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Chapter 27: Wedding Stress

Durga Prasad and Ram stand in front of a door patiently, holding a box of sweet in their hands.

The door opened and Parvati stood in front of them, glancing at them confusingly.

"Ragini isn't here. . ." She nervously spoke and Ram admired her with a small smile over his lips.

"We. . . We came here to. . ." Durga Prasad struggled to talk to her, feeling nervous yet guilty.

"To invite you." Ram completed for Durga Prasad, willing to talk to Parvati. "Our son Adarsh, Ragini's boss. He's getting married next week, so we decided to invite you to the wedding personally. Please accept the gift and please try coming." Ram continued with a broad smile over his lips.

Parvati nodded slightly confused and Durga Prasad forwarded the box of sweet.

"We. . . Haven't printed the cards out yet but we will send it to you as soon as we get one. However we have Ragini's contact details so we will message you the days and times." Durga Prasad managed to speak after clearing his throat.

"Oh. . . No, what was the need for this?" She was surprised to see the sweet box, refusing to take it.

"Please take it. Maa. . . Ji." Ram spoke, managing to say 'Maa' after years.

"Yes, please. M. . . Maa Ji." Durga Prasad also spoke, finding it award while he uttered the term 'Maa' after many years.

"Okay." She nodded, and took the box of sweet.

"Please do come to the wedding. We would be looking forward to see you." Durga Prasad uttered and she confusingly nodded, passing the two a look.

"Would you like to come inside?"

"No, it's fine." Durga Prasad refused and Ram felt slightly sad, "please do come to the functions before the wedding too." He added and she nodded at them.

"Okay, we would leave now." Durga Prasad awkwardly uttered and Parvati nodded at him.

Ram unwillingly turned along with Durga Prasad and Parvati looked at them, sighing while watching them slowly walk away.

"Ram, Durga. . ."

"Yes?" The two instantly turned around to face Parvati, who was looking at them. "Why are you leaving, again?" She asked, making them realise she knows who they are.

They look at her helplessly yet with tinge of guilt and she slowly curled a smile with water eyes.

XX

"How are you now?"

"Better but embarrassed."

"Why?"

"Because I cried." She uttered and embarrassingly touched her forehead, "it's so embarrassing that I could faint anytime now." She uttered and he looked at her, realising she heard him during the amusement park.

"It seriously is. . . I rarely cry and when I do, it's never in front of anyone." She frowned as she spoke, not believing she let a whole flood of tears out.

"It's okay, just chill. It's okay to cry you know."

"I know but it's not okay to cry in front of someone like this, in front of someone who I recently became friends with." She revealed her discomfort point and he scoffed as they walked down a path.

"They often say strangers make the best of friends." He retorted in assurance, hunting out he wouldn't say a word.

"Do they?"

"Do you doubt you'll be a bad friend to me?" She shook her head and smiled, "I'll be pretty awesome." She self-praised and he nodded, "let's see." He challenged and she nodded while inhaling, "let's see." She exhaled and confidently stared at him.

"Where are we going now?" She asked as she wondered and he smiled, "somewhere to relax your mind."

"It better not be a pub, disco or a music field. I hate loud music, and crowded people."

"Wow, you're so different." He was surprised after hearing her response. "Most girls enjoy that life."

"And I'm not from those 'most girls', I much rather prefer going to a quiet place."

"You're so boring."

She shrugged with a small smile, "it's what I find peaceful."

"What about a boyfriend?"

"I can't be asked for boy drama just yet."

He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief, "you're so old school Ragini."

"It's pretty normal to be single. Why don't you have a girlfriend?" She wondered and he scoffed, "I just haven't found my lucky girl yet."

"I already feel so bad for her. How will she manage with you?"

"What do you mean? I'm handsome and amazing, she'll have the best day of her life with me."

Ragini rolled her eyes and yawned, "is that all or is there a list of cockiness coming?"

He forced a fake smile, "I'm sure she'll feel lucky to have me."

Ragini laughed, "she'll probably break up as soon as you say she's lucky. . ." She continued laughing, finding it funny and he made a face, passing her look.

"What's so funny about that?" He asked, not seeing any reasons for her to laugh over it but she continued laughing each time she thought about it.

"It's not funny at all." He felt offended and held her hand, stopping her while halting his steps. "Why are you laughing."

"Sorry." She apologised but couldn't control her laughter and he sighed, pulling her closer to him while wrapping his hand around her waist.

Her laugh stopped and she was startled by this sudden movement of his. He pulled her closer and she sucked her breath in, slowly exhaling while swallowing her spit.

"What. . ." He hushed her and looked at her with seriousness. "I am the best guy to date." He uttered and she flapped her eyes at him, "she won't regret it." He whispered and Ragini felt her heart slightly flutter with the proximity.

