Forever Yours

Chapter Nine

Siddharth had always been a private, although fairly outgoing person as a celebrity he had a personal life that not many people could penetrate into.  Media knew, if there was something that Siddharth Shukla didn't want to make public, they wouldn't get to make public no matter how hard they try.  

There were rumors, sure. There always are, sometimes the media would by chance stumble upon the god's honest truth and other times, the speculations were nothing but shots taken in the dark, far beyond truth. 

Shehnaaz and Siddharth had been meeting quite frequently in the weeks preceding Siddharth's birthday. Siddharth had been to a fair few of Shehnaaz's plays. They were spotted together on more than a few occasions, while eating together, walking out of the theater hall, after a play, or on a beach.  

Shehnaaz wasn't exactly the best kept secret of Siddharth Shukla, on the contrary she was the one woman that Siddharth hadn't actively hidden from the eye of the media. Siddharth, his family, friends had all been seen in the public with this woman at least once and if that had sprung any alarms, Siddharth wasn't notified of them. 

It was almost a shock when half a week after Siddharth Shukla's birthday, his official instagram and Twitter accounts had published posts announcing his engagement with a 'so called, No Name' girl. Siddharth's instagram account had a photograph flaunting their entwined fingers bearing their engagement rings with the caption "Hitched" 

The social media and the Internet in general was on fire since the second the two posts were published! Siddharth Shukla was trending worldwide, it was as if a storm had started. There were congratulatory mesaages, shocked responses, speculations. Wild. Wild speculations. Angry messages, a lot of tears, happy and sad, ecstatic and jealous.  

Suddenly, everyone wanted to know the woman who had managed to get Siddharth Shukla to be hers.  

Some wanted to know why her? Some asked, why not them? There was a long list of alleged exes and friends giving interviews, some congratulated the couple while some denied the credibility of the news, going as far as terming all of it a "sham" and a "publicity stunt" 

There were people who even went on to call Shehnaaz an "attention-seeking, lying bitch" who was doing this for fame. 

Siddharth Protective Shukla was quick to shut such mouths with his sarcasm and quick witted responses. He was not going to take any shit from these people for his Naaz! 

For the briefest of moments, Siddharth almost second-guessed his decision but then decided that his Shehnaaz deserved to be flaunted. He was proud to call himself engaged to her. She was his Naaz, his pride and there was no reason for him to keep his "Pride" hidden from the world.  

While there were haters spreading negativity, their were ardent, die-hard fans who couldn't stop gushing over #SidNaaz and showering them both with unbound love 

Shehnaaz was a close second on the trend list, right next to her betrothed. The SidHearts had dug out old Advertisements of their "Bhabhi" some even remembered watching a few of her plays and soon, Sid's Naaz was trending for a completely different reason, not for being Siddharth Shukla's fiance but for being Shehnaaz, for being the #HiddenTalentShehnaaz 

Shehnaaz wasn't opposed to the idea of their engagement being the talk of the town but the way it had highlighted her as a "No Name" that Siddharth Shukla was "all set to marry" did bother her a little.  

"Shehnaaz.. sweetheart tu theek hai na?" Siddharth asked for the third time that hour. Shehnaaz was watching a news channel and she was the topic of discussion. The news reporter was telling them about the newly engaged couple and how getting married to a superstar would affect the career prospects of Shehnaaz.  

It bothered her, of course. Their relationship was pure, free of malicious intent and had no ulterior motives bound to its existence.  

"..baby, I'm asking you something." Siddharth cupped her cheek gently, concern lining his features almost entirely.  

"I'm not.. getting married to you because of your star status." Shehnaaz said quietly, pressing her lower lip under her teeth harshly.  

Siddharth sighed, "I know that superstar. Media waalon ko toh topic chahiye hota hai na, woh mil gaya. Tera career abhi start hua hai. Tu 2 saal mein jahaan bhi hai, apne dam pe hai. Apni wajah se hai. Yeh log kahaaniyan banana jaante hai naaz, sacch humein inhe batana hota hai."  

"Media sirf utna jaanti hai, jitna woh jaan-na chaahti hai. Har kahaani, uss tarah dikhaati hai, jiss-se unhe sabse zyaada viewership mile. Humaara sacch hum jante hai, hamare apne jaante hai. Duniya ke log bhi jaaneinge, jab unhe uss sach ki zaroorat hogi. Aaj inhe ek kahaani, ek speculation se TRP mil rahi hai, kal jab apni mehnat se, mere saath ya mere bagair tu kaamyab hogi tab inn logon ko tera sacch bhi us hi tarah batana hoga, jaise aaj yeh sab bata rahe hai." Siddharth said kindly.  

"I know.."  

Siddharth smiled. "Jab mein pehli baar tujhse milne aaya tha na, mujhe pata tha ki tera career abhi start hua hai. Mein iss baat se surprise nahi hota agar tu mujhse recommendations expect karti. You are a great artist and I've said that more than a few times already. I don't call you superstar just for the sake of it. You are one, a superstar! You have the capability to make a great name for yourself in this world. Hell you'd rule this place like a queen if you really wanted to." He said proudly.  

Shehnaaz smiled at him. "Thank you." 

"You're not a stranger to me Shehnaaz. You are my girl. You'll be my wife in a matter of months and I see so much talent and potential and-- and spirit in you that I will give you the best of opportunities that I can. I was once in this exact spot, baby. I had to work just as hard as you do. I met people, I had help. I had friends and they gave me the right pushes in the right direction. Ekta Ma'am, Dharma.. Salman Khan and.. countless others. I am not going to get you right to the front in one push, I can but I know you wouldn't want that. I know you.. I know how you function. I will let you earn your successes. I will let you work for them. I just ask you to let me guide you, push you in the right direction, celebrate your success with you, handle your failures with you. That's all.." Siddharth said softly.  

"Of course Siddharth.. I didn't mean--"  

"No. No. No baby. Of course I know that. I know you're scared that people will misunderstand this relationship. They might, but eventually the truth will triumph over everything else. We need to keep reminding ourselves of just that. I need you to know that this marriage is the best decision I've ever made, okay?" Siddharth said calmly. 

Shehnaaz nodded innocently.

Siddharth smiled and pecked her lips softly, "Chal ek cheez dikhaata hoon tujhe.."  

Siddharth opened his Twitter and scrolled through the trending list.  

#SiddharthShukla #Shehnaaz #SidNaaz #TalentedNaaz #HiddenTalentShehnaaz #Sidheartskibhabhi  

Social media was still on fire. Partly because of Sid and partly because of his newly discovered Naaz.  

"There are people who know you, independent of me Shehnaaz. Their number might be in the lower digits for now but it's not nil. People know you from your plays, advertisements, projects, however minor.. however small. I might've been the catalyst but you were still part of the reason for this explosion to happen. We are a power couple baby and this story has just started." 

***

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