"Huyi  hai aaj dastak kisi naye anjaane ki, kya badlenge hum ya badlenge humari kismat?"

Note: Kindly refrain from spoiling His Inconvenient Bride

~ Author ~

Jaipur, India

Kabir went to join the men in a pre-gala gathering before they went back to their rooms to get ready for the big night. The arrangements in the lounge were above par, courtesy of the Agarwals.

He walked through the lounge, subtly nodding as he met a few known faces, slowly making his way to Maan sitting in the corner.

"Enjoying the view?" Kabir asked as he took a seat in front of his best friend.

Maan tore his eyes from the glass window and looked at him. "It is magnificent," He noted his tired expression, "How was the meeting?"

"The Bansals are a tough nut to crack. Ever since they have miraculously overcome their crisis, they are being super picky with whom they should sign deals with," Kabir grunted and picked up a kebab from the plate on the table, plopping it in his mouth.

"It's not their fault since they almost went bankrupt," Maan pacified, "If I had been in their place, I would be nitpicking too. Ask your team to put forth a better pitch."

"Those incompetent idiots would only rile me up and make me fire them from the job," Kabir ate another one of that chicken kebab, savouring the tangy taste of it letting his mind slowly cool down. "Waise, who do you think would have invested such a large sum in their business?"

"You only invest such an amount in companies at a time of high risk when you know the company or the family really well," Maan stated, a smirk pulling up on his face. "On the other hand, apparently the youngest Agarwal is here, helping with all the arrangements."

Kabir narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Wasn't she doing something with dead bodies?"

"She's a forensic expert," Maan cleared, "god knows what she's up to now."

"Hello, gentlemen," a bass voice interrupted the two, making them look in the direction of the voice.

"Mr. Agarwal," Kabir got up to greet Mukesh Agarwal, the Managing Director of the Marigold Group. Mukesh Agarwal, a man in his fifties, is one of the pillars of the Marigold Group. He and Naresh Agarwal, his older brother, lead the hospitality industry with the back of their hands.

Old but gold.

"Talking about my niece?" He smiled warmly.

Kabir gave him a brief smile. "We were wondering where she is now. As you know, curiosity gets the best of me."

Hearing him, laughter bubbled out of his throat. "You will find out soon," He patted Kabir's shoulder and walked ahead to meet the other people.

Kabir's shoulders slightly slumped as he sat back.

As if he cared what Akanksha Agarwal was doing!

* * *

Kabir walked away from the lounge and headed towards his room which was located in the newer section of the Marigold, reserved only for the VIPs.

He walked alone through the corridor towards the lift, he felt someone standing beside him. His eyes met with Meher's who already looked sour upon his presence.

The door to the lift opened and Meher entered, followed by Kabir.

An awkward silence followed as the door shut. Meher stood by the door as her room was on the first floor. But, to her dismay, before the lift could open, there was a power outage and everything fell shut.

Both Meher and Kabir had shitty luck.

Meher unheard the loud groan that bubbled out of Kabir and she could figure out that he had already started making the necessary calls to the people to get himself out of the situation.

She saw Kabir barking orders and pitied the poor soul who was taking the brunt of the mishap.

She never knew Kabir Raizada was an idiot.

Meher walked over to the side of the lift and pressed the bell button, sending the intimation that someone was stuck inside the lift.

Everyone needs a presence of mind, sadly Kabir didn't have one.

Perks of having anger issues.

Kabir hid his surprise when he heard the alarm ring and realised what Meher had done. He clenched his teeth and acted as if he was doing something on his phone until he heard the rustle outside the lift.

Soon the mechanic came and opened the door to the lift and helped the duo out of the lift.

"I am so sorry sir, ma'am," one of the managers apologised, "we had some electrical work going on so it acted out for a bit and resulted in this. We are extremely sorry." He heavily apologised.

None of them said anything.

Meher was the one to leave first. She looked back at Kabir to notice that he was watching her leave so she did what she was best at.

The smirk of victory.

Meher- 1, Kabir- 0

* * *

Meher, after speaking to Akanksha stood by the corner and watched the latter dance away with her husband, looking completely in love. It was a beautiful scene and she was glad that at least someone had found love.

Moments like these made her remember Abhimanyu. If they were together, would they be like this? Dancing and drunk in love?

Probably yes.

She never got to experience a relationship. Her relationship just ended before it got started.

"They look beautiful together, right?" Meher turned to face the owner of the voice, her eyes meeting with a non-familiar brown eyes. Meher looked at him from the top to bottom, but she couldn't recall him from anywhere.

"They do," she gave him a polite smile.

"I am Ahaan Chahal, the CEO of Glide Infotech and the Managing Director of the Glide Group," Meher found herself shaking her hands with the man.

