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Mythili's POV -

The meeting went on for a long time and by the time things were finalised, it was about five in the evening after which, we went to the canteen for a while where I decided to tell my friends.

" Okay guys. Please don't react but I have to tell you all something. Promise you'll stay cool." I asked them as we were standing around the round table which our coffee cups in front of us.

" Okayy....what is with this suspense?" Amrita asked, lazily.

" I am getting married after Diwali." I whispered to them.

" You what?" Hritik, of course went crazy as he almost shouted and the people around looked at us.

" Classic Hritik, real classic." I smiled at him sarcastically as we let everyone look away first before I started talking again.

" What is the hurry?" Viraj asked.

" The details, even I don't know but Malini aunty really wants that and anyway, one day or the other, I would have to marry Mr. Rathore. If doing it sooner makes aunty happy, then I'll do it." I whispered back, not exactly indulging the details with them because that was not something their family want to be talked about, specially Malini aunty.

" But are you sure? Do you want to marry so soon?" Amrita asked again, stepping closer to me.

" Amu it doesn't really matter what I want in my case. Had it been my parent's wish, they would have married me off two years ago. Thank god I somehow put it in their mind that marrying me so soon would reflect that they just wanted to get rid of me and somehow my trick worked. The other day my father hit me because I went out. Malini aunty has already done so much for me and if she wants this, I will do this." I told her the whole truth and she nodded her head in understanding.

" You know we are always here for you, right?" Hritik came and pulled me in for a side hug with his hand around my shoulder.

" I know, you people." I replied, giving them a smile as we just stood there together for a while.

" We should get going now. They'll be closing soon." Viraj said and we looked around. He was right. People were leaving.

We collected our bags. While these three went to the parking, I made way towards the main gate and true to his words, his car was right there. HOW!?

I went and sat in as he looked at me and I, towards him.

" How did you find out that I would be done by 5?" I asked him just as soon. I had to know!

" I am a trustee." He replied as he started to drive. Well, thank makes sense. He must have called up the dean for all I could know but since when did he appoint himself as my driver? It wasn't as if his house and my college were very close. It was so difficult to understand him!!

Then, all of a sudden, I remembered Riya Khan and his picture. He freaking dated her and now he was marrying me and for sure I could understand that he would be mad because of this arrangement! She is Riya Khan and I am the girl who he feels obliged to pick up and drop to the college but only if he showed one ounce of emotion in front of me for more than two minutes!

The silence in the car was so uncomfortable that I had to do something and the first thing that caught my eye was the entertainment system right in front of me and I decided to put on some random radio channel which was playing my favourite song! Tere Bina from Guru and I couldn't stop myself from humming along with the tunes.

" The monthly bank statement came in today and you have not spent anything at all. How have you been getting things for yourself?" He asked me, breaking my rhythm to the song as I glanced at him only to find his eyes on me. The car had come to a stop because of traffic.

" I haven't been requiring things for myself Mr. Rathore." I partially lied. I actually had been using my saved up cash for whatever I had been needing.

" Why, prey tell me that I find this difficult to believe." His expressions didn't change but his tone just grew deeper.

I could only shrug, unaware as to what to tell him because he just won't understand. Using his money anymore than I needed to felt wrong to me and anyway I did have some cash on me.

All he did was sigh a bit and then his eyes were back on the road as the traffic cleared and the topic was dropped, much to my relief and soon, we were home when I noticed that it had been whitewashed already! How did that happen so soon?

I got down from the car but he stayed in.

" Aren't you coming?" I asked, looking back at him.

" I need to be somewhere." He replied and I gave him a nod. I went inside and he drove off. Seriously, he had taken up the role of a driver today. Weird him!

As I got inside, Malini aunty was overlooking the cleaning and Anamika along with Nupur were sorting the lights. Snowflake and Cooper were also chilling in the living room.

" Hii." I made my presence known.

" Mythili! Now on and change and rest for a while. Did you have lunch?" Aunty asked as she walked to me.

" I will quickly freshen up and be right here aunty. I don't need rest! I'll help with the decorations! And yes I have eaten!" I rushed to my room telling her. I couldn't just not do the decorations. I already had so many ideas!!

" Slow down, silly girl! You'll fall down." I heard either Anamika or Nupur call after me but I was too excited.

" I'm fine!" I called back, getting into the room.

