Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh

Part 40

Akbar and Zubaira not only got engaged as per the planned event but also got married within the next two days that followed when Akbar's grandmother's health didn't approve her for to stay for too long. Shehnaaz and Sidharth, who had taken 2 days leave for Allahabad, ended up staying there for an entire week. 

"Apko pata Maa! Vaha ek din me aunty aur uncle ne shadi matlab unke urdu mein toh nikah bolte hai na, uski tayyari ki! Maine na pehli baar aise nikah hote dekha kisi ka. Itni sundar lag rahi thi Zubaira ke matlab na- Itni pyaaari! Haaye! Aur apna Akbar- Sherwani me! Itna pyara lag raha tha. Lekin muh sadu sa bana kar baitha raha! Vaise aapke liye vaha kuch layi hu mai. Ek shawl hai aur ek saree, saree Akbar ki family ke taraf se hai." Shehnaaz was filling Rita Ji with the details of the function. Her tone laced with excitement and wonder made it obvious how much she liked her stay. It was a normal day, the ladies were preparing the table for their dinner and talking at the same time. 

"Akbar ke liye na lagta hai mujhe thoda, matlab usne apni Dadi ke liye shadi karli. Thoda naraz tha lekin phir maan gaya. Acha kiya usne, Dadi ki akhri iccha puri kardi lekin Maa aage ki life toh un dono ke guzarni ek duje ke sath. Mushkil ho jayega na?" she asked. The comfort level she shared with the lady in front of her was no less than how a daughter shares with her mother. It was probably because of the motherly and friendly way Rita Ji vibed. 

"Han. Mushkil toh hoga. Mushkil toh vaise bhi hota hai bache, kisi bhi nayi family me aana, adjust hona aur vahi khud ko adapt karna. Pehle toh aisi hi shaadiya hoti thi, ghar ke bade, bacho ke liye sari cheeze decide karte the." Rita Ji replied, stirring a big spoon through the vessel and heating up the curry for dinner. 

"Aaj kal zamana badalta ja raha hai, bache khud apne liye partner dhund lete hai. Arrange marriages bhi hoti hai. But I believe love ho ya arrange, efforts aur adjustment dono cases me barabar lagte hai shadi ke baad." she added, pouring the curry into a bowl and taking it to the dining table, where Shehnaaz followed her with plates, cups and glasses in her hands and started arranging them on the table. 

"Sahi keh rahe ho aap." Shehnaaz replied and walked back into the kitchen to get the other food vessels. 

"Hi girls!" Sidharth entered, lightly jogging from the doors towards them and pecking on their heads quickly. It was 8.40 pm and he was apparently late. Shehnaaz eyed him towards his wrist watch, asking if he knew what the time was, he nodded and blew a small kiss when she got him a glass of water. 

"Fresh hoke aata hu." he muttered and went off to join them back within minutes. 

"Bhook lag gayi thi yaar." he said, rolling stuffed aloo morsels into his mouth. 

"Late ho gaya tu aaj? Kaisa tha aaj ka din?" Rita Ji asked. 

"Arey bahut busy tha poore din mai! Subha subha hi ek case aa gaya, phir mere absence me Dr. Sharma ne patients dekhe the toh unki files mere paas vapas aayi. Sabko dekhta gaya ek-ek karke, usi me late ho gaya." he replied, serving himself with more vegetable curry. 

"Routine me vapas jana bhi thaka deta hai. Aaj mai poore ek week baad dance academy gayi, itni jaldi thak gayi practice karte-karte! Vaha Allahabad me itna maza kiya, usi ki saza hai!" Shehnaaz laughed at herself. 

"Bade mazey kiye tune?" Rita Ji chuckled. 

"Ha Maa! Matlab jagah toh hai badi sahi! Aur kya batau mai Aunty ke hath ka khana toh uff! Maa itni tasty sewaiya!!" Shehnaaz replied, mixing curry with rice on her plate and carried on with her talks while the mother-son were all ears. 

Later at night, Sidharth was busy catching up with his work on his laptop when he heard the door of his study room open and close behind his back. 

"Babyyyy.." he heard her whine and hummed in response. 

"Yaar, time dekh! 2 bajne vale hai!" she complained, now standing extremely close to him and pushed away his laptop. 

"Ek minute na sweetheart, zaruri hai." he immediately replied, bending forward to grab the device again. 

