Pihu's POV:
The sun shines on my face and I wake up with a big smile. Last night was amazing! Not only did Mr. Kohli's party go smoothly but he loved it so much that he referred us to his friends.
After the party, Dev drove me home and we talked the whole ride there.
I sit up on my bed and glance at my phone, 9 THOUSAND new notifications on Instagram!
Alarmed, I open the app and find many of them are new follow requests and some are DMs. I then realize that I was tagged in a video posted by someone at the party. It's a beautiful video of me and Dev dancing at the party last night.
The smile on my face grows as I watch the video over and over again. God, we look so beautiful together.
"Pihu uth gayi kya?" I hear Maa call from downstairs. (Pihu are you awake?)
I hurry up and shower and head downstairs for my mom's hands breakfast.
"Mmm khushboo toh bohot achi aa rahi hai." I grin as I'm coming down. (It smells nice.)
"Hmm, tumhare favorite parathe aur chai banayi hai" Maa says as she walks in from the kitchen with her hands full. "Papa walk kar ke aa jaye, phir hum breakfast karte hai." (Yes, I made your favorite paratha and tea. Once Dad comes from his walk, we can eat.)
As I settle down at the dining table Dad walks in. But instead of his normal chill face, he has a rather stern face today.
"Arre chalo nastha karte hai, aap haath-" Before Mom can finish, he walks over to me. (Come, let's eat breakfast. Go wash-)
"Pihu baat karni hai." He almost orders me. (Pihu, we need to talk)
"Papa?" I question. Seeing my dad like this gets me worried.
"Kya tum jaanti ho tumhari video internet par hai?" (Do you know you video is on the internet?)
God, I didn't think about my dad finding out. Before I can answer Maa cuts in.
"Konsi video? Kaisi video?" She asks (What video?)
I feel horrible needing to explain myself but I do anyways. "Papa, kal meine jo party organize ki thi woh Dev ki boss ki thi. So humne thoda dance kiya tha." (Dad, the party yesterday was Dev's boss's. So we danced.)
My dad closes his eyes and rubs his hand on his neck. "Beta dance karna bura nahi hai, but public mein asa.." (it's not bad to dance but not such a dance...)
My mom suddenly gasps next to me. "Pihu! What if your aunts and uncles see it? What about Dad's old coworkers? What will our neighbors say?"
"Maa-" I try to dismiss my mother's worries but Dad cuts in.
"They have already seen it Amrita. Park mein keh rahe the, 'aapki beti toh chupa rustom nikali'. And a lot more." He frowns. (They said 'your daughter is very secretive' at the park.)
My mom shakes her head in worry and Dad sighs in disapproval.
"Papa" I begin to explain myself. "It was just one dance and Dev is a good boy. I wasn't hiding anything, you know he is my boyfriend." I look at him with pleading eyes.
"Baat woh nahi hai Pihu. Boyfriend hona theek hai lekin kab tak? Kya ase hi publicly affection dikha kar ke viral hote rahoge? Relationship shaadi ke liye hota hai, kya woh karenga tumse?" (That is not what I am saying Pihu. How long will he be your boyfriend? Is this all just a phase? People get in a relationship for marriage, will he marry you?)
My dad's words ring in my ears as I sit there in silence.
Mom lets out a big sigh and gets up "Chalo at least nasta toh kar lete hai." (Come let's at least have breakfast.)
We make our way to the table but I am unable to eat anything. My dad's questions keep fogging my brain and more questions arise.
Looking back, I don't think I've ever talked to Dev about marriage. We've barely said "I love you to each other'. We've never talked about our relationship's future.
I pull myself together, and message Dev asking if we could hang out.
I get an immediate reply with a restaurant address to me meet him for lunch tomorrow.
I guess the knots in my stomach won't be undone until tomorrow.
Precap: Dev and Pihu meet for lunch. They talk about their future.
I guess not everything can be sunshine and rainbows for Dev and Pihu. :(
Lmk what you think of the chapter!
-💙