Rishaan

Pranvi thinks she can ignore me, as if my presence is nothing more than a passing breeze. But the truth is, the more she pretends not to notice me, the more her own irritation will bubble beneath the surface. I've known her since childhood. She can't stay quiet for very long.

Since childhood, she has been the favorite in all three families. Every Sunday, she makes everyone sit together and watches Bollywood movies. I've seen those movies with her so many times that I now remember every single dialogue from each one.

But nearly 10 years later, when I saw her at the temple, I was a little surprised. Those short Dora-style bangs have now grown really long, and she has become beautiful, too. 

Huh, what am I even thinking? But one thing I know for sure—she's definitely going to create some drama. She won't let me go this easily.

After half an hour, I was downstairs sitting with Dhruv Birla and Raghav Goenka, my best friends and business partners. We have been friends since childhood, as we lived in the same neighbourhood.

They annoy me more than anything, yet somehow, being with them gives me a strange sense of peace.

''Dhruv, the way Rishaan is staring at us is making me feel a little restless.'

''Oh, come on, Raghav, I bet he must be thinking how important we are in his life and how he missed us." I can see that smirk forming on his face, the pride in how correct he said makes me punch his beautiful face.

''I know what you're planning, Rishaan — and you better not. I don't want any marks or swelling on our faces; Sameer's wedding is tomorrow."

Ahh, I can't stand this. Dhruv is using his psychological tricks, and when I was about to claim the stairs, I heard Dhruv and Raghav say.

''I love you, Rishaan baby.'

I fucking hate their teasings. After a while, I heard a knock. Definitely, it's them; they must have come back to annoy me?

Come in''

"Listen, Rishaan beta."

"Yes, Maa, tell me. I thought it was Dhruv or Raghav. And you don't need to knock."

"Okay, fine, but please do one thing for me—go and call Anvi and Pranvi for dinner. They're definitely in Pranvi's room watching some new movie again."

''Yes, Maa, I'm going right now."

Well, actually, we're staying at the Maheshwari family's ancestral haveli at Lohargal, since the wedding is going to take place at a resort near it.

And when I reached Pranvi's room, they were, as usual, watching a movie. And once again, they were watching Hum Aapke Hain Koun.

"How many times will you watch this movie? Don't you ever get bored?"

"AAAAA! Oh my God!" both of them screamed as if they had actually seen a ghost.

"Hey! Stop jumping, it's me—Rishaan!"

"Bhai, you? What are you doing here? Seriously, you scared us!"

"Really, Anvi? Can't you even tell the difference between a ghost and a human? And it's not like you were even watching a horror movie to get this scared."

"Well, when someone actually looks like a ghost, who needs a horror movie? A person would faint right away."

"I heard that, Pranvi. And stop trying to hide your laughter, Anvi. Maa has called you both downstairs for dinner—now hurry up."

"And relax, both of you. If I wanted to scare you, Pranvi... I wouldn't knock or walk in. I'd stand quietly behind you and wait. But don't worry—Anvi is here, so you're safe... for now."
(His smirk was slight, eyes lingering on her a moment longer than necessary.)

"What are you, serial killer?''

''Whatever you think, Pranvi'' I glanced in her direction for one last time and left her room.

As I went out of the room, I was still able to hear their laughter, but in a scared way, it wasn't even that funny. I was thinking about the event that happened in the room upstairs when I saw Sameer sitting and discussing something with Dhruv and Raghav.

''Hey, listen....'''

''Wow, what timing, Rishaan. We were just planning to call you, and here you came''

''Ya, I know, but let me ask you, Sameer, do I..''

"Ask later, first listen to the plan."

"Yes, bro, Raghav is right—listen to the plan first. Tonight at 12, when everyone's asleep, we're going out to party, okay? No one should find out about this plan."

"Okay, but..."

"But what? Nothing, Rishaan. We're already not getting permission, so this plan should NOT get cancelled. Okay?"

"Fine, Sameer."

"And yeah—Pranvi shouldn't even get a hint about this. Got it, Rishaan?"

"Yeah, Dhruv, and why are you even warning me?" I replied, tone flat. "I don't go around reporting to her."

"Yeah, but—"

"Hey guys, what are you talking about? Tell me too."
—and here comes the devil.

"Nothing, Pranvi. Just business talks. Anyway, you tell us—how's your business going?"

"Don't worry, Raghav, it's going great." She replied, looking at him.

"Okay, fine, then finish your talk quickly and come for dinner."

"Yeah, we're coming," Sameer said while slightly pushing Pranvi to walk ahead.

"Saved!" Raghav sighed as if he had just completed a secret mission.

"Okay, let's go now, or she'll get suspicious."

"Yep, Dhruv has a point," Sameer said and walked towards the dining table.

"By the way, guys... do I look like a ghost?"

