Author's note: I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter! New chapter will be up as soon as I can finish updating my other two stories.❤

~~~○●○♡○●○~~~

"Manoj!" Chandni yelled for the umpteenth time that day. She limped to the dining table with a plate of freshly fried hot gujiyas. Setting it on the table, she looked at her husband who was cleaning his hunting rifle. "Did you call Deepti and Raja to ask if they are on their way?" She demanded with her hands on her hips.

Buffing the gun one last time, he picked it up and mounted it on the wall. The gun was a token given to his father by the king of Himachal Pradesh. He always habit of polishing it for any visitor to see.

"I called them, but they didn't answer. Utterly useless. Both of them! I had warned you that this boy was going to bring bad luck to our family and see what happened. He is just waiting for me to die, so he can inherit something from me." He huffed and began cleaning the Coffee Table.

She clicked her tounge and shook her head. "Why do you have to say things like that? He is our son-in-law. What about Soumya? Did you call her?"

"She said she is on her way."

Haripraksh began grumbling and complaining as he made sure the coffee table was spik and span, so she just turned around to go find Manoj.

"Manoj!" She yelled again.

"Coming! Coming!" He yelled back and returned with a heavy box. "You managed to find it?" Gleefully clapping her hands once, and then ruffling his hair. "Leave these in the sink. I'll wash them till then you go and see where Soumya is."

"There she is!" Haripraksh exclaimed as Soumya appeared in the doorway with her helmet in one hand and her white coat draped on the other. "Sorry, Dadi. The patient line up was too long today." She said, as she hurriedly walked to go to her bedroom and get dressed, but immediately stopped when she saw the elaborate feast laid out on the dining table.

"No, gulab jamun?" Soumya asked sardonically as she took off her purse and tossed it on the chair.

"I told Maaji that we should make gulab jamuns, but she just wouldn't listen. She said that halwa would be a better dessert." Manoj sighed and shook his head in disappointment.

"You think we should make gulab jamuns?" Chandi asked with worry lines clouding her forehead. "I'll make them right away." She was already turning around to go to the kitchen when Soumya held her hand.

"What is that, Manoj?" Soumya asked, pointing to the box he was holding.

"Oh, this?" He grinned and held up the box a little higher. "The silver utensils and cutlery. We'll serve dinner to Jijaji and his family in these fine plates."

"He is not your Jijaji!" Soumya snapped. "Why are you all doing all this? You always do this! You hype your expectations and then are hurt when it doesn't work out. You spend hours and sometimes days sulking. Then to make me feel better, you'll say things like 'The boy wasn't good enough for you anyway.'"

"Soumya," Hariprakash placed a hand on his granddaughter's shoulder gently. "Beta, I know it is frustrating, but-"

"It is frustrating, Dadaji. Your blood pressure is probably high because of all the running and cleaning you are doing. Dadi is supposed to be resting to help her knee pain, but she has been standing all and cooking to lay out this feast. And Manoj, you should be helping those workers upstairs and not planning out menu items and scoutting silverware." She paused and stared at the three of them, who atleast had the decency to look ashamed. "You have sent them away haven't you? And why wouldn't you? Because you don't understand how difficult it was for me to get them back to work here after yesterday's fiasco. Do you all not want to have this renovation completed soon?" She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath when she realized how angry she sounded. "Do what you want. I am done because clearly, no matter what I say, you won't listen to me."

The trio watched Soumya stomp her way to the veranda and then to the stairs leading upstairs.

'Wear the blue salwar kameez I have laid out for you on the bed.' Soumya heard her grandmother yell out. Rolling her eyes, she continued walking to the bedroom. Why were they like this? Could they just behave like it wasn't a big deal if she didn't get married tomorrow?

"What? You also want to tell me what I should and shouldn't be doing, Sweetie?" Soumya asked as she picked up their puppy, a white-bearded collie, who had spent a week at Haripraksh's brother's house since he needed some company while the rest of his family had gone out. She had just come back home this morning and had taken the responsibility of sniffing every corner of the house to ensure nothing had changed. "Did you miss us?" She ruffled her hair, and she replied by licking Soumya's chin.

"Shoo!" Soumya pulled Sweetie away from the dresser when she came out of the bathroom after a shower and dressed in her blue kurti. "No!" She tsk' ed when the puppy continued attacking the dresser with her teeth. "I am going to go call Dhara." She stood up in warning, and the puppy immediately ran and hid behind the curtain.

Soumya smiled and shook her head. Just as finished wearing her leggings, her phone rang with Dhara's name lighting up on the screen. "Hello!"

"Are you ready? Has the guy come yet? Send me pictures! Is he cute?" She demanded in a crackled and robot voice. Clearly, she didn't have a good network.

The fact that Dhara wasn't there for moral support had Soumya really angsty, but her sister always knew when she needed her, just like she knew when Dhara needed her. "No, he hasn't come yet." She sighed and put away her hairbrush. Dadi and Dadu are going crazy with preparations. They feel like they did something wrong, which is why the suitors had rejected me."

"Di, For someone who is so positive and optimistic about everything in her life, why are you so pessimistic about this?" Dhara too sounded as dejected as her grandparents and Manoj when she snapped at them earlier.

Soumya forced a smile on her face and shook off the gloomy mood settling in. "You are right! Maybe this guy is my soulmate." She said dramatically. One thing that people never understood was how difficult it was for someone to always be a good girl. The constant psychological need to try to make everyone happy and avoid any conflicts was hard. Hiding your feelings because you think you need to protect the people around you took a mental toll on a person. Soumya too desired to yell and throw a tantrum, but the way she was wired never really let her. People always made fun of 'Good girls,' but only if they understood how exhausting it was to be good and not have the ability just to turn it off as people suggested.

"That's the spirit!" Dhara cheerily said. "How is Sweetie?"

"Good!" She held out the phone in front of her and nodded at the puppy. "Come! You want to talk to Dhara?" She asked Sweetie and then laughed when she high tailed out of the room. "She ran away. How's the camp?"

Dhara scoffed. Sweetie really likes Dhara, but only when the puppy hadn't done anything naughty, which is why she didn't want to talk to her. "The camp is so much fun, Di!" Dhara yelled. "Next time, you are coming with me. I don't care what you say."

Soumya walked over to the balcony and leaned her back against the railing. "Maybe you won't have to do a lot of convincing." She mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing! Tell more about how the first day was?"

As soon as Soumya heard the rattling of the front gate, she turned around to see the potential suitor. To her surprise, it was just him by himself. No family or anything, which was strange. She could only see the top of his head but noticed that he was really tall. At almost 6 feet and while he wasn't bulked up from going to the gym, he certainly seemed fit.

"I think he is here." She whispered to Dhara and leaned forward to catch a glimpse of him, but she still saw nothing.

"What does he look like?" Dhara demanded excitedly.

"I am not sure. I couldn't see him properly. But, Buaji is not even here. Dadaji and Dadi are going to make it so awkward." Soumya groaned. "Anyways, I am going to hang up. Bye! Have fun. Love you!" She said over Dhara's rambling and hung up before her sister began asking her more questions or offered advice.

Placing the dupatta daintily against her left shoulder, she took a deep breath and began mentally counting to 100 Mississippi, so she could downstairs before her family not only embarrassed themselves but also scarred the guy for life.

