15 months later:

"Each room would have a focal point, an interesting or a beautiful piece of decoration in the room, such as a piece of art, a couch. And to achieve balance in every room, we would distribute the visual weight of your furniture and accents. Considering a scale of various kinds of large and small items, textured from hard to soft and positioned high, eye-level, low placement and left and right placement, all of it will help us make a balance." Shehnaaz presented the meeting for the clients who were getting their home interior designed.

"And yeah, if you pay attention to subtle contrasts in a single space, you’ll be able to create rooms that feel complete and balanced. These are a couple of designs we have prepared for you guys." Sidharth added, pushing forward the catalog and their client chose one of the themes from the menu, it meant the meeting went well.

Things were different this time, they weren't in the office they usually used to be. This room wasn't anything compared to the hall they had with a projector installed previously. They weren't in the Elite's office of interior designing anymore, they were at Homemakers now!

Since Sidharth and Shehnaaz had designed their own home, they realized no project in their entire career in the Elite made them feel so good as much as designing their own house did. So here they were, designing people's houses for them in the past year.

Well, this particular notion didn't settle along with Vardhan, he wasn't willing to let go of two of his best people in the company and especially, when one of them was his best friend with whom he had built up his career. But not wanting to get in the way of his best friend's wishes, he offered to extend Elite's customisation under the name of Homemakers. In this way, they wouldn't have to start from scratch and look for investments and retailers for consignments and work knowing that they'd have a backup just in case.

"Yaar, iss office me yahi ek kami hai. Bhook lage toh order karna padta hai, vaha mai aur Ani canteen chale jate the." Shehnaaz mentioned while walking up to the coffee machine and grabbing themselves some coffee. Just when she placed the cups on the table and was about to sit, Sidharth pulled her closer such that she landed half on his lap.

"Coffee gir jati na abhi!" She snapped at him.

"Atleast iss office me privacy milti hai thodi." He replied to her previous statement, making themselves comfortable on the couch. She giggled, grabbing his cheeks and kissing them when the door was knocked.

"Spoke too soon! Come in, Isha." He said in a really tired tone.

"Sir, aap ne jis internship program ke liye online advertisement dene ko kaha tha, usme kafi students ne respond kiya hai." His new secretary, Isha, informed.

"That's so great! Hum jaldi iska schedule banate hai aur program start karte hai." He replied, quite happy about the news.

"Shehnaaz, you prepare a schedule and plan a two month program keeping in mind our meetings and Singh's project. Aur Isha, hall me students ki seating arrangements dekho tum, table chairs ki zarurat padegi I guess. Mai Vardhan se certificates ki baat kar lunga." He suggested his team of three and they got started with the preparations.

In the coming weekend, Shehnaaz was hanging out with Mira and Ananya so that Sidharth could prepare some notes for his students in peace because he complained she was creating a nuisance in the kitchen.

"So teaching ha?! Kis line me aa gaye tum log?" Ananya asked.

"Pata hai kya hua tha, Adved ne bataya ke uska ek friend hai jo interior designing kar raha hai aur usko humse se kuch tips chahiye thi. Tab se na Sidharth ke mann me aaya, aisa koi training program types karvane ka. I'm telling you, he's so hard working! Whiteboard le ke practice karta hai! Padhane ki practice karte huye kitna cute lagta hai!" She excitedly told her friend about it.

"He's adorable, isn't he?!" Mira commented, caressing her six months pregnant belly.

"He is!" Shehnaaz smiled.

"So, main kaam kar le. Jiske liye hum yaha aaye hai?" She asked.

"Ha baba, chal. That's the shop." Mira stopped the car to the side, in front of the jewelry shop she usually goes to.

Shehnaaz had finally decided she wanted to get married to the man she's madly in love with and the highlights were, she was going to propose to him on his birthday. Walking into the showroom, she paused for a moment thinking she had never thought she'd be buying her man a ring one day and this thought was exciting, thrilling, worrisome and scary at the same time.

What if Sidharth would get too overwhelmed if she presented him with a ring directly? Was she doing the right thing by going ahead herself, without discussing it with him? What if she embarrassed herself in front of everybody?