I washed my face, legs and hands and then I changed from the sweaty dress to another one of the dresses I had because currently, I was liking myself in them. I actually had phases of wearing different types of clothes. I'll continuously wear like dresses for months and then shift to jeans and forget about those dresses for next few months. I think I'm just weird.

Mythili's Look -

Walking down, I went and joined Anamika who was still sorting the lights and Nupur was with aunty, helping her with flowers.

" Let me help." I sat next to her as she looked up to me.

" I am in love with your clothes! Where are you getting these beautiful dresses?" She asked, looking at me and I laughed.

" It's from Colaba street market. Only for like 300 bucks." I replied and the look of shock on her face was funny.

" You are taking me there. Bhai will never approve of it but we'll sneak around." She whispered to me, dead serious and I nodded almost immediately.

" Are you into fashion?" I asked her, now curious.

" I am a fashion designer! So is Nupur." She said as she gave me some lights to sort. Well that explains it.

" Wow so do you plan on establishing your own exclusive stores?" I asked again. She seemed sweet.

" Yes that is the plan. We'll start under bhai's group of industries for a few years and then eventually diversify. That way, we get good marketing." She replied.

" Sounds like a plan." I muttered and she nodded as we then busied ourselves with work.

It took us about an hour to get things ready and then we started to decorate. It was Dhanteras tomorrow which would officially mark the beginning of Diwali and usually it was tradition to get the house all decorated.

" I am going up to the terrace to hang these lights." I said after we were done putting some on the windows.

" I'll come with you." Nupur offered as Malini aunty and Anamika were making flower garlands.

" Okay!" I agreed as we climbed up the stairs.

" So what are you studying?" She asked me.

" BBA in economics currently. My last semester begins after a month." I replied.

" Economics huh? You must be a smart one then because whenever I tried to study the damn subject, I fell asleep. It was a mandatory subject for one semester while I was doing my grad." She replied, laughing.

" Well, it was the same case for me for maths." I confessed and she looked like she related to me.

" How did Anamika and you meet?" I asked her this time.

" We met in college while studying in grad in Kolkata. I am an orphan. Luckily I was a brilliant student so I managed to get a scholarship for post grad. I asked her out in our last year grad and then we secured the same college in LA. I cannot believe how much I love her." She said so openly and that amazed me.

She is an orphan? Life must have been so hard for her but look at her and yet she bounced back at it!

" You tell me! What do you love to do when you're not studying?" She asked as we started to wrap the lights around the railing.

" I love to sing and play my guitar." I told her, suddenly missing my guitar.

" You'll have to sing for us soon then." She asked and I nodded, smiling. I did miss singing. It had been a while since I had.

" Oops....we need a lot more of these. You hang this last one while I go and get more from downstairs." She said, handing me the last one before leaving me.

" Ughh this is tangled once again! Stupid light." I was trying to untangle it for the past two minutes but it was too stubborn!

Finally as it was done, I had just started to lean ahead to put it when I my attention was grabbed by a soft meow.

" Hii Snowfake....what are you doing here?" I asked as I turned back to look at her but along with her I found Shivaay too. She must have followed him here. His eyes were more towards the railing than on me and once again, there was a balcony, railing and his misconception that I was suicidal involved. This really was getting a bit too much.

" Mr. Rathore I swear I was not planning to jump. Really." I promised.

" I don't think I said anything about you jumping, did I?" He asked, raising his right eyebrow as he took a few steps closer to me.

" If you walk back anymore Mythili, your feet will tangle the lights which you were too desperately trying to untangle again." His warning brought me back to reality, making me realise that I was actually walking backwards without even knowing.

" Ohh." I spoke out stupidly and stopped doing it. He took the lights from my hand and I looked at him with confusion. What was he doing and why does my stupid heart start to race when he's near me? It's almost like he commands it somehow!! Of course he's good looking and.....shut up Mythili, for God's sake!

" Ohh good. Shivaay bhaiya is here. He will help you Mythili. I have to go and work on the flowers with Anamika. It's a lot. Here are the rest of the lights." Nupur came into view and gave me all the lights before leaving.

" Thank you!" I called after her and then I extended the rest of the lights to Shivaay who took them, now masking the look of confusion I had a while back.

" Mr. Rathore please give them to me when I ask." I said and walked to the extreme end of the terrace to start dropping the lights down after taping the beginning. I saw him following me from the side of my eye.

He started giving them to me when I asked and by the time we were at the other end, I found it difficult to hang the last one since I had to lean the most and it was a bit away.