~~~○●○♡○●○~~~

"Excuse me," Rudra approached a group of ladies who were buying vegetables. "I am looking for Mr. Haripraksh Awasthy's house."

After an extended tour of Dharamshala, the Rawat family had finally managed to make it to Palampur- The Rawat's original home. Their car had broken down, and the house was located on a hilltop, so Purshottam and Tanuja couldn't hike. As per his grandfather's instructions, he was to look for a Hariprakash Awasthy- Their neighbour, so he could send someone to fix the car.

The ladies smiled at him as if they knew him, so he returned it with an awkward smile of his own. Maybe the stories about how everyone was a friend in the village were true after all. "Three blocks down from here. Swarg is their house's name. Just past the rose garden and banyan tree."

He pushed his glasses up with his finger and nodded. "Thank you!"

'Swarg' written in gold calligraphy was plastered on the front wall of the house beside the 'Beware of the dog' sign. It was a beautiful big house. The Awasthy's had bought the Rawat's property too when they were shifting base to Delhi. Hence, the house was the biggest in the area with an aesthetically pleasing front lawn and a circular driveway that had a fountain of a woman holding a pot in the middle. As he hesitantly opened the gate and entered the house, he noticed the green grass and various plants dotting the walkway. Whoever had designed the house had put a lot of effort and passion into the project.

Ringing the bell and waiting for Mr. Haripraksh Awasthy was difficult. Maybe he should have just let Akash take care of this, and he should have remained in the car. The door opened, and he was startled to see an old couple, greeting him a wide smile.

