A tearful rashmi sobbed terribly in her room, when a passage of door opened, letting in all the screaming and shouting she was trying to escape, as her mother entered. there was an obvious disdain in her face when she glanced at rashmi, shutting the door lightly behind her, after getting inside. 

Rashmi looked down, secretly wiping her tears, her nose still runny from the crying,  her mother came and sat right next to her on the bed. 

"toh kabse chal raha hai yeh sab?" questioned her mother, as rashmi still had her head down. 

"saal ho gaya hai.." replied rashmi quietly, a whisper, as her mother already let out a huge sigh, the disappointment was loud and clear. 

"toh agar aaj tumhare bhai na pakadte tumhe chat pe uss ladke ke saath, boys hostel mein, tum humein batane hi nahi waali thi?" interrogated her mother, as rashmi looked at her feet making little circles on the floor. 

"woh, placement ke baad....apne gharwaalon ke saath...ghar aana chahta tha....shaadi ke liye...." flustered rashmi in her response, as her mother let out a scoff, making rashmi immediately look at her with astonishment. what was this response supposed to mean? 

"rashmi please don't tell me tum itni badi bewakoof ho!" exclaimed her mother, in utter mockery and disdain, as rashmi remained baffled in response. 

"tumhe kya lagta hai, meri shaadi tumhare papa se isliye hui hai kyunki hum ek dusre se pyaar karte the? rashmi, yeh joh life tum jee rahi hona, yeh pyaar mohabbat se nahi banti hai! paisa kaamane mein poshte nikal jaati hain aise! jiss ladke se tum shaadi karne ki soch rahi thi na, uske jaise batherein hai hamare kai offices mein, naukar hai woh hamare....aise ladkon se shaadi karne se parivaar mein daulat nahi aati....sacrifices karne padte hain, family ke liye...aur tum toh ho bhi ladki, aur kisliye ho tum?" reprimanded her mother, completely leaving rashmi shocked. 

"singhanias ne rishta bheja tha tumhare liye ek maheena pehle...humne bol rakha tha tum jab final exams ke baad bangalore se lautogi toh engagement ki date fix kardenge....par tumhare haal dekh kar lag raha hai behtar yahi hoga, ki hum unhe aaj hi bulale...taiyaar ho jao....ab tumhara phailaaya rayita bhi humein hi samaitna padega..." stated rashmi's mother, before she banged the door shut and left. 

                                                                     ***

dushyant was seated in the sethi living room's couch, as he fidgeted out of nervousness and looked around. rashmi's brother, seemed to have a death stare fixed on him, making it hard for him to keep his eyes at one place, when mr.sethi arrived. 

dushyant immediately stood up after seeing him, as the man sat down with a distressed face, making dushyant even more nervous, as he too sat down. 

"dushyant khanna then?" confirmed mr.sethi as dushyant nodded in agreement, faking a polite smile, only to take it back after looking at the man's glare. 

"pata kiya maine tumhare baarein mein, ache student ho tum...placement assignments mein bhi you seem to perform really well, you'll easily get a job anywhere you want...dekhne mein bhi ache ghar ke lagte ho....phir inn sab chakaron mein kyun padh rahe ho?" questioned mr sethi, as dushyant raised his brow at him, completely perplexed. 

"look, sir, main aur rashmi pyaar karte hain ek dusre se...maine usse shaadi ka waada bhi kardiya hai, we are committed. i was just waiting to get a job, taki main respectfully aakar rashmi ka haath maang saku aapse....it's just, aaj, yeh sab..." attempted dushyant to explain himself, but was stopped. 

"kitna loge?" questioned mr sethi, as dushyant looked at him in complete disbelief, slightly taken aback. 

"excuse me?" responded dushyant, as a checque was placed on the table. dushyant, looked suspiciously at the checque, which was left blank in front of the amount section.

"joh rakam chahte ho, likh do, tumhe mil jayegi. be practical here, you have a family, tumhare papa retire ho jayenge agle saal, tumhara bhai abhi apni graduation kar raha hai....this could be huge for you. we have only one condition, rashmi ko bhul jao." offered mr sethi, as dushyant scoffed in disgust, and got up, throwing the cheque. 

