Sidharth parked his car outside the bus stand Shehnaaz was about to reach. He hadn't slept properly the previous night, after returning from her place. All he could think about was the ultimatum Madhu had given and he had a conversation about the same with his mother. He had planned to do something about it so as to calm down Madhu for the time being.

Shehnaaz had called him later in the night after everybody had gone to sleep to apologize to him on her mother's behalf. She seemed so disturbed and distressed that he wasn't able to put himself at ease after getting to know her state of mind. She was the one whose presence would enlighten his days, release the stress out of his mind and make him smile. He realized last night that he had been able to actually focus better at his work and feel like he was happy and healthy lately. Just one night that he got to know that she cried and he couldn't sleep, woke up with fatigue and couldn't workout properly.

"Mom, so rahe the kya?" He had called his mother.

"Nahi Montu, bas jane wali thi. Adi aur mai ek movie dekh rahe the. Tu bol beta." Rita Ma replied, she could sense something was wrong through his voice.

"Mom, mai Preeti se kal baat kar lunga. I didn't want to meet that girl because I had been waiting to talk to you all about someone." He told her.

"Hmm. And?" Rita ma asked, she couldn't hold back her smile while listening to her son.

"Shehnaaz. Acchi lagti hai mujhe." He answered.

"Acha, badi pyari bacchi hai. Ghar bulana usko jaldi." Rita ma replied, he smiled the way his mother cheered for him. He would always come up to her to talk because she was such a patient listener and a supportive person. She was his favourite person.

"Actually, ek aur baat hai." He mentioned.

"Madhu Aunty ko hum pehle batane wale the lekin.. she got to know beforehand and not in a very decent way. She's mad at us." He added.

"What do you mean not very decent?" She asked, confused but her son didn't answer.

"Montu!?!" She seriously asked when she began to think of stupid stuff the children could have done.

"Mickey Mumbai aayi, Shehnaaz ko surprise dene aur hum terrace pe sath the jab usne dekha. Aur jaa ke Madhu aunty ko bata diya." He replied.

"Acha. Kya dekha Mickey ne Montu?" Rita Ma challenged him to answer her.

"Mom, please. Madhu aunty bohot naraz hai, mujhe aapko bulane bola hai. I can't do this without you." He pleaded.

"Nazar hona laazmi hai. Ek ladki ki Maa hai wo, unko hona bhi chahiye. Apni beti ko protect kar rahi hai wo." She replied as she explained Madhu's situation to him. She would have pretty much done the same if it would have been about her daughters.

"Hmm. Kal chalte hai mom?" He asked then.

"You sound like a student, jis ko principal ne suspend kiya hua hai!" She joked and giggled.

"Very funny ha? Meri band baji padi hai idhar-" he replied and felt his phone beep. Shehnaaz was calling him.

"Acha acha, thik hai baba. Kal shaam ko chalenge." She replied, agreeing with him.

"Okay, I'll pick you up." He said.

"Ha, chal abhi soja. Everything will be alright. Mai baat karungi Madhu se." She assured him.

"Hm. Good night." He replied before hanging up and calling back Shehnaaz.

"Hello? Sidharth, tu thik hai?" She answered the call in the first ring and asked him.

"Ha, tu thik hai? Teri awaz ko kya hua?" He replied, asking about her hushed voice. Not only did she speak very softly, she sounded a little dim and not well.

"Kuch nahi. Mai thik hu, dheere dheere bol rahi hu." She replied while her heartbeat knew no bounds.

"Sidharth, Mummy ke baat ka bura nahi maan na. News thodi unexpected thi toh wo naraz ho gayi, she's very cool otherwise. Tu unki baat ko seriously nahi lena." She told him. He was somewhere confused, he was expecting her to rather suggest bringing his family the next day and resolving the situation.

"Kya matlab? Nahi batau ghar pe?" He asked her.

"Mat bata abhi, tu aram se batana jab bhi tujhe sahi lage. Koi jaldi nahi hai, mai wait kar lungi thoda time." She answered.

"Hm. Kitna wait kar sakti hai tu?" He asked in order to see what was going inside her head.

"Jitna bhi time tujhe lage. Sidharth, tu sari zindagi lele meri. Bas mere sath rehna, mai Mummy ko mana lungi, unko samjha dungi ke tujhe thoda time de. Wo maan jayenge pakka, mai guarantee deti hu." She promised him.

He sighed, her words meant the world to him. They just weren't words, she was literally putting her heart out for him and he felt like he could just see her and kiss her and tell her how much she meant to him.

"Dekh, tu itni tension mat le, sab thik ho jayega. You don't have to talk to Aunty about anything okay, mai kal Mom ko leke aata hu." He told her.

