FF: Arranged Marriage : Part 8-10, Page 5 [Updated on 07/08]

Story Outline : The story touches one year in the life of two strangers brought together by Marriage, arranged by their respective families and how they both fight with their respective pasts and whether they are able to bring love and togetherness into an unwanted relationship or not!

Part 1 to 4 : Page 1

Part 5 : Page 2

Part 6 : Page 3

Part 1-A

Armaan rubbed his bleary eyes again, as he tried to stay awake in his Office and complete the project review that he was working on. He had not slept properly for the last week or so, working on the merger deal that was going through. Now it had been successfully executed and he could leave Office on time for a change, before it was midnight.

In his early thirties, Armaan headed the Poddar Group, which was one of the largest and oldest legal consulting groups in Rajasthan. Little was known of the Poddar’s in person, except that they were old money people and a very close knit family.

Armaan was a quiet sort of person, both in looks and nature. He always had slight stubble on his face, which kind of looked incongruous with his sophisticated self, but nevertheless gave him a very attractive demeanor. He wore glasses sometimes which his sister always said made him look like a very Sexy Santa Clause, whatever she meant by that! He had an overall broad build and when he changed in the locker room after his weekly game Tennis at his club, not many men could hide their envy at his athletic build.

Armaan had been the first born to Madhav and Vidya Poddar, followed by his younger sister Charu who was some 4 years his junior and then the youngest, Rohit who was almost 7 years younger than Armaan.

His sister, Charu was married to Dev Shekhawat, a top-notch Corporate Lawyer who worked for the Poddar Group and was also the son of a close family friend. Charu and Dev had a 5 year old son, Aarav, whom Armaan adored. Rohit had completed his law degree from the US and had joined under Armaan and was now handling some part of the practice independently.

Armaan’s paternal aunt Kajal had come visiting them from Chandigarh, it was one of her bi-annual jaunts which always started and ended on the topic of Armaan’s marriage! This time it was slightly different, Chachi had come up with a marriage proposal for Rohit, much to Armaan’s amusement and Charu’s shock. Rohit had been equally surprised and had told in no certain terms that he couldn’t even think of marriage till his elder brother had tied the knot. Chachi had sulkingly replied that she had been bringing all sort of matches for the last 10 years now but Armaan had been turning all of them unequivocally, not even bothering to look at the photographs or even hear out any detail.

Poddar House, Udaipur

Charu and Dev had come over to Poddar House along with their son Aarav who was being piggybacked by Armaan all around the house, much to his glee and joy.

“Chachi, what are you saying? How can we think of Rohit’s marriage, when Armaan Bhaiyya is still single?”

“Didi is right, Chachi. And anyway, I haven’t even thought about marriage yet. Plus, I want to see my Brother happily married till my wife comes in and creates a rift in the house.”

Dev and Charu erupted into laughter as Armaan joined them in the lawn, as Aarav sprinted towards Caesar, Armaan’s 5 year old Golden Retriever. As Armaan took a swig of the Sweet Coffee and made a face, keeping the Cup back, he remarked cheerfully, "Who is getting married?"

Chachi looked at her favorite nephew and said affectionately, "I have brought an alliance for marriage. Do you remember the Goenka family? I am talking about one of their grand-daughters. Mr. Manish Goenka’s daughter Akshara’s eldest one. They live in Mussoorie."

As everyone listened with great interest, except Armaan, she continued nostalgically, "I happened to meet the girl at a Wedding in Mussoorie last month and I just couldn’t get her out of my mind. As it happened, the family was on the lookout for a suitable groom and I just mentioned our family to them. Obviously, they are much below your social status, but then, what need do we have for money, the girl should be good, isn’t it?"

Charu readily agreed and said, “You are right Chachi. The girl should make a good wife and take care of my brother. The last thing we want is a social butterfly as the daughter-in-law of this house.?”

Armaan gave a piercing look at his sister who immediately flushed and avoided his gaze.

Rohit made some noises and said hesitatingly, “I don’t want to get married so soon and besides, how can I even think of marriage when Bhaiyya is still single?”

Armaan smiled at his brother and said, “How does my not being married affect you in any way? Go and see the girl at least. You have settled down well in your business and this is the right time to get married.?”

Rohit and Charu exchanged glances but kept quiet, though Chachi did not deem the same necessary and retorted to Armaan, “You are talking about the right time, when you have decided to waste the remaining years of your life being single?”

Armaan stiffened himself a bit and said, “Don’t bring that topic again, Chachi. Please. We have gone through this umpteen times.”

As Caesar came bounding up to Armaan, he put a leash onto the Dog’s collar and took him out for his daily walk near the lake Pichola, which was just a stone throw away from their Bungalow.

As soon as Armaan had disappeared out of view, the four of them begun talking in hurried tones.

“I just hope I find a good place to hide. You know Bhaiyya’s temper; he will rip us apart if he comes to know that we masterminded the whole thing.” Rohit said nervously.

“Chachi, you have to handle him once we reach Mussoorie.” Charu exclaimed, anxious yet excited.

“Guys, are you really sure of what you are doing? I don’t think Armaan is going to like this at all.” Said the ever cautious Dev, who had known Armaan for a long time and knew his reactions to pranks and unexpected surprises.

Chachi took another Ladoo and smiling with benevolence said, “Don’t worry. Just get Armaan to Mussoorie once, I will handle everything there."

Part 1-B: Sharma House, Mussoorie

The alarm clock rang shrilly once again, as Abhira kept her hand on the contraption and pulled the pillow over her head, hoping to catch a few winks.

