[There are some Hindi sentences in the chapter but I've written their translation in the inline comments. So, as to not break the flow for Hindi readers and making it understandable for non-Hindi readers]
Mumbai, India
At Kohli's
Sprawled on his bed with his eyes fixed on the TV screen playing some nice Netflix show and having Bruno as his company, Virat was having a much needed alone and relaxed time after his continuous hectic schedule.
Before, he could have thanked god for this precious free time, the doorbell rang.
Virat was sure that it must be one of his crazy teammate invading his ME-time.
‘Why on earth can't people let me have some time in peace’ He thought to himself and let out an irritated sigh but still not moving from his place.
When the doorbell rang again, he finally decided to get up realising the doors can't open themselves.
Never in this life he realised that the sound of doorbell can be so annoying.
"Have some patience, for god sake" He said as he opened the door.
When he was planning to scold the person on the door, he knew that the opposite is going to happen after realising who the visitors actually were.
"O khote, itna time lagta hai gate kholne m?" said the very beautiful and elegant lady standing at the entrance of the apartment.
Totally taken aback by this sudden visit of his family, Virat didn't know how to react.
At first, he bended to take blessings from his mother and then took her in a warm hug, he has missed being in his mom's embrace so much. He then met his brother, bhabhi (sister in law), and his cute nephew and followed them to the hall as they entered the place.
"How come you all here? That too without informing?" Virat asked quite surprised with this sudden visit.
"So, do we need your permission before coming here now?" Can you ever expect a simple sweet answer from your elder brother? The answer is a big NO.
"That's not what I meant bhai. I am very happy to see you all. I missed you guys" Virat said in his defence.
"Accha, itna hi miss krra tha to Delhi kyu nhi aaya? Mujhe to lagta hai ki tu hme bhool hi gaya hai" His mom said and Virat instantly came and cupped her face.
"Maa, mai tumhe bhool jau ye ho nhi sakta, or tum mujhe bhool jao ye mai hone nhi dunga" Talk about being dramatic.
"Virat, Your sweet buttering won't work this time. We all are extremely upset. You hardly come to meet us" Listening to his Bhabhi's words, he knew that he has to put a lot of efforts to convince his family this time.
"And We know the reason of you not coming to meet us, too." Vikas said in a stern voice making Virat a little nervous.
"Okay, I'm sorry guys. But let's have dinner first. I missed having dinner together" Virat said with his puppy eyes and the family gave in too.
The whole family had an amazing time at the dinner, pulling each other's legs, joking and having fun.
As all of them went to their respective rooms, Virat knew that the next day has a lot in store for him.
He knew what his family wants to discuss with him and that's the reason he was avoiding them too.
Keeping all these thoughts aside and recalling the amazing time he spent with the family after long, he immersed in a good sleep.
.
.
.
The sunrays made it's way into Virat's room compelling him to wake up.
Unlike every other morning, his home was filled with the smell of delicious food and Aarav's(his nephew) cute voice.
He got ready in a tee and sweatpants in no time and went to the main hall.
Hugging his mom and bhabhi, fist bumping Vikas and taking Aarav in his arms, he sat on the dining table.
As the breakfast was served, he knew that he'll definitely have to spend 1 hr more in the gym because avoiding that mouthwatering breakfast made by her mother can never be his cup of tea.
The jolly environment turned dense as soon as his mother brought up the topic.
“Virat, Ab btaega tu q nhi aata ghr pe pichle 2-3 mahino se?”
“Maa, I was just busy with cricket, shoots and all. I didn't get the time otherwise-" Virat was cut off by his brother in between.
“Virat, Don't feed us lies. Say the truth”
Virat looked down at his plate and started playing with his food knowing that everybody has their gaze fixed on him.
“Okay, So I didn't come because i was avoiding to talk about my last break-up. You all warned me about the girl, but I still got involved with her and ended up getting cheated. Thus i didn't want to face all of you.”
None of them got surprised, they already knew the reason and if given the choice, all three of them wanted to reward their beloved Cheeku with a slap for this.
“So, You punished us because of your mistake? That's what you mean, right?” asked his bhabhi and he sat silently bearing their intense gazes.
