Mohabbatein only love

Part 45

Author POV:

Annaya and Yuvraj were meeting with others, yet Annaya's gaze kept shifting solely towards Abhimanyu, who was ignoring her as if she didn't exist.

 Both families were doing their best to not show something is not good, and was trying to be appear normal and was forcing a fake smile. 

"Excuse me," Yuvraj said, and took Annaya aside to a corner. "What happened, Yuvraj?" Annaya asked as they stood apart from the others. Instead of replying, he took two glasses of water from a passing waiter and handed one to Annaya. 

"Yuvraj, I don't need it," she said. "Drink, Annaya. You need it," he insisted, and Annaya, unable to refuse, drank the water.

"Even with the air conditioning on, look how much you're sweating. And stop digging your nails into your palm; I know you're very stressed and nervous," he observed.

"Yuvraj, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," Annaya said as a tear escaped. "Ara, Annaya, please, Yaar, don't do this," he said, wiping away the tears. "No, Yuvraj, you did all this without questioning me," Annaya replied.

Flashback to {Part 42: Ananya visits Abhimanyu at the hospital, and later, she encounters Yuvraj on the road.}

"Yuvraj, I need your help," Annaya said. "For you, I came that day as well, and I didn't ask you then. When we met in your cabin, Abhimanyu arrived, and later in the cafe, there was all the media. So now, just like then, I will not ask. Tell me, what can I do?" Yuvraj replied, and a small smile graced her lips.

"Actually, I want you to become my fake boyfriend," she said. Yuvraj paused for a second and, without any questions, he agreed.

Ananya was pondering what kind of person Yuvraj was, not questioning or saying anything. "Yuvraj, why are you doing this?" she asked as a tear escaped her eye. "You know I'm feeling guilty," she added.

He gently took Ananya's hand in his. "First, stop crying; you've already cried a lot," he said, wiping away her tears. "I'm helping you because I want to, and friends help each other, so don't overthink it."

And regarding asking you, I know you'll tell me when you're ready, and I'm confident you won't do anything bad specially for Abhimanyu. So don't worry, I'm always here for you, just a phone call away," he added.

Flash back ends

"Annaya," I said that day, "don't worry and don't overthink. Please, Yaar, I hate seeing tears in your eyes, so stop it." And with the dramatic flair of a hero, he added, "I hate tears, Pushpa."

 Annaya chuckled, wiping away her tears. "Yuvraj, you're so bad," she said with a chuckle. "Oh, I'm hurt," he replied, placing a hand over his heart to show the depth of his pain.

"Can I hug you?" she asked. "Come here," he said, opening his arms, and Ananya hugged him. For a moment, they stood like that before ending the hug. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Yes, now I am," she replied with a smile. "Let's go and meet the others," she added, and he nodded in agreement.

As they moved towards everyone, Ananya's eyes met the intense, unblinking red gaze of Abhimanyu. She gulped, averted her gaze, and turned to meet the people Yuvraj was introducing her to.

"Hello everyone," Mr. Rome announced, standing in the center with Heza beside him. "First of all, thank you so much for coming. This shows how much you all respect and love us."

"It's a great honor to host the ballot in the beautiful country of India, and once again, thank you so much," he said, and everyone smiled.

"So, before ending this night, I invite all of you to come to the dance floor and let's shake a leg," he added. The lights went dim, music started, and everyone paired up and moved to the floor.