Chronicles of Life

#chap30 #chroniclesoflife #Sagas_by_Irvika #sweetlovestory

He double checked to see that the door was lightly shut and then held her by her arms and gave her a quick peck on her forehead. He looked at her, his eyes mirroring much more than she wanted to put a name to, and said without any preamble, “I Love You…”
She tried to capture that moment and etch it in her heart forever. He was looking at her and refused to let her go without getting the reply that he was aching to hear. He looked into her eyes… she was unable to hold the gaze for long, and just hugged him instead. She couldn’t face him and murmured hoarsely, her voice muffled, “I Love You more than you can ever imagine… it’s scary.”

He engulfed her in his arms in a very protective way, letting her know through his gesture, instead of voicing out, that he would always be there with her, no matter what. He kissed her on the hair and whispered, “I better go… good night.”
She nodded her head against the crook of his neck and wished him too. They unwillingly loosened their grip and parted. He shut the door and left the room, knowing well that sleep was not going to come easily today. Shruti could still feel the ripples through her heart, recollecting about their first token of love.

In the morning, she was feeling conscious and shy. He smirked looking at her and thought, ‘Ye jitna dikhaati hai utni bindaas hai nahi… she just speaks endlessly… but when it comes to expressing, she is too timid to do anything.’

He grinned thinking with a typical male mentality  that he was going to enjoy teaching her a thing or two. She had prepared coffee for him according to his instructions… praying that she got it right. She was aware that he was particular about his taste and she was not at all equipped with the skills to please his appetite. The way he had relished the dosa scared the hell out of her.

She grimaced when the thought popped up, ‘Dosa toh door ki baat hai.. you can’t make even a decent edible roti.’
He took a sip and didn’t know what to say, as she was waiting expectantly. “I think you have put in more milk and sugar, and less coffee. I like it strong… no problem … you can ask bhabhi next time.”
She said sheepishly, “Ya I understand.. I will do that.” He nodded.

Around 10 a.m., the family jeweller Mr. Mehta came in. He congratulated the newly betrothed couple and had a general conversation for some time. They had to finalise about the ring as well as a formal bracelet. Everyone gathered around and started glancing at the designs for the ring. Atharva was keenly browsing through the pages… discarding a few options that were suggested saying that they were too simple or not elegant enough.

Shruti looked at him wondering why was his point of view different as opposed to when he was selecting for himself? She was sitting right next to him, and said so in hushed tones, to which he replied, “For guys it would look too loud. For you I wouldn’t settle for anything but the best.”

His family members were aware of his nature; he liked everything to be grand, never compromising about anything. She was gradually getting to know his nature and was awed each time. He looked quiet, but was very authoritative and decisive.

After going through the books, he short listed a few designs and then showed it to all. Eventually they settled for one, which was mutually liked by all. Atharva specifically instructed Mr Mehta, “Please don’t use very small sized diamonds… they should be visible and of the best quality.”

Shruti felt really embarrassed, feeling that he was overdoing it. Mr Mehta chucked, “Of course Atharva… I know your taste. Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.” Atharva nodded.

Similarly, a beautiful formal diamond bracelet was finalised after weighing and discussing all the options. Once again, he didn’t settle for anything less than grand. Mr Mehta took leave, promising to get it ready before the engagement day.

All 3 brothers left for office. Atharva reminded her that she had to come along with Bhabhi in the evening so that they can get his outfit done. They had to go back to Juhu again, to see the collection at Options store. It hadn’t been possible on the day before coz they didn’t have time. On top of it, Atharva didn’t want to purchase without his brothers’ opinion. So they thought of meeting directly at Options in the evening, around 7 p.m.

Shruti spent the day with his cousins and enjoyed playing with Isha. They had to leave at 5.30 p.m. so as to reach on time, owing to the traffic hours. Shruti started getting ready at 4.30 p.m. itself. Her mom had been constantly reminding her over the calls to be alert and not get late as she somehow took long to get ready. She went hunting for an iron to remove the crease from her clothes.

Shruti mentioned, “I don’t like to wear clothes without ironing them first.”
Preksha was flabbergasted and commented, “You might not get time to do so after marriage. Our life undergoes a drastic change before and after marriage. A lot of priorities that we have before marriage take a backseat later on in life. I barely get time to take my bath and have my meals… ye sab toh door ki baat hai.”

Shruti shivered thinking over Preksha’s words. They left along with Isha in a while and amidst conversation and having fun with the baby, they reached the store.

To be continued...

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