"Mere se zyada hoga toh hi lena!" she warned, keeping her hands against her hips, challengingly. 

"Tere se zyada important kya hoga baby? Fatak se khatam karke aata hu na mai!" he assured, going through the medical reports in his mail faster and sending them away.

"Mai ehnu pyar kita si, ehne mere naal aa kita!" she murmured, pointing at the laptop that he was keeping in between them again and again and left, stomping her foot. 

"Eh mai pyar-e kita ae ji." he replied quickly, shutting the screen and following her in. She bit her lips, swallowing her smile that came across her face. His cute Punjabi reply was a result of those movies they had seen together, Punjabi and bollywood movies were her favorites whereas he always suggested english documentaries and movies. He grabbed her when she was about to enter the washroom and turned her around. She was small and light enough to be rotated easily. 

"Mat kar." she wiggled, only to be pulled more into him. 

"Kitna bhav khati hai na tu!" he shook his head, carrying her to bed and hovering over her, effortlessly and kissed her thoroughly. 

His lips caressed hers for a moment and then sucked them with all the passion. As their tongues met, wetting the whole inside and their hands on the other side began working on each other, getting rid of the clothes and savouring what's underneath. She gaped, loving the feeling his fingers were creating on her by playing with her warm and sensitive bud. Her breaths laboured with time and the pressure building inside her lower abdomen in knots. Soon he replaced his fingers with himself, sinking into her core, completing her and loving her. She continued to kiss him, touch him and held him tighter to not let the pressure go, syncing with his pace to let him have share of pleasure. The high came out pretty good and soon with their skin glistening with sweat and yet they weren't done, the night was going to be long one after they had stayed almost week without doing it. Making love was so not possible while they were staying at Akbar's place with his family and now that they were finally home, they weren't anywhere near the end. It was very early in the morning, when Sidharth and Shehnaaz fell on the bed with a moanable sigh, tired after all the writhing. 

"Hhhh- I love- you!" she almost whispered, laying half on him. He smiled with his eyes closed and breath ranked high as he curled his arm around her, pulling her even closer and mumbled her words back into her ears. 

"Love you!" he said, adjusting the quilt over themselves. 

"Sidharth! So gaya kya?" she mumbled against his chiseled skin, after calming down and heard him hum. 

"Ek baat puchu? Hum shadi kab karenge? Akbar aur Zubaira ko dekh ke mera mann ho raha hai." she asked. He had a wholehearted smile across his face because he had felt the same. The slight excitement within while watching his friend getting married, an unknown jittery feeling had hit him when he had seen Shehnaaz dressed in the yellow lehenga he got her. 

"Tu bata? Kab kare?" he asked back, instead of answering. 

"Yaar! Saman lene thodi na jana hai! Jo tu mere se hi puchne lag pada! Mai seriously puch rahi hu!" she retorted, wondering if getting married was anywhere in his list or not. 

"Maine bas pucha, tujhe kab karni hai! Bhadak kyu rahi hai?" he replied, calm and composed. 

"Mujhe- mujhe ekdum jaldi nahi karni. Lekin aur wait nahi karna, matlab mujhe pata hai ke hum vaise hi rahenge jaise abhi rehte hai, kuch change nahi hoga humare beech. Lekin na- tu samajh raha hai mai kya bol rahi hu? Meri feelings?" she raised her face to find him looking at her. A cute frown on the forehead was formed, making her look even more adorable and innocent of the fact that her feelings were the exact same ones, the jittery kind. 

"Samajh raha hu." he answered, kissing her temple. 

"I've been feeling the same." he mumbled, slowly. 

"Haina? Vo haldi aur mehndi mujhe bhi lagvane ka bada mann ho raha tha vaha. Matlab unki shadi ko dekh ke sirf laga ki hum bhi aise hi kisi din ek dusre ko varmala pehna denge. Lekin jab mai tujhe imagine karti hu na, haaye! Kasam se, dil khush ho jata hai. Tere bhi aisi hota hai?" she began to speak her heart out. 

"Hmm. Abhi so jaye darling? Thodi der me subha ho jayegi." he requested, patting her to put her to sleep or else she'd not mind speaking on this topic. 

"Okay! Goodnight baby." she pecked his jaw and snuggled closer, enjoying the skin to skin warmth. 