“Di, Di, Wake up! Papa is looking for you. Di get up, for god sake." As Abhira mumbled something sleepily, Kiara pulled the duvet from Abhira and shaked her up in good measure, as Aryan came hopping in and laughed at the scene which he was used to seeing everyday! “Give up Kiara. Di is hopeless. Till Ma comes and pours cold water over her, our Kumbhkaran is not going to wake up.”

“Who called me Kumbhkaran?” Abhira woke up groggily, her long hair falling untidily all over her face, shoulders and going all the way to her waist. Kiara and Aryan giggled as they saw Abhira half conscious with a comical expression on her face as she sleepily made her way to the Bathroom. Kiara and Aryan had already bathed and changed for the day.

As Abhira lazily brushed her teeth, she could hear the sound of bells chiming and then suddenly, her eyes widened and with break-neck speed, she finished her morning ablutions and almost stumbled into the Pooja Room, just in time for the morning prayers, presided over by her Father.

Kiara and Aryan chuckled as their Mother gave a sneering look at Abhira, who smiled back sheepishly while their Brother, Kairav tried to look indifferent to his sister’s antics, though he had an urge to grin. His wife, Muskaan looked at Abhira as if to reprimand her silently, but a wink from Abhira had her trying hard to suppress her own smiles. Abhira closed her eyes and folded her hands reverentially trying to look extremely devotional and pious, as her Father finished the Pooja and gave the Aarti ki thali to his wife to be touched by everyone. As Abhinav looked up at his eldest daughter, the second of his four children, Abhira quickly darted her eyes away from him as she took the blessing and squealed to her Mother to put a small tikka on her forehead.

Abhinav Sharma headed a traditional, middle-class but extremely close-knit and happy family along with his wife Akshara and their four children, the eldest Kairav who was married to Muskaan and had a 3 year old son, Rohan. Abhinav’s second born was the 22 year old Abhira followed by the 20 year old Kiara and the 18 year old Aryan. Kairav stayed in Delhi along with his family, as he worked with a Multinational Company there but visited his hometown in frequent intervals along with his wife and son. Abhinav and the rest of the family were settled in their home-town of Mussoorie since his early retirement a few years ago due to a severe heart stroke. They managed reasonably well since Abhinav worked independently on government related projects which fetched good money and Akshara was a college professor in a local law school. Abhira was in the first year of her masters and her exams were due in a few days, while the younger two were studying in college.

Though as a Father, Abhinav had lavished affection on all his four children, it was without doubt, Abhira who was the apple of his eyes. And even though there wasn’t a single day when Akshara was not at odds with her daughter, she prided herself immensely on her. Kiara and Aryan completely idolized their elder sibling and while Kairav was pretty strict with Abhira, he nevertheless doted on his kid sister. But it was Muskaan with whom Abhira got along like a house on fire, even though they were quite apart in age.

Abhira gulped her parantha, making a wry comment on the falling quality of her Mother’s cooking, much to Kiara and Muskaan’s amusement and before Akshara could make a comment back, she gave a warm peck on her Mother’s cheeks and touching her Father’s feet, rushed out, yelling that she will be late for College again.

It was difficult to describe Abhira to anyone. How does one capture the beauty of a wildflower growing in the midst of a jungle in words? One has to see it to feel it and know it and understand it. Though Abhira wasn’t blessed with her younger sister Kiara’s flawless peaches and cream complexion, her own wheatish tone glowed like gold against the Sun. Though she hadn't inherited her Mother’s luminous black hair, which still confused people on her actual age, Abhira’s own silky black hair, fell in wild abandon down to her waist, curling incorrigibly at the ends. Though Abhira did not have Aryan’s lithe built and tall frame, which always made him stand out, her own seductive curves did little to help the scores of admirers from her Neighborhood and the ones who loitered around the Girls College in which she studied. Though she did not have her brother Kairav’s attractive green-brown eyes, passed on from her Mother’s side of the family, her own dark brown, deep-set eyes expressed a million emotions in them. And last but not least, she had inherited at least one thing from her family, her Father’s keen wisdom and understanding, though all those who claim to know Abhira could never believe it.

Abhira could be extremely talkative with people whom she knew well and completely reticent and withdrawn with strangers. Her moods change like the hues of the day and her temper could be as cool as ice and then flare up like a fire in the forest. She could be sweet, kind and loving and suddenly snub anyone who came in her way with her sarcastic tongue and bitter coldness. Though she was very popular in her college and was known to have a large circle of friends, very few if any could claim to know her really as a person.

She indulged in Kiara and Aryan like a Mother, but could slap them hard on their face without remorse if they even touched something that belonged to her without permission. Abhira adored her Mother, but not a day went, when the Mother-daughter duo were not at odds, fighting on everything from her choice in clothes to what was for Dinner. Though she completely venerated Kairav, only Abhira was known in the family, who could start or end a fight with him and win it every time. Everyone feared his temper, except Abhira, who just couldn't care less and almost always got away with her cheekiness, partly because Kairav adored her too much to say anything much to her. Abhira worshiped her Father like God, but was also the only person in the family who could defy him openly, without flickering an eye-lid. The only person who could actually rein in Abhira a little bit was her sister-in-law, Muskaan who was the closest that came to a best friend for Abhira and she almost always fell in sync with whatever Muskaan told her to do.

Abhira was like an undulating river, young, fierce and full of restless energy, running through its unknown course in a fierce abandon, pulling everything along with it in its course or just ignoring the rest and flowing on.

As Muskaan helped her Mother-in-law to clear the breakfast table, she could not hold back her surprise when told that there was a “very good” alliance for Abhira and that the boy and the family were expected in a day or two.

