As the wedding was meant to be an intimate affair, only the most important persons that were actually happy for the family, were going to be invited.
And it was also necessary for security reasons, perks of being an influential part of society.
However another lavish party for all other business partners, fellow colleagues and media persons, and other curiosity sators, was going to be held a few days after the couple had tied the knot.
Thus the audience present there were close, very close.
And as they watched aggrevated Nivi making her way towards the other side of the resort where the groom's family resided, it sent them into a frenzied state of mind, as if she would put the impending wedding in jeopardy.
Her fury laced features, with her open long dark hair flowed with the wind, as she stomped her way over, giving her a badass vibe which refrained the onlookers going near her, much less try to stop her, afterall they knew her too well.
She looked dangerous.
"Wait ma'am."
A worker came running in her direction, holding something in his hands, he was not wearing common helper's clothes.
"What?"
He flinched at once.
Dangerous territory. He thought.
"A pack..gage was delivered this afternoon.
But we op..pened it for checking purposes, with boss's permission, nevertheless.
So here it is, if..f you will direct me, w.where shall I deliver it."
He was shivering uncontrollably, at her aggressive gaze.
They must be related, Rajveer's secretary thought. thought.
"It's mine, you can leave."
Nivi responded looking at the unruly covered parcel in his hand.
"A..are you sure, miss?"
He asked unsurely, looking at the title.
Nivi raised her arched eyebrow in question.
Making him scurry on his feet, hurriedly and run for his life.
"Listen."
Nivi called him again.
He turned, fearfully expecting her wrath.
"Thank you.
You are doing good job."
Nivi said giving him a small smile.
He stood flabbergasted, at her mood swings, nodding his head once, he finally left, giving out a relieved sigh.
The parcel was a book she ordered, as a wedding gift for her best friend, titled
'How to keep your husband interested.'
The purpose was clear, an everlasting happy married life for her, and being the genius she is, she couldn't think of better way, rather than to keep them interested in each other.
Tucking the book in crook of her arm, she continued her journey of putting sense in Rajveer's brain, which he was apparently lacking.
Rajveer was busy on his phone, as usual, while strolling in their side of garden.
The surroundings were clear, except for the decorating team members appearing once in a while.
Navneet made her way over to him, and tapped his shoulder, indirectly asking him to turn around.
He raised a single finger asking the person to wait for a while, so he can finish his conversation. It added fuel to her rage.
Unable to hold herself any longer, Nivi held his raised finger in her hand, and twisted it the other way.
At the sudden pain, Rajveer turned around at once, packing a solid punch on the attacker.
Not expecting a fragile figure behind him, his punch missed by an inch, blowing her hair at the sudden force.
Nivi kept standing
there dumbfounded and frozen.
What was that?
Was it wind? Or a bullet?
Did I get hit or killed?
Am I in heaven?
Well such a handsome face cannot exist on earth?
So pretty..
Her reverie was broken, by furious shaking of her shoulders by none other than Rajveer, who was trying to bring her back into senses from last five minutes.
With her smiling like a fool at him. He frowned at her unusual behaviour.
"Are you alright?
Blink your eyes twice, if you can hear me."
"Ms. Dhillon, please respond with something, anything."
"Can you hear me?"
Rajveer was stupified, looking at her state.
He was scared, for the first time in his life, to lose something or rather someone.
Nivi after realising that she was very much alive, held his frantic face in her hands, and nodded reassuring him.
Feeling her hands on his face, Raj thanked the lord in his heart, proceeding to squeeze her in his sturdy arms.
After coming out of the initial shock of the sudden envelope and realising the difficulty in breathing, Nivi began pushing him away, with her forearms placed between them, tat was of little to no help, however that brought him out of his little bubble.
Chastising himself in his mind, he thought,
'Why would I had to embarass myself, in front of my future wife, now she will think of me as a desparate pervert.'
'Stupid heart.
She is never going to let it go.
Time for damage control.'
"Are you sure, you are okay?
And I have not damaged your brain permanently?"
What else was better than annoying her.
"What do you even mean by that? You desparate punk."
Ignoring her colourful words he responded,
"You know observing your behavior till date, I can easily say you have few screws loose here.
And with that punch of mine, I need to be sure your actions are not blamed on me, and I'll lose my last hope of keeping myself sane around you."
"And nobody would want an insane woman as their wife.
Not like you ever behave rationally, but few instances can be ignored, I guess."
Rajveer rambled on and on pointing to her as a brainless, successfully taking her focus from the earlier hug, and fuelled the fire.
"Listen Mr, I'm perfectly fine.
And no, you are not going to be bound with me, unstable or not, I will never marry you. Even if you are the last man on the face of the earth.
