And I Found Love

27. Officially Yours

Next Day-

Abhimanyu tapped his foot anxiously on the floor, his gaze fixated on the entrance with an impatient frown etched on his face. He was at the marriage registrar's office alongwith his witness, eagerly waiting for Akshara to arrive.

"Sir....", Kiran cleared his throat in an attempt to catch his attention. "It's my first time being a witness for a wedding so......How do I look?", he asked excitedly pointing towards his suit while two beautiful flowers garlands hung on his right hand for the bride and groom.

"Who is the groom here?", Abhimanyu eyed him in annoyance. "Ofcourse it's you sir", Kiran answered almost cluelessly. "Then who should be worried about the outfit?", he asked again. "You.....sir", Kiran replied again, innocently as he checked Abhimanyu from top to bottom- "And you look really good sir....infact you are looking very dashing, charming and-"

"It's okay, I got it.....thank you", he murmured, ignoring the attempts of his new employee who was having a hard time pleasing his boss as Abhimanyu seemed preoccupied with the thoughts of Akshara's unexpected delay.

"I'm sorry......I'm sorry I'm late"- a sense of relief graced his face as soon as he heard Shreya's voice but it vanished the very next moment he looked in her direction, only to find her hurrying inside- alone.

Shreya glanced around Abhimanyu in confusion while he kept his attention behind her, waiting for Akshara to appear as each second of wait now felt harder than before. "Where is Akshara?", they both ended up asking each other at the same time as soon as their eyes met.

"What do you mean?", Abhimanyu headed her way with building restlessness- "Wasn't she supposed to come with you? Where is she Shreya?", he asked as unexplained wrong thoughts began clouding his mind.

Shreya gulped at his question. "Yes but....she told me to go alone as she needed to complete some urgent work", she answered, sounding equally tensed upon noticing her absence. "Akshu seemed quite lost and worried regarding something but she didn't tell me anything. Even when I insisted, she said she'll come on her own and I was already late myself so I thought she would be here by now"- her eyes lowered in guilt, not being able to meet his disappointed look.

"How long will it take for the bride to arrive?", the official incharge interrupted them with his question, worsening their thoughts as they both took out their phones, hurriedly dialling her number while Kiran continued standing there in total confusion, watching them silently.

With every unanswered call, the fear and doubts started to suffocate Abhimanyu. His mind questioned the various possibilities regarding her sudden urgency and absence.....What could be more urgent than their wedding?......Was he forcing her with his sudden marriage decision?.....Was she not ready yet?.......or was she in some danger?

"What if the Agarwals stopped her?", Shreya asked, having the same thought as Abhimanyu, only to notice his expressions shifting from worry to wrath......"I'm going to kill them this time"- he stated in rage as he walked past her, barging out of the room when he unexpectedly collided with Akshara as she was just entering through the same door.

"Oye! Where are you going?", Akshara asked, smiling mischievously at him, dressed in a beautiful red saree with her hair set free in loose curls as she held his arm with one hand, trying to balance them both after the sudden collision.

Shreya took a sigh of relief upon seeing her while Abhimanyu's heart still raced at an uncontrolled pace as his eyes instantly moistened seeing her safe, pushing back all the bad thoughts regarding her security. "Where were you Akshara?", he questioned, trying to hide the shiver in his voice as yet another doubt creeped through him regarding her choice.