"I'm here." I tell Abhi as soon as he receives my call.

"Okay, I'm coming to receive you. You did not call Bhai right?" He asked me.

"No I did not but I think I should." I told him.

"No, no, no Shravya, don't do that." He says and hangs up.

I put my phone away from my ear and look at it with a frown.

"Helloooo." Someone says from behind me. 

I turn around and find Abhi in front of me.

"Hi." I say with a smile.

"You look so beautiful, Bhai toh dekhte he pagal ho jayenge. [Brother, will go crazy looking at you.] He says.

"Too much.." I begin saying but immediately stop myself. Control Shravya I mentally yell at myself.

"Uh, well maybe. Thank you for the compliment though, you don't look bad yourself." I told him.

I was wearing a black saree with a backless blouse which was totally Sneha's idea. Well I hope I just don't stumble because the only two times I had worn a saree was in my farewell party for highschool and college respectively.

"Well, you're going to have a handsome brother in law. What else can I say." He says.

"A cocky one too." I say teasingly and he makes a face at me before smiling.

"Now, Rishi is going to be here any minute now. You do know what you're supposed to do, right?" He asked me.

"Abhi I'm not sure about this." I told him.

"Shravya, trust me. Once Bhai sees you with Rishi he's definitely going to react. Now the way he reacts will tell us whether he really likes you and wants to be with you or not. This way we can be sure of his feelings without you having to ask him." He tells me.

"I have a bad feeling about this." I say nervously.

"All will be well. Look, I can spot Rishi making his way out of his car." He says and looks behind me.

I turn around as well.

"You have told Rishi what is to be done right?" I ask him.

"Yes, he knows everything. He's ready to help his brother and sister out." Abhi says.

I raise my eyebrow at him.

"All fellow Indians are our brothers and sisters right? Well except for Bhai for you and my one and only whoever she'll be, for me obviously." He adds.

I shake my head at him. Now I can understand what Arjun meant when he said his family is crazy.

"Hey, brother." Rishi says as soon as he approaches Abhi. He's a handsome looking man with brown eyes and dimples.

"Heya man. How are you?" Abhi asks as the two of them do a 'bro hug'.

"Fine as always." He answers.

"This is Shravya, Bhai's well how do I describe it, let's settle with things are a little complicated between them. Yes, that." Abhi says as he introduces me to Rishi.

"Hi Shravya, I'm Rishi Mehra." Rishi says and puts his hand forward for a handshake.

I take his hand in mine and shake it.

"Hi." I say and pass him a small smile.

"So Shravya, are you ready to make Arjun Mehrotra jealous?" Rishi asks me.

"Uh well, yes." I answer awkwardly.

"You know what to do right? Just remember no funny business okay?" I add.

"Of course, you're like a sister to me, Shravya, if you don't mind that." He tells me.

"Now you see what I meant." Abhi says.

"Yeah." I mutter still hesitant about this whole thing.

"Let the actual party begin then." Abhi says and the three of us enter inside.

•

My eyes landed on him the moment I entered the restaurant.

He was talking with a group of people standing around a table.

I sucked in a sharp breath as I took in his appearance. Damn, he looked handsome.

Someone from the group said something and the entire group burst into laughter. Arjun threw his head back and laughed.

A smile formed on my face.

"Oye, Rishi is your date. Don't forget that. You can stare at Bhai throughout your life if my plan goes right." Abhi says from beside me.

I immediately looked away from Arjun and at him, giving him a nod.

"Are you ready?" Rishi asked me with a smile.

I smiled back. "Yes."

"Great." He said and the two of us walked further inside.

"I'll leave you two alone now. Don't mess up." Abhi said and walked away towards Arjun's direction.

I was a good ten steps away from

him when his eyes met mine.

Slowly the corners of his mouth lifted up in a smile.

A few seconds passed but neither Arjun nor I looked away.

Rishi nudged me to walk and I finally tore my gaze away from him for a second before looking back at him again.

This time the smile had vanished from his face and instead there was a frown on it. He was staring in my direction but it wasn't me his eyes were on. They were on Rishi.

I watched as Abhi excused Arjun from the group and started walking towards us with him.