"Namaste, Mr. Haripraksh Awasthy?" He drawled awkwardly.

"Yes, you are in the right house. We were just expecting you: Namaste, beta. Come in! Come in!" The lady ushered and held his hand and practically dragged him into the house. "Have a seat, please!"

Rudra felt queasy when the couple continued to stare at him and then each other with the same wide smile as before. When did Dadu call and tell them of their arrival? It wasn't like they were going to stay. Purshottam just wanted to see his old house and village. Clearing his throat, he began, "I am actually Rudra Rawat and-"

"Rudra," the lady chirped again, and the couple exchanged another smile. "What a beautiful name. It is the name of Lord Shiva." She said and folded her hands.

"Have you come alone. Where is the rest of your family?" The older man asked as he came and sat beside him.

"Actually, my grandparents and my brother are waiting in the car. Our car broke down at the bottom of the hill." Rudra said after glancing at the 30ish-year-old man, who had the same wide smile and had placed a tray with tea and three different types of snacks on the table in front of him. What the hell was happening? Had he just walked into a horror movie set up? Was this the part where it is revealed that the real Haripraksh Awasthy and his family had died a long time ago, and this was just his ghost? Is this how Rudra Rawat was going to die?

"Areee! Manoj. Beta, Go quickly. Take our car and bring them here. Make sure they are comfortable, Okay." The man instructed, and their househelp immediately sprung into action.

"Maybe I should go too," Rudra said and began rising, but the older woman flanked him from the other side.

"It is okay, beta. Manoj will go and bring them. You sit here and talk with us." She said and held out a cup of steaming hot tea in front of him. "It is really cold outside. Have this tea. It will help. Would you like any sugar?"

Rudra now felt overwhelmed and awkward. He took the cup and shook his head in negative for the sugar.

"So, what do you do?" Haripraksh asked as Rudra pretended to drink the tea.

"Uhh... I am actually a doctor, but currently, I just manage the hospital." He said, not wanting to brag since the couple probably already knew what the Rawat family had been up to in Delhi.

The couple looked surprised at first and then smiled enigmatically.

"Just like our Soumya." She said with a smile.

"I can't believe Deepti actually found such a good boy for Soumya." He murmured, but Rudra caught some of it, and he looked at Hariprakash in confusion. "You will be a perfect match for our Soumya." This time he didn't even bother hiding what he was thinking.

His wife swatted his hand from the back and narrowed her eyes at him. "Our Soumya is a very good girl. She is intelligent, well-spoken, independent. Has good family values. She was the state topper in both 10th and 12th. Her ranking in the pre-medical examination had gotten her into the best colleges in the country, but she chose a college in Delhi. Would you like to see her certificates and accolades?" She asked with a fond and affectionate smile.

'Okay! No wonder they were giving me, a complete stranger, such a warm and intimate welcome. They think I am going to be marrying their Soumya.' He thought and placed the teacup down, not wanting to drink the tea that they had made, especially for Soumya's groom. "Sir, actually. I think there has been a miscommunication here-"

"There is Soumya!" She announced, and Rudra followed the couple's gaze and craned his neck to look at the doorway that led to an enormous indoor verandah after which was a staircase. The woman, who he now knew was Soumya, walked over to them dressed in a blue and white salwar kameez.

As soon as her eyes fell on him, she paused in her stride. He could see the expressions on her face go from confusion to somewhat of recognition before turning alarmed. "Dadi, what are you doing?" She whispered, horrified at her grandmother, who was now holding the plate of gujiyas in front of him.

"Soumya, this is Rudra." She introduced. "Rudra, beta. This is our Soumya."

Rudra managed to quickly look away when she shifted her attention from her grandmother towards him. He recognized her as the woman from the cricket match yesterday. She was wearing a different attire, but even her entire personality seemed a little different. Well, it wasn't like he knew ner or anything, so the last comment really had no validity.

"Dadi, this is not the guy." Soumya hissed when the grandmother refused to get up despite Soumya's eye pleading.

"What?" The couple said together. The grandmother pulled away the plate of gujiyas that she had been forcing him to take.

"Yeah," Rudra began and stood up to walk to the other side of the table, making him stand next to Soumya. She hurriedly took a step away from him and closer to the lone love seat beside the couch. "Like I said, there is a miscommunication. I am actually Rudra Rawat. Your neighbour Purshottam. Purshottam Rawat's grandson."

Haripraksh Awasthy slowly stood up and stared down at Rudra before pointing towards the door. "Get out." He ordered.