Muskaan looked up and exclaimed, “Ma! but Abhira is so young. And, have you talked to her about this?” Akshara smiled at her daughter-in-law and said, “Girls are best married young, aren’t they? It’s easier for them to adjust.”

Muskaan rolled her eyes and decided to not comment on the archaic thoughts, as Akshara continued, now a little annoyed. “And what is the need to ask Abhira? Did your Father ask you before we came with Kairav’s proposal?”

Muskaan tried to stifle a grin as she remembered the two full years of courtship she had enjoyed with her then boyfriend who had later become her husband, before they both planned out the entire thing and presented the whole case as a suitable one for an arranged marriage through one of their common family friends.

“Muskaan, beta, you know how Abhira’s temperament is. Please speak to her when she is back from College and tell her to behave properly when the guests come tomorrow evening”, finished Akshara as Muskaan was left gaping open-mouthed. Making Abhira understand and comply with something was not a job to be envied and as again, it had fallen on her shoulders.

PART 2-A

“I-AM-NOT-GETTING-MARRIED”, declared the cool, determined and irreverent voice of Abhira, as she snatched a half-eaten apple from Aryan’s hands and began to make her way upstairs.

Akshara shouted in frustration and anger, “So, what do you want to do? Burden your parents and brother for the rest of your life?” Now such a statement would have normally elicited tears or hurt from a young girl, but Abhira gave a shrug of her shoulder before retorting insolently, “You should have thought this out before giving birth to me. 20 years too late.”

Aryan sniggered and immediately assumed a woeful expression as Akshara glowered down at him before continuing, “I have had enough of your impertinence. You are getting dressed nicely for a change, behave like a girl and come and meet the boy and his family tomorrow.”

Abhira reached the top of the stairs and said squarely, “Firstly, I am not going to be paraded like a circus clown in front of a bunch of strangers. Secondly, I have an important lecture tomorrow which will take place in the evening that I won’t miss. Thirdly, please be good hosts to the “boy” and his family and shove them off before I reach back home.”

Akshara exploded in fury and was about to follow her daughter upstairs, when Muskaan kept a hand on her shoulder and told her to calm down, following Abhira to her room.

“Bhabhi. No. Please. No.” Muskaan began laughing as Abhira arranged her books on the table and replied back, “I haven’t even said anything to you.”

Abhira smiled and hugged her sister-in-law warmly. “But I know that my Mother has sent you as an emissary since she knows I will never turn you down.”

“Then don’t turn me down Abhira. Agree to Ma’s wishes and this is what Papa and your Bhaiyaa also want. And besides the time is also right, you are about to complete your graduation. You can continue your education afterwards.”

Muskaan looked at Abhira who stared back, stooped her shoulders and almost fell on her bed, saying tiredly, “Bhabhi, what is the point in all this? When you know very well that I don’t want to get married. It’s not about now or some other time. I just don’t want to be married.”

As Muskaan kept looking at Abhira, she said in a somewhat broken voice, “You of all the people should know why I can’t get married.”

Muskaan went and sat near Abhira on her bed and taking her face in her hand, said quietly, “We can’t live with our pasts, Abhira. We have to move on. That is the way of life and that is the way we have to live our lives.”

Abhira stared out from the window, which overlooked the scenic hills of Mussoorie as Muskaan continued, now in a light-hearted voice, “Besides, I have heard that the prospective groom is some Mr. Money-bags, known to your Mother’s side of the family, even though he is a good decade older than you.”

Abhira immediately looked back at Muskaan and, widening her eyes exclaimed, “What? You people are marrying me off to some old, cranky, toothless crony? Oh God. I knew I was adopted by this family.”

Muskaan laughed cheerfully at Abhira’s statement and said, “He is 33, not 63 Abhira!” As Abhira continued to sulk, Muskaan added teasingly, “And anyway, don’t you know older men make very indulgent husbands. He will treat you like a Queen.”

Abhira rolled her eyes and giggling in spite of herself said, “Ya sure. Once he conks off after his arthritis gives him away, I will inherit all his money and then I can live like a Queen all by myself.”

Muskaan gave a mock slap on her face and said, “Don’t speak like that about your would be husband. Show him some respect if not love.”

Abhira got up and made way to the Washroom to freshen up before adding spiritedly, “I assure you Bhabhi, I will neither show him any respect, nor give him any love and that is, if I ever become his wife in the first place.”

PART 2-B

Rohit hid behind Chachi, as Charu bit her finger nails and Dev appeared to be engrossed in a newspaper that he was holding, upside down. Only Aarav appeared to hop around excitedly, pointing his plump fingers at the hill looming right in front of their Bungalow’s huge glass window in Mussoorie.

“I cannot believe that you people could be so juvenile." Armaan’s voice was still and steady, but his eyes were boring into the four people standing in front of him and they knew that the calmer and quieter Armaan looked, the fiercer his explosion was to be.

Charu gulped a bit and garnering courage said, “Bhaiyaa, we saw her photo. She is perfect. We had no other option but to get to you to see her in this manner.” Charu immediately put her head down, not able to meet her brother’s eyes. Rohit peeped from behind Chachi’s shoulder and said in a low, strangulated voice, “Sorry Bhai! but we just thought it was high time you got married.” Chachi looked a bit worried but kept quiet, while Dev pretended as if he was non-existent.

Armaan shrugged his head in disbelief, trying hard to suppress his anger and turning his back to them, declared in a polite but unyielding voice, “Please tell those people that we have canceled our visit and apologize to them from my end.”