“Virat, Can you imagine what we feel when we see those shitty articles about you everyday printed in big bold letters in newspapers? Your breakups and relationships have become a gossip material. Is this what you want?” Vikas's stern voice was saying that the matter is serious this time.
“No bhai, this is definitely not what I want but I also can't do anything. She cheated on me and that's why we broke up but the media has their own stories that has absolutely no truth in them. What's my fault if they think of me as a Playboy? And to be honest, I don't even care” Virat said all he had in his mind.
“Lekin hme to fark padta hai na, puttar. Hme fark padta hai jab log tere baare m galat sochte hai. Hme bura lagta hai” His mom exclaimed sadly.
“Virat, We understand that you're old enough to take your decisions but they are backfiring on you only.” All of them agreed to his Bhabhi's words.
“Bhabhi, I can't control what people say or think about me. I'm a cricketer and they should criticise me or praise me for what I do on the field. What I do off-field is my personal life and they don't have a say in it. Their off field judgements matter nothing to me.” Virat poured his heart out.
“You have to be serious in your personal life Virat. Not for your public image, but for yourself. All these breakups, linkups and rumours will eventually affect you mentally. We're not against you dating anyone but we are worried for you.” Vikas said with his voice sounding concerned.
Virat knew where they all were coming from. Past 2-3 months has nothing but a mess for him. His private life was dragged in public brutally and was made a topic to be discussed over tea.
He always tried to keep his private life especially his relationships under covers and away from media but somehow he always became the eye of the storm.
Everytime something happens, the media would bring all his past relationships up and portray him as the biggest playboy of the country. Even when he sometimes fail to perform in games, they link it with him being involved with girls.
And all these same things were happening for the last 2-3 months but he has grown immune to them however the family had enough of bearing and handling these stupid news.
“Don't worry guys. I'll not get into a relationship now. I'm so done with all this now” Virat said leaning back on his chair a bit thinking that it will help the family to calm down.
“Nhi puttar, Aisa nhi hoga. Is baar tere liye kudi mai khud dhoondungi. Ek acchi, samjhdar, pyari si kudi jo tujhe dil se pyaar kre.” As those words left Saroj aunty's mouth, Virat didn't know how to react. He was stunned to say the least.
“Maa, Ap ye kya keh ri hai? Mere liye ladki?” Virat asked with utter surprise.
“Ji beta, aapke liye ladki.. Dono milna, samajhna ek doosre ko or tab hum baat aage badhayenge” His mom said as if it's no big deal.
“You mean, Arrange marriage? You want to look for brides for me?” Virat's eyes were almost out of sockets by now and mouth open wide in shock. If not for the armrest of the chair he was holding, he surely would have fallen on the floor.
His mum nodded her head in a yes.
“Bhai- Bhabhi, you guys make her understand please. What is she saying?” Virat said throwing his hands in air to add extra measures to his words.
“What's not right in it, Virat? We're not instantly getting you married, you guys may take your time” Chetna said and his bhai agreed.
“Nothing is right, Bhabhi. I'm not even ready for a relationship, forget marriage. I'm not ready for such serious commitment.” Virat cleared.
“Virat, Do you not want someone to come home to? Do you not want to have someone who loves you through thick and thin? A partner who stays by your side? Do you not crave for that stability in your relationships?” Vikas asked.
“Yes Bhai, I crave for all that. I'll be yearning to have all these things in my life. But some years down the line, not now. I'm just 27 for God sake, and I want to have my career as my sole commitment at the moment.”
“Virat, You are yet to experience all this thus you're not getting the point. Love is never a hindrance in career and you'll understand it all once it enters you life.” Chetna told.
Virat gave numerous arguments on the cons of this idea but none of Virat's statement were heard later on and her mom even closed the discussion announcing a deadline of 7 days to find that ‘perfect’ one for him.
Virat sat on the chair with his head in his hands thinking that noone in the world must've gone through such wierd and messy situation, unknown to the fact that just in other corner of this same city resides a girl who is in the exact mess as him.
From scrolling phone to flipping TV channels, Virat tried every possible thing to divert his mind from the amazing idea his mom came up with but nothing helped and finally he decided to take the help of the smartest and sanest people on earth. THE ICT MEMBERS.
He dropped a message on his team group calling an urgent team meeting at Ro's house because he knew there's no way Ro can reach on time to any other player's house.
