"Hello, Reyna and Jeeju!"

(Jeeju is a cute form of Jeeja which translates to brother-in-law.)

"What are you guys doing here?" I yelled and snapped up from the couch.

Keerti and Upasana ran towards me and engulfed me in a hug. They started rambling how I forgot them and didn't call them even once or had a get together after I got married. Keerti accused me of getting busy in my life and not caring that they existed too.

"Aren't we your friends anymore?" Upasana pouted.

"I tried to reach you so many times! Why didn't you attend my calls?" Keerti scolded.

"And why did you tell us to never come to your house?" Upasana accused with a frown on her face.

"That's why we directly came to your office to check on you," Keerti added.

"Everything is well, right? Why aren't you saying anything?" Keerti poked me.

"Did she become a statue?" Upasana raised an eyebrow and slapped my arm.

Were my best friends actually here?

"Are you guys real?" I questioned.

Keerti and Upasana rolled their eyes and smacked me behind the head before crushing me between them. After making sure that my brain was still functioning, they moved towards Yuvaan who was staring at us all this time.

"You are also bad, Jeeju. You never invited us to your place after you stole our friend," Keerti complained.

"Were you guys 'that' busy?" Upasana teased and wiggled her eyebrows.

Yuvaan pursed his lips and glanced at me. I motioned for him to explain himself and began occupying my previous spot when Upasana squealed so loudly that I almost tripped myself in shock. She headed towards me and grabbed my wrist.

"We are going for shopping!" she announced.

"What?"

"Yup. Your working hours are already over, so it is time to have some fun. And now that we have caught you, we won't let you go so easily," Keerti said and grabbed my other arm.

"Are you guys pranking me?" I enquired.

Both of them shook their heads, and after a few minutes, Heena entered Yuvaan's cabin with her handbag on her left shoulder. She didn't say anything and kept staring at Keerti and Upasana for a minute before all of them shouted the same thing at the same time.

"Shopping!" Heena jumped in joy and ran towards Yuvaan who instantly gave her his credit card without any arguments.

"No unnecessary stuff," he warned.

Heena stuck out his tongue at him and joined us. She waved Yuvaan's glossy card in her hand and told us that she had a very nice place in mind which she was planning to visit for months. Keerti and Upasana nodded their heads like kids and pulled me along with them, ignoring my protests.

"Why did you take his card?" I asked Heena.

"Chill, Bhabhi." Heena dismissed me just like that and got her car from the parking lot.

Shit! The debt is increasing day by day. I need to make money soon, or I won't be able to—

"You haven't gotten over your habit of zoning out, have you?" Upasana snapped her fingers in front of my face.

"She must be thinking of Yuvaan Jeeju," Keerti commented and began giggling.

"Let's go before the mall gets closed," Heena changed the topic and shot me a smile from the backview mirror of her car.

Keerti, Upasana and Heena were chatting and gossiping like old friends, and I wondered when they became acquainted with each other. Moreover, they didn't even introduce themselves, and I doubted if they had planned this surprise shopping spree together.

But my friends never met Heena before. Did Yuvaan have a hand behind all of this?

"We are here!" Heena announced gleefully and hopped out of her car.

We followed suit and entered a fashion street full of various stalls on both sides of the road. Keerti instantly entered a booth where earrings of all sorts of designs were being sold while Upasana and Heena were eyeing the latest tops adorned on the metal bars of a different shop.

"Didn't you mention a mall earlier?" I queried.

"I remember, Bhabhi, but first let's shop from here and then we will go there if we have time." Heena grinned and showed me a crop top with a cat's eyes on it.

She told me that this place was cheaper than most of the high end stores but the quality was on par with the latest brands. So, she came here all the time to satisfy her cravings and my friends agreed with her. The street had everything a girl would need to fill up her wardrobe without putting a dent in her wallet.