As the four of them looked startled and shocked, Armaan began to leave the room, before Chachi’s voice called out, “But we have already given our word to them and if we do not go, it will be a great loss of face to us, to me especially. Armaan, beta, I am sorry for what we did, without your permission. But now the least we can do is just go and see them once? you can refuse later on.”

Armaan turned to face Chachi and biting his lips to avoid saying anything unpleasant, he gave one last glare at the quartet and then said in an irritated yet resigned manner, “Alright. Fine. We will go.” A huge grin lit up on Rohit and Charu’s face and Dev almost dropped the paper from his hand, Armaan continued in a serious tone, “But this is a No already. I am not getting married. Final.” Armaan walked out of the room, as Charu and Rohit did a hi-five and hugged Chachi joined by a grinning Dev.

Abhira sat morosely in her class as her wizened old teacher droned on in a sleepy voice till the lecture came to an end at 5 Pm. Abhira glanced at her watch, her Mother had begged her, warned her, cajoled her, threatened her and simply ordered her to be back home by 5:30 PM as the “Boy” and his family were expected around 6 Pm. There had been a flurry of activity in the Sharma Household since morning and Akshara was in a spectacular mood, especially after Muskaan had told her that Abhira had agreed to be “paraded like a circus clown”. The house was dusted, cleaned, swept and shined and the normally cluttered household was in tip-top condition. Though Akshara couldn’t make Abhira agree to miss out her College, Kiara and Aryan had happily agreed to skip College/School and set about helping Akshara and Muskaan for the evening.

The Sharma House was quite large in size, though quaintly old-fashioned and slightly crumbling from outside. They had a huge lawn, which was almost always unkempt and a rusting old iron swing which hung around in the garden, on which Abhira had spent almost all her childhood swinging to and forth, lost in her solitary thoughts. Though the house was modestly furnished, it showed a lot of character and warmth, with innumerous family photographs, several medals won by Kairav, sketches done by Kiara, some hand-made cushions made by Akshara, framed clippings of poems and articles published in newspapers written by Aryan, awards won by Abhinav and some photographs of homes that had been decorated by Muskaan, who was a trained Interior Decorator. There was nothing by Abhira on display, much to her amusement and Akshara’s constant disappointment and frustration. Not because Abhira was unworthy of doing anything special, but simply because she did not care enough to show the world what she was truly worthy of.

Abhira had been a brilliant student all through her academic years, but had completely disillusioned her Parents, when she opted for the Humanities Stream instead of Science, burying her parent’s hope of seeing a Doctor in the family after an Engineer. Abhira had been trained in Indian classical singing and had a golden voice but had simply put her foot down when she got an opportunity to sing for National Television. Later she had explained to her bewildered parents that singing was a hobby for her and she had no wish to commercialize it.

Though all of the Sharma children were blessed with good looks, Abhira was especially beautiful to look at, despite lacking a “fair” complexion like the rest of her siblings. Her expressive eyes, feminine figure and long, dark hair did more than compensate for anything she lacked in. And somehow her flawless duskiness lent her a very sensual appeal. Akshara knew it very well, since she had always been the most worried about Abhira during her growing up years, warding off all the unwanted male attention lavished on her and insisting on personally dropping and picking up Abhira from school much to her embarrassment and exasperation. Later there had been a huge row at home, as Akshara had put her foot down when Abhira had taken up admission in a Co-educational college and had insisted that if Abhira were to have an University Education, it would have to be in a Girl’s College. Abhira had to agree to her Mother in the end, though she had given hell to Akshara over this.

Abhira concerned Akshara the most out of all her children. As a keen and interested Mother, she knew that it was the docile looking Kiara who was the bold, extrovert kinds who wouldn’t battle an eyelid before riding off on bikes along with any of her boyfriends, or the studious Aryan who was tough enough to knock any boy out cold if he as much as raise an eye towards him or Kairav, who was cool, cautious and level-headed enough to deal with any situation.

It was Abhira, behind all her “I-don’t-give-a-damn” attitude that always made Akshara the most protective and possessive about her eldest daughter. Akshara had a Mother’s sixth sense and knew that Abhira was the most vulnerable, tender and sensitive of all the children and that her stubbornness always hid those qualities of her and made her appear to be indifferent and cold, which were probably the last things Abhira really was. And there was something distressed in Abhira’s life that Akshara did not know but just instinctively felt. Abhira was one of those characters who just could not be tethered to anything in life and if let fly free, was sure to come crashing down to die. That was perhaps the reason that Akshara was so adamant on Abhira getting married as soon as possible, hoping that she would find a husband who would not only ground her, but do it so with love and care, bending and molding her daughter, not breaking her into pieces.

Abhira sat alone in her classroom as the last of her classmates filtered out till she was the only one left in the darkened room. It had begun to rain outside; the weather in Mussoorie was extremely erratic. It was close to 6:30 PM now but Abhira was sure that the guest wouldn’t have yet made their entry, after all weren’t they the groom’s side, how could they ever come on time.

Of all the girls in India, why had that man (she refused to address a 33 year old as a boy, much to Akshara’s irritation and Kiara’s incessant giggles) come all the way from Udaipur to Mussoorie to see her? Must be surely some three-time divorced, chain-smoking, stained teeth, womanizing drunkard who probably worked as a paralegal intern at a law firm and called himself the owner of a law consulting group, mused Abhira irritated at her Mother’s emotional blackmailing tactics.

“I have only promised to be home, not said what time I will be back. Good. Let those losers sit there and suffer my Mother’s cooking. I will go back to leisure. By that time, they should know what they are up to and leave for good.”