"Date me."

"Huh?" She shockingly scrunched her eye-brows. "For a day and see." He replied and she shook her head, "are you mad?"

"Playdate. . . Then you'll see how good I am." He went back to his cocky behaviour and she looked on. "What?"

"Yes, playdate. Just for a day."

She chuckled, "you want me to go on a playdate with you?" He nodded and she smirked, refusing to.

"Just one day." He requested and she scoffed, thinking about it. "Okay, I'll go on a playdate with you." She agreed, finding it funny. "I don't know why this is getting funnier." She added and separated from Lakshya, starting to chuckle.

"Done, playdate tomorrow." He uttered and she nodded, covering her lips with her hand to control her funny bone.

"What's your number?" He asked and she looked at him. "Don't you have my number?" She asked and he shrugged. "I don't know, I have too much numbers."

"It's. . ." She starts telling him and he instantly slides his phone out, unlocking it and tapping the number down to save it.

"Okay yeah, I don't have you saved." He uttered and saved her contact as 'Ragini', giving her a miss call.

"That was me." She nodded at him and he slid his phone in his pocket. "And Ragini, you look pretty when you're laughing." He complimented and her heart fluttered, it came as a surprise and he blinked at him, he smiled and started walking while she looked on.

"Did he called me pretty?" She muttered to herself and thought about his sudden compliment. "Are you coming or staying there?" He shouted while walking ahead and she quickly followed, touching her cheeks to make sure they aren't heating up.

XX

Maheshwari Mansion:

"Oh my god. Jiji this is too much, if they wanted a sooner date then they should've told us instead of giving us two options!" Sujata exclaimed as she complained, frustratedly standing in front of Annapurna in distress.

Annapurna touched her forehead, in tension while waiting for a call back from Durga Prasad.

"What should we do Sujata? What. . . Oh god, this is so soon." She stressed and sighed, unable to think straight.

"This is limits Jiji. Why give us two choices in the first place. Now we have to call again and ask to change the order dates." Sujata huffed and Uttara walked into the hall.

"I called the sweet and confectionary guy, he said he'll get it done by this Friday and deliver it." Uttara uttered with her phone in her hand, distressed and panicking alongside Sujata and Annapurna.

"Call all of them."

"What? Me? But. . . It's embarrassing." Uttara replied and shook her head. "You call some and I'll call some." She added while looking at Sujata who palmed her forehead in irritation.

"I'm so angry right now. They should've told us if they wanted to have it earlier rather than giving us two options." Sujata continued to complain about the same thing again and again.

"I agree." Uttara agreed while tensely looking at her phone. "Why is Papa not calling back. Bhai's and Adarsh Bhai are in a meeting. . . Lakshya Bhai won't even pick up I bet. . . What should we do?"

"Try calling Lakshya."

"What is he going to do Jiji? He won't even care. It's better we sort it out ourselves than trouble him, he might be busy in the meeting too."

"He isn't. . . He went out early in the morning and he seemed like he was going somewhere else. He won't answer my calls anyway but just phone him and ask him where he is and if he's doing okay." Annapurna worriedly uttered and Uttara nodded, tapping her phone to find Lakshya.

XX

"Urgh, let's go the other way." He complained and she looked at him confusingly. "Why?"

"My house is on this road."

"And that's good, you can go home and maybe talk to your family. . ."

"No." He refused and cut her in between, he slid his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. "It's too early to go home." He replied and realised he had his phone on 'do not disturb' mode.

He tapped it off and soon was bombarded with messages, some saying calls that were missed while some asking him where he was.

"Shit. How many people called me?" He wondered and sighed, his eyes fell on the top message which was of Sanskaar.

"Why did you block me?" He read and creased his forehead, "when did I?" He asked himself and soon his phone rang, flashing Uttara's name.

He sighed, not wanting to answer it.

"What if it's an emergency?" Ragini asked, guilt-trapping him to answer it and he thought for a second before answering it.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

"Out, why?"

"You left so early in the morning. Badi-Maa's worried for you. She's asking if you ate anything or not?"

"I. . ." He was speechless and looked at Ragini who stared in space and waiting. "I. . . Tell her you don't need to worry for me and I can't take care of myself."

Ragini looked at him and he avoided eye-contact with her. "Like I'm going to say that. . . I'll tell her you've eaten and are absolutely fine."

"Why isn't Bhaisa calling back? Jiji, what should we do? This is getting so stressful!" Lakshya heard Sujata exclaim in the back, sounding stressed and Uttara disconnected the call.

"Why were you rude?" Ragini asked and Lakshya sighed, "this isn't as easy as you make it sound. I. . . It's too cringing to be talking to them again."