Whatever may be the reasons.
So keep your great Einstein brainself with you."
She cut him off.
But Rajveer paled at her confession, as he realised the blunder he made. He never expected that.
The teasing long forgotten, he had to save his marriage now.
"And what makes you say that, Ms. Dhillon.
It is an arrangement made by our families.
And I will never crush their hopes."
He added seriously.
"And what about me.
And you.
Few weeks earlier, you clearly told me how unbearable my presence was for you.
Even if you are ready to compromise, I'll never do.
I'm not losing my perfect life, just because you suddenly decide to make sacrifices.
I deserve to be happy.
As much as, I want to deny, you does too.
So set your priorities straight and act rationally."
He never expected her to behave so sensibly.
As he thought, she never fails to amuse him.
She cares about me.
"I understand, whatever you are saying.
And as far as I remember, I had apologised for my earlier behavior.
And yes, I love my family, I can do anything for them.
So does you, am I not right?"
Navneet nodded at him.
"All I am saying is, we have one week for ourselves.
I..I mean to know each other.
Don't give a straight away no, give it a shot,
I will try to change our equation keeping our earlier differences at bay, courting you, and if you are still unsatisfied, I won't bother you again.
I promise.
Let us give an 'us' a chance.
Our parents must have given it a thought, let us try once."
Rajveer never had to persuade anyone for anything in his entire life, much less a girl, that too for marriage, so it was all new for him.
Navneet found herself nodding at his judgement, much to Rajveer's pleasure.
This girl was making him experience different emotions at the same time.
"Our parents are not aware of our undisclosed animosity, honestly I don't even recall the reasons why we started it in the first place."
Rajveer had those memories clear as day in his brain, and he closed his eyes at his big decision.
It's fine.
"And I know my parents well, they are looking for some entertainment, observing these festivities, they don't want them to end these anytime soon.
If not for you, they will find someone else at this gathering.
And yes, if we learn to behave decent around each other, a week will easily pass.
And I'll be free from new tortures of looking and rejecting new faces everyday.
Atleast in your case, it will be for once and for all."
Navneet laid her plans down.
"You sure, you are going to rejéct me at the end of the week.
Just like that."
Rajveer couldn't help but ask.
And Nivi just shrugged her dainty shoulders in return.
"Old habits die hard, and you have learnt to disdain my presence for so long.
So I'm sure as hell, you are not going to make it.
You will soon get fed up of my tantrums and give no by yourself.
You are an impatient man Rajveer, specifically when it comes to me.
You always lose it somehow, in my presence."
Nivi added smirking, referring to all those moments of his anger and him manhandling her.
Rajveer had never faced first hand embarrassment in his 26 years of life, he never wanted to lose control.
Moreover, he always thought, if he decides to settle down one day, he has good looks and good money, what else a girl can ask for.
But her existence right from the day she entered his life at that park, she has only challenged all his notions and theories.
She was a breath of fresh air.
Pure and untamed.
She will not be won over by mere looks or luxuries, they can just add as a bonus to his future efforts.
Closing his eyes, taking a moment Rajveer again turned in her direction,
"I'm going to try hard, very hard.
And at the end of these festivities, I will make sure that you will atleast not be able to give me a straight away no.
And I will turn that into a yes."
He added silently in his heart.
With a challenging glint in her eyes, Nivi forwarded her hand for a shake, accepting his challenge.
Nivi began to look for the book that she had lost the grip of, while the whole ordeal.
It was lying near Rajveer's feet, face first.
Observing her gaze, at something near his feet, Raj proceeded to pick up that, absent-mindedly.
Making Nivi panic, he already thinks of her as an immature and mental woman, as it will only add fuel to his imagination.
Rajveer looked at her calculative gaze fixed on the thing in his hand.
Much against his earlier thoughts, he decided to look at it.
Judging his actions, Nivi jumped on him, successfully snatching the book from his hand and hiding it behind her back.
Equally determined Raj, moved ahead to hold the book in her hands by putting his arms on either side of her petite body, and tried to grab it out.
Sudden weight made Nivi imbalanced on her feet, resulting in both of them falling on the cold ground with a thud.
The embarrassing situation made them burst into the fits of laughter, without caring about the distance between them, or lack thereof.
Suddenly realising the intimacy of the situation, Raj looked at her flushed laughing face.
He shifted his weight from above her to his elbows.
She looks adorable, he thought.
Passersby, his friend, brothers and his bhabhi, halted in their stroll, looking wide eyed at the duo.
Rajveer above Navneet, while she laughed hysterically and Rajveer looked at her with googly eyes.
Feeling awestruck at the sight before him, Rajveer completely forgot about the world.