Abhira thought unreservedly to herself as she made her way out of College, drenching in the rain which made her shiver yet tingle her senses with bliss. She loved the rain, especially, getting wet in it and today she was determined to enjoy it to the fullest.

Omg i loved this AU piece of yours!

Eagerly look forward to reading more . Cant wait for Armaan and Abhiras first impressions of each other.

Loved your story- great concept. Loved reading the details about abhimaan.

Excited to read more about first meeting

Please update soon

PART 3

It was close to 9 PM when Abhira opened the creaky gates of her home, not bothering to notice the swanky car which was parked outside on the roads. She was dripping water from head to toe, her hair sticking to her body alongside her dark green salwar kameez and despite the cold she felt and the scolding, tears, shouting, screaming, emotional blackmail and lectures she was expecting, Abhira was in a buoyant mood. Nothing gave her more pleasure than defying her Mother and today she had coolly outdone her. "Great. Now they will think twice before calling some other 'Buddha' home to see me." Mused Abhira to herself and pushed open the front door, hopping happily, murmuring a song softly under her breath.

As she reached the living room with dancing steps, she froze to the ground and stood stunned, water dripping from her onto the carpet, as she stared at the innumerous pairs of eyes looking in her direction.

Abhira's eyes first met her Mother's which looked plain murderous. But that was nothing new. Then she chanced upon her father's eyes which looked pained which hurt her a bit. Then they fell on her elder brother's eyes, which looked angry. Well, a hug from her should ease that out. Then she looked into her dear sister-in-law's eyes which were reprimanding and upset. Nothing that a good joke won't help overcome. Then they fell upon Kiara and Aryan, mischievous and scared. Abhira wanted so badly to wink back at them, but she refrained from doing so. Her nephew Rohan was busy eyeing a ladoo which was heaped on a plate amongst the dozens of other eatables that her Mother had presented for the guests. Abhira wished she could take one ladoo and share it with him right away!

Abhira's eyes then fell on the group of strangers looking back at her. There was an old lady in a sari who had the kindest pair of eyes ever and she was smiling warmly at Abhira, like she cared. Then there was a young looking couple, they were sitting together, so Abhira assumed they were married. The lady was elegant to look at and had an amused expression; the gentleman had a 'no-expression' type of look, which was surely contrived. Then there was another young man by the side couch, he had a lively, attractive kind of face and he was grinning widely at Abhira, an expression which would normally have elicited some tartly remark from her. On his lap was a cute boy who was gazing at Abhira with open curiosity and Abhira had to bite her lips to avoid smiling back at him.

Abhira's eyes finally fell on Armaan. And for some unfathomable reason, all her confidence and self-assurance seemed to vanish in thin air, as she felt herself going red all over. Suddenly realizing how stupid she looked, dripping water with mud splattered on her dress, her hair coming apart untidily. And unlike the rest of them, he wasn't even looking in her direction. He was busy doing something on his phone, not even aware that there was complete silence in the room.

Muskaan mumbled something in an embarrassed manner, apparently explaining that it was impossible to reach anywhere on time when it rained in Mussoorie and before anyone could comment back, she almost dragged Abhira's wet self away from everyone's view and to her room, upstairs.

As she shut the door shut tightly, she got hold of Abhira by her shoulder and asked with her teeth tightly clenched, "Where the hell were you?" Abhira was still a bit shocked from the scene downstairs and she just said incoherently, "Why are they still here? Did they arrive just now?" Muskaan closed her eyes and trying to control her anger said in an exaggerated patient voice, "They came at 6 Sharp and have been waiting for the last 3 hours for you to come home. God, Abhira, you are impossible." As Muskaan rubbed Abhira's hair dry and took out clothes for her to wear, she said, "Now just pray to God that he likes you and says yes for the marriage, else Ma will surely strangle you to death."

Abhira was in no frame of mind to argue and complied to her sister-in-law, changing into a cream and red colored Sari that Muskaan had presented to her on her 22th Birthday as Muskaan combed her wet hair and left it open, adorning her ears and neck with a simple set in gold that Akshara had set aside for Abhira's marriage. If Abhira had bothered enough to look at her reflection in the mirror, before going down, she would have been genuinely surprised to see how lovely she looked.

Muskaan and Abhira came downstairs, and once again all the eyes went up to look at them and since Abhira's eyes were downcast for a change (Muskaan had to thwack on her head to make it bend down), she couldn't tell if that man with the 2-day old stubble on his face was looking at her this time or not.

Armaan was very much looking at her and much to his own surprise could not take his eyes off her downcast, expressionless face. Muskaan had gently held Abhira by her hand and seated her in the couch opposite Armaan, in between Akshara and Abhinav, after being prompted to touch Chachi's feet, which Abhira did with a scowl. There was complete silence in the room; no one really knew what to say. Get Abhira to apologize for coming so late, or just get on with introducing her to everyone or let Armaan and Abhira spend some time alone.

It was 5 year old Aarav who interrupted the awkward silence and declared charmingly, "Mom, is she going to be Armaan Mamu's Mami?"

Abhira instantly looked up and everyone broke out laughing and in good spirits, as she dappled with embarrassment and downcast her eyes again, staring at her gold bangles which Muskaan had made her wear, as Rohit quipped mischievously, "Not Bhaiyya's Mami, silly…your Mami."

More laughter followed as the ice broke and lots of general talk followed, with Muskaan and Charu bonding to one another, Akshara buttering up to Chachi much to Kiara and Aryan's amusement, Kairav and Dev had discovered a common acquaintance and Rohit was happily and openly flirting with a flattered looking Kiara, much to Aryan's disbelief and disgust. Abhira held her eyes up a little bit towards Armaan's direction and saw that he was listening to her father, looking deeply interested and very serious. Abhira wondered what interest could anyone possibly have in hearing out the "Jal Aayog's treatise on Rain-water harvesting in India."