I tried to bend but as I did, I felt my upper arm being grabbed as Shivaay pulled me towards him.

" Stand here Miss Kapoor, we cannot let you accidentally fall now, can we?" He enjoyed his own twisted humour and this was the absolutely first time that I had seen a small genuine smile playing on his lips and my mouth hung open.

" Mr. Rathore leave me alone for two days and you will find me alive, you know." I replied in the very same tone.

" I don't doubt that for a second." His sarcastic tone gave all away as he easily didn't even needed to lean to put the light because of the advantage of his height.

" All done! Let me switch them on!" I made way to the electric cord and switched it on and OH MY GOD....they golden all over looked straight out of a Disney movie!

" This will will even more beautiful from down!" I spoke up and dashed to the

stairs, completely forgetting that Shivaay was with me too and when I had descended three steps, I suddenly remembered and turned to have a look at him but he was following me already.

" Go on now. You seem too excited to be waiting now." He said, smiling again as he gave me a small nod. I looked away, grinning to myself as I walked again. He was right, I was way too excited to feel anything right now.

I rushed outside.

" WOW." I say, looking at the house and boy, it was. Aunty, Anamika and Nupur came out too and they had the same expressions.

The decorations -

" Okay children finish off the rest of the work either after dinner or tomorrow morning. Right now, I am too hungry." Malini aunty dragged us inside to the dining table and once again, it was a complete lavish Indian meal and this time but before I could start eating, my phone went off.

" Excuse me!" I said getting up to take my phone which was on the coffee table in the hall.

It was Amrita. What happened now?

" Hey...what's up?" I asked, taking the video call. Hritik, Viraj and her were together and it seemed like that they were on Fashion street. Amrita must have dragged them.

" Bro which one do you want? This blue dress or wait a second....yeah, this red one?" She asked showing both of them. Hritik must be holding the phone.

" What is the price?" I asked.

" 500 both but I'll get it down to at least 300. So tell me!" She exclaimed.

" This red looks gorgeous yaa!" I said dreamily.

" I know right! There are so many beautiful ones here." She replied.

" Okay then, wait a minute. Hold on." I told her and walked back to the dining table.

" Anamika so my friends are street shopping. Do you want something?" I asked her, seeing how interested she was into both my dresses.

" What? Oh absolutely!" She jumped out of her seat and came to me and I asked Amrita to show all the dresses. Soon after, Nupur and Aunty were by my side too.

Turns out, all of us good two dresses.

" I'll call you later Amu and Vir, don't buy that, you'll look hideous in it." I said as the others went back to dinner and I took a step away from the table. Viraj had picked out a weird white jacket.

" I hate you." His voice hit back.

" I hate you too. Bye now." I hung up before joining them.

" We are so going there after Diwali." Nupur announced and everyone agreed.

After dinner, Malini aunty had gone to bed and Shivaay, to his study. Anamika, Nupur and I finished the decorations of the hall, sparing a couple of things. They wanted to go for an ice-cream but then they saw me working and decided against it. I, in turn assured them that I could handle whatever was remaining and reluctantly, they did.

" Alright, the last of everything." I said, picking up the bandhanwar and climbed on the stool to put it and then, everything would officially be done.

But how could it go smooth! Thanks to my height, I was struggling to reach the top so I tip-toed on the stool, which of course was a bad idea.

Of course I lost my balance and fell right down.

" Ow ow ow ow." My ankle most definitely had twisted as I grabbed it and my back hurt too.

" Why is it so difficult for you to ask for help?" Shivaay's voice hissed in my ears who somehow had made his way to me and was now kneeling down, looking at my ankle.

" It was an accident!" I cried in pain as he took hold of my ankle.

" No please....I'll do it on my own." Another cry escaped me as he tried to twist the already dislocated thing.

" You have had your fun for today Mythili. I want you to stay still now." Was all he said before scooping me in his arms in bridal style as a gasp escaped my lips.

" Mr. Rathore I'll walk please!" I half exclaimed in pain and half in surprise but I did end up grabbing his T-Shirt on his shoulder for support.

" So you think." Was all I got from him as he started to climb the stairs and made his way into my room, making me lie down on the bed.

" This is going to hurt." He warned me but I was too stunned to speak.

He was never a devil in disguise, somehow always knight in a shining armour for me and this fact disturbed me, a lot.

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