Arjun walked towards me, his face devoid of any emotion.

With each step he took forward my heartbeat quickened.

Calm down Shravya, I told myself as Arjun and Abhi finally approached Rishi and me.

"Bhai, see I told you I'd set Shravya up with Rishi right?" Abhi said to Arjun.

Arjun remained silent.

"Hey Arjun. It's good to see you." Rishi said.

Arjun nodded in response.

"Hi." I uttered softly.

He did not respond.

"Abhi was telling me you know Shravya? Are you guys friends?" Rishi asked.

"No." Arjun immediately answered.

I looked up at him. He looked back at me accusingly.

"Thanks for coming, both of you. I expected you guys to come but not together of course. Anyways enjoy and don't leave without having dinner, okay? Now if you'll please excuse me." Arjun said with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes.

"Of course." Rishi answered.

Arjun gave Rishi and I a nod and walked past us.

"It's happening." Both Abhi and Rishi whisper-yelled in unison as soon as Arjun was away.

"What's happening? Did you guys see how coldly he greeted me? And then how formally he behaved? He even refused to call me a friend." I told them.

"See he has already started reacting." Abhi said.

"What's your relationship status Shravya?" Rishi asked me suddenly.

"Single as if you do not know that already." I answered.

"Well that's going to change by tonight. Mark my words." He said in response.

"I agree with him." Abhi answered.

"Now, let's meet the rest of the Mehrotra fam." Rishi said and Abhi agreed. 

•

"Hayee, you look so pretty Shravya." Arjun's Chaachi is the first one to say.

"I agree with Bhabhi [ brother's wife ; sister in law]." His bua adds.

"Kitni soni kudi hai tu Shravya. [How nice a girl you are, Shravya]." His Dadi says.

"Thank you so much, all of you." I say with a smile as my cheeks warm.

Rishi and I talk with the Mehrotras for a while after which we excuse ourselves and leave to sit by a table.

"His eyes are on us, you especially all the damn time." Rishi tells me in a whisper as he leans towards me.

I raise my eyes to look at Arjun standing at a distance from across our table.

For sure he's looking directly at us.

When his eyes meet mine his nostrils flare in anger.

I quickly look away and at Rishi.

"Yes, even I saw that." I tell him and then smile at him.

"I'm glad this is working." He tells me.

"Why are you even doing this? Helping me, I mean." I ask him.

"Well, I have my reasons." He answers.

"And what are they?" I ask.

"Aarohi Mehrotra." He answers.

"What?" I ask him.

"There, it's working for me too." He tells me and points in a particular direction. My eyes follow the direction and they land on another person who looks as frustrated and pissed off as Arjun Mehrotra if not more.

"Oh My God! This means, this means that.." I trail off.

"Yes, this means exactly that." He tells me and I see his ears turn the slightest shade of red.

"What's your story?" I ask him.

"I made a mistake and now she doesn't want to forgive me. I'm just making her realise that she is still in love with me. I've done everything possible to win her heart again but she's a stubborn one. This is my last option." He tells me.

"Well then all the best to you, I hope you succeed in getting accepted by her." I told him.

"You won't ask me what my mistake was?" He asks.

"Who am I to know that? And it's better I don't because if it's something that I'll find unforgivable too then I might just stop whatever we're doing." I told him.

He smiles at me in response.

A few minutes later Abhi gets on the stage at the centre with a mic in his hand. He hands it over to his father who comes on stage next.

"Attention everyone. Fifty years ago today my father started out with a small restaurant selling traditional Punjabi food in Mumbai. He was the man who along with his wife, my mother, laid out the foundation of what now has become The Mehrotra Group of Restaurants, Mumbai's largest chain of Restaurant, one of India's top ten restaurants. My father before passing passed on the baton to my elder brother, and he before passing away passed it on to me, may both their souls rest in peace. Today I passed it on to my brother's son, my nephew who I love as my own son, Arjun. I have trained him through these years and he's been working on opening this new branch ever since he's come back to India after completing his studies. As we open this branch today I hope Arjun will keep up the name of the Mehrotras and that under his assistance the business reaches greater heights.

Arjun, come up on stage." His Chaachu says.

