I was lounging on the sofa, basking in my holiday laziness, when my parents got up and chose to attack me. On my birthday, we had gone to my father's friend's house for lunch. It wasn't been an innocent lunch, no, it was a diabolical setup for a marriage arrangement between me and his friend's son, Dhruv. Now, while I did agree he wasn't a conniving fiend of a man, the masochist type my parents were susceptible to bring, it all ended there. Now all I wished was to come up with a fool-proof plan to put an end to this so-called 'arrangement' without breaking my parents' condition.

'Get to know him. Well.'

That meant I couldn't stand up one day and tell them I'm not interested in him. No, I had to go places with him, talk to him, and then refuse. But that wasn't my concern right now. My concern right now were my parents sending me googly, keen eyes from the dining table, all ready to battle me out. I straightened on my couch, shaking my head to clear it muddled state. I had been shying away from this confrontation. Escaped to the office, came home relatively late and feigned tiredness, but today there was none of it. It was Good Friday, a holiday, and I was lounging in the living room supposedly stress free. It was the perfect time.

I took my phone and was about to get up from the settee, when my mom called.

"Aashi, beta, wait. We wanted to talk to you."

I closed my eyes in resignation. This was the time. I wasn't in the right state, not with the fight with Abeer last evening. But I couldn't possibly say that to them, could I?

"Hmm," I murmured faintly, not to come off too eager.

They both stood from the dining table and transferred to the sofa before me.

"So..."my mom started, seating herself comfortably in the cushioned chair. "How did you like the Jains? I must say, they're very good people, and great friends with your father."

I nodded carefully. "They're very nice people," I said generically. Generic answers are the only way out of this.

"The house is very nicely built too. All by himself, Arun made it. They first used to live in an apartment, but his hard work brought him here," It was my father who spoke this time. "I'm sure his boy takes after him," he nodded, assured.

I did not answer this time. "We did not see their gardens. How were they?" My mom asked after a pause. And stealthily, we move forward.

"Very well maintained. There were roses and bushes and a vegetable patch," I replied flatly.

"We should see them the next time we go there, right ?" My mother asked, glancing at my father. I didn't answer them yet again. Silence was golden at some places. I had learnt the hard way that they work wonders in many places with my parents.

My mother sighed, irritated. I smirked internally. Being underhanded and sneaky wasn't my mom's style. She was always direct. It unnerved her to ask me things like this. "Okay, did you like him?" She asked after a pause. "I didn't find any fault in him, personally. From a good family, belonging to our caste, hard working, well-mannered, what's more to ask for these days? What do you say?" She faced my father.

"I think it's a very nice proposal." He said loudly. "But it's up to her, right? She has to look for her own. What you say matters. Our time has gone by. Things don't work the way they worked at our times. So you say, or else after some years they'll say we forced them into this," my father shook his head and looked at me.

I pursed my lips, taking it all in. I heaved a long sigh before stuttering, "I mean...it had just been an hour. How can I say that I like him or not? Most of the time all we talked about was the garden," I said quietly. "Besides, papa himself said I should meet him first and get to know him, right?" I added hurriedly, not wanting to hear another underhanded taunt.

My parents went quiet for a minute. "This is true," my father said slowly, nodding. "They have to spend their life together. They should first meet."

I almost jumped in happiness, before I controlled myself.

"What about tomorrow?" My father said suddenly, making me look up at him.

"What?"

"Tomorrow. It's Saturday, right. A holiday. You both can go out tomorrow," he said and my mother nodded enthusiastically.

"But...but I was thinking we could go to lunch together tomorrow," I said helplessly.

"Arre beta, we can go some other time," my mom said and stood up, indicating the end of the conversation.

"Okay," I said a little agitatedly, and stood up to leave. My father picked up his book from the table and continued his reading.

"And don't forget to call him," my mother called from the kitchen as I stood outside my room.

"Yes," I almost shouted and slammed the door behind me.

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"You sure there are no ISD charges on this? I asked Taira over the phone to which she only scoffed.

"Yes I'm sure, Aashi. It's a Whatsapp call. There are no ISD charges levied. Is that why you weren't picking my calls yesterday?" She asked incredulously. She was currently in France, taking a painting course amidst all her official meetings. She had gone to Paris to attend a select few high profile meetings of the company, after which she had fallen so much in love with the city that she decided to extend her stay. Find some solace in a quiet, beautiful place that didn't know who her father was, or what he had done. She deserved the respite from all the tasks and stress that had suddenly landed on her after her father's misdeeds were unleashed.

