Aadhya locked herself up in her cabin and threw the coat on her chair and slumped on the couch with her head nestled between both her palms. It all started with that little eye lock or whatever they shared at that doomed party and here she was thinking about her marriage possibly with the same guy. Life is just fickle she concluded.

That same guy who was torturing her in ways she couldn't imagine was definitely devilishly handsome. That perfect jawline, neatly trimmed stubble just short of being called a beard. Oh that body of his, she could literally imagine herself drooling if that guy would strip his shirt and give her a little show. He would look like a model right out of some shoot. He did have some taste when it came to dressing she concluded. The suit he wore was definitely an Armani or Hugo Boss. If looks weren't enough, he was pretty successful as a person. She did not know what he studied but from the way he carried himself throughout the party, he did command authority and there was this certain aura he possessed that sort of had the capacity to bewitch anybody. What about his character she wondered. Her parents were pretty much going gaga about the family and her father was pretty confident about him as well. Apart from that she knew nothing. She could possibly Google but her search wasn't going to show the real him. Google would probably show, what they as family want to let the public know. God, only if it was easy. She had no issues of getting married because she did expect her parents to broach on the topic sooner than later. Right now the problem is the guy who was messing with her without being involved directly. She got disturbed by the sound of the door knob and she knew who the person was. If anyone dared to barge in like that, it was her brother.

"I need space Rohan" she yelled.

"Ugh are you sure ?" He asked irritated.

"I swear I am going to break your hand if you try to torture that knob one more time" she shouted.

"Sulk alone" he yelled back and gave her the space she needed.

At Nanda mansion, the scene wasn't any different. After finishing his lunch very consciously, he pocketed the keys he had discarded upon entering the house and rushed out to avoid any further discussion or interrogation. His phone buzzed in his pocket.

"Akhil, I am fine. I need this time alone" he replied at once and disconnected the call without waiting for a reply from the other side.

He started driving towards the beach and managed to reach pretty early given the famous Mumbai traffic. He parked his car in one of the very isolated spots and relaxed in his seat watching the waves crashing from afar. Water always calmed him and today he desperately needed just that. He had been trying to fight his physical attraction since that night and all his attempts were futile. Today's lunch discussion was more like a nail in the coffin. His mother had clearly caught him red handed. Nothing misses her eyes he cursed and punched the steering wheel. He had nothing to deal with but his attraction. She was simply beautiful. She definitely wasn't going to need his money. She wasn't going to be dependent on him by any means. He typed her name in his phone and her name rightly popped. First in the search list. Her profile was there right before him. He clicked on the link and the page loaded. She was a paediatrician . A good one at that he read. Then his eyes fell on her picture. She looked picture perfect. She was flawless then what was he thinking about. He did not like the fact that someone could have his attention this easily. He remembered very clearly how their eyes locked with one another for a brief second. That one moment alone was hot. If people were going to call that chemistry, they were going to set the place on fire together. There was strong physical attraction, but to share life together they needed more than that. Were they capable of loving ? Did he see a lifetime with her ? Oh his eyes were surely desperate to take a look at her one more time and his parents threw that chance at him.

Couple of days later :

Chopra house was buzzing with activity. They had agreed to meet in the evening instead and go on till late night if things were to progress smoothly. The helpers were tidying up the house and Preeti was overseeing everything.

"Gautam, I am definitely getting wedding planners. It's just a meet and I am freaking out" Preeti cried tensed.

"This is what happens when you are a freak. With your OCD issues I am not surprised" he joked.

"Who am I even talking to ?" She complained to Rohan.

"Not today at least. Dad, why don't you just listen to her ? I have decided too you know. Maa, beti dono aaj control line ke bahaar hai (mother daughter duo are beyond control today)" Rohan advised his father.

"Ma, throw him out of the house now? Bade aaye control line ke bahaar" Aadhya said and threw the remote at him which he caught on time.

