"Hey" Aadhya hugged her best friend warmly.

They had finally gotten a chance to meet away from all the preparations and the chaos. Truth be told, Aadhya was skeptical if her friend wanted to meet her because she had taken her own sweet time to look past their issues. It made sense to her. Shraddha always cared about her self respect and she did not want her help. She still couldn't phantom why she did not let her know about her wedding but it was decided let bygones be bygones and today she wanted a fresh start between the two.

"I know I did not want to look beyond our issues for a long time after we met once again. I really am sorry Shraddha" Aadhya said sincerely.

Shraddha was of course happy. She had gotten her friend back after a very long time. She did ghost her and she was expecting Aadhya to forget everything too soon. Coming to think about it closely, had it not been for her father inlaw's birthday party there was no way she would have come in touch with Aadhya.

"I am at fault here Aadhya. A stupid watermelon juice cannot sort our issues out really and we have grown past all these. I mean I literally stopped staying in touch with you and even after settling in my career I made no attempt to look for you. I really am sorry" Shraddha replied feeling guilty.

"You tried so much and I simply refused to give in and I took my own time to have this conversation with you" Aadhya continued to explain her behaviour with her friend since that night.

"Let's put all this behind" Shraddha said.

Aadhya nodded positively and took a sip of the frappe she had ordered.

"So tell me how's it going with my brother in law" Shraddha asked to lighten up the emotional atmosphere between them.

"Ugh he is just annoying me" she said and remembered the long conversation they had a couple of days back.

Couple of days back :

Her phone had been vibrating continuously in her pocket but she simply couldn't attend the call thanks to the meeting she was a part of. She had messaged him but the person on the other side had very little patience. He had asked her to message instead but she replied she couldn't giving a stupid excuse. He had kept quiet for 15 minutes and since then her phone was vibrating. The first two times, she disconnected the call but after that she simply threw her phone in to her pocket and paid no attention to the vibration. She even felt the eyes of her father trained on her every now and then. They were discussing some managerial issues which definitely did not interest her but she had to sit only because her father wouldn't hear a word and to her surprise, her mother was also a part of the meeting. After what felt like forever, she did call him back

"Hey" she heard his warm voice.

"I see you did not get tired from calling me so many times ?" She asked relaxing in her chair.

"You have time to play the remaining 20 questions ?" She heard him. She could even imagine the smirk on his face,

"What" she yelled.

"Diamonds or rubies or emeralds or sapphire?" She heard him in return. She stared at her phone to see if she was really talking to him or some imposter.

"Avinash"

"Yes darling" she heard him say the words and was a mess. She felt her voice stuck in her throat. His voice over phone was as it is sexy according to her and now her face was flushed. At this moment, she wished she had a few boy friends. That way she would have been immune to such endearments but this wasn't clearly helping.

"Are you there ?" She heard him and she could sense the fondness in his voice. She quickly gulped a large sip of water and cleared her throat.

"Diamonds" she almost croaked and hit her head at her own stupidity.

"Radiant or emerald" she heard the next question.

"What even is that" she asked him in return.

Eventually he disconnected the call saying someone was waiting for him. They did talk after that but whenever she tried talking about this he had diverted her smartly.

Shraddha snapped her fingers in front of Aadhya's face a couple of times to bring her back from her dreamland.

"Done dreaming about him ?" Shraddha asked.

"I have better things to do. But i wanted to ask you, he has been asking questions I don't have answers to. I mean things like emerald or radiant ?" Aadhya shared with Shraddha hoping to get some answers. She couldn't go searching on the internet for some stupid words and that was the explanation she gave when Shraddha almost shrieked at her stupidity.

"Those are cuts. Diamond cuts" Shraddha said unbelieving.

She blushed at that instant but lucky it lasted only a few seconds. She couldn't have Shraddha tease her all her life over this. Never.

"Ah" was all she could reply in return and she knew her drink was going to be her saviour if she wanted to save herself from being probed with all the questions that were about to come her way.

"Warning: Nanda brothers in particular in are possessive" Shraddha said and flashed her ring finger.

Aadhya's mouth open and closed like a fish. Her jaws dropped upon seeing the ring on her friends finger. It was huge and sparkling and that wasn't a simple engagement ring. She did not know what to expect from him. She had to let him know definitely. She made a reminder mentally and heard her friend go on about something. They eventually hugged out once again and reached home.

It was past 10pm and she settled in her bed before calling him. She dialled his number and he had rejected right away. She felt disappointed for a second but that was soon replaced with nervousness when her call was returned only difference it was a video call. She touched the green calling icon flashing at her.

"How was your day" she asked him. Her eyes failed to leave the screen. He looked every bit good looking even in his pyjamas she thought.