"I wish that were true, but no. I was at...Abeer's place," I said quietly.

The line went quiet for a minute. "Hello," I said, trying to see if the line went dead.

Taira responded in a second. "Yes, I'm here. So you were at Abeer's, huh?" I could hear the tease in her tone. My chest hurt from that.

"Yes I was. We...uh, had a fight," I said slowly.

"You guys had a fight!" She repeated incredulously. I could picture her eyes widening at that.

"And I might or might not have thrown eggplant curry on him," I said, wincing as I remembered that particular scene. I regretted many things about yesterday evening, but the most would be the stunt I pulled in the end. It was uncalled for, and damningly inappropriate.

"WHAT!" I heard Taira scream from the other end, which made me flinch. "You did what, Aashi!?" I bit my lip guiltily as I relayed the tale from last evening.

"I can't believe you both said such hurtful things to each other. And you definitely had no right to raise fingers at his father. Boundaries, Aashi," she scolded in her mild yet firm tone, making me feel guiltier than I did earlier.

"I know, I know. But it wasn't as if he was a silent saint then. He said some pretty hurtful things too," I complained like a petulant child, knowing what would be her next answer.

"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind," she said simply, making me groan.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat, preparing myself to tell her the other bit of news.

I heard a groan from the other line. "There's more. What is it?" I then filled her in on all the things that had happened with my parents and Dhruv. And what I had planned to do to start my mission to get Dhruv reject me. I couldn't, not without a major fault in him, but he could, right? I had spent the rest of the day after the question-session with my parents in my room, trying to come up with solutions to my problem.

She sighed. " And how do you plan to bore him so much that he yawns in your presence, and doesn't even think to be with you for the rest of your life?

"Well, you will know better with regards to boring a guy, right" I said humorously.

"Shut up, Aashi. I'm not boring!" Taira snapped back, surprising me.

"Hey, of course you aren't. I am sorry, I was simply kidding. I would never say or mean that you're boring, of course not. That's rubbish," I spoke softly and carefully, trying to understand where this was coming from. It wasn't everyday you hear that tone from Taira.

"I am sorry, I snapped," she sighed guiltily. "It's just this person I met here, the guy who was teaching us painting actually, Marco"

"What about him?"

"Nothing much, he is a good teacher, just strict sometimes. I am truly sorry," she answered apologetically.

"Hey, water under the bridge. No offence taken," I said cheerfully. "I hope the rest of your stay was good?"

"Yes, it's a beautiful city. I even drew a portrait of you and Abeer from the photo you clicked at that concert you guys went to. I will give it to you on your wedding day," she said happily.

I blinked my eyes with surprise. "Woah...whoa...seriously? That is so sweet Taira. I mean...I am truly touched," I murmured incredulously.

"But my efforts will be wasted if you get married to Dhruv," she said, teasing which made me laugh.

"That won't happen! I will fight to death," I scoffed dramatically, making her chuckle.

"You need not die, sweets. Just make up with Abeer and find ways to make Dhruv believe that you're the most boring person on this planet."

"Ugh, don't remind me," I moaned painfully. "I even have to take him out tomorrow and - " I suddenly paused, my mind conjuring up an idea.

"Hauz Khas. I will take him to Hauz Khas. I'll make him walk over to various historic places and pepper him with dates and details and all, getting him so frustrated that he gives up on this entire proposal thing with me and simply leaves," I said gleefully, my eyes shining brightly.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Poor Dhruv though," she said.

"Yes, that's it! And about Abeer, I'll figure that out." I always felt more in control of my life when I talked to Taira.

"Hey listen, I'm coming back soon," she said, getting me out of my happy-bubble.

"Wow, that's great!" I replied excitedly.

"I'll be back mostly by next week. Tuesday, yes Tuesday. So wait for me. Je t'aime mon amie!"

"You do know I know as little of French as I know to talk in a six inch voice. Which is close to nothing. I used to barely pass French in my 12th grade," I rolled my eyes, even though it felt good to hear her joking again.

"Oh I do," I could feel her smirk from the other end. "I just said I love you, my friend. Also you must succeed in your plans. I would hate for my work to go to waste," she warned me jokingly.

"Yes ma'am," I grinned. I felt my spirits rise up, hope surging through my being.

"Okay, I have to go. Talk later?"

"Only when you get here. Come soon, bye!" I hung up, my adrenaline high with hope and excitement. Dhruv Jain wouldn't even realize what has hit him.

I giggled deviously as I typed him a text, finalizing the plans for tomorrow.

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