Abhira felt a bit ridiculous sitting all by herself and acting all shy and feminine, which she certainly was not, till Aarav came by her side and hopped on to her lap, fingering her earrings as Abhira gave a warm smile back at her. Armaan had looked towards Abhira's direction at that very moment and found himself staring at her unpunctuated, paying no heed to Mr. Sharma's ramblings on how he thought that Rain-water harvesting was the answer to all of India's agricultural woes!

Muskaan and Charu noticed the scene and winking at each other, Charu coughed gently and said mischievously to Armaan, "Bhaiyya, who are staring at so intently?" Armaan straight away withdrew his gaze from Abhira and giving one cool look at Charu said, "The person whom I had come to meet." Charu giggled loudly at her Brother's unusual comment and requested Akshara and Abhinav to let Armaan and Abhira be alone for some time. Abhira felt faint at the thought of being alone with that 2-day old stubble 'man' while Armaan had an expression so inscrutable that it would have impressed the Chinese.

"Abhira, beta, take our guest to your room." Akshara almost cooed out as Abhira gave a hard stare at her Mother which was returned back equally hard. Abhira stood where she was stubbornly, her head bent down, but her mind full of vicious thoughts at the moment till Armaan's intense, sonorous voice came out, "Shall we?" Abhira was so startled by his presence near her, that she almost jumped out of her skin and turned to look at him for the first time clearly. And before she could notice him clearly, she felt herself flushing idiotically and averted her gaze away from him. Abhira reluctantly led him to her room upstairs, but not before she had given wintry stares back at her Mother and the rest of her family, though Kiara gave back a lewd wink, which made Abhira bite her lips to avoid grinning, despite a mounting sense of irritation and anger. It was bad enough to get bulldozed into meeting up with a strange man and on top of that, he was being led to her bedroom, the one place where even her Parents thought twice before coming in without knocking.

Abhira opened the door of her room, secretly praying that none of her clothing or any other personal belongings were lying in the open. The last thing she wanted was this man sitting on top of her Bra or something! As she came in along with Armaan, she realized that her room had a major make-over since morning, probably her Mother and Sister-in-law's handiwork. It looked neat and tidy with everything in place, but very unlike her room. Armaan came inside and gazed at the room in one go, looked around for a place to sit and then just shrugged and sat on her bed, which made Abhira frown though she kept mum. He seemed to make her nervous and she just wanted to get done with this meeting and be at peace. Armaan looked up at her and said, "Aren't you going to sit down."

Abhira looked up at him and then averting her eyes once again, said quietly, "No, I am alright." Abhira was standing behind the old-fashioned four-poster bed on which Armaan was sitting. There was silence then, for quite some time, as Armaan's eyes fell outside the window and he could make out the faint outline of the hills looming straight ahead. Abhira just kept standing, her face downcast and twiddling her fingers, trying to appear bored but actually feeling acutely uncomfortable and anxious.

Armaan took a half-finished sketch lying on the table besides her Bed and looking at it for some time said, "Did you draw this?" Abhira looked up and indicated her head in the negative before saying, "That is out of Kiara's sketch book." Armaan kept it down and after waiting for some more time said, "The Upma was really nice, your Mother said that you are very fond of cooking."

Without thinking, Abhira blurted out, "She was lying. I can't cook." Armaan looked up at her, a bit shocked at her bluntness, before words flowed out of her mouth like water, "If she has shown you any drawings, those are all done by Kiara. I can't draw a single line properly. And those cushion covers have been made by Ma, not me. And those medals are all of Kairav Bhaiyya, not a single of mine. And the articles and poems have been penned by Aryan. And the house has been decorated by Muskaan Bhabhi, I can't even keep my clothes in place."

Armaan kept staring at Abhira, thoroughly bewildered and stunned, she looked up at him, now a bit defiant and bold as she finished, "And the food has been ordered from our neighboring sweet-vendor. I can't cook...and neither can Ma."

There was silence for some time, as Armaan and Abhira locked eyes and then he burst out laughing loudly, almost falling on the bed with mirth. Abhira turned crimson as she dug her nails into her soft skin and appeared sulky as Armaan got up and trying to gather his composure back, said softly in between gulps of laughter, "I am sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. Please don't misunderstand me."

Abhira did not reply but just kept staring at the floor below as Armaan came near her, making her anxious again and said in the same calm voice, "Do you wish to ask me anything?" Abhira looked up at him with startled eyes and muttered, "Nothing."

Armaan smiled a bit and said politely, "Alright then, I think we should take leave. It was nice meeting you."

Abhira kept standing in her room as Armaan left it and she did not know what had hit her, though she seemed relieved by the fact that Armaan had hardly spent 10 minutes with her alone and she knew for sure he wasn't interested and was going to decline the proposal.

Armaan came down the stairs into the Living Room and everyone turned their undivided attention on him, as he stared back at them, pursing his lips to avoid any expressions. Turning to face his hosts, he smiled and said graciously, "Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. and Mr. Sharma. It was really nice meeting all of you. We should be taking leave, it's very late now."

Akshara and Abhinav looked awkwardly at one another and then at Chachi who coughed a bit and said in her social tone, "We…We will get back to you soon, Akshara. We will think it out and discuss and…" she was rambling a bit, as Charu also looked slightly confused at her brother, before he prompted them to leave.