"Look at your aim ? You could have damage my goods even before I could put them to use" Rohan exclaimed and shielded himself with his hands.

"Gross"

"Language"

"Trying to ease the tension" Rohan said and hugged his mother.

"Aadhya, it's time to get ready. Just wear whatever you are comfortable with. Preferably Indian, his grandmother will be coming" Preeti told her daughter and looked at her as if she was seeing her for the first time in years.

The bell rang indicating their arrival. Purnima and Anand Nanda walked in together, followed by Akhil Nanda and Shraddha. At last Avinash entered along with his grandmother, Saroj looking very elegant for her age.

Gautam with Preeti and Rohan took her blessings from Saroj and slowly everyone settled in the sofa. Meanwhile, Preeti asked Rohan to check on Aadhya and asked him to ask his sister to come over if she was ready.

"Aunty, let Rohan be here. I will go check on my friend" Shraddha offered and shared a knowing look with her in laws and walked to aadhya's room directly.

She was familiar with the house and nothing had changed except for the interiors. The dark brown furniture and carpentry, marble flooring and the white walls and the rightly positioned decorative items added a nice warmth and ambience. She climbed up the spiral staircase and knocked on the first door to the right. She hoped she was right.

The door flew open and her friend stood in front of her in all glory. Her brother in law was a lost case today. She winked at her and a nervous smile etched her friends face.

"Stop fidgeting Aayu. You look drop dead gorgeous" Shraddha complimented her friend and took her in a bone crushing hug.

She dragged her friend out who was a bundle of nerves. They descended down the stairs and through the staircase bend her eyes caught him sitting pretty relaxed on the sofa and his lips were etched in a smile. As is if in queue, he raised his head and caught those doe shaped eyes looking at him. Her eyes were lined with kohl making them even more expressive. She quickly disappeared from his line of sight and he took a second or 2 to compose himself.

Aadhya touched Dadi's feet to seek her blessings and took the empty seat on the sofa next to her brother. She participated in small talk which Purnima and Dadi indulged her in. Avinash wanted to take a long look at her but controlled himself knowing that everyone's attention were on them. From whatever he saw, she was dressed in a red wine color anarkali (long flowy dress) with chikan work all over the dress. With tiny little beads embedded here and there, the dress by itself was breathtaking.

Gautam saw how Avinash was stealing glances at his daughter and a smirk appeared on his face.

"Maybe we should just let them talk together. They haven't had the chance to even look at one another properly" Gautam Chopra announced and winked at Avinash Nanda. Avinash mentally face palmed and kept a straight face not knowing what else to do. Courtesy, Aadhya Chopra.

Rohan took it upon him to lead them to the patio and told them that he will get the helper to serve them some snacks and tea. He let them two of them to be together and joined the rest giving them the space they needed.

The patio looked big with a cleanly trimmed lawn and the terracotta pieces adding a good contrast to the lush green grass. In one corner, overseeing the lawn there was an antique swing of solid wood with brass trimmings at the corners of the swing and opposite to that a good sized cane sofa with colourful cushions made the little corner cozy. She led him to the swing and saw the helper coming over to them with the tray containing snacks and tea as promised. The tray was kept on the tea table and the helper too walked back in.

They both took a seat opposite to one another. He took the seat on the comfortable cane sofa and she sat on the swing. Minutes of silence passed and both took their turns to look at one another as if memorising the other person's appearance.

"Avinash Nanda" he introduced himself

"Aadhya Chopra" she replied in return and for the first time their eyes locked with the other consciously and without anyones presence. There was a sense of comfort that enveloped the two of them. The sound of evening breeze and the two of them looking at one another made it look like a scene right out of any movie of the 80s or 90s. Romantic was the word.

To be continued ~

I am sure there are a lot of errors. Kindly ignore them and I am sure I will definitely correct them as and when I get the time. This is a long chapter in compared to the other chapters. Please please let me know how's the story going. Your comments and likes mean the world to me. Thank you so much !