Taking a look at him, he was quite tall and she was short in front of him. He was in a shiny black tuxedo, breaking away from the monotone of charcoal black tux that almost everyone in the party had worn. He had warm brown eyes and a sharp jaw which was covered by a nicely trimmed stubble, Ahaan Chahal was indeed very handsome.

She could feel her heart flutter just for a moment.

"May I have a dance?" he asked her all of a sudden and Meher found herself saying yes almost immediately.

Hand in hand, she found herself on the dance stage, dancing with the guy she met like literally seven minutes ago, enjoying the rhythm of the music.

Ahaan twirled Meher smoothly bringing her back in his arms. A small laugh escaped her lips as they danced way off the rhythm and danced off to their own music.

Meher found herself enjoying the moment and realised that it had been a while since she enjoyed herself even if it was for a moment.

Their dance suddenly stopped as there was a sudden commotion in the hall. Ahaan and Meher stopped to look at what was happening and walked together where the commotion had gathered.

"Move aside!" Aditya, one of her schoolmates shouted, carrying an unconscious Akanksha out of the washroom. Meher gasped when she saw Akanksha's husband coming out of the door, his tux now covered in blood.

Meher could feel the ground slipping from her leg but was immediately held by Arya who came to find her in the crowd.

Meher's eyes were teary as she looked at her best friend, the latter just hugged her tightly.

The past came rushing back as if it had never left her.

Aryan came out of nowhere and they immediately left the hall, heading to Meher's room.

"Leave me alone," Meher shut the door behind her, sinking down immediately on the floor. Nothing could ever traumatise her if it was not something related to watching a person covered in blood and lying motionless. The visions of watching Abhimanyu lying motionless were still freshly imprinted on her mind, even if it was almost five years since his death.

No matter what you try, the past never leaves you even if you try hard to forget it.

Meher wanted to keep the good memories but she remembered both the good and the bad as they happened on the same day. Even if she wanted it, she couldn't forget it, the cruel god didn't let her forget it.

Maybe, one day.

* * *

Kabir recalled the time when he first came across Radhika's body lying dead cold in the hospital. She looked so delicate, so serene, there were no injuries on her body except for that one bullet that passed through her head, taking away her precious life.

The lifelessness he had felt then made him pity Akanksha's husband, who came out last, almost unresponsive. No one, absolutely no one deserved to see something so gruesome. He sincerely hoped that Akanksha would be fine.

Sitting silently by the window, he stared at the empty night sky feeling weird about how the events turned out today. But even the weirdest thing was Meher's reaction to the entire fiasco. He stood there behind her and watched Meher almost crumble down in shock, or maybe it was pain as if she was living that moment.

He had known Meher for a long time even though they have never been on good terms, he did notice that habit of hers.

Meher Mathur was never emotionally available. It was something that she lacked and something she did not try to develop within herself. But what made her so much triggered by the incident that his siblings had to escort her back upstairs?

For the first time in his life, she made him curious about herself.

What's up with Meher Mathur?

Kabir's phone vibrated in his pocket. He lazily checked his phone, Sahil's name was flashing on the screen.

"What is it now?"

"Great that you aren't in the mood of exchanging pleasantries," Sahil said from the other side. "What exactly happened at the gala?"

Kabir's brows narrowed and looked at his phone out of curiosity, momentarily thinking of what he had just heard. Why was Sahil interested in this case?

"Akanksha Agarwal was attacked," He answered anyway. "The people around said that it was due to some high profile case she is working on."

"Was Meher around?" The side of Kabir's lips lifted up as he understood the reason for the call.

"Yes, she was," a sigh escaped from the other side and it hung up, making Kabir even more curious than ever.

What was that?

* * *

"Arya you should eat something," Aryan pushed a plate towards his twin but the latter just pushed the plate away.

"Did you see that today?" Arya looked at him.

As if some twin telepathy were going on, Aryan nodded, understanding what Arya was trying to say.

"On one hand there was my brother, who looked white as if it was a déjà vu, and then there was my best friend who looked like she was living that moment again. I feel so bad for them," a tear slipped from her and she quickly wiped it away, not trying to get emotional.

"Isn't it weird that they are so similar but poles apart?" Aryan mused as he started comparing the similarities between the two of them. It was something to note, their life story was pretty much the same. They had too much in common, even the fact that they hate each other's guts.

"Hey," Arya suddenly sobered up, turning towards her brother, "do you know what happened between them?" Aryan clicked his tongue making the answer obvious. Meher had surprisingly very secretive about why she shared that kind of equation with Kabir. So many times the twins have tried their best to get an answer out of her but they have failed miserably.