"Kya? Sach me?" She was surprised. From what all she had heard about him, she was so afraid that he might just leave her because her mother was pressurising him.

"Han. Tu nahi chahti, mai aau?" He teased her.

"Nahi, nahi mera matlab han. Matlab mai chahti hu ke tu aaye.." she fumbled with words while overcoming the gush of relief and happiness.

"Sidharth.." she whispered, closing her eyes in content and letting the tears fall off. She sniffed, smiling thoroughly.

"Baby- are you- you crying? Shehnaaz, kyu ro rahi hai?" He asked, worriedly.

"Mai kya batau tere ko, meko itni tension ho gayi thi. Ekdum aise dil me-pait me dard hone laga tha Sidharth, tune sirf Mummy ko thik hai bola aur tu chala gaya tha." She cried a little while letting it out.

"Oh baby." He felt bad, disappointed within himself to be the reason behind her tears.

"Meko laga tu ready nahi hai, tere pe pressure dala ja raha hai aur tu sacchi chala jayega. I know, I understand we didn't begin the way other couples do, I did a couple of stupid things and you wouldn't admit that you felt something for me.. I didn't- I mean I wasn't sure.. I was afraid of telling Mummy about the same." She added.

"Shehnaaz, sweetheart please stop crying first of all. Mai kahi nahi ja raha na. And it doesn't matter how we kicked off, if it was normal or not, it's just you who matters to me." He replied and it did help her a little. She felt better, she might have cried all night fearing their unspoken future if he wouldn't have assured her.

"Hmm.." she replied, wiping her face with her palm.

"Mil sakta hai?" She asked him.

"Abhi? Lekin aunty?" He asked.

"Kal mil. Bahar. Sidharth, meri na ek bohot important presentation hai kal aur maine ghanta kuch prepare nahi kiya hai uspe. Itni disturb ho gayi thi ke bas rona aa raha hai abhi, I need to see you or else I'll go crazy." She told him.

"Okay, okay kal milta hu tujhe. Tu shant ho ja, jaisa tu bolegi vaisi karunga, thik hai? As of now, turn on your camera, I need to see you as well." He suggested and she agreed, hanging up and waiting for his video call.

He sighed, running fingers through his hair and calling her back immediately. He was afraid he didn't know that she'd be so tensed.

"Hi!" She smiled looking at the camera, receiving the call.

"Hi.. yeh kya haal bana rakha hai apna? Tu kyu itna pareshan hoti hai? Hmm.." He said, looking at her disheveled face, her eyes looked a little puffy while her hair tangled.

"Mai dar gayi thi.. itne time ke baad sab acha acha ho raha tha. Mai dar gayi thi ke sab kharab na ho jaye. Phir kuch galat na ho jaye." She answered.

"Mai hu na, kuch galat nahi hoga. Tu acha socha kar na, acha sochegi toh acha acha hi hoga. Apan mil ke manage karenge na darling. Hmm?"

"Thik hai." She nodded.

"Kal Tera presentation hai na, uspe dhyan de. Mai toh yahi hu, thik hai. Now will you smile, hmm?" He said and she nodded, giving away her cheeky smile he would fall a hundred more times for.

"Toh rakhu mai phone? You won't cry again, right?" He asked.

"Han, thik hai. Bye." She replied.

"Best of luck baby and good night." He said, even though he wanted to talk more but now was not the time.

"Good night." She replied and shortly waved at him through the camera, he silently chuckled watching her doing that. It reflected the innocence of her heart at the moment.

"Kal milte hai." He mentioned assuring her one last time before he hung up. And that was it, he couldn't sleep the whole night.

"Good Morning!" He smiled, wishing her as soon as she walked to him after she got off the bus.

"Sidharth!" She smiled amidst her tears and hugged him tight.

"I missed you." She mumbled once he had his arms around her.

"Hum almost beech road me hain, andar aa." He replied, taking a hold of her hand and guiding her to his car.

"I said I missed you." She repeated herself and gave him a pretty hard look. Challenging him to refuse replying once again.

"I missed you too sweetheart." He replied, kissing her cheek and keeping his hand on her back.

"Bahar kyu nahi bola?" She made stinky eyes as she asked him.

"Bahar bolu ya andar, kya faraq padta hai baby?" He shrugged, caressing her back slowly.

She let it go and held his hand, intervening their fingers together and kissing the back of his palm. She was at ease, his presence had illuminated her gloomy mood.

"What is this presentation about?" He asked.

"Actually Relianz is launching a chain of grocery outlets called Sampurna Groceries. Toh uske liye adds banaye, both posters and videos. Kyuki project bada hai, the executives want us to present it to them. And we'll also discuss some marketing strategies today." She told him.