"No... but yes."

"What do you mean by that, Raghav?"

"Nothing."

"And who said he looks like a ghost? Don't you guys dare tease my son?"

"Shut the fuck up, Dhruv."
And then, laughter erupted around me. Ahh... what a day this is.

Pranvi

It's almost 12 am, and here I am making chai for all the family members, as I had a nice idea of watching old wedding photos of our parents and us.

And while my brother and his friends think I don't know about their plan of sneaking out of the house for a bachelor's party, as a good sister, I have already helped my brother by taking him to meet his soon going to be wife, and he hasn't yet paid me for that.

So I came up with a fantastic idea of watching photos with family, and now they all must be getting ready in their rooms, thinking that everyone must be asleep.

"Won't it be fun, Anvi? Seeing their faces when they realized their plan had failed?"

"Your plan is good, Pranvi, but if they find out, it was you behind it, you're done."

"Nothing will happen. Come on, take this tray of tea and serve everyone. They'll feel fresh, and anyway, we have to show them the photos all night."

As soon as we served everyone tea and turned on the projector, Sameer bhai, Dhruv bhai, Raghav, and RSR came downstairs.

"You guys haven't slept yet?"

"Papa, Maa, Chacha, Chachi... and you're all still awake too?"

"That's exactly what I asked, Sameer," Raghav said.

"Yes, beta, your wedding is tomorrow. And where were you all planning to go, dressed like this?"

"No, Kaki, we weren't going anywhere. We just couldn't sleep, so we came downstairs to walk around," said Dhruv. I could see their scared faces clearly.

"Really? You came to walk or to party? And without telling me? Huh?" Aarav said, giving them a side glance.

"Why Aarav? You have a very important client meeting tomorrow, right? Shouldn't you be preparing?" Rishaan said coldly, staring at him.

"Y-yes, Rishaan bhai... just some editing left in the contract," Aarav stammered.

"Rishaan may be the boss at the office, but at home, don't be too strict with my son," said Komal Kaki while patting Aarav's head.

"Maa, it's because of you that he's like this. That's why he can't focus in the office," Rishaan said.

"Enough, Rishaan. Don't change the topic. I know everything—you were all going to party, right? Tell the truth." Komal Kaki asked.

"...Yes," he said.

Suddenly, all four of them started staring at me.

"What? Why are you staring like that? I didn't know about your plan!"

"Really, Pranvi?"

"Yes, Bhai! Why would I ruin your plan?" I said, giving them my most innocent look.

"Pranvi! Stop right there! I won't let you go—don't run!"

"Bhai! I didn't do anything! I just wanted to see the photos with everyone!"

"Oh, really? Photos? Today only? Just wait until I catch you—"

"Why? What will you do?" I shouted as I ran to save my life. Suddenly, I bumped into someone and was going to fall.

"Ahhh! I'm going to fall—AAAA!"

But I didn't feel any pain.

Did I fall? No, of course not.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw two dark black eyes staring at me.

I wasn't on the floor. I was in Rishaan's arms.

For a brief second, his eyes softened—but just as quickly, they returned to their usual, cold intensity. I stepped back, my heart racing.

"Stop chasing her, Sameer. Come here and join us. We're watching photos," Papa's voice called from the sofa.

We all sat down to watch the projector.

But I could still feel it—the weight of his hand on my back when he caught me, the firm grip of his other hand on my wrist. Even as we all laughed at the photos, the memory of his touch lingered, sending a shiver down my spine.

After watching a lot of photos, Sadhna Kaki stops at a specific photo. "Hey, look at this photo," Sadhna Kaki said. "This is from when Pranvi was born. Bhavya is laughing at her on the bed, while she's in Komal's lap, and little three-year-old Rishaan is kissing her on the cheek."

I wasn't even sure I heard her properly. I looked up, and Rishaan was already staring at me.

"Yes, Sadhna, and do you remember, Bhavya?"

I internally groaned. Please don't let anything embarrassing come up. I might just get up and go sleep in my room—that would be the best.

"What, Komal?"

"I told you, didn't I? If it's a girl, I'll make her the daughter-in-law of our house... Rishaan's wife."

What? What did I just hear? Me... the wife of Rakshash Singh Rathore? No way, even thinking me marrying RSR makes me feel sick.

"Oh yes, I forgot. So, when will you bring the proposal?"

Was my mother even serious? Or was she joking?

"Maa, enough joking. Let's go to sleep. It's very late, and kaki tomorrow is Sameer's wedding, so we all should rest up".

Finally, RSR said something sensible for the first time. He must be feeling uncomfortable too.

"Yes, it's very late. We can see the rest of the photos after the wedding," Vijay Kaka said.

He was right. And honestly, I didn't want to be embarrassed. And somewhere it feels like my plan had completely backfired on me.

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