"Sheh! Babe, come on. Vo puch rahi hai!" Ananya nudged her, pointing towards the sales girl who was entertaining them.

"Are you okay?" Mira asked, excusing themselves from the sales girl and moving away to talk in private.

"Mira, I was thinking mujhe Sidharth se baat karle I chahiye thi." Shehnaaz said.

"Seriously? Ye tujhe abhi realize ho raha hai? Tum dono ne kuch decide hi nahi kiya hai aur tu ring lene nikal padi!" Ananya said.

"Nahi, nahi yaar Ani. Itni bewakoof nahi hu mai! Sidharth aur mai baat karte hai aage ki. I mean, directly shaadi ki nahi lekin we surely know that we would want to get married someday." She replied.

"Phir?" Mira asked.

"It's just that, maine Sidharth ko bataya nahi hai toh bada ajeeb laga raha hai." She worriedly replied.

"Take it easy, okay. Tu sochle pehle Aram se, surprise karna hai ya discuss karna, because both ways it's fine. Completely fine, trust me." Mira assured.

"Yeah, she's right. Pehle na discuss karle, pata chala Sidharth ne mana kar diya tujhe. Ring ke paise waste honge vo alag!" Ananya joked to lighten up her friend's mood.

"That wasn't funny!" Shehnaaz snapped at her idiot friend.

"I really wanna do this. But I was just nervous. Let's do it, let's go!" Shehnaaz confessed, it looked like she was talking to herself so Mira and Ananya waited for her to decide whether she was going to buy a ring today or not.

"Pakka na, yeh ring phir kabhi lene aa jayenge." Ananya suggested.

"No, no! Sidharth ka birthday isi week hai. Meko already ghar pe get-together ki tayyari karni hai. And I really want this to be a surprise for him, so we're doing it today." Shehnaaz announced.

"Toh chal phir! Aaj hi leni hai na ring!" Ananya spoke when she didn't move from her place.

They called the sales girl back and asked for a diamond studded platinum ring, they did struggle with the size for Sidharth's callous finger but bought one guessing it from Vardhan's ring size as per Mira's presence of mind.

"Ab birthday pe invite bhi karle, hum tera proposal miss nahi karna chahte!" Ananya gushed excitedly, so did Mira.

"Oh come on, ek ring itni mushkil se li hai. Sabke saamne propose karna toh bhool ja! Party ke baad usko bolungi." Shehnaaz replied.

"Nooo!" The girls had begged but she had made her mind up by now, because more than anything they'd need privacy to speak their heart out. As per their plan, they did some shopping before calling it a night.

"Baby, I'm home!" She pushed the door open and put all the shopping bags in her wardrobe in the first place.

"Aa gayi tu. What took you so long? Mujhe certificates dikhane the tujhe!" Sidharth appeared from a guest room that was now his study room.

"Haye, hum cafe me baith ke gappe marne lage the." She giggled, lying. Following him inside his study, she got to see those certificates they'd be distributing to their students in the end.

"Schedule ke according, kal pehli class hai. Everything's set for tomorrow. Isha se baat hui abhi, she said seating arrangements, classroom like space sab ready hai. Slides tune achi banayi hai, I just re-read everything." He informed her.

"Good, sab sahi hai kal ke liye. Chal aaj ke liye ho gaya sara kaam! Subha se yahi laga pada tha tu." She caressed his shoulders and made him stand from the chair.

"Oye, mai puchna bhool gaya. Tune kya shopping ki?" He asked, walking out of his study.

"Ah, zyada kuch nahi. Thoda bahot saman, sale lagi huyi thi na Bigg Bazar me." She shrugged. Since most of their sunday was just spent like that, separately busy with their own job. In order to enjoy the few hours left, they cuddled themselves to sleep on the sofa.