We roamed around and bought a lot of clothes, and the girls were looking at me with a surprised look on their faces when I picked up a lot of shorts, tank tops and various frilly skirts which reached just above my knees. I knew what was going on in their minds but they didn't comment and suggested me some more clothes.

"I think we should get going to that mall now," Keerti said.

All of us nodded and headed towards Heena's car. After dropping our bags and ourselves in the vehicle, we relaxed till the time we reached our next destination. Heena led us to a huge mall, made up of three floors and a very nice architectural design.

Keerti, Upasana and I began discussing about various structures and how we could have modified it, but Heena gave us a warning glare and told us to keep our work out when we were having a fun time.

She entered a food joint and after filling our stomachs to their maximum capacity, we continued on our way. We again bought some more clothes, makeup accesories and some home decor items which Heena wanted to put in her apartment.

We decided to leave when the clock struck 10pm and were busy chatting among ourselves when Upasana halted abruptly and widened her eyes to the shape of saucers. She exchanged a glance with Keerti and grabbed her hand.

"She is here!" she said in a low voice.

"Who is she talking about?" Heena asked.

Before we could get any reply from Uppu, she left Keerti's hand and dashed to the left side. She joined a small crowd which had formed near a boutique named 'Dezyre' and there were some people with camera and reporter mics too.

"What's going on?" I queried Keerti who facepalmed herself when Upasana waved her hand at us to come.

"Uppu saw one of her favourite supermodels who has recently returned to India," she informed.

"When will she stop stalking people?" I shook my head.

"Tamannah Advani," Heena grumbled.

The crowd parted a bit and a woman around our age stepped forward with a huge smile on her face. She shook her hand with the boys and girls around her and as we walked towards where Upasana was waiting for her turn, I tried to decipher why Heena was sporting a rotten expression on her cute chubby face.

Upasana hugged Tamannah and told her how much of a big fan she was of her and how happy she was to finally meet her in person. Tamannah thanked and assured her that she was planning on staying in India for a while and offered her to attend the opening ceremony of her boutique.

"They are my friends," Upasana said and began introducing us one by one.

"Hi," Heena greeted monotonously.

"Nice to meet you again, Heena. I hope you are doing fine." Tamannah smiled at her, but Heena refused to acknowledge her and pulled me away.

I glanced between both of them and soon confirmed my doubt that the petite woman standing before me was Yuvaan's ex-girlfriend - I understood why Heena was being so protective of me around her.

"You must be Reyna Bakshi then," Tamannah guessed with amusement.

"It is Reyna Yuvaan Raichand for you," Heena corrected her in a mocking tone.

Tamannah widened her eyes a bit and glanced all over me. Meanwhile, I also observed her closely and saw her dark brown eyes, framed by nicely arched eyebrows, dart over me with a judging look. Her waist length silky brown hair were parted on the side and flowing over her right shoulder, complimenting her tan complexion and the champagne dress she was clad in.

(Tamannah's outfit👆)

"Yuvaan's taste has gotten worse," she commented under breath.

"What the fuck did you say?" Heena hissed at her.

Tamannah rolled her eyes at her and told the reporters to take a break. After reducing the crowd around her, she turned back to us and crossed her arms across her chest. Keerti and Upasana came beside me and shot me a worried glance when they saw Heena and Tamannah glaring at each other.

"Stay away from Yuvaan bro," Heena warned her.

"What if I don't?" Tamannah mocked and smirked at me. "You should have divorced him when you still had the chance, Reyna."

"Divorce?" Keerti and Upasana exclaimed in shock.

"But don't worry. Now that I am here, you don't have to do anything; I will take care of my boyfriend myself," Tamannah said.

"He is married now, you bitch," Heena thundered on her and told her that she would really punch her if she didn't stop spewing nonsense.

"Tammy, what did I tell you before?" Shaurya's annoyed voice landed in my ears as he came out of the boutique and stood beside Tamannah.

"What happened?" Another man, dressed in an olive green V-neck t-shirt and black jeans, appeared after a few seconds with a concerned look.