"Whatever it is, it is something major," Aryan was really curious about it. Being a lawyer himself, being in the dark was something that always annoyed him. It wouldn't have bothered him if they had their differences under wraps but sadly it was too much on the face even if their parents did not have the slightest hint of it.

Maybe one day he will get through the bottom of this as well.

* * *

The next day all of them came back to Mumbai. The news of the attack was all over the media and Meher had no time for herself as she was summoned into the office to give her report of the gala before the attack. Whatever she had found out, from potential investors to rising businesses, she worked her ass off typing the report, mentally cursing her boss. The strenuous work reminded her of Boston, where her life was fairly simple and easy, and the job of secretary gave her less work tension.

By the end of the afternoon, after she had finally submitted her report she fell back on a recliner, letting out a tired sigh. Writing a report reminded her of the time when she did the college assignments, the constant push and pull between deadlines and sleep, and the feeling of doing her best that came along with that struggle.

She mentally envied the twins who were enjoying their time at home, sleeping on their warm and fluffy bed, wearing comfortable clothes. She so badly wanted a break.

Ever since she came back, she didn't have any proper day to herself, it was either do this or that.

She lazily scrolled through her Instagram until her screen flashed with Sahil's call.

"Hey," Sahil breathed a moment of relief when he heard her voice. Last night would have been tough on Meher. At least she was fine.

"How are you?" She mumbled as she closed her eyes, as her head slowly started aching, making her feel tired.

"Are you fine? I heard the news," Meher smiled when she felt the hint of worry in his tone, something that was rare from him. Sahil wasn't the kind to show off his real emotions. He had usually masked himself up with nonchalance. But ever since Abhimanyu passed away, he had become closer to her, a brother she never had.

"Haan," she assured. Meher noticed her boss coming out of his cabin with her report in his hand. His eyes moved around the office to find hers, making her sit straight. He gave her a thumbs up and left, making her breathe in relief over the success of her first task.

"You know right, what's next week?" It was as if the headache had vanished and a sudden wave of sadness surged through her, reminding her of times when she had spent that very day in the past year, crying in grief. It was Abhimanyu's death anniversary.

"Yeah," she could barely manage to speak the word, the emotions were overwhelming. "You know what's tomorrow right?"

And she heard no response. Tara's death anniversary was. Damn that unrequited love. She didn't know what was worse, confessing your love and never meeting again or never being able to confess and becoming separated forever?

Sahil and she both were sailing on the same boat, mourning their losses. Five years into the deaths of the two, it was still difficult for them to move on.

Meher spoke for a little longer before she hung up on him. Before she went over to her desk to start with other work, the ring for the notification rang. When she saw opened her phone, it was a text.

Are you up for a coffee anytime soon?

It's a date, the message further said, making Meher a little nervous about what she should answer Ahaan Chahal.

Was it really the time to move on? Is anytime a good time to move on? Arya, Aryan and Sahil had constantly told her to move on with her life but was it really easy, to move on?

Whenever the thought of moving on came to her mind, the far fetched memory of Abhimanyu always latched on to her mind. They had promised to be together until death did them apart and not forever through different lifetimes.

Was it a signal that if one of them weren't physically present, were they supposed to move ahead with their lives?

Why was it a promise of death do us apart and not leave each other for seven lifetimes?

Her heart and mind weren't in sync whenever it was about her love life. But this time her gut was screaming a yes.

And Meher Mathur always went ahead with her gut feeling.

As she was about to type a yes, her phone pinged again, this time it was not Ahaan Chahal. It was someone whom she had never messaged in years.

Hey, how are you doing?

Kabir Raizada had definitely lost his head.

And finally, after long procrastination, I am finally done with the chapter. It took me ages to finish this chapter. I finished writing it a few days ago but couldn't update it, unlike me, due to my unit tests in college.

I am slumped with 3 college assignments and 2 presentations which are to be submitted tomorrow, ya I know our teacher is a cruel Umbridge. Thankfully, I am done with all so I am proud yay! Finally, I can breathe a little in peace. Hopefully, I can start writing the tenth chapter this week and complete my target as the story is finally hitting its breaking point in a few chapters so stay tuned for that.

I sincerely apologise for being inconsistent. I did not intend to be but while I was writing HIB, I was at home all the time so I had a lot of free time in my mind and now I barely have time for myself. But I am trying my best.

Also, speaking of His Inconvenient Bride, the story hit 100k last week and I couldn't contain my tears. Hitting this milestone was such a dream for me and I am so happy that this dream came true and you all are the reason for that.

Please vote on this chapter and share your valuable thoughts. Drop a heart if you love the chapter.

With Love,

Akii.