Love After Marriage [SNAIL PACED UPDATES]

Chapter 15 - The Exhibition!

"Bhabhi aap batao na main fest ke liye kya pehnoo? Mujhe kuch samajh nahi aa raha! Isse pehle log mere pictures dekhe, woh log mujhe dekh kar hi bhaag jayenge!"
"Divi tu shaant ho jaa pehle! Main karoonga na teri help, tujhe kis baat ki chinta hai!"
"Aap nahi hota na jaane kya hota mera!" Divya said hugging her bhabhi.
It was the college fest celebrations time for Divya and she was finding it difficult to decide upon an outfit for her exhibition, but now as Drishti had promised for her help, she felt at ease.
"Bhabhi aap aur bhai bhi aaoge na exhibition ke liye!"
"Haan baba hum pakka aayenge. Waise tumhein abhi tak bataya ki nahi ki chief guest kaun hai?"
"Are yaar bhabhi yeh college wale humein suspense se maar dena chahate hai. Aapko pata hai maine Dean ko manane ki kitni koshish ki par phirr bhi woh nahi maane! Pata nahi kaun se jungle ke sher ko bulane wale hai yeh log!"
"Are dekh lenge jo bhi hoga, hum kisise kam hai kya?"
Drishti hi-fied Divya. No one would say that they were "bhabhi-nanad" it looked more like they were sisters.
****
On the day of exhibition

Drishti was getting ready in her room. She had been trying to reach Rakshit since the past one hour, but his phone was not reachable. She was very pissed at him.
"Unhe pata hai aaj Divi ka exhibition hai, phirr bhi laye aana hai! Maine bola tha aaj off le lo, par kya Bolte hai "nahi nahi main time par aa jaoonga." Ab aane do batati hoon, kitna time pe aaye hai."
"Bhabhi!" Divya barged into the room, screaming her lungs out.
"Chalo na late ho rahe hai!"
"Par Rakshit nahi aaye hai ab tak, aise kaise chale?"
"Bhabhi bhaiya aa jayenge, bachche thodi na hai woh!"
"Okay phirr! Chalo!"
Together they left for the exhibition.
Divya was wearing a ocean blue coloured frock, which went up to her knee length, she had a clutch which went with her dress. Drishti was wearing a red top with jeans. Together the girls set out for the exhibition. Little did they know the day held more surprises for them.
****
Rakshit had decided to finish all jis work, before leaving for the exhibition, but unfortunately a very important conference call came up with his overseas client at the last moment. Till the time he finished all his work, he realized he was too late and if he did not hurry he would not make it to the exhibition, which was Divya's first ever. "Beta Rakshit aaj toh tu gayo re! Drishti ne bola tha time pe aa jaana! Par nahi maine kabhi koi kaam dhang se kiya. Aaj agar Divi ka pehla exhibition miss ho gaya, toh samajh lo zindagi bhar ki musibat sar le li hai maine! Aur mujhe andar se yeh feeling aa rahi hai ki ab mujhe Drishti ko bhi manana padega, kyuki ab tak toh woh muh fulaa kar baith gayi jogi! Hey bhagwan thodha late hone ke itne saare consequences kyun hai?" Rakshit murmered to himself. He knew he was going to have a tough day ahead.
***
As Divya and Drishti reached the college, the crowd was already swarming in. Divya tugged at Drishti's arm to tell her that, they needed to hurry in. They made their way through the crowd, to the place where Divya's photography exhibition was set up. Divya's besties, Meera and Shriya were already there, looking after the exhibits and as Divya entered, they squealed out of excitement and hugged her tight. Seeing their excitement, Drishti also smiled. There was a time when she was also so excited about the tests held in her college. That was long back, in her dark past, that she rather not wished to revisit in such a happy moment.
"Guys meet my Bhabhi, and Bhabhi yeh hai mere best friends Meera aur Shriya." They waved Drishti a chirpy hello, when they heard an announcement.
"Our chief guest for the day had already arrived. I request the respective owners to remain with their exhibits, so as to not cause any inconvenience and delay with the smooth running of the event. The cultural round will start at around 7:30. Thank You!"
"Ab aayega asli maza!" Divya clapped her hands, excitedly. All Drishti could do at the moment was smile at the childlike excitement of her lil nanad who was more like her own lil sister.
***
Rakshit drove his bike through the crowd. It had been back in his college days that he had rode one. And going to another with his own bike, sent him down the memory lane. And as he parked the bike and started heading towards the spot where Divya's exhibits were kept, every single person he crossed by kept on staring at him with open eyes. Girls were staring at him for they wanted a man like him in their lives, and guys were staring at him for they could not be like him.
Rakshit reached the spot to find Divya and Drishti setting up some last moment lightings. Drishti was standing on a ladder and trying to fix the light while Divya was giving her instructions from below. But the very next moment Drishti tripped on the one end of the fairy light and fell down from the ladder. But before she could feel the earth beneath her, Rakshit's strong arms caught her. They were lost in each other's eyes, but they were brought back to reality when they heard, Divya and the other two started coughing out loud. Rakshit gave them an annoyed look, while Drishti was looking at him sternly.
"Aap mujhe neeche uthaiye abhi!"
"Aur agar nahi utara toh? Kya kar logi tum?"
"Karne ko toh bahut kuch kar sakti hoon par yeh sahi jagah nahi hai. Aap nahi behave kar sakte public main par i know how to behave!"
"Achcha ji..." Before Rakshit could reply back, Divya interrupted.
"Bhai bhabhi aap dono baad mein lad lena! Programme shuru hona wala hai chaliye!"
Before Rakshit argue back, Divya pulled Drishti along with her and rushed to the auditorium. Rakshit mumbling to himself followed them.

As they entered the auditorium, they found that it was already tightly packed with all the students. They somehow managed to find themselves a corner seat. The moment they got seated they heard one of Divya's professor take over the microphone and announce,
"My dear children! The moment of wait is finally coming to an end. Our chief guest has finally arrived. I would like to call upon one of the most loved author of the younger generation, a very sweet and humble soul, an orator who can floor people with his beautiful strands of words! I would like to call upon, Mr. Shikhar Sharma to the dias!"
***