"Nothing," Tamannah said through gritted teeth and moved back when Shaurya started scolding her.

"Are you okay, baby?" That other man asked and hugged Tamannah.

"I am fine, Raghuveer. Can you let me go now?" Tamannah snapped at him.

Raghuveer broke the hug and tried to mask his hurt expression. Tamannah stomped away after throwing a glare at me and Heena, who was looking at her with disinterest. Shaurya told Heena to cool down and suggested my friends to stop hyperventilating for no reason.

"I am really sorry for her behaviour," Shaurya told me.

"I am too, Mrs. Raichand," Raghuveer added.

"It is okay," I replied.

A small smile broke out on his naturally pale face which had a light stubble on his jawline. His light blue eyes were gentle and alive with innocence which was hard to find nowadays. He ran a hand through his wavy black hair and took a huge breath before introducing himself.

"I am Raghuveer Ahuja; Tamannah's fiance."

"Tell your girl to keep her hands to herself," Heena retorted.

"Don't be so hard on him for what Tamannah did," I reprimanded her.

Raghuveer pursed his lips and didn't argue back. I could see his aura getting dull and how defeated he looked. By looking at his behaviour and actions, I deduced that he was aware of his fiance's plans of getting back with Yuvaan.

"Don't worry about us, Mr. Ahuja. I think you should go and take care of what you are worried about," I told him, and he shot me a grateful smile.

After he took his leave, Keerti and Upasana dragged Heena with them and started bombarding her with their doubts. Shaurya waited for sometime and then asked me the question which was running in his mind since he arrived.

"Why don't you look surprised, Reyna?"

"Why would I?" I replied.

"Yuvaan's ex is back and you haven't yet asked me what I was doing beside her," he proded.

"What if I say I am not interested?" I teased.

He blinked rapidly. "Tamannah is my cousin."

"Is that why you were so adamant on divorcing me and Yuvaan to make things easier for your sister?"

"That's a very grave accusation, you know." He shook his head.

"Whatever. I don't care what your reasons were and you can tell your sister to do whatever she wants — she is not my concern." I shrugged. "I hardly know her."

"You aren't even a little bit worried?" Shaurya queried.

"About what? Losing Yuvaan? Your best friend can take his own decisions; I won't be stopping him from living his life like he wants to. If he wants to stay with me, he can and if he wants to get back with Tamannah, he can do that too. I don't have any expectations from anyone."

"You don't love Yuvaan then?"

"That's a personal question, Shaurya... and I won't be answering it." I grinned.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and mumbled something under his breath. I laughed at him in my mind when I saw him having an internal struggle and glancing at me in between with a confused expression.

"Can you please tell me what's exactly going on in your mind?" he begged.

"You are the lawyer, Shaurya; find it yourself." I chuckled.

"Both of you are enjoying messing with me," he complained.

"Can't help it. Yuvaan is my husband, and I am his wife - there has to be something in common, doesn't it?"

"You have changed, Reyna," he commented.

"Have I?" I gave him an innocent smile and asked him if he was going with his cousin or would like to have dinner at Yuvaan's house.

"I will meet you guys tomorrow," he answered and bid his goodbye.

"Reyna!" Keerti called me in an angry tone.

I rolled my eyes and went to clear out my friends' worries with help of Heena who looked completely exhausted after getting her brain short circuited by continuous chattering of my best friends.

"We are having a sleepover at your house, and we want every detail," Keerti warned.

Upasana agreed and after getting a positive response, they took a breath of relief and told me to inform Yuvaan beforehand in case he wasn't comfortable with them staying tonight.

"I don't need to take his permission," I said.

"Our Reyna has grown up so much." Upasana patted my head.

"Let's go and surprise Jeeju!" Keerti hopped, and all girls started giggling with mischievous plans in their heads.

Tamannah Advani... Let me also see how far you can go to have Yuvaan back.

Thank you for reading 💐

Take care and be safe 🍁