The next day came along with new experiences and responsibilities for them, Sidharth welcomed the first batch of students to his program, "This internship will acquaint you with the various skills and technicalities involved in an interior designing career. From note-taking during client meetings, to organizing and coordinating materials, visiting vendors and answering emails, you’ll be involved in every aspect of the role. You’ll also assist with the actual design process, learning to tailor designs according to client interests, budgets and overall feasibility. It’s an experience that will help you decide if you have the inclination and skills required to make it as a full-time interior designer. Tum yaha ho apni skills pe kaam karne ke liye, do not try to butter me up to get a job secured, your report card by the end of these two months will do the work." He said where the last few lines made people chuckle, followed by the introduction of Shehnaaz and Isha, the program started.

The aspirants used to take part in the actual projects going on because they  needed to be creative, have design sense and the ability to visualize and Shehnaaz would go through their work in the end of the day and grade them on the basis of their ability to deal with technical details, to work in a team, their drawing aptitude, their visual sensitivity i.e. the colour sense, ability to work in a given budget and last but not the least their knowledge of textures, materials and trends.

The days passed by in a blur and before they knew it was a night before Sidharth's birthday and everybody was waiting for the clock to strike 12.

"The cake is here!" Shehnaaz chirped, bringing the trolley forward and starting the countdown.

"Happy Birthday Sidharth!" Everybody shouted in unison and began singing the song while he cut the cake and fed his mother first. Rita ji smiled, feeding him the cake back and kissing his cheek.

"Happy Birthday baccha, keep working hard the way you do and know that I'm proud of you! Be happy!" She wished him, gathering him in a hug and he hugged her back, getting to know that your parents are proud of you was certainly one of the best things in the world.

The rest of the family wished him, smeared cake all over his cake, almost making a mess of his face and later had dinner altogether.

"Chale phir, it's getting late." Ajay said.

"Kaha chale? Stay the night!" Sidharth insisted while the rest of the family looked at Shehnaaz challengingly.

"Nahi, kal office jana hai jaldi. Kal tum log aana, lunch at our place!" Preeti convinced her brother so that someone could bring her plan into action.

"Best of luck!" She whispered to her before leaving. Sidharth gave them a confused look, walking back into their apartment with Shehnaaz.

"Khana bahot mast bana tha yaar!" He complimented her, hugging her back.

"Hmm, thanks! Acha sunna.." She replied, pulling him towards the balcony.

"Andar chalte hai na, bahar hawa bhi nahi chal rahi." He said, pulling her back.

She nodded, walking along, trying to be as calm and composed as she could be because she had been waiting for this moment for a week.

"Kuch dhund rahi hai?" He asked when she began searching through her wardrobe once they were in the room.

"Ha, uh, ek minute." She replied, joining him back to get to her task.

"Ice Cream bachi hai na?" He asked when she was about to speak up.

"Ha." She nodded.

"Mai leke aata hu. Tu khayegi aur?" He vanished from the room with that.

She stomped her foot, trying not to lose her patience, "Nahi." She still answered.

"Idhar aana, mujhe kuch baat karni hai." She shouted from her room.

"Ha?" He came back from the kitchen, with a bowl in his hand.

"Aa baith." She patted the space beside her.

"Mujhe na exactly maloom nahi hai ki kya bolungi aur jo bolungi wo kaisa sound karega-" She began hesitantly.

"What is it?" He asked, doubtfully.

"Just hear me out Sidharth, okay?" She replied.

"Abey moti, tu dara rahi hai mere ko. Maine kuch kiya kya?" He wondered if there was something wrong because she was almost panicking.

"Sidharth chup kar ja! Sun le pehle! Kuch hua nahi hai, mujhe bas baat karni hai." She assured, taking hold of his hand and making him nod, he was still confused though.

"Well, the thing is, umm, life mein maine itne ups and downs dekhe hai. Meri life me, especially talking about my important circle, log humesha kam rahe hai aur unme se teen logo la bahot bada role raha hai. Pehle mere Papa, unke saath relationship father daughter cum teacher student zyada lagta tha. Humesha unko khushi de vohi cheez karti thi mai. Lekin jab apni khushi ke liye kaam kiya, Mumbai aayi toh unko acha nahi laga aur mai unse dur ho gayi. Phir Amrinder-" she was talking when he scrunched his face at that name, not having any clue where she was taking it.