"You need to try, you don't have to randomly be nice to everyone in one day. Take your time, understand them and let them understand you, then slowly do talk to them normally." She explained and he rolled her eyes at her, yet slightly concerned after hearing Sujata.

"Would it be okay if I could quickly pop down and see what happened?"

"Yes, you don't need to ask me. Go. And I'll go."

"No, you're coming with me."

"What? No I'm not." She refused and he nodded, "yes you are."

"I'm your playdate tomorrow remember, not today so. . ."

"I need help controlling. What if I get angry and act out? What if it doesn't work out and I end up ruining it even more?" He questioned, sounding confused and less confident as he spoke, making Ragini feel bad.

"Okay, let's go." She agreed and planted a small smile over her lips. He nodded at her and the two start walking.

XX

"How have you two been?" Parvati asked as she looked at the two. Durga Prasad had his head lowered and Ram was ready to reply.

"We have been fine. What about you? How have you been?"

"I've been great. Just getting old now." She chuckled and Ram scoffed, "you look as young as you were back in the day."

"Stop making me happy like Ragini. I'm getting old and I can feel it." She replied and chuckled while he joined her.

"It's been a long time. I really can't believe we met you like this. We didn't know Ragini was Shekhar's daughter." Ram uttered, sounding in disbelief and Parvati nodded.

"Yes, she's gone more on her mother Janki. Janki left her with me after passing away from cancer."

"Oh. . ." Ram trialled off, feeling apologetic. "And Swara is Shekhar's. . ." She stopped for a while and decided to lie, "Shekhar and Janki's eldest daughter." She added with a smile and Swara, who was stood at the distance heard and formed a small sad smile over her lips.

"And Shekhar. . ."

Parvati sighed, "he passed away in an accident 13 years ago." She revealed, shocking Ram and Durga.

"I'm so sorry Maa Ji, I didn't know. . . He. . ." Ram felt apologetic and guilty for asking about Shekhar.

"It's okay, don't worry. What would you two like to eat?"

"Nothing, we ate and came." Ram lied and Durga merely nodded his head to agree.

Parvati noticed Durga Prasad drowning in guilt and looked at him, deciding to help him overcome it. "Why aren't you talking? Don't you like talking to me?" She asked in a joking tone and he shook his head. "It's not that."

His guilt was overtaking him and he continued to drop his head while playing with his thumbs. "I'm. . . I'm sorry for running away." He apologised in a cracky tone, feeling sad and ashamed of himself.

Tears flow down from his eyes and Ram felt sad. Parvati looked at him and stood up, heading towards him.

"Look at me. . ." She ordered but he closed his eyes, continuing to hang his head down, sniffing while squeezing his thumbs.

Swara confusingly watched them from a distance, surprised to see Durga Prasad cry in front of Parvati.

"Look at me!" She made her tone stern and he sniffed, opening his watery eyes while lifting his head to look at her.

"It wasn't your fault. . . You did whatever you had to at that time. To protect yourself and to protect your brother and me and Shekhar." She assurance, blinking at him to tell him she's not mad at him.

He sobbed, "I'm sorry." He apologised and Parvati shook her head, "don't be sorry!" She exclaimed and inhaled, controlling her tears.

Durga Prasad and Ram's mother and Parvati were best friends, more like sisters and Shekhar was Ram and Durga Prasad's childhood friend. After their mother passed away, Durga Prasad and Ram were raised by Parvati and were protected by Parvati every time their father used to physically abuse them. However at times, their father used to barge in and abuse them whenever needed or whenever he was angry. He would threaten Parvati and Deen Dayal for not minding their own business.

One day, Durga Prasad had enough. He couldn't watch his brother suffer continuously from abuse, neither watch his Parvati Maa and Deen Dayal suffer from threats and harassment by their father, so he decided to run away at the age of 16 with Ram, taking his responsibility. He moved away from the village and travelled so far, where he had to struggle and work for 5 years until he started becoming more well earned. At the age of 20, he was earning well and met Annapurna and married her. After that, him and his brother Ram started their own business which was successful and got them to live peacefully after all the sufferings they endured. They went back to their village to meet Parvati but found out she had moved with her son and husband.

"Every time I used to argue with my father. . . I always thought it was nothing. But now, I'm getting karma, my son is making me repay for all the times I cursed my father." He sniffed and inhaled, managing to control his cries.

Parvati placed her hand over his shoulder, "You did nothing wrong." She assured and he exhaled, nodding his head as he felt at ease knowing she wasn't mad or upset at him for running away.

"And about your son. . . Are you using the same techniques as your own father used?" She asked and he looked at her, clueless to what she meant.

"Are you using too much force and sternness?" She questioned and his mind piled the memories of the time he used to behave with him. "Not too much, but I am strict."

