"Puraane jazbaat ya fir naye rishtey, kya hoga iska anjaam?"

~ Author ~

Mumbai, India

Today had finally dawned. It wasn't an ordinary day— it was the day of engagement of Kabir Akash Raizada and Meher Vikas Mathur. Who would have thought that a day like this would come, where two strong headed individuals who hated each other with so much passion would come together for this holy bond?

But fate made it possible.

The morning of the engagement was extremely bright and cheerful. The villa was getting decorated from top to bottom as if it was the wedding already.

"Take these upstairs," Shikha instructed one of the workers as she hurriedly ran towards the main hall, where her husband was on the phone, talking to the caterers.

"Vikas, what are you doing here, did you call the priest?" Vikas showed his palm, asking her to wait for a while as he completed his conversation. As he cut the call, his wife asked the question again.

"I am about to," he said, showing his phone. Shikha hits his head. "You are the father of the bride. Get the work done fast. How are we going to proceed with the engagement until we know the muhurat for the ring exchange?"

"It's in the evening, the engagement," he said, turning to his wife. Holding her by his shoulders, he pacified her, "Don't panic, Shikha. Muhurat or not, she is getting engaged anyway. You focus on how you are going to control your tears after she gets engaged, or worse, get married," Shikha scoffed at his words. "As if," she snorted, "you are going to be the one bawling over her."

Vikas smiled sadly, suddenly sending his daughter away brought so much sadness to him. "That is true. She's our only daughter, our precious one."

"And you said I was the one being panicky," Divya comes out of some corner, teasing Shikha. Shikha recalled the time when they had discussed it, how she had teased Divya as the latter fretted over everything.

"You won, I lost," she raised her hand in surrender. Divya laughed as she went to hug her, happy that they were finally becoming a family in the true sense. "I always wished Meher to be my daughter and now that it's finally happening, I can't control my happiness."

"Isn't this what we always wanted?" Akash, who had followed his wife to the hall, stood beside his best friend, looking at the arrangements in contentment. "Us, happy and together."

"Life has shown us a lot of colours, I am glad, we made it this far, together," Vikas pats his best friend on the back as he sighs in happiness.

At one point in their life, they were a nobody, thrown into an orphanage. Life changed when they made a name for themselves, climbed the social ladder, fell in love, got married and had children. The journey was long.

But one thing hadn't changed all this while. They were still together, thick as thieves.

And they hoped that the newfound relationship between their children would also be the same.

* * *

"Bhai, are you—" Aryan's steps faltered as he noticed his brother all ready, looking extremely handsome in the custom made Armani.

"You look amazing, Bhai," he smiled warmly, walking over to stand behind him. Kabir gave him a light smile through the mirror, as he turned to look at him. Aryan took a close look at his brother from top to bottom only to notice the balls of sweat on the edge of his palm, making him sigh.

He placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "Are you nervous?" This was an honest question, given that he already knew the answer as his sweaty palms gave it away.

"No, absolutely not!" He reacted almost immediately, wiping his sweaty palms on the back of the cushiony chair of the dressing table.

Aryan sighed again, watching his brother like that. Kabir had always been closed off as a person. It had been his personality — the brooding, silent, almost murderous, adding a charm that pulled girls towards him like a magnet.

This Kabir was also silent, but this kind was straight out of his character.

Aryan pulled his brother into a hug. Though the latter resisted consistently, he had to give up later as the former was being a little too persistent. "It's okay to be nervous, it makes you human. I am glad that you're at least feeling something, some emotion. I understand that it is not easy to move on, especially when you have been in love with someone for years but I guess change is the rule of nature. Maybe this relationship would bring out something good, something worth holding on to."

Even though it was for a brief moment, Kabir had actually smiled, with his whole heart. He was closed off, aloof from his family but Aryan's constant efforts melted. Instead of going to Meher who he believed the latter was more close with, Aryan chose to stay with his brother and give him a pep talk.

Even if he did not want to show it, it mattered to him. He felt a little lighter in heart that someone still had his back, someone who could stand with him, and give him support.

"Thank you," he patted his shoulder.

"Worry not, brother," Aryan breaks the hug, and his demeanor changes into an overhyped human. "I am not going to forget that I will make you two fall in love," he mockingly whispered the last phrase, making Kabir push him away and return to setting his hair ready for the event.

It was a bit bothering how Aryan was so adamant about making him fall in love with Meher. Aryan never lost a challenge or case. Despite his friendly exterior, he was shrewd and cunning. He had his ways to bend the rules and maybe it was one of the things he could relate to, they were similar in that sense.