"dekhiye mr sethi, main bahaut respectful act kar raha hoon itni der se kyunki aap rashmi ke papa hai, iska matlab yeh nahi hai aap kuch bhi karenge! look, aapko bhale hi na pasand hoon main, but rashmi mujhse shaadi karna chahti hai, yeh baat aapko accept karni padegi! and don't you dare think you can bribe me!" exclaimed dushyant, taking a stand for himself, only for mr sethi to be completely unaffected by this. 

"main bhi isliye tumhara lihaaj kar raha hoon beta, ki rashmi tumhe pasand karti hai...uske hi kehne pe yeh checque bhi offer kar raha hoon, woh kya haina, usse akal toh aa gayi, par dil thoda phigal gaya uska tumhe dekh kar...toh isliye tumhe yeh cheque dene ko kaha....warna kabka dhakke maarke nikaal diya hota." threatened mr sethi, as dushyant was baffled. 

"nahi....rashmi aisa kabhi nahi karegi...." remained dushyant adamant. 

"dekho beta, abhi tum gusse mein ho, ghar jao, thande dimaag se socho, kal subha tak batana kya karoge....aur ek kaam karna wahan rashmi ko phone hi karlena...jab woh uthayegi nahi, tabhi tum samajh jaoge...kyunki kya haina, abhi bhi woh, apni engagement ki shopping ke liye gayi hai....aur woh tumhare saath nahi hone waali." ordered mr sethi, throwing the checque at dushyant before leaving, as dushyant was left to wonder, if it was true. 

                                                                ***

dushyant was pacing back and forth in his hostel room, as the clock had struck 9 of night, and there was still no response from rashmi, despite of the 15 missed calls his call log showed. 

he threw his phone away in anger, which ended up hitting his roomate, who was just minding his own business, quietly studying at the study table. 

"bhai thodi der baith jaa usse phone karna hoga karlegi!" he exclaimed in irritation. 

"nahi karegi...i should have known....i should have known!" exclaimed dushyant in anger, throwing off the stuff on his bed, before he sat down there, with his hands covering his forehead. 

"bhai...ho sakta hai uski bhi majboori ho..." attempted his roomate to calm dushyant down, but in vain, only receiving a glare in return. 

"ek message bhi nahi likh paayi....aisi kya majboori...main jab se aaya hoon, tabse bas usse phone mila raha hoon par nahi, koi response nahi! exactly jaisa uske baap ne bola, uski puri baat sach hi hui na phir?" questioned dushyant, as his roomate sighed in disbelief. 

"bhai, dekh...ab main kya bolo tujhe...yeh ladkiyan hoti hi aisi hai...uske parivaar ne dhoond diya hoga koi ameer ladka, maan gayi hogi usse shaadi karne ko...pyaar-vyaar kahan yaad rehta hai inhe tab!" commented his roomate, as dushyant just lied on his back on the bed. 

"dekh, abhi exams aur placement interviews se pehle break hai abhi 2-3 din mein...tu ek kaam kar, tu kal thoda jaldi ghar chala jaa...thoda dhyaan bhatkega, change of place hojayega, you'll feel better. kyunki yahan baithe-baithe tu bass faltu mein overthink karega aur phir padhai ka stress toh bilkul help nahi karega...aur phir dekhna, teri maa bhi toh keh rahi thi bade dinon se, ki teri yaad aa rahi hai...surprise kar, khush ho jayenge!" suggested his roomate, as dushyant gave his advice a thought, and he couldn't help but agree. 

                                                            ***

a few days later....

Dushyant, who had just stepped out of his cab, was about to enter the office when he was suddenly interrupted by one of his father's friends.

'arre, dushyant, tu kab aaya Bangalore se?'

'arre , ahuja uncle,bas aaj hi aaya hoon chuttiyon ke liye, par papa ko bataya nahi, socha surprise dunga!' dushyant responded excitedly.

'acha, chal phir, main bhi jaa hi raha tha uske paas, mahina ho gaya, banda gayab hi rehta hai lunch break ke dauran...' said mr ahuja as he walked to mr khanna's office, only for dushyant to open the door to a surprise for him.

His dad was hugging a woman from the back, it was not his mom, and her shy giggling, with his dad's flirtatious one, made this surprise, an unpleasant one.

'dushyant!' exclaimed his shocked dad as dushyant just walked away, disgusted by his father.

                                                                 ***