The next day, Sidharth told his mother that they were wishing to get married soon in a blushing Shehnaaz's presence and Rita Ji was the happiest to have heard that. She immediately let her brother's family know and even decided to meet their priest in the evening itself. Done with the breakfast, the two left for their work and for the week, promising to be back by the next weekend. 

As much as the work commitments kept them occupied, Rita Ji had them occupied too. Sidharth's Mama and Mami arrived with their daughter Priya within a week to attend Shehnaaz's dance performance and to help the Shukla family with the wedding arrangements. 

"Shubh muhurat do mahine baad ka nikla hai." Rita Ji informed the rest of the family. 

"June ke mahine me shadi? Itni garmi hoti hai. Uske aage ka muhurat nahi mila '' Mami worried. 

"Haina bhabhi. Lekin phir barsaat ke mausam me toh aap jamti hai itni barish hoti hai. Bacho- batao." Rita ji replied, passing the Hindu date calendar to the couple to let them choose a date. 

"Dekhlijiye Maa aap dates. We'll be fine with it." Shehnaaz said, assuringly.

During the course of the dinner, they decided how to go about shopping and managing the arrangements. 

"Mujhe rehearsals ke liye kal jana padega! 4 din me performance hai, Mami bura toh nahi manengi?" Shehnaaz asked, the elderly people were off to bed, it was just the trio enjoying the terrace wind. 

"Nahi yaar Bhabhi! Mom toh tumhe dekhne aayi hai, why would she mind!" Priya replied, enveloping an arm around her. Priya was younger to Sidharth but elder to Shehnaaz, calling it an opportunity to call her Bhabhi and tease. 

"Aap bade ho na Priya di! Aise Bhabhi mat bolo." Shehnaaz said, feeling shy all of a sudden. 

"You're cute!" Priya chuckled, pulling her cheeks. Being Sidharth's closest cousin, she really adored the girl for making his brother happy and welcomed her with all her heart into the family, well Shehnaaz was already in but officially. 

Shehnaaz carried on with her rehearsals with half of her mind, the wedding had literally caught half of her attention all the time. Dressed in a beige coloured, full sleeve anarkali and churidar. Hair braided in a long fish tail and minimal makeup, she was all set to perform. She entered the stage after the announcement, the amount of audience still used to get her excited and overwhelmed with expectations. Swiftly moving around on the soft beats of the bollywood song, she began dancing. A beautiful song was chosen in the theme of love and she was living up to its beauty, enchantingly.

'Chahaton ka maza faaslon mein nahi

Aa chupa loon tumhe haunslon mein kahin

Sab se upar likha, hai tere naam ko

Khwaishon se jude silsilon mein kahin'

With her feet moving in sync with her partner's as they held hands in between, Shehnaaz swirled her hand in the air and eyes expressing the purest of emotions. Her amazing footwork and rhythm with the softness in her movements made her look angelic throughout. Sidharth's heart palpitated widely everytime she danced, it was so mesmerising and lovely to watch her living her dream that he'd always find himself falling more for her. 

"Kaisa tha?" she asked, panting loudly, backstage. 

"Bahut bahut graceful tha! You were so enchanting. Palak bhi nahi jhapka maine! Loved it!" he praised, handing her a bottle of water and wiping the sweat off her forehead with his handkerchief. Well, if this wasn't enough, Shehnaaz received a round of compliments from the entire family back at home. Mama, Mami and Priya were totally amazed and impressed. 

"Khoob chhaan ha! Ladkiyo ko na aise ek hobby hona hi chahiye baad me yaad karne ke liye, Shadi ke baad toh pati aur parivaar me hi uljhi reh jati hai." Mami spoke, while she, Priya and Shehnaaz were seated in Rita Ji's room. 

"Hobby nahi hai Mummy! Trained hai Shehnaaz, professional dancer hai!" Priya beamed proudly, while Shehnaaz passed her a grateful smile. 

"Achi baat hai! Lekin shadi ke baad bhi yeh sab thodi karte rahegi Shehnaaz? Yeh toh Rita ne abhi tak kuch bola nahi bachi samajh ke, lekin itna toh tujhe samajh hona chahiye, vo logo ko kya bolegi?" Mami asked Shehnaaz, expecting an obvious no for an answer. 

"Mami mai- mera sapna tha yaha aake classical perform karna, mai kaise chhod du?" Shehnaaz answered, no she'd not let go of her dance. 