"I am not going to fall in love with Meher Mathur," Aryan chuckles or rather snorts at his statement as Kabir deadpans, not finding it funny at all.

"Sure, sure." He covered his laugh with a cough as he casually made his way out of the room, whistling.

* * *

When Meher made her way down the staircase with Arya by her side, she hadn't expected this many people to attend the event. The number of people who had gathered to celebrate her engagement felt like she was getting married already. The reality was finally settling in and the nervousness was crawling up on her.

As she was descending the stairs, she stopped midway, placing her hand on her heart as she took a heavy breath. Arya also stopped, looking at her friend in concern. "Are you feeling okay? Should we call this off?"

Those words made Meher smile. It was good to know that someone knew how she felt and that they supported her throughout. Arya's words gave her a boost of confidence and she looked at her best friend, shaking her head. "No, it's already signed and sealed. There's no backing out," as she was about to descend, Arya held her arm, stopping her.

"We can always burn those papers, Mehru, just say the word. You are not obligated to do this. We can find other ways to find answers to Sahil's death," Meher shook her head, this time determined. "Let's go."

She walked up to the stage where Kabir was standing at the edge, waiting for her. He charmingly smiled at her as he gave her his hand, helping her up the stage. They sat together on the sofa that was set up for them. Kabir turned to look at his soon-to-be fiance, as his eye travelled from top to bottom, taking in the exquisite wine-coloured gown that Arya had designed which was a part of her premium engagement collection. She looked— stunning and there was no denial in that. Maybe, it was the dress.

"What are you looking at?" Meher finally got irritated at his incessant staring and hissed, making Kabir smile at her annoyance. One of the good things about this arrangement was that he got a chance to annoy Meher a lot, as the latter's reactions would be fun to watch.

He leans towards her, his lips almost touching her ear. "You look beautiful," Meher shivered at his raspy whisper, her cheeks flaming in heat as she looked around as people looked at their exchange in awe. Aryan and Arya gave them amused smiles while the parents looked delighted.

"Move away if you don't want me to break your face, Kabir," she says through her teeth, smiling at the crowd.

"Come on, dear fiance, can I not have some fun?" he nagged, making her squirm in her seat in irritation.

"Enjoy how much you want, dear soon-to-be husband," she smiles at him, making him narrow his eyes at her. "My time will come."

Their banter came to a halt as Akash and Vikas got onto the stage, with mikes in their hands. "Thank you so much everyone for joining us today to witness the humble union between the two families. Our families were always tied together by friendship and love," Akash smiles at Vikas. The latter pats his shoulder and wraps an arm around him. "As Akash said, we were always tied by love and friendship but now, the knot is going to be stronger as our children, Kabir and Meher are tying the knot. Please bless our children with lots of love and best wishes, thank you once again."

Loud claps reverberated in the AV Villa. Meher and Kabir got up and came forward, cameras went off as the media house started clicking their pictures.

They stood in front of each other, and their mothers handed them their rings.

"Kabir, please make Meher wear the ring," Divya instructs him. Kabir gingerly takes Meher's hands in his and slips the ring, the claps thundered in the hall. When Meher looked at him, his face was devoid of any emotion. She breathed and half smiled, as she had anticipated that from him.

At least, he didn't fake it there. Even for a brief moment, he stood there in front of the public in his truest form, where he didn't pretend to be enamoured by her. Where they could feel what they actually felt for each other.

"Meher, your turn," Shikha passes her ring. Holding the ring in her hand, a shiver runs down her spine as a final wave of realisation hits her. This was really it.

But as she went to grab his right hand, Kabir lifted his left one. She paused, as her eyes darted over to the empty finger on his left hand.

He removed it, she realised, looking at him, surprised at his act. She couldn't make him wear it, her hand paused midway, as she just kept on looking at him. She had not expected this from him, it just made her puzzled as his actions were quite unsettling.

"Meher?" Arya came by her side and nudged her, bringing her out of the trance. She looked at her friend who indicated that everyone was waiting. Quickly, she made him wear his ring and stood back, her beating heart deafened by the sound of the claps that had erupted in the room.

She was engaged. To Kabir Raizada.

Kabir walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Meher stilled at the sudden proximity, her hands froze on either side of her. "Hug me back, Meher," shivers ran down her spine as he whispered in her ear. She realised they were in front of everyone. Masking a smile, she snuggles into the hug, wrapping her arms around his waist. This time it was Kabir who froze, he hadn't expected her to return the gesture in this way.

