~5 days later~

Payal's house looked like it was straight out of an Ekta Kapoor daily soap. Garlands of marigold flowers and off-white curtains adorned the whole house. Guests crowded near the puja place, some with plates of prashads and some with their endless gossips. It almost seemed as though the whole town was there for the occasion.

As Mitali trailed behind her dadi, her eyes searched for Rishi. She had been wanting to talk to him since a while but something or the other always came up. She was planning on talking to Rishi after the ceremony, but it seemed as though he had vanished into thin air.

Soon after, the priest called everyone for the puja. Mitali went with the rest of the crowd and stood in front of the deity, still looking for a sight of Rishi. Her dadi nudged her as the priest started chanting mantras to close her eyes. Mitali followed.

Praying? That was something Mitali never did. She was a proud atheist . After the incident with her parents, she had stopped believing in the miracles of the almighty. To her, he didn't exist cause if he did, then her parents would be here instead.

She closed her eyes to obey her dadi as she didn't want to upset her.

Once the pandit was done chanting his mantras, the Mishra family came forward to do the aarti. Mrs. Mishra started singing and everyone followed. Mitali just clasped her hands together and went back to looking for Rishi.

She suddenly felt a nudge on her shoulder and turned to the right. A grinning Rishi stood beside her, with his hands clasped together. She smiled weakly and looked in front of her.

In the middle of the aarti, Mitali sensed movement beside her and looked over to see that Rishi had leaned closer to her.

Rishi: You were looking for me, weren't you?

Mitali: Yeah , I wanted to talk to you about...

Rishi: I know.

Mitali looked back at him and asked,

Mitali: You do?

Rishi just nodded looked ahead.

After a moment he responded,

Rishi: We'll talk after puja. I know just the right place.

Mitali didn't probe further and just nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mitali: You've got to be kidding me!

Rishi grinned in response. He knew her reaction would be ecstatic. After the formalities at the Mishra's, the duo had managed to sneak out somehow. Currently they stood in front of the 18 year old tree house that had once been their safe haven.

Mitali: When did you....? How did you....?

Rishi: You can clear your queries later , but now, let's go in.

Rishi smiled and went ahead as Mitali trailed behind him happily. The door to the tree house creaked open as the duo entered. Mitali gazed at her safe haven, a strong feeling of nostalgia rushed back and engulfed her.

Her, Payal and Rishi used to spend their entire time playing and dancing in this small tree house that her father had built for them. Hundreds of pictures of them decorated the walls of the house. Two beds were kept adjacent to each other where they had once spent hours sitting and playing dolls and having pillow fights. The memory brought a huge smile on her face.

Rishi: I and Payal cleaned it up yesterday. Part of the reason why I wasn't much around yesterday.

Mitali; Wow, Rishi. This is just....I love it. It's so good to be back here. It brings back so many memories.

Rishi chuckled and said,

Rishi: Remember that one time that we were jumping on the bed and it broke.

Mitali laughed recalling the incident.

Mitali: We were lectured so bad that day! I remember papa fixed it two days later and then put up a no jumping on the bed sign.

Rishi giggled,

Rishi: Yeah.

Mitali: And remember that one time when we snuggled in all the Harry Potter movie CD's from Mishra uncle's library and brought them here and watched them all night? God! Mumma was so mad at me for that , even though we were all at fault.

Rishi: That's because the idea was yours.

Mitali giggled.

Rishi: Only you could have thought of such a mischievous plan.

Mitali: Now that is true!

After a moment, Rishi said,

Rishi: Now if you are done reliving our past, can we talk about what we really came here for?

Mitali's smile lessened a bit.

Settling comfortably on the ground, Mitali inhaled deeply and said,

Mitali: Rishi, I wanted to talk to you about....

Rishi: The marriage deal. I know, Mitu. And it's fine, really. Whatever your response would be, I would be perfectly fine with that. It wouldn't change anything between us. I totally get if you don't wanna...

Mitali: But I do wanna.

Rishi stopped abruptly and looked at Mitali in surprise.

Rishi: Pardon me?

Mitali swallowed and responded,

Mitali: I do wanna....marry you, Rishi.

Rishi was flummoxed to be brief. He had never in his wildest dreams expected this. Part of him was happy. Fuck happy, he was ecstatic. But the other sensible part knew there was a more bigger reason to this.

Rishi: But you don't......you....don't....

Mitali; I know, Rishi. I know what you're trying to say. But I do....I do love you....just....not in the way you do.

Rishi looked at her in confusion.

Rishi; Then why do you wanna do this?

Mitali: Because I want to be happy.......

Rishi: I'm sorry...I'm having difficulty understanding you here.

Mitali suddenly pressed her palm on to top of Rishi's hand and said,

Mitali: I want to tell you something. But you gotta promise me.....that this will remain only between us.

