ABHIRA THE BROZILLA'S BRIDE

CH14 BEAUTIFUL LIFE

then I go join her?” he asked.

“Yes. The MCs script will say that there was a special request for an

encore of the dance, and that’s when you will join. We will pull Ravi back,

so you can join.”

“Good. I’m glad you are not cancelling a high school kids’

performance.” He snickered.

She widened her eyes as if in horror. “We would never do that.”

He nodded, smiling, his eyes holding hers in silence. “How are you

doing?”

“I’m good. Excited for Anisha.”

“How is your research coming along?”

Her eyes brightened with joy. “You were right about broadening the search. There seems to be a DNA match with people in the neighbouring region, less than two per cent, but it’s better than the no match I had in the earlier round.”

“Good. My guess was right about you being from around here.”

“Yeah, explains my obsession with a few things that are very regional.”

“You look happy.”

She nodded.

“This is the first time in all these years I have a sliver of hope that I will actually get to know where my roots are and even better, find a distant relative.”

“What will you do when you find your relatives?”

She thought for a moment. “I have a ton of questions to ask them. Like history of the family, stories, like I love to hear about those old-time stories, and then I’m going to take a page out of your family and plan a reunion with all my relatives.”

“That is some grand planning.”

“There’s got to be some advantage of having an event planner as a relative.” She laughed and added, “When I find them.”

“I wish you luck, and if you don’t find all your relatives in the next few months, you should join us for our family reunion.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s it. You can’t take it back. I’m definitely going.” She laughed.

He shook his head. “That’s what I said. You should go with us.”

“You are messing with me.”

“I’m serious.”

“And the reunion will be in that house that was in the picture?”

“Yes.” He smiled, one end of his mouth twisting up.

“That place is so beautiful. I can’t believe we didn’t have an event at the house. It would have been awesome.”

“Not a unique enough venue for your client, I guess,” he teased.

“No. It’s the logistics and accommodating all the guests. It would make such a beautiful venue for an intimate wedding.” She smiled dreamily.

“My grandparents had their celebration at the house after they eloped and came back.”

Akshara’s eyes widened.

“I have been dying to hear about that story. Why did they elope?”

“If you want to hear all the stories, you will need to spend weeks with my family, and they get super fun after that because they start to repeat, and you hear other versions of the story.”

Akshara let out a sigh.

“I really want to go now. Would you please let me organize it for you?”

He shook his head laughing.

“I told you could go. You don’t need to work the event.”

She scrunched her nose. “I can’t crash a family event.”

“Yes, you can.”

“No. It’s not appropriate for me to attend a family event.”

He rolled his eyes. “Oh, you forgot to mention, unprofessional.”

“That, too. It’s sweet of you to invite me, but I can’t.”

“Why? Why are you such a stickler for rules? Rules that you made.”

She shrugged looking away from him.

“What’s with the formalities and such rules? Your team is a lot more easy-going about the sir and ma’am part but not you.”

“It’s the best way.” A lump started to form in her throat at the harsh reality around why she set those rules for herself.

“Best way for what?” he prompted.

She lowered her eyes and fell silent.

“Akshara, talk to me.”

She looked up and took a deep breath. “The first wedding I worked, I was fascinated with the family dynamics, and I very quickly got too attached. Got too involved with the family to the point where I forgot I was the hired help. When all the fun comes to an end, the harsh reality hits me harder than anyone else because I don’t have a family of my own. That’s why I insist on the formalities and look what you and your sister have done. I’m going to have a family hangover for months now.”

Abhimanyu looked at her for a long moment feeling the tightness in his chest surmount, and for the first time in many years, he didn’t know what to do.

How is it that the most beautiful person inside and out has such a void in her life when she was the life of the party, the catalyst to everyone’s happiness.

The twist in his chest was suffocating, and as if it was the only way to create a distraction for both of them, he said, “I think I need one last round of practice.”

She smiled, making the weight on his chest lift a bit.

“I think we should, just so you burn the floor down with your moves.”

He was glad to see the spark return to her eyes, but the twist only tightened as he started dancing with her. The woman was putting on a strong front but was all alone on the inside with a beautiful heart that brought happiness to others.

As he looked at her and watched her dance, he knew he would do anything to keep that spark alive, forever. The past few months were the most interesting ones in his life, and it only made him wonder what it would like be to have someone like her for the rest of his life.

Life would be beautiful.

Love
Janus