"You shouldn't have taken it off," she whispered as she unwrapped her arms around him to break the hug, but Kabir pulled her back. "This union is a play, though it is real. I would go to any lengths to make look real, even if it meant for me to remove the ring," he finally releases and makes a good distance between them. Meher rubs her hand, wiping the sweat of nervousness, praying for this event to end soon.

But the event was far from over.

"Uh huh guys, we are not done yet," Aryan took the charge, turning to look at the couple with a smirk. "How can this event end without a couple dance?"

Meher's eyes widened in shock whereas Kabir looked least bothered but from inside, he was fuming.

Aryan enjoyed their reaction. As the crowd cheered, Meher and Kabir were compelled to dance. It was not something they could get out of.

"Let's get over this," Kabir pulls her up and drags her down the stage as they walk over to stand in the middle of the hall. With one hand in his, she places the other over his shoulder and Kabir snakes his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. She took a sharp breath as she tried to get her head wrapped around this dance— standing in such close proximity with her arch nemesis.

They slowly danced in the hall, swinging rhythmically to the music. "You should get used to these kinds of stuff while we are in public," this made Meher narrow her eyes at him. "We need to make people believe this is real," he leaves her waist and moves back to twirl her, bringing her back into his arms.

Right, she had forgotten. Another part of this agreement was to be affectionate towards each other, which meant holding hands, hugging each other and being all couply.

"I know," she huffed, passing a glare to the twins who were enjoying all of this a bit too much.

"I don't think you do," he spun her, her back was against his torso, and his arms were over hers, wrapping over her stomach. "You shiver when we have physical contact, even a mere touch," he stated and she momentarily froze, Kabir again spun her, and they were back to their original positions. "I don't," she hissed, her gaze clashing against his. "Of course, you don't," he smirked, the glint in his eyes said otherwise.

She wanted to fight, but she knew it was a losing battle.

The song ended and they parted immediately, as if their touch burned each other.

This relationship looked tiresome as they had already predicted.

* * *

Meher sat by her dressing table, mindlessly looking at her ring. It was pretty, to say the least. That was the only thing. Sadly, their relationship was as ugly as what they felt about each other. Her mind darted back to the past, back to Abhimanyu, when times were beautiful and life felt like a bed of roses. She smiled, recalling the day when she had told Tara that she loved Abhimanyu, that he wasn't a crush anymore.

"You," Tara poked her, "love Abhimanyu?" she almost screeched, grabbing the attention of the passersby as they were at the tapri, grabbing their chai. "Yeah," she said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear, blush coating her cheeks.

Tara looked at her in shock. "Damn, you have it bad," she cringed as Meher blushed more.

"Who has it what bad?" Meher stilled hearing Abhi's voice from behind. At this point, her face had reddened while Tara enjoyed the reaction. Abhimanyu casually sat beside Meher while Sahil went over to Tara who immediately started bickering.

"Tell me again," Tara and Sahil stop as they hear him, "Who has it bad?" Meher mentally face palmed herself and cursed Tara for being so loud. She locked her eyes with Tara and begged her to keep a secret. Judging by her expressions, Tara pitied her and nodded then proceeded to divert the topic from her.

Meher heaved a breath of relief, thanking the lord that she hadn't been caught.

But now when she thought of it, she wondered if she would have confessed to him sooner. Had she mustered up the courage to confess to him first, maybe, just maybe they would have been together for a little longer.

She envied Kabir. She envied him for having love for so long, envied him for having so many memories of the time when they were together, in love. She had none, except for a picture after their confession.

A knock on the door got Meher to look up at the intruder. "Hello, fiance," Kabir waved at her as he waltzed inside her room. The word fiance was enough to make her realise that she had signed away her life, she had goals to achieve and this marriage was the only solution.

"What is it, now?" she looked at him tiredly, she had no energy to speak to him now. Kabir raised a brow but did not say anything, he just placed a small key on her dressing table. Picking up the key in her hand, inspecting it and then she looked at him, puzzled, confusion dancing in her eyes. "What is this?"

"Your engagement gift," he said, "UFSC Bank, locker number 6742." saying that he left without letting Meher ask anything further.

She looked at the key in her palm, confusion written all over her face. What could be inside that locker?

And we are done with yet another chapter, woohoo! I love that I am being consistent, giving time to writing and all. Kabir and Meher are engaged, finally! A roller-coaster of emotions, but ended up in a mystery. What do you think will be there inside that locker?

Would love to hear your guesses in the comments.

Yesterday, I went to meet my school friends in the mall. The meeting was pure nostalgia, we just cracked jokes the entire time. Are you guys still in touch with your school friends?

Do VOTE, SHARE and COMMENT. Comment a heart if you enjoyed reading the chapter.

With Love,

Akii.