His jaw was clenched as he raked his eyes at the woman standing before him. The woman started walking towards him, while he controlled himself from something that he would regret later.
Her lips tilted upwards when looked into his eyes. Her eyes ra...
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Nalani smiles as she speaks with the elderly person she has adored for one hour. Hridyanshu stood beside her, conversing with the director of the auditorium. Nalani was about to break Raghu's wrist, but Raghu moved away immediately when he saw Hridyanshu throwing dangerous looks at him.
Nalani was thankful, she didn't want to create any scene, but Raghu wasn't getting the memo. Nalani had Hridyanshu around her like a protective wall, not allowing anyone to enter her personal space. "So, you have known the Singhs all your life?" Srida asked, her eyes glancing at Hridyanshu once in a while.
Nalani smiled, "My parents were good friends with Singhs and I grew up with their kids. We are best friends if you ask me." Hridyanshu watched Nalani as everyone looked at her. "As in Mr Hridyanshu is your best friend?" Nalani laughed, glancing at Hridyanshu to see him having a small smile on his face.
They weren't this close or calm. Whenever Nalani was in the palace, they always ended up arguing or Hridyanshu getting pranked by Naalani. They were never on a friendship basis nor did they have a label for whatever relationship they had. "Uh, best friend? Hmm." Nalani looked at the people in the circle who were waiting for her to answer the question.
"Well, come to that. We are more than that. I wouldn't say we are best friends because we were never this cooperative and calm." Srida's brows frowned in confusion. "So you two are partners?"
"Rivals in argument or debate," Hridyanshu finished the sentence, not wanting to give them more than the required information or details. Lalith, who was one of the members of the dance club, chuckled. "Right."
The rest of the conversation went by before they all sat down to have their dinner. The dinner was being served but it was quite late. None seemed to have any issues and, rather, they seemed happy to be a part of the after-party, catching up with everyone belonging to the dance academy.
Hridyanshu glanced at Nalani. He had observed her, she was wearing the black saree that his siblings and he had gifted her on her birthday. He never saw her wearing that saree and he had completely forgotten about it. "Why are you looking at the saree?"
Hridyanshu blinked his eyes, he wasn't meant to get caught. "Hmm, just checking if this is the same saree that Vidha has gifted you." Nalani gave a bright smile patting her hand on the saree. "Yes, this is the saree, you siblings had gifted me." Hridyanshu gave a small smile before looking at his food. He doesn't understand the kind of feelings growing in him when he is close to Nalani. He didn't understand why they weren't arguing or why she hadn't pranked him. Things are fairly different and awkward when they were calm and comfortable. It wasn't like this before, nor did they stay in the same room for a much longer time.
When the after-party came to an end, Nalani said goodbye to everyone. Hridyanshu was waiting for her patiently. "Hey, before you two leave. Why don't I click a picture of you two?" Srida spoke. Hridyanshu and Nalani shared a look. Hridyanshu was already shaking his head negatively. "You two haven't clicked any pictures. It would be a memory, stand close." Srida pointed the camera at them and Nalani awkwardly stood beside Hridyanshu.
They both stood side by side. Hridyanshu held his hands behind his back and stood slightly behind Nalani. Nalani held her saree pallu as she posed for the picture. Hridyanshu had a neutral face while Nalani was wearing a happy smile.
*
Nalani looked out of the window whilst Hridyanshu was driving. They were in comfortable silence as there was nothing much to talk about. Nalani leaned her face out, enjoying the breeze hitting her face. The day was tiring and the event was a success. She will be leaving for Hyderabad in two days.
If Vidha and Vedant were in Jaipur, she would've spent her days in Jaipur but they weren't in Jaipur. They were busy with work and Nalani would be bored out of her mind if she was all alone in the palace. Hridyanshu glanced at Nalani. "Ma said, you are leaving to Hyderabad." Nalani looked at Hridyanshu. "Hmm, yes. I'm leaving on Tuesday."
Hridyanshu gave a slight nod. "Vrishali auntie and I decided to do a photoshoot for her new collection. I'm excited." A smile played on Hridyanshu's face. "This will be your first time collaborating with Ma, right?"
Nalani turned her body and nodded her head like a kid in happiness. "Yes, it had been my dream since childhood to wear Vrishali aunty's new collection and do a photoshoot."
"But Ma asked you a number of times to be her model, didn't she?" Vrishali nodded her head. "Yes, but I wasn't ready at that time." Nalani didn't tell him the truth. The first time when Vrishali asked Nalani to be her model. Nalani was over the moon, but soon after she heard the talk in the dressing room. Her happiness was crushed. Nalani was still in high school when Vrishali asked her to be her model. But the professional models weren't happy that they were going to work with an unprofessional teenager, let alone when she was going to be the highlight of the photo shoot.
Nalani was anxious and self-conscious when she was a teenager. It took her years to overcome the fear and fall in love with herself. It wasn't easy for her when she consistently pointed out her skin tone or how she kept putting on weight. She loved dancing but everyone in the dance school demotivated her. So she opted for UPSC, which she failed badly. Later, she ended up working at an MNC after the completion of her degree with Vidha. While Vidha loved to manage things in the office, Nalani felt sick of it and she wasn't at peace.
So she started an online business based on her interest in sarees. It wasn't a big hit and the business failed. Nalani almost lost all of her interest when she was still in New York when she decided to come home after her graduation. By the time she was giving online dance classes to her cousins.
Soon after returning to India, she started taking classes at her home. Kids kept coming and the idea of opening her dance school was born. Nalani knew not to have high hopes. She started by renting a small studio before it hit off. She is grateful that she didn't stop herself from opening the dance school.
"What are you thinking?" She snapped out of her world and stared at Hridyanshu. "Nothing." Hridyanshu briefly glanced at Nalani. "Nothing?"
"Hmm, just thinking of the times and now." She sighed, leaning back in her seat. "You have been doing well, we are all proud of you and we all know how much time you have invested in building your school and your love towards fashion. Stop worrying about any of those professional models you are going to meet tomorrow."
Nalani blinked her eyes at him in surprise. "You are a professional and you know how to handle collaboration. So if any of the models point it out, ignore them. You are much more important than wasting your time on someone who won't respect others' work." Nalani nodded her head in response.
*
Hey everyone, I hope everyone is doing well. Please do share this series on Social media or with your friends if you love my work. I would be thankful for the favour. Was on a family vacation and returned yesterday. However, the mind is still a mess and doesn't have any idea of how's it going.