As he got the confirmation from everyone, he moved to Ro's place only to find him sleeping and Bhuvi and Jassi waking him up.
He slapped his head with his hand and told Jassi and Bhuvi to move a bit. He then stood on Ro's bed and kicked him making him fall on the ground and waking up from his sleep.
“Earthquake, earthquake..... Somebody save me!!” Rohit screamed with his eyes half open but this was nothing new for the other three.
“Get up, you sleepyhead. It's 2 pm” Virat yelled trying to bring his friend back to the real world. Finally, Ro woke up and all three of them sighed a breath of relief.
All of them then made way to the living room only to find other players already sitting there. After doing their mandatory bickerings, Mahi brought the focus to the main thing.
“Cheeku, What's the matter? Why this sudden meeting?”
“Bhai, he is crazy. He must be getting bored so troubled all of us.” As Rohit said those words, he got rewarded with a pillow smack. No point for guessing, who did it?
“Stuff your mouth with this, otherwise you'll keep on saying stupid things.” Virat said to Rohit passing him a protein bar snatching from Harry.
Rohit happily took the protein bar while Harry sulked.
“So now tell us” said Ash.
“Guys, I'm in a mess. I need a way out of this new problem.”
“What did you do now? Again a controversy?” Jinks asked horrified.
“I didn't do anything. But problems seem to love me thus I'm always in one.” Virat whined.
Mahi narrowed his eyes and Virat got the signal and stopped his overacting then and there and started narrating the whole situation.
After listening to Virat's problem, all of them sat silent and the first reaction came from Hardik and that too a clap along with a wide smile. And then came loud laughs from every player sitting there.
“Wow Virat, you are so lucky. Your family is themselves finding a girl for you. What more do you want?” Hardik asked quite impressed by the whole thing while Virat looked ready to strangle him.
“Sorry to inform you but not everyone wants to be in a relationship. And I'm most definitely not interested in being one right now. But my family won't let this matter go so easily...” Virat said sadly.
“So, Should we place orders for our kurtas. We'll need them in your wedding” Jaddu asked suppressing his laugh while Virat gave a death stare to him.
“Why not we all help Saroj Aunty in finding a girl for him? It will be fun” Yuzi said excitedly and almost the whole group agreed in a second.
“Let's do one thing, we will create Virat's account on a matrimonial site, it'll be easy to find a partner for him that way” Rohit suggested and Rishab even took out his phone to do the same.
“Virat, We're telling you beforehand, We don't want diet food on your wedding.” Shikhar demanded and others nodded too.
“Guys, don't make fun of me. I need solution to get out of this trouble.” Virat said to his teammates who were mercilessly laughing on his condition.
“Bhaiya sorry to interrupt, but can you please tell what should I write on your bio for this matrimonial account? This is the last step..” Rishab asked.
“Rishu, Stop hanging out with Ro and Harry. They've corrupted you too. And now will you guys please tell me what do I do?”
“Cheeku, your family ain't wrong too. They want you to be happy.” Mahi said.
“But Bhai why are they getting affected by what the media or the world thinks of me? They should ignore it just the way I do.” Virat said.
“They're getting affected because they love you. And it's not easy for them to see the world saying bad things about you, when you're just the opposite. Try to put yourself in their shoes, Cheeku.” To Mahi's words Virat had no idea how to react.
“But Bhai, What should I do now? Mom is not even listening to me, I tried to make her understand many times since morning.”
“Then wait for 7 days till Aunty finds the perfect bhabhi for us” Rahul again made the whole team laugh while Virat sulked.
Amidst the laughs, there came a sudden scream attracting the whole team's attention.
“Whatttt!!!” Hardik screamed looking at his phone screen.
“What happened Harry? Did you just see a dinasaur or what?” Jassi asked Hardik who sat with his eyes wide in shock.
“It's even bigger. Virat, you hid such a big thing from us. How can you??” Hardik asked with a fake hurt look.
“Virat, What did you hide? How can you hide anything from me? I'm your best friend. This is not done. This is betrayal” Rohit ranted nonstop even without knowing what Hardik talked about because the mere thought of his bestfriend hiding something from him was enough to drive him mad while Virat scratched his head.