"It's good you're strict so the kids could know their boundaries but over strictness can cause rebellious behaviour. Maybe you should spend a bit of time with him to understand him, then see what you need to do with him." She advised and he gave it a thought, processing her words.

XX

Maheshwari Mansion:

Lakshya walked inside with Ragini, looking around to see Annapurna stressing along with Sujata and Uttara who were speaking over the phone.

"No Bhaiyya, this Friday. The Friday that's in 4 days!" Uttara sounded irritated as she spoke, unable to control herself. "Please book us in soon. It's an emergency and needs to be done soon, one of the family member is really unwell and they don't think she can make it by next week Friday, so please do something soon." Uttara added, trying to sound nicer.

Lakshya was confused as he walked down the stairs and Ragini was nervous as she followed him yet maintaining a distance.

"What's going on?" He decided to interrupt and they faced him.

"Lakshya. . ." Annapurna sighed a relief, walking towards him. "Have you ate?" She concernedly asked and he looked at her, trying to control his expressions. He nodded at her and she looked at him, "you're lying. You haven't." She sensed and hurried "I'll go get you something to eat, you stay here and. . ." Her eyes fall on Ragini and a smile curled over her lips. "Beta you came too. . . Come inside, I'll get you something to eat too."

"No Aunty it's fine. . ."

"No, come and sit." She ordered and Ragini awkwardly moved forward.

Lakshya watched her concern towards him, and how she caught him lying. He watched her walk towards the kitchen and then faced Sujata and Uttara.

"What did I miss?"

"What should we tell you chhore?" Sujata was too stressed to even register the fact that Lakshya is willingly talking to them. "The wedding is in 4 days."

"What?"

"This is so stressful. Pari's Naani fell ill and they said to hurry the wedding as her Naani's last wish is to see Pari married. They gave us two options saying this week or next week and we chose next week but now they called saying the Naani's condition is worsening and we have to hurry. It's so stressful. Bhaisa isn't picking up the phone and neither is Adarsh. How will we manage?" Sujata blurted her complain out and sighed.

Lakshya chuckled, "you're stressing over this?"

Sujata glanced at him, "yes, I. . . I'm so mad and stressed right now, I can't even think straight."

"Just relax. . . Don't worry, the wedding is on Friday right? That's 4 days away."

"That's the whole issue Laks, 4 days is so near. . . How are you so chilled?"

"I. . ."

"He doesn't even care Maa, I bet he won't even turn up at the wedding." Uttara spoke and interrupted him.

"Yes, I won't." He replied and Ragini looked on.

"Uff, please Laks. Don't say this in front of Jiji otherwise she would probably have a high BP." Sujata sighed and touched her forehead. "Too much to handle at once. We have no shopping done at all."

"I'll help. . . If that's okay with you." Ragini offered and Lakshya looked on. "Why would you help?"

"Why not? How will they manage just on their own?"

"Yeah still but. . ."

"The wedding is in 4 days, we have to get started now. . . You won't understand how stressful things like these are. It's like last minute cancellation."

"Exactly!" Uttara exclaimed, agreeing with Ragini.

"But. . . I don't know if we should make you work. You already work in the office and. . ." Sujata was hesitant and Ragini cut her in between, "I took a week off, so I'll manage to help. If that's okay with you."

Sujata nervously chuckled, "it is okay. More hands the better but. . . It's not fair to make our guest work."

"Don't feel bad. Besides Lakshya would be helping us out too and I'm his friend so, I'll be helping him out." Ragini worded it in a way that would make them feel less guilty about it.

"And when did I say I'm helping?" Lakshya asked while looking at Ragini.

"You don't want to?" She asked and he shook his head negatively, "no. I don't want to."

"Go, have some food. I put it down on the table." Annapurna uttered while walking into the hall again. "Go beta." She signalled Ragini and Ragini shook her head.

"It's fine Aunty. . ."

"The food will get cold." Annapurna interrupted and Ragini nodded at her.

"I'm not hungry." Lakshya replied and Annapurna looked at him. "I'll make something else. . . What do you want to eat?"

"I. . ."

Annapurna's phone buzzed and she glanced down at it.

"Wait, Ji is calling. You go wait at the dining table, I'll come and make you something you want to eat." She interrupted him and walked to the side, answering the call.

"It's the decorators calling." Uttara uttered and sighed, showing Sujata the phone screen.

"Answer that." Sujata suggested she Uttara walked to the side, answering the call.

"You two go and eat. I'll be back after calling the catering service."

Ragini was the only one who nodded at Sujata and Lakshya merely looked at her. She nervously smiled at him and walked to the side to call.

Ragini inched closer to Lakshya and faced him, ready to ask him questions.

To Be Continued. . .

Up Next - Lakshya to ask Uday & Nikhil to help along. . . Uday upset at Lakshya for befriending Ragini. . .

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