The Royal Commoner

35

Hridyanshu got off the bed, and Nalani watched him as he rushed into the bathroom. She opened and closed her mouth. She didn't think Hridyanshu would react the way he responded now. 

Hridyanshu gazed at his reflection in the mirror and sighed deeply. He stood in front of the wash basin, lost in thought, for five minutes. He splashed water on his face and dried it with a tissue.

Nalani was worried. She didn't know what was wrong. All the sleepiness she was feeling had vanished. She was about to leave bed when the bathroom door opened, and Hridyanshu walked in.

"Hey, are you okay?" Nalani asked. She was nervous, and her voice was gentle. Hridyanshu gave a meek smile before walking towards her. He got on his knee whilst Nalani watched him in confusion. 

"What are you doing?" she asked. Hriyanshu took Nalani's left hand and put on the ring he held in his fist. 

"I didn't come prepared, but I know you were the one for me when I kept thinking about you." Hridyanshu looked at Nalani. "I was going to confess my love, and I— I was nervous, but not anymore."

Nalani eyes widened as she looked at the ring on her hand. The ring kept slipping off her finger if Hridyanshu wasn't holding it. "I didn't come prepared. But this ring means a lot to me, and I would love to pass it on to you. I will get you another ring on our engagement." 

Hridyanshu was nervous, and he didn't know how Nalani was going to react. "Hridyanshu. . . Breath. Calm down, I'm here, and it is happening." 

Nalani looked at the ring. She knew the ring was passed down to him from his late great-grandfather. He always wore the solo ring. She knew how serious he was when he used the ring to propose to her. 

"I—Love you. Let's do this." Hridyanshu was taken aback when Nalani beamed in happiness, holding his hand. "I love you so much! I can't believe you proposed. I was expecting you to take another year." Nalani chuckled as Hridyanshu froze in shock. 

"There's no going back? I'm serious and I will be in Hyderabad to ask your hand for marriage. You are sure about marrying me, right?" Hridyanshu asked. Nalani nodded her head in enthusiasm. 

"Yes. . . Yes. . . Even if you ask me a hundred times— My answer would be a yes!" A yawn left her mouth, and Hridyanshu chuckled. 

He traced his thumb against the ring. He took her hand in his and placed a gentle kiss against the back of her hand. 

"I love you, Nalani." Nalani's cheeks became warm as Hridyanshu laid his cheek against her hand. Their hearts started thumping loudly as there was a loud thundering outside. Nalani was startled and looked at the balcony to see it started drizzling.

"It's drizzling. . ." Hridyanshu couldn't take his eyes off her ring finger. The ring might be big on her finger, but weirdly, it felt like it belonged to her. "Do you have a thread in your apartment?" 

"Thread? For what?" Nalani asked.

"Do you have it now?" Nalani gave a nod. "I brought my stitching needles and thread. The box should be somewhere here. Let me search for it." Nalani got off the bed and made her way towards the wardrobes. Hridyanshu watched her from behind. He sat down on the floor, brought his knees higher, and leaned his chin on his knees. 

The drizzling turned into a mild rain. The sound of raindrops against the glass windows echoed in the room. Nalani searched through the drawers before she found the box. She took a white thread. She kept the box back in its place and went over to Hridyanshu. 

She handed the thread to him. He patted the place before him. Nalani sat in front of him as he held her hand. He tied the thread at the back of the finger round and round so the ring didn't slip off her finger. 

The space was filled, and Nalani watched in amusement. "How did you know this trick?" Hridyanshu smiled. "I was a kid when Papa handed the ring to me. It kept slipping off my finger when Mumma came up with this idea. I didn't want to make any alternations."

"This will help." Once Hridyanshu was done, he admired the ring on her finger before looking at her. "I never thought you would give this ring to anyone."

Hridyanshu hummed. "I planned on handing it to our next generation, but I just felt like giving it to you." Nalani chuckled. "I want to make a video call and let your brothers see this. I know how they fought for this ring with you."

"Please don't do it. I want to spend some peaceful days with you."

"Does that mean you will be here for a while?" Hridyanshu gave a nod. "I will be staying here for a week." 

"Wow, I will be free in two days. We can plan on something." Hridyanshu nodded his head. "Sure." Nalani looked at the balcony. "It's raining."

Hridyanshu hummed but pulled his attention back to Nalani. Nalani stood up and walked over to the balcony. She couldn't stop smiling. There's this unknown amount of happiness scrolling through her body. 

Hridyanshu stood beside Nalani. They watched the rain when Nalani held his hand, gaining his attention. "You aren't going to back down from this, right? I seriously consider this our engagement ring, and you cannot— Like ever break the engagement because I'm sure there will be arguments between us in the future."

Nalani took a breath. "I cannot promise you that everything will be perfect between us. Or that I would agree to everything. I would always voice my thoughts, and I won't do it if I don't like anything."

Hridyanshu chuckled but nodded his head. "If it matters, I wouldn't agree to everything and will voice my concerns." 

Nalani beamed. "And, if there's something that's bothering you. Talk to me before concluding. Don't ever run away after a fight." 

"Noted." Nalani tapped her finger against her chin as she thought about it. "Never let a third person come in between us." 

"The same goes for you."

"Of course." Nalani smiled. "I can't believe you just promised to me." She chuckled, looking at the rain. "I just want to dance around the whole night. I'm so so so happy."

"Well, nothing is stopping you from dancing all night. I would enjoy watching you dance." Nalani shook her head. "It's no fun dancing all alone." 

An idea stuck in Nalani's head as she looked at Hridyanshu. "I have a favourite playlist. Do you have any?" Hridyanshu shook his head negatively. 

"No."

"I will play my playlist, and we will dance together. You cannot say no to me because this is our moment. I want to enjoy our moment by dancing." Before he could reply, Nalani skipped over to where her phone was. 

"Do you have any song suggestions?" she asked. "No." Nalani connected the Bluetooth, and her playlist started playing on Spotify. 

"Come on, let's keep this simple." Hridyanshu smiled to himself as he walked over to where Nalani was standing. Nalani placed her hand on Hridyanshu's shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her waist. 

"Is this the song you want to dance to?" Hridyanshu asked. "I'm keeping it simple. I'm sure you would shake your head if I told you the song I want to dance on."

A moment passed between them as Hridyanshu observed Nalani. She was telling him about the playlists she has. There was a small mole on her forehead. He never noticed it before. There were acne marks on her cheeks. They weren't visible, but one could see them if they were so near to her face. 

 "What happened?" Hridyanshu leaned down and kissed her forehead. Nalani froze. He didn't pull away and kept his lips against her forehead. "I'm just happy."