As a crest-fallen Kairav and Muskaan went with Armaan and his family to drop them till the door, he turned back at to face the Sharma clan and his eyes fell on Abhira, who was standing at the top of the stairs, a mixture of curiosity and child like defiance on her face, smiling a bit at her direction, he spoke in a gentle albeit clear voice, "If Abhira is happy with the proposal, then it is a yes from my side. Please let us know whatever her answer is." Akshara felt as if she would faint out of shock and happiness and Abhinav could barely control his smile, while Kairav gave a huge grin to Armaan and bear hugged him, much to Armaan's embarrassment. Aryan and Kiara hugged Muskaan in joy before she turned to face Abhira upstairs, who was too stunned to react and stood like a statue, immobile.

No one let Armaan drive properly all the way from the Sharma House till their Bungalow where they were putting up and it was only Aarav's sleep that prompted them to hush up a bit albeit Charu and Rohit get talking in furtive whispers, already making plans for the marriage.

As they reached their Bungalow, Armaan was inundated by innumerous questions and how he found Abhira and what was it that made him say a yes and just about everything. Armaan refused to reply to anything, not even to Chachi's pleadings, but just said quietly, "I liked her. That is it."

Rohit gave a baffled look at his brother and said, "That's it. You said yes to this proposal after having stubbornly refused marriage for the last so many years, just because you liked her?"

Armaan nodded his head simply and bidding goodnight went to his room and bolted the door from behind. It was a night he could not sleep, not because he had just met the girl he was to marry, more because for the first time in the last decade or so, his past seemed to not scar his psyche anymore. And for some reason, he knew that it was because of Abhira.

PART 4: 11 Years Back

Armaan Poddar and Ruhi Birla had grown up together and both their families had been unable to hide their happiness when they had announced their intention of getting married to one another. Though they were both very young, everyone knew of Ruhi's fondness for Armaan and vice-versa and also unknown to many, they were both lovers for some time now and marriage only seemed the next logical path. One fine day, Armaan had popped up with the question of marriage to Ruhi, after they finished dinner at one of the many outings they enjoyed together and with friends. Ruhi had been surprised and taken aback but one look at the solitaire ring had washed off all her doubts and she had let Armaan slip the ring on her beautifully manicured fingers.

Many people, including Charu, often wondered what Armaan could ever see in someone like Ruhi, who was always, almost partying out somewhere or shopping. Without doubt, Ruhi was gorgeous and her beauty and glamor were talked about in the social circles the Poddar's and Birla's moved in. But besides that, Charu could not see anything that was worthwhile seeing in Ruhi. She was snobbish, cunning and as self-possessed as anyone could be and the worst part was that all this was hidden behind layers of charm and sweet talk, which nauseated Charu to no end.

When Armaan had announced his plan to marry Ruhi, Madhav had been more than happy, knowing that his son was marrying the right girl, after all, wasn't Ruhi the only daughter of his best friend and business associate. She was an equal to Armaan in every respect, looks, class, education and social-background and plus they both knew one another so well for the past many years. Charu did not offer any opinion as she knew it would go wasted and just hoped and prayed that her brother knew what he was getting into.

The Marriage became the talk of the town with every tabloid worth the name writing about the upcoming nuptials between one of Udaipur's most eligible young bachelors and the most seen-about society beauty. Everyone who was anyone was invited to the Wedding and Ruhi had been up in heaven, shopping endlessly for her trousseau, generously aided by Armaan, who though plainly refused to accompany her, nevertheless, pocketed all the expenses without raising an eyebrow.

Armaan had heard some rumors about Ruhi behind his back, but he did not feel the need to pay attention to wagging tongues and knew that every good-looking and popular girl was always talked about by envious people. Plus, he was genuinely broadminded and liberal enough to accept that he was not the first man in her life, just like she wasn't the first woman in his life, though he was pretty clear on the fact that after marriage, she would certainly be the last woman in his life and expected that he too would be the last and only man in her life.

Ruhi had been doing some modeling since her school days but never really shown any seriousness in it and Armaan assumed that it was only a passing phase for her, though not once did he expect her to sit at home, being Mrs. Armaan Poddar and would have been more than happy had she wanted to pursue a career of her choice. But Ruhi never mentioned anything of this kind to Armaan.

Ruhi had been a little queasy for the last few days before the Wedding and at one of their trysts at the flat that they had brought together for their rendezvous, he had asked her what was bothering her. Ruhi had made some inconsequential noises and assured Armaan that everything was fine; it was just the upcoming Wedding that was making her a bit flustered. Though Armaan wasn't sure of her answer, he did not pursue the topic any further and spoil their collective mind-frames, when the Wedding was barely a week away. Armaan was determined to give every happiness he could to his wife and knew that they would have a fantastic married life together.

And then two days prior to the Wedding, on the night of Ruhi's Mehendi, her Father had come over to Poddar House, downcast and miserable. Madhav had just thrown a bachelor's party for Armaan who had come down to meet his would-be Father-in-law, quite drunk and senseless, but all his intoxication went right away, as he was handed over a letter written by Ruhi.

"Dear Armaan,

I know that you will be very disappointed in me when you get this letter. But I had to do this. I thought over everything in detail and realized that we just can't get married right away. We are too young to be bound by Marriage and have a long life ahead for that.

I had got a wonderful offer for Modeling in Paris from Rustam a few weeks back and I have been pondering over it for quite some time. I finally decided to give it a try, though that only meant I could not go ahead with the marriage. I mean, which Model can make it if she is already married when she starts her career? I know you will understand, you have a brilliant calling yourself and you are as ambitious and determined as I am. Sacrifices have to be made to get ahead in life and I hope you realize that not marrying you right now is a huge sacrifice for me.

