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Three days passed, and the girls were having the time of their lives. They were staying in a villa in Ubud and enjoying every moment. It was their second time in Bali together.

Today was the day—Naman would propose to Ishani. The proposal was set to take place at Finns Beach Club, where Naman and Ishani had first met seven years ago.

Back then, the girls had been on a trip to celebrate Saanjh's 19th birthday. Naman had been traveling Bali with his cousins. They met at Finns, instantly connected, shared numbers, and promised to keep in touch after returning to India. Soon after, they started dating.

Naman Sodhani, the son of the ruling state party member, Yashwant Sodhani, was smitten with Ishani the moment he saw her. Their relationship had its ups and downs, but they survived and thrived. Ishani was deeply in love with Naman deeply and saw her future with him.

The girls loved Naman for loving Ishani. Naman was a good friend of Samar, and Saanjh had thoroughly inquired about Naman before he started dating Ishani. Saanjh was always protective of her.

The girls got ready, Ishani still having no clue about how her life was about to change. It was a normal day for her, meant to be spent at the beach club with her friends. She hadn't talked to Naman in twenty-four hours because he had made an excuse that he was busy, but instead, he was traveling to Bali to surprise her.

Rishi was traveling with Naman. Naman's sister, Mahek, was also going to be there. Mahek and Ishani had attended the same University for their Fashion Masters.

The girls left for the beach club, with Ishani excited to enjoy the sunset there. Pallavi had left a message for Naman, stating that they had left for the club.

At the club, everything was meticulously planned. Naman had reserved an entire area. The girls' only task was to bring Ishani there.

They arrived at Finns Beach Club, the sun casting a golden glow over the sparkling blue waters. The girls, dressed in their chic beach outfits, made their way to the poolside area, where they settled into lounge chairs, soaking in the vibrant atmosphere.

In next thirty minutes, Ishani was going to be proposed by the love of her life.

After a while, Pallavi nudged Ishani. "Come on, Ish. Let's go dance."

Ishani smiled, the carefree spirit of Bali already working its magic on her.

Saanjh stayed behind, letting her feet dangle in the cool water, watching with a knowing smile as Pallavi led Ishani towards the reserved area.

As they approached the secluded section, Ishani's eyes widened at the sight before her. The pool was adorned with flower petals floating in intricate designs, and in the center, spelled out in vibrant colors, were the words: 'Will you marry me?'

Ishani gasped, coming to an abrupt halt. "Pal, we should leave. This is clearly someone's special moment."

Before Pallavi could respond, Ishani turned around and froze. There, standing just a few steps away, was Naman, looking dashing in a crisp white shirt and linen trousers. His eyes were fixed on her with an intensity that made her heart skip a beat.

Next to him, Saanjh stood grinning, and to the side, Rishi and Mahek beamed with excitement.

Naman took a step forward, his gaze never leaving Ishani's.

"What are you doing here?" Ishani asked, shocked. She could not believe her eyes.

Naman moved towards her, his eyes never leaving hers. In a swift motion, he pulled her close by the waist. She melted into his touch, realizing how much she had missed him in just a few days.

"I am here to officially make you mine." he whispered in her ear, and her eyes went wide.

Music started playing, and 'Marry You' by Bruno Mars smoothly filled the background. Saanjh, Pallavi, and Mahek squealed as they stood on the side, their eyes beaming with tears of joy for their friend. Rishi stood like a proud elder brother to Ishani.

Naman took a step back, still holding Ishani's hand. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box. Ishani's breath caught in her throat as he got down on one knee.

"Ishani," he began, his voice steady but filled with emotion. "Seven years ago, I bumped into you, right here - in this same spot and I knew my life had changed forever. You, the life of the party, stopped and took your time to talk to me. It was love at first sight, darling." Tears filled in his eyes as he poured his heart out to the girl he loved. "You have been my rock, my joy, my love. We've had our ups and downs, but every moment with you has been worth it. You've made me a better person, and I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you've made me."

Ishani's eyes filled with tears as she looked down at him, her heart swelling with love.

"Naman," she whispered, her voice trembling.

He opened the box, revealing a stunning diamond ring that sparkled in the evening light. "Ishani Bera, will you marry me?"

Tears streamed down Ishani's face as she nodded vigorously. "Yes, Naman. Yes, I will marry you."

The crowd around them cheered as Naman slipped the ring onto her finger. He stood up and pulled her into a tight embrace, lifting her off the ground as he spun her around. The cheers grew louder, and the music swelled as they kissed, sealing their promise to each other.

Saanjh, Pallavi, and Mahek rushed over, enveloping Ishani in a group hug, all of them laughing and crying at the same time. Rishi clapped Naman on the back, his eyes bright with pride and happiness.

"You did good, man." Rishi said, his voice thick with emotion.

Pallavi laughed through her tears. "I told you this was going to be epic!"