His eyes did not leave the screen either. She looked equally tempting. Her wavy hair falling on her exposed shoulders. He could see she was wearing a sleeveless and the deep round neck amplifying her chest. However her hair, did the good job of hiding her cleavage. For once, he definitely thanked his stars. He possibly couldn't sit on the other side watch her cleavage and talk to her as if everything was just fine. What a stupid decision he chided at himself for video calling her.

"And did you manage to find the one you wanted ?" She asked him.

"Are you talking about the ring?" He asked watching her smiling or maybe even blushing. He couldn't wait to slip it in her ring finger either.

"Oh and you knew what I was asking about at last" he asked and she saw his wink.

She felt embarrassed for being so stupid.

"I saw Shraddha's ring today" she said casually.

"Oh and ?" He asked.

"It's huge !" She exclaimed.

"Don't worry about yours" he replied in return.

She did not know what to make out about the answer but she just hoped it wasn't that size. The call went for a while before they disconnected.

Day of engagement :

"Kartik, the engagement is at 7pm and I don't want the paparazzi before 8pm around us. They can click all they want from afar but our faces shouldn't be in their vicinity till the engagement is done" Avinash instructed his PA.

"Avinash, stay out of all this. I am going to manage it for you. All you have to do is calm mumma" Akhil told him and before Avinash could object his brother had disappeared.

Soon after Shraddha and his mother appeared with the suit he was to wear for the engagement. She definitely looked tensed. Gone was her usual relaxed form. He had sent Shraddha away to handle other things while he spent a few minutes with his mother.

"Maa" Avinash called her so dearly.

She had been upset since the last drama at their study. She looked worried since then. She definitely smiled but he doubted if it was genuine.

"Do you trust us ?" He asked.

She nodded but couldn't stop that wayward tear escaping her eyes.

"Nothing will go wrong. Everything is being taken care of. Be rest asssured" he told her hoping his words put her at rest mentally. But he knew she wouldn't rest till she got solid proof.

The engagement venue was their farmhouse. They had looked for hotels but nothing had wowed them. The planners also felt it would look different given all of them typically went for star hotels. The exterior of the house was decked with strings of light making their mansion look nothing short of a palace. The guests were awestruck as they entered the lawn. They had managed to make it look like indoors. The mild fragrance of white roses welcomed them. Lights were used generously yet tastefully. Paparazzi had the time of their life snapping the guests invited for the evening. If they were lucky enough, they managed to interview a few of them but to their dismay they weren't allowed near the bride and the groom family.

Purnima Nanda couldn't believe her eyes when she saw her son, Avinash entering the venue hand in hand with her mother in law, Saroj Nanda. He looked every bit handsome. The designer had done a wonderful job with his dress. She was initially skeptical about the color but the designer was indeed right. Her son looked nothing short of a prince. The very dark aubergine color bandhgala suit and black color pants struck a strong contrast with his complexion. He entered the hall as if he was walking a ramp. Confidence and command oozed with every step he took towards the hall. Now, she couldn't wait for the bride to enter through the same doors and she knew she would look absolutely gorgeous.

After a good fifteen minutes, the air in the hall suddenly changed. Guests were in awe and all heads whipped towards the entrance connecting the engagement hall and the living room. The bride walked in a dark majenta silk lehenga with zardozi work done in gold, green and pink threads throughout the skirt and paired with a velvet majenta dupatta.

Avinash turned his head listening to all the hushed talks and whispers amongst the guest. His head followed the direction of his guests and he was only left spellbound. His bride to be looked every bit gorgeous. The lehenga's blouse fitted her like a glove. The diamond choker and the jhumkas accentuated her look and making her the most beautiful bride he has seen. "Perfect" he thought when he noticed that her hair was let down, just like the way he wanted. Everything around him came to a stop as she neared him. He had expected her to go towards her parents but seeing her walk towards him warmed his heart. He took a few steps to minimise the distance between them and stood before them. He forwarded his hand towards her and she placed her hand with his so gracefully. Her cold hands were enveloped by his warm big ones. Their eyes met for a few seconds and everything around them came to a standstill.

If he had looked devilishly handsome in suits then in the bandhgala suit he looked royal. The aubergine color looked almost black , it was that rich. She felt her breath getting stuck when his hand went and rested on the small of her back. Her hands felt lonely after loosing the warmth of his hand. He knew they had a long evening ahead of them. Personally, as the clock ticked he felt himself becoming nervous. The need to hold on to her hands increased. He couldn't help but go back to the original position and locked her hand with his and made way towards their family who were eagerly waiting for them to join them.

To be continued ~

I know this isn't a very exciting chapter but I needed this to get their friendship back on track. Hope it did not disappoint you all and if it did I am sorry.

Their wedding is coming up soon and I am going to flood you all with romance and a lot of flirting. Also going to make the chapters sexy. Hope you enjoy them. And also I am loving the support. Thanks you for the comments and likes . Please keep them coming.