught voice.

Amar turned around to yell 'December Fool' only to see Vennela collapse to the floor unconscious.