"That's nice. Best of luck, okay." He replied, squeezing her hand a little.

"Hm. Isi baat ki tension hai, mere se gadbad ho gayi toh mera pehla impression kharab ho jayega." She mentioned, recalling Naman's words.

"Kyu gadbad hogi, tune itni preparation ki hai! Just be yourself, tune jo banaya hai uske bare me bolna hai, aisa soch. Presentation ka pressure mat le." He suggested, cheering her up.

"Han. Sahi bol raha hai tu." She nodded, resting her head against the seat.

"Mai humesha sahi bolta hu, chal tu ja. Late ho jayegi." He told her as he buckled his seat belt as well.

"Hm. Bas ek second." She replied, cupped his face and pressed her lips on his lips and retreated before he knew.

"Bye. Shaam ko milna." She whispered before heading out of his car.

"Okay." He nodded, watching her enter the building premises before hitting the roads.

As Shehnaaz began with her presentation in a room full of her employers, she wouldn't lie. She fumbled a little and forgot a couple of lines that she was supposed to add. She wasn't initially planning to but she ended up talking in Hindi in between.

"Toh sir, Social Media Campaign me yeh concept hoga ke 'Discover Freshness Close to Home' and there will be a series of posts showcasing fresh produce, store interiors and customer testimonials. We will use hashtags like #FreshAtYourDoorstep and #GroceryRevolution on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Threads. Aur humara classic level pe TV and Radio Commercials hoga, again 'Your Neighborhood Grocery Store'. TV adds me hum celebrities ya influencers ko hire karenge to build trust and familiarity on Sampurna Groceries." She said while presenting the slides.

The executives went through the options and liked quite a few of them, there was a small Q&A on it as well but Shehnaaz was backed up by her team as they answered collectively and the meeting and discussion all in all went well.

"Aye, mera presentation thik tha na? Maine jo matter taiyar kiya tha, mai toh sara bhool gayi thi." She asked Aisha later on in the cafeteria with her colleagues.

"Acha bola yaar tune, ab ek din ke andar banda itna hi prepare kar pata. Sahi tha, tabhi toh sir ko ideas acche lage humare banaye pages acche lage!" Aisha replied as they had coffee together.

"Tu bata Naman?" Shehnaaz asked him.

"Honestly bolu? You could have done much better." He replied and looked at her intently.

"Ha? I know time kam tha. I could have done better." She agreed with him.

"Mai accounts me itne time se hu, I'm always explaining the numbers to others. Toh mere experience ke according, tumhe apni English pe kaam karna chahiye you know." He suggested her, sipping his coffee.

"Hmm. Shayad mujhe Hindi me nahi bolna chahiye tha beech me." She nodded, pondering upon his words.

Later when she returned home, a part of her was relieved that the presentation was just over and that she'd work hard for her next one. But then she was more occupied by the thought of Sidharth coming over with his mother.

"Baat nahi karegi?" Sheena asked her friend, she had been meaning to apologize to her since morning.

"Sana humari flight hai kal ki, maan ja yaar." She requested, following her friend into her bedroom.

"Mummy.. Sidharth aa raha hai, Rita aunty ke sath." She mentioned and it had Madhu look up in surprise.

"Montu aur Rita aunty! Arey waah!" Sheena exclaimed.

"Haaye, tu mere ko abhi bata rahi hai. Mai kuch bana ke rakhti!" Madhu replied, getting started with dinner preparation immediately.

"Aap toh kal bade naraz the usse?" Shehnaaz asked. Confused.

"Woh toh abhi bhi hu, lekin uski Mummy se kaisi narazgi?" Madhu answered, busying herself in the kitchen.

"Kuch lana hai Aunty?" Gurjot asked Madhu.

"Ha, paneer aur icecream le aa beta." Madhu answered.

"Mai safai kar deti hu." Sheena said, grabbing a cloth as she began to dust the living area.

"Ajeeb hai." Shehnaaz commented.

She watched everybody in surprise, the dynamics had changed suddenly since last night and she was unable to digest it. She could clearly see how Madhu wanted to fix her alliance with Sidharth. But the real question was were they as a couple ready to get married? She was worried that if not yet, this thing might scare off Sidharth now.

'Dinner bana rahi h Mummy tum logo ke liye.. time nikal ke ana..' she texted him.

'Dekhte rehna.. aunty kuch mix na karde meri plate me..🤣' he replied a minute later as he chuckled to himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello all.. here's the new update! Lemme know how's it?

What was the best part?

Do you believe that this time Sidharth could be scared off like Shehnaaz believes?

How do you think they'll settle it? Should they get married now?

Last but not the least.. thank you for the best wishes.. I'm having a speedy recovery by god's grace ❤️