"Tu clearly bol, kya bol rahi hai!" He interrupted.

"Muh mat bana, sunn pehle. Jo bhi mere mann me hai, bolne de bas meko! Amrinder ke sath ek time pe cheezein achi lagti thi lekin cheezein aisi huyi ke uska hona mujhe khushi kum aur dukh zyada deta tha. Uske jaane se jo maine seekha, jis tarah vo baat mujhe affect karti rahi kafi time tak. It was like a void that he left behind, a toxic one, dangerous one. Socha nahi tha ke kabhi life normal track me aa bhi payegi. Aur tabhi tune, tabhi uss time kafi help ki thi meri, mujhe sambhala, zindagi phir se sametne ka himmat dene laga. You might not know you made me realize my value, my worth, you made me a better version of myself. Meri insecurities ko tune dabaya nahi, dismiss nahi kiya balki clear kiya. Pyar karne ke liye encourage kiya. Even though I was trying to work on it, I was afraid at the same time, maine tujhe Jane unjane me kitna hurt kiya, dur hone ki koshish ki lekin tu tab bhi dur nahi gaya. Okay, so cut short karti hu thoda! You made me believe in love all over again, you made me understand love better. And today, here, I'm sitting in front of you, irresistibly in love with you!" She said, gaining confidence with each passing minute whereas Sidharth was having a nice time listening.

"I love you more!" He replied, blowing a kiss.

"Tu mujhe chahiye meri life mein. Sidharth, will you be the light of my life, forever? Will you let me love you till my last breath? Will you be my permanent roommate? Will you marry me?" She asked, holding back her breath. He was dumbfounded, like the air around him had been knocked and the bowl in his hand had almost slipped out. 

Did she just say that? Did she just propose to me? He thought to himself before realizing it was actually happening when he saw her pulling out a platinum ring for him. "

Bol!" She nudged him to speak.

"Yes! My goodness, Shehnaaz!" He laughed, realizing that his cheeks were heated up and he was so not prepared for getting proposed like that.

Once she slipped the ring into his finger, they hugged each other right and just couldn't stop laughing.

"I love you so much, meri jaan!" He said, caressing her cheeks.

"I, I wasn't expecting this anytime soon but God, I'm so happy. Shit, tu sachme shaadi karegi ab mujhse! This all is so surreal man!" He laughed, trying to calm down his racing heart.

"I love you too!" She replied, smiling. And then they kissed, seeking union and closeness. Sharing a breath, a sensation, a timeless and passionate moment soaked in love. The heat rose in her cheeks as her tongue touched his, quick and electric and delicious, firmer, more determined, more curious about the heat that lay within, seeking to chase down that elusive liquid lightning that reached through both of them.

They parted to take back a breath and get back to business again, his lips mashed against hers, as if trying to flatten her mouth in excitement. She equally pushed back, her mouth opened, tongue pushing past his clenched teeth. Soon, they were onto the main course, rhythmically syncing their bodies and souls together. He had climbed on top of her and she had accommodated him, holding him tight and letting him in.

Every Time he swam up to the surface of consciousness before diving again, her eyelids fluttered. A responsiveness entered her body, a flex of muscles, like mentioned, took place rhythmically.  He held her thighs better and comfortably before repeating his actions in a different position to make love to her, it was something they could never get enough of. Yet it was different this time, it was very special and promising for everything the future held for them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here it is , Sidharth and Shehnaaz are ready to embark upon a new journey and that marks the end of this story.. like it's said.. the end is the new beginning.. and I'm getting very emotional about it.. for the love sidnaaz have always received..

I wanted to let you guys know from my perspective.. my point of view or call it opinion was more about finding a partner, a lover and a companion ahead of all the insecurities..

With that thought in mind I had begun with permanent roommates and I rested the story here with the same belief.. shaadi aur bacche were not a part of my plan .. but I've tried my best to show how two people can fall in love and fight the complications surrounding their mind..

Thank you for all the love everybody..