The Royal Commoner

42 part 2

Nalani and Hridyanshu sat on the deck that faced the sealine. The only light that is illuminating is the one from the above floor. They could hear the guests' voices.

They sat there in silence— processing the truth that they were getting married. "You know. . . I cannot believe I'm getting married in three days— To you." Hridyanshu chuckled. "Is that too hard to believe?"

Nalani hummed; she was staring at the sealine. The house is far from the sea, but sometimes, in the silence of the night, they could hear the sounds of the waves.

"I— Never in my life I thought we would have a normal conversation. It was weird when we had a normal conversation at Akshaya's wedding." Nalani glanced at Hridyanshu. He was already looking at her.

"I went home thinking about how we grew up without realising it. We argued every time we crossed paths, and at the wedding— I was happy to see your presence. I was pleased to see you. And. . . That was the first time I realised that I had missed you."

"I accepted that I missed you and missed arguing with you. I was happy that you have moved on from what has happened. I was happy that we were able to meet and talk. I was happy that we didn't argue."

Nalani took a shaky breath. She was drunk, and she wanted to talk about how she felt about Hridyanshu. She could feel the emotions surfacing as the wedding madness hit them with every force possible.

"I— Never in my life thought I would end up loving you." Hridyanshu could feel his heart hammering. It was a good kind of hammering. There were a thousand things he wanted to tell Nalani, but his voice was stuck in his throat.

There was this ugly fear and voice that kept knocking at the back of his head. Whispering things that tell him Nalani would end up leaving him. He is scared— he is worried about the future, but he is ready to face it with Nalani beside him.

The thought of losing Nalani made his heartache. He couldn't bear the idea of being away from her. He would go to great lengths to keep her by his side. Whether it was crossing oceans or climbing mountains, he was ready to do whatever it took to be with her. He knew their relationship was worth fighting for, and he was determined to make it work. Nothing was going to stand in the way of their love.

Hridyanshu kissed her knuckles as a smile played on Nalani's face. "But I'm glad that I fell in love with you. I'm glad that I decided to pursue you. I'm glad that I made you go on those four dates. Glad that I didn't give up on you."

They looked into each other's eyes before Hridyanshu gently cupped Nalani's face in his hands as he pulled her face closer. Nalani placed her hand on Hridyanshu's hand as they leaned to share a kiss.

Hridyanshu smiled into the kiss as Nalani put pressure on it. They shared a slow kiss before pulling away. They couldn't help but chuckle before sharing another kiss.

*

"Where have you been two?" Atulya asked as he looked at flushed Hridyanshu and Nalani. Who laughed in return before patting his shoulders as they approached the food court.

"What do you want to eat?" Nalani looked at the starter's menu. "I will go with the kababs first." Hridyanshu grabbed a plate for the two of them. He then placed the different kababs on the plate.

Atulya pulled his phone out and checked his message box. Except for the Airtel spam messages— There weren't any new messages that he was waiting for. He sighed before finishing his drink.

He looked to his right side; Aadya was shaking her head at what Peter had said. He approached them, and Aadya's eyes met his. She mouthed 'save me'