"Tula laaj nahi? Shadi ke baad bhi aise logo ke aage kisi admi ke saath nachegi?" Mami gasped with disgust. 

"Mom-" Priya interrupted but Sidharth had heard the conversation from the doorstep.

"Kae laajiravane? Mami? Shadi ka uske dance se kya lena dena? Aap ko kisne bola ki Mom ko logo ko jawab dena hai?" he almost roared. 

"Arey! Mujhe jo sahi laga maine bola! Tum ek bade hospital me doctor ho aur-" Mami was interrupted by Rita Ji this time.

"Bhabhi, hume humari bachi pe garv hai ki vo ek professional classical dancer hai. Mere liye dono, Sidharth aur Shehnaaz ek saman hai, bete ko kabhi nahi roka hai, beti ko bhi nahi rokungi. Log kya sochte hai isse hume farak nahi padta, meri khushi in dono ki khushi me hai! Abhi chaliye so jaiye, kal jewellery dekhne jayenge." She said, taking Mami with her and dismissing the topic. 

Priya apologetically held Shehnaaz's hand saying, "Sorry yaar. Meri mummy bhi na aisi aisi baatein karti hai. Sara mood kharab kar gayi." she sighed. 

"Priya di, isme aap kyu maafi maang rahe ho. Koi na, hota hai." Shehnaaz said that she didn't mind. 

"Aap kal humare saath chalna, card choose karne. Thik hai, Good night." she added, taking Priya in a short hug and making way towards her bedroom with Sidharth, who was apparently upset with Mami's words. 

"Idhar sunn." he called her, once they were in the bed comfortably while Shehnaaz was applying her cream. 

"Hmm.." she bent down towards him. 

"You're never letting go of dancing, never okay. Koi kuch bhi bolta hai, bolne dena lekin apna yeh passion, apna yeh career kisi aur ki wajah se nahi chhodna! Samjhi?" he asked and she couldn't hold back her smile. 

"Tu Mami ke baaton ko seriously mat le, mai-" she replied but he cut her through. 

"Nahi mai khud se bol raha hu, tu yaha Mumbai aayi thi apne dum pe. Apni mehnat se aur aaj jo itni badi dancer bani hai, itne bade auditorium me perform kar rahi hai, yeh ab teri saalon ki mehnat se possible hua hai. Isko jaane nahi dena! Mujhe, Mom ko kisi ko jawab dene ki zarurat nahi hogi kabhi bhi aur koi kuch bhi bakwas karega toh sunna nahi! Because you've always made me proud, mujhe itni khushi hoti hai tujhe perform karte dekh ke ki mai bata nahi sakta!" he explained, sitting up closer. Shehnaaz was too emotional by now to hold back her happy tears, she hugged him tight. 

"Samajh gayi mai." she nodded saying that. 

"I love you, tu kitna pyara hai!" she pecked his lips, feeling too blessed for this gentleman guardian. 

"Um-hm, I love you too!" he replied, chuckling and laying themselves down. 

"Shadi ki tayyariya finally shuru ho gayi, ha?" Sidharth sighed on the realization, it felt like the time was passing by pretty quick. 

"Hmm. Dar toh nahi lag raha?" Shehnaaz asked, biting her lips inside. 

"Mai kyu darunga be?" he asked back. 

"Nahi matlab, tere dost ki toh fatti padi thi." she chuckled. 

"Huh! Kaha Akbar, kaha mai! I'm more than ready for this." he smirked. 

"Aha! So you wanna marry me?" she asked, playing with her eyebrows. 

"Hell yeah!" he replied, holding her tight and putting his leg across her.

~The end~

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And here it goes! How do you feel having Rita ji, Sidharth amd Shehnaaz in a room? Did you like the little punjabi dialogue crossover?

Did you see how Sidharth and Rita Ji took stand for Shehnaaz? Didn't you love it?

Yeah.. The story ends here.. I'm honestly not wanting to drag it further because I believe we've covered all the aspects of a relationship one needs to see.. Past.. Hurt.. Misunderstandings.. Heartbreak.. Making up.. Forgiving.. Falling in love.. Being each other's strength.. Supporting each other.. We've seen it all.
Lekin ek story khatam hoti hai.. Tabhi toh new story aati hai.. It's not the end.. Its a new beginning too! 

Please note that the story took a leap from the month of September, so don't get confused with the mention of June in next 2 months 😂

love you all!