I could see him standing in the corner of the rooftop below, gaze stuck upon us. "Upar kyun nhi laaya? Bula le usse. Yaha idhar se behtar hai" I murmur low enough for Khushal to only register. He did as asked pulling him up the staircase along with himself. They sat back down,Sidharth pushed to the middle.
Kh - "Abey yr? Hum yaha koi silent mind reading game nhi khel rahe. Baat toh kro"
S - "Haan.. w-woh maine puchna tha ki Maahi se pehle toh koi upar nhi aaya tha na? Mtlb-"
Kh - "Sidharth aaya tha tere se 10-15 minute baad lekin fir neeche chala aaya vaapis. Baaki uske baad toh nhi pta. Aur tu ab jaa nhi rahi? Ghar jaana tha na?"
S - "Mere Ghar. Apartment"
"Acha laau main cups neeche rakh kr aur I dono ko lekar aata hun tum dono continue kro apna yeh silent torture" Khushal announced another 5 minutes of silence later. I leaned back over the rail avoiding to meet Sidharth's gaze. He saw all of that.
Si - "Tum theek ho?"
I wanted to turn and slap him across his face. Of course I wasn't. For more reasons than I had time to explain. "Haan.. theek hu. Tum?" I say contemplating on whether I should bring the topic up.
Si - "Sach bol skta hu?"
S - "Bolne ki himmat hai?"
Si - "Shehnaaz please... woh sab"
S - "Koi na.. agge badh jao us sab se. After all ab farak nhi padta. Vaise tum shaadi nhi kr rhe ho? Woh last year toh engaged the na?"
Si - "Jhooth tha. I haven't even met her after that night. Aur tum? Shaadi karogi usse? "
"Haan..." I mumbled softly pulling the last string holding up my beating heart. "Papa chahte hai aur unhe acha lga toh acha hi hoga. Abhi itna wait bhi nhi kr skti na? Family and all.. sab kuch baaki hai"
I physically felt his hand tense against mine. Clutching my palm into his own. His eyes yet again shot blood red. His eyes roaming against the riff between my skirt and blouse. I tried to pull my hand away, ridding it of the clear warmth generating between the two. Suddenly he jerked my arm pulling me up and closer to himself. "Don't you dare Say any of that in front of me ever again. Tum uske saath family ka soch bhi kaise skti ho? The way he was holding you, blaming you.... I don't care who or what he is. One more time I see him laying hands on you forcefully- "
Khushal entered laughing along with Jai and Maahi. I freed my hand from his looking away, what the hell was that?! I left for mines shortly after much to stressed to do anything else. There was already another two events tomorrow. I had to get all the arrangements checked but my mind seemed to be deceiving me. Why'd he gotten so frustrated at the simple mention?! I'd have to start a family of my own at some point. Whether it was with him or..
no, no fucken way. Shehnaaz are you out of your bloody mind?! You're marrying Karan. Not Sidharth. None of what you'd planned. I submerged myself in to the bed changing out of the heavy jewelry and clothes. I'd 3 months to sort my feelings out. The next morning I got up early fixing up my hair into a messy bun and doing the daily necessities before walking back towards the hotel in a simple pair of leggings and an oversized men's sweatshirt. They were simply much more comfortable than anything they made for women. I mean seriously who on earth decided that it was a good idea to crop sweatshirts?! I drive into the reserved parking spotting both Khushal and Sidharth standing at the entrance cigars stuck to their lips. I hated the mere sight. Ignoring it I took my bag and headed towards the door deciding to do what mattered more right now. The guests would be arriving soon and I was sure as hell that Maahi was still asleep. I walk into her room blasting music from the set situated against the table making her sit up instantly. I gave her a sarcastic smile pointing towards the clock before stepping into the washroom to get changed myself as she headed to her makeup room to do the same. It was her haldi in just a few hours, along with the mehndi tonight and chura and sangeet tomorrow. She insisted I had the second best dresses throughout the entire wedding, planning lehengas almost as decorative as her own. I pull in a white piece embroidered with yellow and pink threads. It came with a yellow net dupatta. The blouse was longer than usual creating a layering look with the lehenga. The back dori was my favourite part. It ran cross cross down the whole back tying at the top with jingly charms laced through each thread. I held back on makeup and jewelry plugging only small gold jhumkas into my ears; pulling my hair into loose curls the front pieces braided together to the back.
