Brave and Beautiful

Chapter 16

Aarush

    It was the day of the business award ceremony. I'm waiting outside the car for my wife. She insisted that I wait for her outside. She hasn't shown me her outfit. She did say a saree and I know that the colour is a dark blue since she bought me a tie of the same colour, in satin material, as her outfit. 

   I heard the soft sound of anklets and looked up from my phone to see my wife, walking towards me in a beautiful suit. Not saree. She was wearing a dark blue suit made of satin with a turtleneck. She had paired it with huge diamond studs and dark blue stilettos. Since the sleeve of the blazer was elbow-length, she was still wearing her wedding bangles. The bright red was such a contrast to the blue, making her look really good. 

  "Son, you've got a bit of drool over there," Dad pulls me out of my ogling session. Not my fault. 

  He smiles at me in a teasing manner before patting Ria's head and boarding his car, along with Mom, who winks at me. 

 "Hi" 

 "Hi," she greets back. 

 "Hi," I repeat like a fool. I couldn't seem to think straight. 

 "Hello, Aarush...shall we get in the car?" 

 "What car? Oh...the car, yes yes," I open the door for her and get inside. I could stare at her the whole day. She looks so beautiful.  "Stop staring at me," she says while scrolling through her phone.  I blush, to have been caught by her. The top of my ears felt warm like they were burning. I couldn't stop the smile forming and looked away, outside the window.

 "You look good today. The tie suits you," she compliments me. That's a first! Pretty sure my ears look pink now. I mumble a 'thanks', afraid to make a fool out of myself if I talk anymore. 

 "I got you something," she says and extends another jewellery box. I open it and see earrings. "You have piercing holes but don't have earrings, so I bought you a pair."

   "Can you help me wear it?" I ask as I give her one while I put on the other one. I shiver when her cold fingers touch my warm ear. Once she is done, I turn around to show her how I look. 

  "You look more intimidating now. Looks good"

  "Sir, Ma'am, we have arrived," interrupts the driver. 

   I was about to get out of the car when Ria grabs my forearm. "Can you give me a few seconds?"

 I smile. "Everything alright, sweetheart?"

She shakes her head as no and blows out a deep breath. 

"I will be there with you throughout the ceremony. I am not going to leave you alone. Even if I have to, we are going to be in the same hall and you can find me anytime. Mom and Dad are also going to be there. Calm down, deep breathes, close your eyes and count to 10. I promise everything is going to be alright."

   Ria follows my instructions and calms down. Good girl. "Thank you, Aarush" she smiles, squeezing my forearm. Damn. "Anytime, sweetheart. Are you feeling better? Shall we exit the car and give them a mind-blowing entry?"

   "Yea, I really don't feel like interacting with people now,"

   "Hey, that happens and it's completely fine. It's just for tonight. Let's go!"

   The driver comes and opens my door. "Stay in, I'll open the door for you," I say and exit the car. The media immediately starts to click pictures of me. I walk over to her side and open the door. I shield her eyes from the flickering flashlights and let her lead her way into the venue. Mom and Dad were already there, waiting at the table designated for our family. There were waiters serving flutes of champagne and glasses of red wine.