Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 163 - With You (2)

Diksha's voice was clear and sweet; it cleaved through the noise and general hubbub to reverberate loudly throughout the room.

As soon as Diksha finished her sentence, Shehnaaz had the distinct impression that the room was suddenly dead silent.

But, it was probably just her imagination, since a second later the clinking of glasses had resumed, mingled with the beeping of the karaoke machine as Richa fiddled with it.

Mrs. Tandon, who was sitting on Shehnaaz's other side, gave her a gentle, teasing push as she cheerfully said, "I want to know too! Little Gill, do you have a boyfriend? If you aren't seeing anyone, I have a number of young, handsome studs to introduce to you!" She winked.

Apparently all the cultured ladies from distinguished families were fond of match-making, Shehnaaz realized. She did not know whether to laugh or cry at this; did she really seem so young and desperate? She stammered out, flustered, "W-What? A boyfriend? Um..." She remembered when Parth had tried to date her in college: Sidharth had calmly and sensibly told her that he did not care who she went out with.

At that time though, she had not understood why her heart had sank like a rock at his words. She understood now, but she would never be able to tell anyone about it. And, it did not matter what he felt about it-she knew she would never be able to love another.

"Tell us! Don't be shy now." Diksha nudged her arm in a teasing manner. "You already graduated from college, right?
It's totally normal for you tohave a boyfriend. But don't feel pressured, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

Shehnaaz took a deep breath, and straightened up. There was a faint blush on her face as she slowly said, "I...don't have a boyfriend."

"Great!" Diksha snapped her fingers. "Where's your phone? I'll give you my younger brother's number, he-" Diksha did not get to finish. Shehnaaz interrupted her with a smile: "But, I have someone I like."

She had been careful to keep her voice low; nevertheless, unknown to her, her remark passed through the gaps in the screen and reached Sidharth's ears, who was sitting just behind it. His hand momentarily stilled in the middle of clinking glasses with Asim and Raghav, but he quickly recovered and downed his drink.

"Bravo! Sid, you can still drink like a fish! Actually, no -you're an even better drinker now!" Vidyut laughed heartily as he filled Sidharth's cup once more.

"You have someone you like?" Mrs. Tandon's interest had been
piqued. "But you said that you don't have a boyfriend. Are you saying it's a secret crush?"

"A secret crush? Is that still a thing?" Richa, who was sitting on the karaoke stage, turned to smile at Shehnaaz. "If you like someone, tell him. I don't think anyone would ever say no to a girl like you."

Shehnaaz smiled, but said nothing. She regretted having
revealed so much of herself to these women-she barely knew them! It was none of their business who she was dating, or even who she liked. However, she just couldn't resist the desire to
confide in her heart, and so had taken the opportunity to talk about her feelings for Sidharth.
But, just as she had expected, he had not shown any reaction, at all. He evidently did not care about who she did or did not like.
Shehnaaz smiled as she brusquely got up and asked Mrs.
Tandon, "Where's the bathroom? I'll be back in a minute."

Mrs. Tandon and Diksha exchanged a look: they knew they had upset Shehnaaz by being too nosy and pushy.

"Come with me, I'll show you the way. Go out, take a left- it's at the end of the corridor." Mrs. Tandon stood up and extended a hand to Shehnaaz.

Shehnaaz quickly said, "That's okay, Mrs. Tandon. You stay and
sing a few songs with the others, I can look for it on my own. The place isn't that big." She laughed lightly at their worried looks and said, "I'll be fine, I'm not a child." With that, she turned and left.