Naman pulled Ishani close to his chest and, with a mischievous grin, they both threw themselves into the water, splashing it everywhere and ruining the flower arrangement. The girls laughed, their joy echoing through the air, while the photographer snapped pictures of the newly engaged couple. Naman and Ishani shared another kiss, and Rishi, ever the dramatist, dramatically covered Saanjh's eyes.

She scoffed and pulled his hand away. "Seriously, Rishi?"

Rishi grinned. "Just trying to keep it PG-13."

They all laughed and decided to give the newly engaged couple some privacy. As they left the area, Mahek excused herself to make a call. "I need to update my fiancé. He is eagerly waiting for the details."

Saanjh, Pallavi, and Rishi nodded, understanding her excitement. Mahek had gotten engaged three months back.

Saanjh, Pallavi, and Rishi found a quieter spot by the bar, ordering drinks and chatting about how far Naman and Ishani's relationship had evolved and how excited they were for them.

"One down, two to go." Rishi declared. "Aaj jaake shanti ki neend aaegi." (I will sleep peacefully tonight)

"Keep counting," Pallavi scoffed. "I ain't getting married anytime soon."

"But Saanjh is," he stated confidently. Saanjh gave him a weird look. "What? We know you'll be saying yes to Siddharth."

"She already said no." Pallavi updated him. His eyes widened in shock.

"When? Why? How? I mean—why?" he let out a dramatic cry.

"Ain't helping with the overacting," Saanjh rolled her eyes. "You knew I'd say no."

"No. I thought you would reconsider. Kyun mana kar rahi tu?" he asked, his tone serious now.

"Mera dimaag mat kharab kar, Rishi. I am here to take a break from all the chaos. Do not fuel the fire within me."

He sighed. Deep down, Rishi had wished for Saanjh to date Siddharth and at least get to know him. Rishi knew Siddharth, they were in the same school. They shared the same circle of friends.

"Saanjh, sun meri baat -" he started. "Siddharth is a good guy. Bachpan ka dost hai yaar, I know him well. You think I'd have let you marry any guy?"

"Bachpan ka dost?" Pallavi raised her brow. "Since when?"

"Since we went to the same school." He declared. "I was in a different school than you guys, remember?"

"But you never told us about him."

"I told you about my guy friends. I and Siddharth were in the same group. Aditya, Viraj, Karan, Danish, Omar." He reminded them. "Karan and Omar are in dubai, Danish still keeps in touch. Aditya and Viraj are close friends with Siddharth. I drifted apart when we joined college, but we still meet once in a blue moon."

"You mean - Siddhu, the guy you used to talk about, your best friend in school, was that -?"

He nodded at Pallavi. "Siddharth left for New York right after graduating from school. We lost touch after that. I got busy with college and work."

"Why did you not say that earlier?" Pallavi asked, Saanjh sat there trying to get everything through her head.

"I had no idea Saanjh was going to meet Siddharth in arranged set-up. And when she told me that she had made up her mind to say no, I insisted her to meet him again. I thought she would reconsider. I did not want to fill her mind with what I thought of Siddharth, I wanted her to make her decision."

Saanjh took a deep breath, her gaze shifting between Pallavi and Rishi. "I did agree to go on a date with him. We talked last week and I said yes."

Pallavi and Rishi's eyes widened in surprise. "You did?" Pallavi asked, barely containing her curiosity.

Saanjh nodded. "Yeah. But I got so caught up with college and the NGO work that I didn't get a chance to follow up with him. And he didn't reach out to me either. I assumed he was busy."

Rishi looked at her thoughtfully. "Actually, Siddharth wasn't in India last week. He was in Bangkok for a jewellery exhibit. The official account of Kasliwal says so."

Pallavi's curiosity was piqued. "Wait, so what exactly happened between you two? Ishani thoda janti hai, Rishi thoda and mein thoda. Give us the full story."

"It all started at the club on Rishi's birthday. I met him there first, I saw him in the restroom with a girl, they were well -" she explained through eyes. They nodded and asked her to continue. "I even complimented his naked butt."

Rishi's eyes widened, and he burst into laughter. Saanjh tried to hide her embarrassment.

"Then I met him again in the college. He was there to consult about his cousins' Law subjects. We had a good chat. He even asked me out on a date that very day."

"And you said -" Pallavi raised a brow.

"I said nothing, then we met at his dadi's birthday party again. But at the award show, I overheard him -"

"Insulting her with his friends." Rishi explained to Pallavi. "But in his defense, he said he did not know who Saanjh Mittal was."

"Does not give him the free pass to make a comment." Pallavi said and Saanjh agreed giving at eye to Rishi.

"One day, dad asked me to meet this guy, said he knows in his heart that the guy is the one for me. I could not say no to papa. I had it clear in my mind that whoever the guy would be, I will meet him and later say no."

"And he turned out to be Siddharth?" Pallavi asked. She nodded.

"He just wouldn't agree with me to say no together. In fact he said it himself that he does not to get married anytime soon. He was there only because of his dadi. But now - he wants one date."

