To Love Again !!!

Chapter - 19

Amrit arrived with Preeti on one side, Kulraj on the other and a few cousins and their friends. Simrit was nowhere to be seen. She walked tall and proud. She kept a smile pinned to her face and did not pause to look at anybody. She kept her gaze straight. She looked towards the small one step stage that had been created unlike the monstrous one her family had wanted. This was her engagement it was going to be her way or no way. And she anyway hated the huge stage arrangements with those monstrous chairs from God knows what era. It made one look like a spectacle in a museum.

She saw Abhay standing there with his family. She saw her mother in law give her a quiet thumbs up and her father in law wink. They were a beautiful couple. Not that they looked any less. Rajesh Malhotra looked as fit and handsome in his three piece suit as Sarla Malhotra looked elegant in her mustard silk sari. Jay of course looked every bit as good looking as he normally did. He had a thing for style. But it was Abhay who took her breath away.

That black sherwani looked as if it was made for him. If she had thought he looked handsome before she decided to revise her opinion. He looked devilishly handsome today. Did something change about him? She wasn't sure but she couldn't help herself. Tall and confident that man stood there waiting for her to join him on the stage. She felt a strange flutter in her heart.

Amrit was suddenly nervous. She wasn't sure anymore on how she looked. Would he like what she was wearing? She hoped he did. Why was she feeling like this? This was an arranged marriage and though they had both decided to move on and enter this new phase it wasn't as if they were in love or something then why did she feel like this? She almost faltered in her step. Her gaze never leaving his. And what she saw there gave her confidence a boost. There was warmth, respect and something else, was it admiration or awe? She wasn't sure but either way it was good. She could hear the giggles and the little comments the girls around her were making but she couldn't really make out any words.

As she reached the stage Abhay offered her his hand as she lifted her heavy embroidered lehenga. She looked at it and then after a second took it. His hand was big, warm and reassuring. His grip firm as he helped her up. Someone hooted and someone laughed. Then when she was steady he let go.

Abhay hadn't been able to look away when he saw her coming. Beautiful didn't even begin to describe her today. Tall and proud she walked towards the stage without glancing at anybody as if she couldn't care less if they were here. The rust colored dress of hers suited her so well one could easily say the dress became her. Her jewelry was just apt with such a heavy thing for a dress the simple necklace set was perfect. Even her make up whoever had done it had done a brilliant job of it. It only made her face glow and did not look like patch work. She was utterly graceful and he heard one of his friends murmur how sophisticated she looked, so different from the rest of the crowd. How come he hadn't known she looked so good? Maybe because he had met with her only twice and then had spoken to her only over the phone. And then he had seen her falter and her gaze shift a little. She was nervous but he could understand the feeling and he smiled he couldn't help it. Where most girls were shy or demure or at least attempted to look that way even if they were not, Amrit was living up to her reputation. He saw his father wink at her earlier when she had walked in and had been surprised a little, even his ever so suave brother had a silly grin on his face. As she had reached the stage he had held out his hand to help her. For a second he had thought she wouldn't take it then as if she reconsidered and accepted his hand. Her hand was warm and a little damp. Could be from holding that darned lehenga for such a long time. But it was the fragrance she had used today that had caught him off guard. She smelt like lilies delicate and sweet. She hadn't used that fragrance before when they had met or he would have remembered.

They were asked to sit on the setee together as the camera man clicked away. And the ceremony began.

Amrit placed the ring on Abhay's finger and couldn't help but remember how it had been last time. Lavish engagement party with twice the number of attendees and grand arrangements. Five years ago she had been Kulraj's age. Happy and shy with no idea of the kind of pain she was to undergo. All she had had was a dream of being happy and living a good life with the man she was to marry. She felt her hand tremble a little and found Abhay had held it to steady it even as he smiled. But she saw her pain mirrored in his eyes. Only he wasn't really looking at her. What he had done had been an unconscious gesture and it touched her somewhere deep in her soul. She could understand how he must be feeling that despite the gaiety of everything around them he was reminded of the previous time he must have placed a ring on another girl's finger. She looked at the ring he was placing on hers. Sarla had told her Abhay had decided to get the ring for her and it was a surprise for everyone. It was beautiful. Just one single diamond stone which was nestled carefully in a beautiful platinum band. It was simple and elegant and she actually liked it. Though she did hear murmurs from her side of relatives. Mean, greedy buggers who could never appreciate true beauty even if it looked them in the eyes and said 'here I am'. For them size and the number mattered. She could see a slight hesitation in Abhay's eyes but it was only for a second and the next it was gone.

Abhay placed the ring on her finger and while everyone clapped he was reminded of the last time he had done the same. How happy he had been? Not that he was sad now but he had been in love then. And the future had looked bright. All he had wanted was to spend his entire life with the love of his life and he couldn't help but think about how that dream had ended. He looked at Amrit and saw her smile at him reassuringly. Strange now that he looked at her he felt his pain lessen a little. He saw understanding in her big beautiful eyes and realized she had seen his inner turmoil. But she could understand because she had undergone something similar only not as twisted and complicated as his had been. Did it matter? The point was no matter what she said about herself or what others said about her she was still a lot more sensitive than those who pretended sensitivity. And somewhere in a corner of his heart he felt this was a right decision he had taken in a long time on a personal front.

And then the families took over. Giving gifts to the other, followed by blessings, several relatives thronged around them to wish them and everything else went as planned. Only two people watched the new couple unhappily. One with apparent jealousy while the other with a calculative glint.

What you sow so shall you reap, an old saying but not a lot of people think about it till it happens. And a lot of people were soon to discover that the old saying stood true to its meaning even in this day and age.

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