“But I didn't hide anything” Virat defended himself.
“Don't pretend, Virat. This is so big. How can you?” Hardik exaggerated a bit more.
“Can you two stop behaving as if you're my wives and I've cheated on you?” Virat said to Harry and Ro. Both of them however gave him a look in return.
“Hardik, stop overacting and tell us what's it?” Mahi ordered.
“Bhai, look at this headline, it says- ANUSHKA SHARMA AND VIRAT KOHLI BROKE UP....”
As Hardik read the news, Virat snatched the phone with his forehead creased and opened the article while the team still had their intense gaze fixed on him.
“Read it loudly” Ro said giving cold look to Virat.
“Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli has been making headlines since months now. Both of the celebs are reaching heights of success in their careers whereas going through a tough time in their personal lives. Both these stars have recently broken up from their respective partners- Ranveer Singh and Izabelle Leite. These two breakups have been the biggest news of the celebrity world in this year.”
Virat stopped reading the article in between and looked at Hardik and Rohit narrowing his eyes and both of them wanted nothing but to disappear into thin air.
“Hardik, react krne se phle poora article to padha lena chaiye tha na” Rohit said avoiding Virat's stare.
“Or Ro, react krne se phle baat to jaan leni chaiye thi na” Virat said still shooting draggers at him.
“These news agencies are stupid too. They made the news look like you two have broken up with each other” Bhuvi said and Virat scrunched his face in disgust as if the thought of them being together ever made him restless.
“But you know Anushka, right? You shot an ad with her..” Ash questioned while the whole team looked at Virat surprisingly.
“I wish I wouldn't have.” He said to himself but the others listened too.
“And why is it so?” Rahul asked on behalf of everyone.
“Yeah man, She is hot too. What's the problem then?” Harry added earning an eye roll from Virat.
“Nothing, but all I know is that she is an arrogant and self obsessed actress and I hate her” Virat said gritting his teeth and recalling that three days shoot and their encounter in the party.
“Easy, Cheeku”
“So, she is exactly the human version of what media portrays you” Jassi said laughing and earning a stare from Virat.
“Now, Can you guys please suggest me any idea?” Everybody started thinking.
“I have a plan. You should go on a hunger strike for some days and your family will eventually stop forcing you.” Jaddu explained his ‘Brilliant’ idea.
“I'm a cricketer Jaddu, if you remember. I can't compromise with my diet and this is such a stupid idea.” Jaddu rolled his eyes murmuring that nobody appreciates his talent.
“Bhai, You should make a video explaining the exact reason of your breakup and we'll upload it on Chahal TV, so the media will realise that they are wrong and you'll be out of this situation.” This was Yuzi.
“Tilli, stop this obsession with Chahal TV and this idea is useless. Explaining about something personal on social media is nonsense.” Mahi said and everyone agreed.
“Then why don't you run away from your house?” Hardik said very proud of his idea. But the team shouted ‘Shut Up’ in unison.
“I have one more idea”
“Nooooooo” The whole team together screamed making Harry mute himself instantly.
“Virat, No planning or plotting is going to bring you out of this situation. You'll have to convince your family that you're not ready” Jinks talked sense.
“But this is the problem. They're not listening to me at all. And Maa is hell bent to make me meet girl of her choice”
“Then meet the girl once for your mom's sake and then say no to this. Afterall no one's going to drag you to the altar forcefully. At the end, it's going to be your decision.” Mahi suggested and this sounded a good option to Virat.
“Okay bhai but I'll keep trying to convince Maa” Virat said releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding.
“Okay now Everything's sorted. So, let's have pizza?” Ro yelled excitedly and half of the team jumped in excitement.
“No way you're eating Pizza, Pandaa” Virat screamed and Ro gave a disgusted look to him.
“No way you can be my friend if you say No to Pizza. It's a crime” Ro cried while Virat gave an unimpressed look to him.
Then happened fights, arguments, verbal attacks and pillow launchings on each other... Just to decide whether they'll have pizza or not?
Even If Virat didn't get a solid solution to his weird problem, these idiots definitely changed his whole mood. And that's what he needed the most.
A little escape from reality.
×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××
A New Chapter!
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Next update on Sunday and I'm very very excited for that
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