Rishi nodded and responded,

Rishi: I promise.

Mitali breathed a sigh. In brief, she told him everything. Everything that had taken place last year. She told him about Adi.

Rishi listened with full interest , and had a shocked expression at the end of it.

Rishi: Wow......that's .......that's some story!

Mitali : I know.

Rishi leaned back against the foot of the bed, avoiding eye contact with Mitali. Mitali looked at him and gulped.

Mitali: I wanted to come clean to you, Rishi. I can't just keep you in shadows if I really wanted to spend my entire life with you. It wouldn't be fair to you.

After a long pause, Rishi spoke,

Rishi: I just...am too shocked. I mean, I never expected anything like this to ever happen to you. Falling in love, having a heartbreak......this just isn't you.

Mitali; Exactly, Rishi. It's so ironical, you know. All my life, I hated clichés so much....that my life became one.

Rishi chuckled softly.

Mitali: Anyways, I am in no state to say that...I'm over him or anything. He moved on, I couldn't. God! I feel so pathetic right now.

Rishi held her hand on seeing her break down.

Rishi: Hey....you're not pathetic, okay? You're the smartest, coolest and the most amazing girl I know.

Mitali looked at him with teary eyes.

Mitali: I just....I thought about it, Rishi. I thought and thought and realized....that I was being stupid. Crying about some guy who doesn't even love me back? That is not me. I had to get over it.....beacuse I deserve it, Rishi. I deserve happiness and a good future. And....you know...when I thought of all that,...all that came in my mind was you.

Rishi held her shoulders.

Mitali: You're my safe haven, Rishi. You always have been my safe place. When I think, Rishi, of where I feel the safest and most myself, I think of us, in a booth, at Rico's. Laughing , giggling..... I want that back. I want my old self back.

Rishi frowned at her.

Mitali: When Dadi told me about this......my first reaction was shock and confusion. I wasn't thinking clearly. So I asked her for some time to think. That day...I stayed up all night thinking about this. I didn't want to make a decision that would hurt anyone.

Rishi: So you're doing this cause....you want to make dadi and dad happy?

Mitali: No, Rishi, don't think that. I came to this decision after a lot of thinking. I considered each and every thing. I'm not doing this to make anyone happy.....Rii.....I'm doing this for me.

Rishi waited for her to continue.

Mitali: Dadi and dadu had an arranged marriage and theirs was one of the purest relationships that I had ever witnessed. Dadi married a complete stranger and lived a lovely life. So could I.

Rishi: Are you sure about this Mitu?

Mitali: I am , Rishi. I have known you all my life and I can't think of anyone better to spend my life with. But....it's not just my decision to make. It's yours too.

Rishi inhaled deeply and said,

Rishi: All my life......all I ever wished for was.....to be with you. Heck, I fell for you the day you asked me if you could play with me for the first time.

Mitali chuckled between sobs.

Rishi: I don't care about your past , Mitu. It doesn't bother me as long as it's in the past. Heck, I wouldn't care if you had 100 boyfriends in the past. As long as I'm your present, I don't care.

Mitali smiled and looked at him.

Rishi: I could never say no to you, Mitali. I love you. Always have and always will.

Mitali looked down at his hands.

Rishi: And I know that you don't. And there's a possible chance you may never fall for me.

Mitali: What if I do?

Rishi smiled and answered,

Rishi; If you do, then I'll be the happiest man on earth.

Mitali smiled.

Mitali: I'm willing to take that risk, Rishi...because it's you. But only if you are willing too.

Rishi looked into her eyes. They reflected honesty. He thought for a while and responded,

Rishi: I am.

Mitali choked back her tears and hugged him tightly. Rishi buried his face in her shoulder. They stayed that way for a while. Parting away, Rishi said,

Rishi: Who knows? Maybe we'll turn out like Ross and Rachel.

Mitali raised a brow and said,

Mitali: Or maybe Ron and Hermione.

Rishi: Chuck and Blair.

Mitali: Betty and Jughead!

Rishi: Romeo and Juliet ha!

Mitali giggled and said,

Mitali: You do know that Romeo and Juliet died , right?

Rishi: Oh....oh yeah.

Mitali laughed some more.

Rishi: Screw it! We'll be Mickey and Minnie Mouse! How about that?

They looked at each other for a few seconds and smiled.

Mitali: Sounds good to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys! So here's a super late update! I know I know! Please don't kill me.

Anyways, I won't say much about this one because I think it speaks for itself. But I do wanna know your views about Mishi as a couple! I know y'all love Mitya but hear me out:

AREN'T THESE TWO THE CUTEST?!!!!

I am and always will be a strong Mitya supporter but I have to admit that these two are just adorable! What do you guys think? Comment down below your thoughts!

Also don't forget to VOTE!

Love ya loads,

Bosedisha