Nobody moved from their places, feeling frozen.
Then Raj's gaze shifted to the opened book lying nearby.
Taking advantage of the situation, he moved forward to grab it.
They ignored the four set of gobsmacked eyes that were staring at them, particularly at him.
While, Ranbeer quickly held the fainting Ravneet in his arms, before she could hit the ground.
Oblivious to his surroundings, he picked the book waving it in Nivi's direction, he began running away.
And they followed them, absent-mindedly.
Gaining a few steps ahead of Nivi, Raj observed the book in his hands, it was written by someone anonymous, titled
'How to keep your husband interested'
"Did you buy this?"
Raj asked from Nivi who was huffing for breaths after her quick run, trying to hold in his laughter.
"Why would anyone even write any such thing?
Oh god, unbelievable.
You amuse me, Ms. Dhillon."
He added trying to control himself.
"No doubt, only you can purchase any such thing.
Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if I find that the anonymous writer is you."
Flicking at her nose, Raj kept on going.
"One thing is sure, if you keep on going with your tactics, I am never going to get bored on this ride with you."
He placed his heavy arm on her shoulder, standing beside her.
"Ahhhh... enough.
Just Shut up.
Yes, I purchased it.
So what, you are in no place to judge me, or the writer."
She snatched the book from his hands and left his side.
"Hey wait.
I'm sorry.
I never meant it that way.
Please I apologize."
He could count the number of times he had given an apology to anybody, and they were lesser than the times he had apologised to Nivi, his future wife.
And that was still uncertain.
"Listen, if you want anything between us.
Keep one thing in mind, I will appreciate you being honest and if you ever try to mock me, I swear I'll show you the stars in daylight."
Navneet reprimanded him, pointing her index finger at him.
She was enjoying this little authority over him, however short term it was.
"Understand? You better understand."
In response, he just nodded, raising his hands in surrender.
And reaching at an agreement, they made their way towards the resort.
"I will leave now, for you to plan impressing me.
Nobody has ever made such efforts for me. She thought.
And listen, nothing should be extravagant, I like simple things."
Rajveer was noting everything by his heart, trying to digest that he had long way to go, good thing was that she herself was giving him so many tips.
What actually was running on her mind?
Left behind were the people, who stood dumbfounded and speechless at the couple who just made their way out.
After few nerve ending moments, Ranbeer cleared his throat,
"So I guess, the next wedding is on."
Ravneet still in a daze nodded at him, while trying to stand straight.
"Can someone pinch me?"
It was Vihaan.
And he yelped at the sudden pain at his waist, when Aman pinched him brutally.
"You could have done that little less painful, bitch."
"I just wanted to make sure, you don't remain stuck in your fantasy land, princess."
Aman retorted.
"I so knew it. Their chemistry is blast from the beginning.
Wait and watch they are soon going to be hit with cupid's bow."
Ravneet commented holding in her excitement.
"He is already following her like a lost puppy.
And I've never seen him flirt before.
Are you guys sure; that it's not a dream?"
Vihan said, as he followed the other three out of the gardens, and started bickering with Aman.
Aman- "Love, buddy, love.
He is so going to be whipped."
Vihaan- "I hope, he settles down with her.
I don't him ever to be my competition.
He can be a certified charmer."
Aman- "What do you mean?"
Vihaan- "As if you don't know.
Your wife already has a crush on him.
If she sees this side of him, I fear she will start reconsidering her decision of choosing you."
Aman- "shut up before I break your teeth."
Vihaan- "Really, go and try challanging him before that.
I just spoke the truth, you moron."
"Will you guys stop acting like children.
We have a situation here,and we will be helping Rajveer in his challenge.
Go to your rooms now, and leave this matter here."
Ranbeer and Ravneet said as they left them in the corridor, glaring at each other, with their childish arguments.
"I am happy for my little brother."
Ranbeer said holding his wife in a back hug, as they went back to their room and we're enjoying the moment in their balcony.
"Me too.
Atleast now, he will learn to act like humans and spare my baby boy."
Ravneet inputted.
"You know he wishes no ill for our Fateh."
Ranbeer defended his brother.
"Haww, when did i say that?
I know it very well.
Remember he is my friend first, before you are my husband.
He is the reason we are standing like this, at this place."
Ravneet chastised her husband defending her childhood friend.
"And now, he will have someone by his side, for ever.
I'm so happy, I am finally getting a devrani.
I'm so excited."
"Comeon wife.
Let us lay down a bit.
We had a long day."
Ranbeer said trying to tone down the little kid in front of him.
"No, I want to.."
And Ranbeer shut up his wife, his way, and closed the doors of the balcony.
**** ***** ***** ***** *****
Hey guys, another update.
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