Arranged In Love!

The Ex-Factor!

Two weeks had passed since Dev's return and Sonakshi now was in the pink of her health; two weeks since DevAkshi had experienced their first intimate encounter and the duo could not get enough of one another. Every moment apart was spent in the memories of others or yearning for the other.
One day, when Dev and Anant were driving back home, after a long and tiring day at work, Anant said to Dev, "Son, there is a party at Mr. Agarwal's this Saturday and since your Mom and I had prior plans to attend another function, we can't make it. So I wish that you attend the party and take Sona along with you as your plus one!?" "Okay Dad, no problem. I will speak to Sona about it.", Dev said. By the time they had reached home, it was post-midnight so Dev decided to call Sona the following day.
The next day, Sona was sipping on her coffee, totally engrossed in the novel she was busy reading, when her phone rang, making her jump in her seat; but looking at the caller ID, she smiled ear to ear.
"Hi Dev!", Sona greeted Dev, cheerfully​. "Hello!", came Dev's equally cheerful reply. After talking over random stuff for a while, Dev broached on the topic of the party, saying, "Umm Sona, there is a party at Dad's friend's the coming Saturday, and since he and Maa are preoccupied for that​ evening, he wants me to go to the same and also wants you to tag along, as my plus one. So...please come na?!" Never could Sona deny to Dev's request and anyone's in general so she gladly complied.
An idea struck Sonakshi's mind a little later after Dev's call - that of shopping for the said party, that too with Soumya. Wasting no time, Sona called Soumya and the two made plans to go on a shopping spree a day before the party; which was on Friday​. To save the wrath of Mumbai's heavy traffic, Sonakshi and Soumya decided to ditch the car for Sona's scooty. Soumya knew some places that offered beautiful evening gowns and also the accessories to go along with them and thus they both headed for that place first; the less the hassle, the more easier it gets to select stuff! Sona was to pick up Soumya from near the Dixit Mansion.
As Sona precisely weaved her way through the traffic, Soumya who was seated in the backseat said, "Bhaabi, jab aap ghar aaoge na, tab aapki scooty bhi saath lao aur mujhe bhi seekha do! (Bhaabi, when you will come home na, bring your scooty along with you and give me lessons on how to ride it!)" "Sure!", Sona replied smiling at her sister-in-law through the rear mirror.
Soumya dragged Sona to the store where they were to shop, as soon as Sona was done parking her scooty. "Whoa!!", Sona exclaimed softly, her eyes twinkling in awe of the variety of clothes and accessories. Soumya once again dragged an awestruck Sona to a specified section for evening gowns.

Even after going through rows after rows of those gowns, nothing clicked SoSo's (Sona and Soumya's) minds. They had almost given up on their search, when Sona's glance fell upon a pretty black gown, that they somehow had failed to notice. Sona's eyes lit up, indicating that she had loved the dress and that was going to be her outfit for the party. Soumya who had been calling out Sonakshi for a while, noted her silence and turned to look at her, noticing Sona to be staring at something. Following her gaze, Soumya's eyes too fell upon the gown Sona had been intently looking at and she too fell in love with it instantly. Going by the twinkle in Sona's eyes, Soumya understood that, that gown was the one for her Bhaabi. She took the gown off its stand and bringing it to Sona, nudged her to try it on.
Having locked the trial room's door behind her, Sona stripped herself of the clothes she had been wearing and carefully put on the gown. It felt as if the gown had been specially made for Sona, for it fit her perfectly and her reflection in the mirror looked beautiful.
Sona stepped out of the trial room, still wearing the gown, as she heard Soumya call her out, wanting to see Sona how she looked. "OMG!!! Yessssss!!!", Soumya squealed, taking in Sona's appearance and hugging her in excitement, continued, "Bhaabi!! You look so so so beautiful!! I am sure Bhai will be clean bowled, seeing you in this!!!" That made Sona blush and bubble with excitement about going in front of Dev, wearing that dress.
Sona and Soumya locked the dress and began searching for accessories to match it. Thankfully, that did not take much of their time as SoSo (Sona and Soumya) pretty quickly found the right accessories stuff. After paying the bills and collecting their stuff, the duo headed out for a much-needed meal.