What Is Pyaar?

Chapter 1: Bye Bye Mumbai

Anjali's POV

"Hope you have a safe flight and don't go out too much" my mummy tells me for the hundredth time. She's basically the typical, protective Indian mom. You know, like the one that packs you roti for lunch almost every single day of the week and scolds you for even glancing at a boy. Not saying that it's a bad thing, but I have to admit that sometimes it does get a bit much.

"Yes mummy. Now I have to get going otherwise my flight will leave without me!" I say while turning around.

"One last thing beta, remember to have fun, but never get distracted while working" my papa reminds me. Honestly speaking, that was probably the one thing that I have heard my papa say constantly throughout my upbringing. Anytime I was to go hangout with my friends, I would always hear "remember to have fun, but not too much fun". I guess some things never do change with parents, and I for one am glad for that. My papa was always the person who would remind me of the so-called "bright" future of mine.

I am very thankful that he does remind me otherwise I would not be the independent woman he has shaped me into. As cheesy as that might seem, it is true in a working perspective. After all, he is a big business man and is very well known throughout India, so he does know a thing or two about people tending to slack off while on the job.

"Yes beta, now go and make us proud. And don't forget to call or text us when you land in New York" both my mummy and papa tell me at the same time.

I laugh, "Yes, I won't forget to WhatsApp you. I promise" I say to reassure them. You guys might have been laughing when they said text, but both my parents are unbelievably WhatsApp crazy; 90% of the time they are on their phone, it's because of WhatsApp. Unfortunately that's one of the reasons why they have a bigger social life than I do.

Anyway as I am about to bid them goodbye, papa pulls me to the side and whispers harshly in my ear "Don't you dare pull a stunt like your brother. You already know the consequences". 

With wide eyes I shake my head vigorously, I only see my papa like this whenever he speaks of my brother and every single time I leave the conversation shook. My brother had disgraced our family to such a high level, that papa doesn't even call him his son anymore. It breaks my mom's heart every time we speak of him, so he is rarely spoken of or even mentioned.

I walk back over to where mummy is waiting and with a weak smile I say goodbye and hurry into the airport. I only had 45 minutes to get to my flight and I still had to go through immigration and customs AND security. There was no time to waste thinking about the looming past.

As I approach the line for immigration and customs, I notice that it is surprisingly short. While walking towards the line, my phone starts to ring. I begin to fumble through my purse while walking. I wasn't paying any attention to my surroundings and in return, I bump into someone.

I look up to see the most handsomest face I have ever seen. Not to mention I had just bumped into rock hard abs, because damn they actually hurt. His jet black hair was styled in a sort of quiff and he had sharp facial features, and might I add that it includes a very nice jawline. As my eyes moved further down his face I noticed his eyes... oh his eyes. They bore right into mine. As my eyes were traveling down his face they landed on his lips and they didn't like what they saw.

They saw a scowl.

I quickly regained my posture, said sorry and walked away. Talk about embarrassing! Jeez, I didn't realize I was practically drooling over him!
However, when I was walking past him I heard him murmur under his breath "Curse my good looks, even ugly girls are attracted to me."

I stopped in my tracks. What did he just say? 

Curse my good looks, even ugly girls are attracted to me.