She thought as if her heart would stop beating completely. She literally broke down… a very strong emotion which she was yet to identify, pierced her heart and all her defences came crumbling down.

She simply couldn’t stop the avalanche of emotions that overflowed from her eyes in the form of tears. Atharva realised that she was sobbing, and was quite petrified.
“Hey Shruti! Are you okay? Hope you are happy with the alliance.”
She found her voice, somehow got a grip on herself, and asked helplessly….

To be continued……

“Pukka na Atharva? Now there won’t be any more misunderstandings na? Did everyone agree willingly? I won’t be able to accept another rejection…”

Atharva got the picture that she was still not convinced, shook his head, and said from the bottom of his heart, “Shruti… I had decided during our first meeting itself. I had no doubts whatsoever… my heart didn’t belong to me anymore. To tell you the truth, I have never been so determined in my life.. it was as if the decision was already made for me. You don’t have to think anything negative. I am not the kinds to back out.”

She was feeling much better, listening to him, assuring her in the most loving manner.

She finally smiled and said with all her sincerity, “Thank you for relieving my doubts… had a lot of confusion and for the first time in my life, a lack of confidence. Though now, I am okay.”
Atharva was relieved to hear her voice getting back to normal and teased her a bit. “Oh… you are only okay? I was expecting something else.”
She said sheepishly, “No.. no.. I mean I am really glad that everything is alright now.” He responded with a smile, “That’s better. Okay listen… do you mind if I ask you to give me your number?”
She was back to her outspoken self and blurted, “I would mind if u DON’T ask me.” He laughed heartily to hear her say that, and saved it in his mobile. He confessed, “You know what? I am glad I came yesterday.”
She bit her lip and responded softly, “Me too.”

Atharva was called by his father, when he realised that it was already 11 a.m. He said in a hurried tone, “Okay, cya… talk to you later… am running late today.”
Shruti reluctantly said, “Okay bye…”
They were about to disconnect when Shruti interrupted, “Atharva?”
He responded, “Yes?”
She surprised him by saying, “Congratulations! To both of us. I hope this is a beautiful start to a beautiful relationship…”

He was simply awestruck at her choice of words, was speechless and then finally returned, “Congratulations… just loved the way you put it,” and was at a loss of words. Both had a broad smile on their face, and an inner peace and happiness that couldn’t be compensated with any worldly pleasures. They finally greeted each other ‘Bye’ and disconnected.

At that very point, Mrs Verma came in to have a heart-to-heart with her daughter, feeling restless. As soon as she saw Shruti, she started explaining the whole situation, expecting resistance from her due to her bruised ego, when Shruti interrupted her in between and calmed her mom by saying, “Just relax mumma… I would like to tell you something. Actually yesterday,  Atharva had come up to Nashik to meet me as he felt I wasn’t convinced. I was completely unaware about it. He had called up Rohan to bring me to the café, where we met. He wanted to convince me once more that everything was sorted out now. He specifically asked Rohan not to tell any of us… but I am happy he came. It calmed my inner anxiety.”

Her mom was astonished, but then she accepted that whatever happened, happened for the best. She hugged her daughter,  blessed her with all the happiness in the world, and said, “Let me inform your dad first. He was really worried about your response.”

Shruti nodded with a smile when her mother left. She was just absorbing the whole situation; letting the feeling sink in that she had actually found her Prince Charming. She was just so amazed that her intuition had been right all along, that the first guy whom she meets up would be the one. Theirs was like a whirlwind romance, so full of all the elements that a thrilling, romantic story entails. Love at first sight, romance, drama, suspense, thrill, insecurity, sorrow, their secret meeting… all rolled into one, like a high suspense show.

Amidst all this, she received a message, ‘Hey! U didn’t ask me for my number… please save this one.:)))’
(Please note.. this is about 2006… so there was no whatsapp.. or even coloured screen.. only sms and calls could be made.)

Shruti smiled and saved it. In another minute, she received a text. She opened the inbox and read the message:
Aisa lagaa jaise kho dunga tumhe...
Par mere pyar ki kashish ne yeh hone nahi dia...
Khuda ko bhi majbur kar dia aise...
Ki usne bhi tera naam jod diya mujhse...
(Shayari courtesy: @Vvish Mehta)

She had goosebumps all over. This was the first ever message that she had received from him. It was beautifully framed, reflecting his emotions.
She messaged, ‘Wow! It’s very well written… I didn’t know you write shayaris.’
He replied, ‘How I wish I could.. but this a forward I had received a couple of days back… and it motivated me to make things right, come what may.’ She happily read it again and again.

During the day, both families again got in touch with each other, to decide upon the events to follow. The ladies had a talk and mutually agreed to have the gud dhana ceremony ( i.e. roka/ mithijeeb ) in a fortnight, and engagement ceremony in a month’s time. Mr Shah had already consulted their family pundit, who proposed 21st May as suitable as they all preferred a Sunday, so that its convenient for the guests to attend.

Atharva was constantly being teased throughout the day, more so as he had always abhorred those lovey dovey ways in which his friends would behave, whenever they were ‘supposedly in love’ and then eventually all was lost when they would break up.

He called up Krunal to give him the good news. He exclaimed, “Kya bhai… you always used to detest us for such matters. But look at you… tu toh hum sabse do kadam aage nikla. Well, when do we get to meet the person who turned my devout, straight forward, no-nonsense friend into a hopeless lover?”
Atharva retorted, “Bas bas… itna sunaane ki zaroorat nahi. Don’t over exaggerate.” Krunal returned, “Arey bhai... we rarely get a chance to tease ‘Atharva the Invincible!' Aise kaise jaane de?”

Atharva just brushed it aside and said, “Achha listen. Keep your big mouth shut and don’t let others know.”
Krunal was in a mood to pull his leg. “Na na… direct bachhe paidaa honge tabhi bataayenge ki Atharva is married.”
Atharva got exasperated and blurted, “Maaf karde bhai mujhe. Shall let others know in a couple of days.”
Krunal mocked, “As you wish, Your Highness.”

Shruti’s mom called up Nainaa to inform her about the excellent news, who was super excited. She then asked her to give the call to her mother in law who also congratulated her. Nainaa and Abhinav both called in turns to greet Shruti. Abhinav teased her, always considering her as his younger, naughty lil sis, and said, “Congrats sis… finally there is someone who can tolerate your non stop chitter-chatter. God bless him!”
Shruti snapped, “Kya jiju… Rohan is more than enough to speak utter nonsense about me… you please don’t join him.”
He continued, “I am so sure you must have started dreaming about your outfit for the occasion rather than anything else. You are most welcome to come here and shop with your sister. That way, she will also not breathe down my neck.”

Just then her mom called her…

To be continued....

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