Pallavi grinned. "The guy clearly likes you. He was against marriage and after he saw you -"

"Nahi na yaar. I talked to him a week ago, he said he is still against marriage and he respects my decision as well." She said. "But he is still asking me out on a date."

She did not tell them about Akshara's incident or all that Siddharth had to say on the phone. It felt personal.

"It is simple, Eve." Pallavi rested a hand on hers. "He wants to give this a try. He respects your decision. He has asked you out two times already now. Maybe he is genuinely interested in you."

"You know what happens when I let someone get to know me." She gave her friend an eye.

Pallavi squeezed Saanjh's hand reassuringly. "Eve, you can't let one bad experience define your entire life. People are different. Situations are different."

Saanjh sighed. "I know, Pal. But it's hard. It's hard to trust again."

Rishi leaned in, his tone serious. "Saanjh, Siddharth is known for his arrogance in business world, but he is known to be a dedicated loving brother to his sisters, a responsible son. Siddharth, to the world outside is a subject to doubt, make comments on - but only you'll know when you get to know him." He tried explaining. "Siddharth is one of the smartest guys I've ever met. He is empathetic, bachpan se hai yaar. I might have lost touch with him and the other friends, but I do keep an update on him."

"You want me to give him a chance?" She asked, her eyes scanning theirs for genuine answer.

"We want you to be sure to give him one chance." Rishi stated. "Whatever happens then, we are with you. But one chance, sweetheart."

"Exactly. Ek baar mein milke shadi nahi karni hai. You have all your time to make a decision." Pallavi assured.

She nodded. Even after getting all the details about Siddharth, after knowing how the internet was based on all hearsay, she knew she could not judge him only with trivial information. She either had to get to know him, or close the subject for good.

"No pressure babe. And if he turns out to be not so decent, we have Rishi to take care of that." Pallavi joked.

"I can always break a nose or two for you, you know that." He winked at her.

She passed them a smile. If her friends were sure, she knew she had to give it a try. Not only that, she genuinely wanted to give Siddharth a chance after everything that he said on the phone.

"Guyyyyysssssss."

The three heard a scream. They turned to find Ishani leaned on Naman as he walked her towards their friends. Her face was radiating, she looked like she was on the moon.

"This is the best day of my life." She screamed on top of her lungs. She was clearly drunk or in love. "No - I think the day I met you was." She turned to her fiancé and rested a long kiss on his lips.

Mahek returned and laughed at her brother.

"This is your life now, Naman Bhai. Bhabhi should always be this happy - or else -"

"Bhabhi." Ishani mumbled. "Oh, how I love the sound of it."

The others laughed.

"Mera Mangetar." She looked at Naman and squeezed his cheeks. "My hot Fiancè."

"I cannot wait to marry my girl." Naman smiled. The others cheered.

Saanjh had always found them the cutest couple. With Naman totally whipped and Ishani equally in love, they were like an old couple - always there for each other but getting on their nerves as well.

They all clicked some pictures and uploaded the same on their accounts.

"Well, this is odd-" Mahek mumbled. Naman raised his brow. "Siddharth is liking my stories. That never happened.  He doesn't even follow me. Also, wait - is he only liking the pictures that Saanjh is in?" She showed the same to Ishani and she laughed.

"He is making it too obvious now."

The others gathered around, peering at Mahek's phone. Rishi gave an exaggerated eye-roll to Saanjh while Pallavi and Ishani continued laughing.

Ishani nudged Mahek. "You know what you need to do now, right? Post another picture of Saanjh, and see if he likes that one too."

Mahek laughed. "Better yet, I'll post a story of her with a caption. Something like 'All these beautiful men, but she misses just one.' ....and see how he reacts."

They made her pose for the picture and she could not stop arguing or rolling her eyes. Mahek uploaded the picture and tagged Saanjh's id underneath.

Siddharth had seen the story after a few minutes but didn't reply to Mahek. The group collectively sighed in disappointment, while Saanjh laughed at their overzealous expectations.

Pallavi pouted. "Maybe he's just playing it cool."

As the night wore on, everyone enjoyed the music and danced the night away. Saanjh joined in, her worries temporarily forgotten as she twirled and laughed with her friends. It was a perfect night.

When the tempo of the music slowed down, she took a break and grabbed her phone from the table. As she sipped her drink, the screen lit up with a new message. It was from Siddharth.

Saanjh bit her lip, stifling a smile as she read his message. She quickly typed a reply, her fingers dancing over the screen.

She waited for his response as she stood near the bar area, glancing at her friends.

Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of that. Before she could answer, there was another message.

Saanjh bit her lip, trying to contain her beating heart. She smirked, typing back quickly.

She knew he was something else.

She knew she was playing with fire. But it intrigued her, something about him excited her and she was worried about it. Siddharth was dangerous in the most dashing manner and she was clueless of her thoughts, of her emotions. Ever since she'd met him, something kept her pushing towards him and he was ready to hold her as well, as he promised.

You.

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Oh, La La.
Can't wait to see where this goes.
Stay tuned.