I did not have the heart to tell Papa, he had been so looking forward to this marriage, but I know that you will make him understand, won't you? I will keep in touch with you, but please do promise that you will sort things out there and just explain it out to our friends and acquaintances.

I am not leaving my contact number right now, since I don't know where exactly I will be putting up, but if there is any emergency, you can always leave a message with Rustam's Office.

Please know that I will always love you.

Yours,

Ruhi"

Armaan had kept staring at the piece of paper, so shocked that even his drunkenness seemed to evaporate. And then without saying a word, he had taken his Car keys and stormed out, as Madhav, Rohit and Charu had rushed behind him.

When Armaan regained consciousness in the Hospital, after two days, on the day that was supposed to be his Wedding, he knew that he would never marry again…nor ever fall in love.

Going against his basic nature, Armaan in his cold fury had set about destroying Ruhi systematically, using all his contacts and power to stop her from even inching a step up in her supposed career, leave aside reaching anywhere close to Paris. Much as Madhav and Ruhi's father had begged him to forget the past and move on, Armaan's anger and hurt ego had not let him leave Ruhi in peace and he had done everything in his power to destroy the woman he had once loved so passionately. It did not take him any time to achieve the desired result, though it did end up in Ruhi impulsively getting married to Rustam, her 'friend' as she often described him. Somehow it broke down Armaan and put a stop to his vengeance as he realized that all he did to get back to Ruhi was because he really did love her and she had hurt him immensely and now she was with someone else, nothing else mattered anymore.

Armaan had never been at peace with himself after this incident in his life and had quietly vowed to himself that he would never enter a serious relationship and certainly not make the mistake of getting married. But the one-night stands and innumerous flings had also jaded him quick enough and Madhav's death a few years down the lane, sobered and quietened Armaan a lot, as he withdrew into his shell and put all his energy and effort into his work, in which he excelled as he had failed in his love.

And all the anger and hot-headedness of his youth had translated into the cool and calm that made up Armaan now. Though his family and friends knew that he was nothing more than a dormant volcano which was capable of erupting anytime it pleases.

For reasons unknown to his heart and mind, Armaan had been instantly attracted to Abhira, the moment he had seen her come inside the house. When Abhira had not turned up for almost an hour after they had come to the Sharma House, a furious Armaan had wanted to storm off, but Chachi's silent pleading made him stay put and he had anyway wanted to give a sound hearing to the arrogant and in-courteous girl before he left and without realizing he had kept waiting for 3 hours till she turned up wet to the bones and shivering slightly, staring at everyone with her wide, innocent looking eyes. Armaan had deliberately avoided looking at her and had instead pretended to concentrate on his phone.

When Abhira had come again to the Living Room, this time, looking really beautiful in her off-white and red Sari, her wet hair soaking her clothes a bit, he was unable to take his eyes off her face. And then what she had said in her room upstairs, that had really stolen his heart away. Her child-like insouciance and innocence in response to his simple question had made him laugh out loud and her honesty had touched his heart. Though he realized that she was far too young for him, that she was from a completely different background than he was and that they hardly knew one another and in all probability had nothing in common, he had still liked her a lot. A likeness for which he really had no solid ground or reasoning, but just the fact that his instinct told him that probably this was right.

As Armaan took out her picture from his book, kept stealthily by Charu before they had left for the Sharma House, he found himself smiling at her. Armaan knew that it was time to move on now and Abhira felt like just the right person.

Both updates were amazing

Loved reading how abhira blurted everything out and armaan laughed

You write very well.

Excited to read more

I absolutely loved the updates! Thank you for posting so soon.

I look forward to their bonding in the upcoming chapters. Cant wait to see how it pans out.

I'm a little bummed that Armaan had a bit of playboy lifestyle with casual flings. But ig thats not a terrible thing. I am just a prude and conservative reader ig.

But your writing style is AMAZING! I loved the flow of chapters. It leaves me craving more.

Abhira's point blank nature , honesty and innocence is all ❤️

I can picture Sam in all these scenes.

Loving the FF so far. Keep the updates coming

Thank you. Story flow and organization is good because this is a ripoff of a movie. I would love any feedback/suggestions on Armaan-Abhira relationship and future interactions between them.

Would also be interesting to see Abhira confront him about agreeing in 10 mins and how he replies to that and what convinces her to actually give him a chance and at least talk to get to know him.

It'd be awesome to see how these two get to know each other over phone and videocalls given the distance - he's in udaipur she's in mussoorie.

I personally would love to see Abhira to be a teeny bit of a tomboy and for Armaan to find that extremely attractive. As a pahadi and middle class girl she should impress him with how she finds joy in simple inexpensive things and is accustomed to basic things like walking a lot or taking bus/train etc and actually enjoying all that. Would be refreshing change and you can retain some of her show traits of knowing how to fix a car, fix a puncture or fix a fuse etc . Her no filter, simple persona is what makes her attractive and I want Armaan to appreciate that. Also her humor is wicked. I want Armaan to find that she brings the laughter thats largely missing in his life. he has a loving family-sure, but I dont think anyone can make him crack up in laughs like her.

Would also love to see them do fun things together if Armaan makes a trip down to Mussoorie like a hike or a mini road trip. Such things often reveal a lot of things about a persons real nature and will help them both navigate this arranged marriage thing.

Cant wait to read more.

So beautiful..... Your FF has better plot thn serial. Amazing 🤩 As this generation focus was/is on arrange marriage kinda set-up, it would have been so amazing if they had started the story like this. Didn't have to force triangle involving sisters and still left a room for sister bond, if any. I just loved it yaar. Please update soon