I watch as Arjun who had been watching from downstairs with the audience gets up from his seat and walks over to the stage.

Once he gets on the stage, a mic is handed to him.

"Hey everybody. Whatever I am today I owe to these bunch of wonderful people, two of them on stage with me and the rest of them sitting by that table." He says and points in the direction the rest of his family is sitting.

"I lost my Mom when she gave birth to me so I don't really know how she was but from what I've heard she sounds like an amazing woman. Losing her did not leave me without a mother but instead gave me three others. My Dadi, My Chaachi and My Bua. Three extremely beautiful ladies in and out. When I was twelve I lost my father. Ever since Chaachu has been the father figure in my life. These people have never made me feel like I don't have my parents with me. My family is my everything and today as I stand up on this stage in front of you all announcing the opening of a new branch of our restaurant, the biggest branch of 'The Mehrotras' in Mumbai I promise to not disappoint. I promise to maintain the standard and the name of Mehrotras. I promise to serve you all as best as I can with my team at this new branch." Arjun says and then his eyes meet mine.

The smile on my face only widens and for a minute I feel like he smiles back at me before quickly looking away.

"We have prepared the entire menu of this new branch for you guys to try out. I hope you will all enjoy it. From tomorrow this restaurant will start functioning for all of its customers." He concludes. 

"Well that was one heart warming speech, Bhai. All the best for this new venture from the entire Mehrotra fam jam. Rest of the Mehrotra people get on stage please, we have a cake waiting to be cut." Abhi says.

Soon the rest of his family members get on the stage and a staff member pushes the trolley containing a grand three tiered cake.

The family together cuts the cake and then starts feeding each other.

I watch Abhi smear some cake on Arjun's face and then Arjun giving him a death glare. Abhi then quickly walks over to Arjun with a tissue and helps him clean. The two brothers then share a side hug.

A smile is on my face the entire time watching the family enjoy themselves on stage.

Their energy, their love for each other is clearly visible.

I turn my head to have a look at Rishi.

The guy's looking at the stage without blinking.

My eyes follow the direction he's looking at.

Aarohi Mehrotra.

"Rishi." I say and nudge his shoulder. He doesn't budge.

I shake my head. 

This guy's totally lovestruck and I hope this plan works out in his favour.

After a while everyone is served a portion of the cake. As soon as I eat it I have to suppress a moan. 

It's delicious.

When I'm done eating I leave the table and make my way to the restroom. 

•

As soon as I come back from the restroom I run into Arjun's grandmother.

I pass her a smile and she smiles back at me.

"Can I ask you something if you don't mind beta [child]?" She asks me.

"Yes, sure." I told her.

"Do you have any boyfriend or someone you're engaged with?" She asks me.

"Dadi, what are you doing?" Arjun suddenly walks over to where we are and asks her.

"Tu chup reh Arjun, menu poochne de." [You be quiet Arjun, let me ask.]

"Uh no." I answer. 

"Wow, that's great." She comments and Arjun glares at her.

"If you will please excuse Shravya, I have to discuss something with her, Dadi." Arjun says and motions for me to move away from his grandmother.

"Of course, of course." She says and we walk away.

"Wait, where are we going?" I ask him.

"To my office upstairs." He answers.

"But why?" I ask.

"You'll find out." He says.

"Wait, let me inform Rishi or else he might get worried." I tell Arjun.

"Seriously? How long have the two of you even known each other for?" Arjun asks, making a face.

"He's my date for today Arjun, I have to inform him or else it'll be rude." I tell him and without waiting for a response walk over to Rishi.

I inform him of going with Arjun for some important talk. 

"Sure you can go Shravya, just don't make me wait for very long." He says looking at me lovingly. From beside me I find Arjun's nostrils flaring as he listens to Rishi's words. 

"Too much exaggeration." I mumble to Rishi very softly and then smile at him.

Arjun is already making his way towards the stairs.

Rishi winks at me and mouths, 'all the best' to me.

I then follow Arjun as he makes his way to his office.

Once we're in, Arjun locks the door. I raise my eyebrow at him.

"What discussion are we here for?" I ask him.

"A very important one." He answers.

"Oh really? Enlighten me then." I told him.

"That I will do." He says and starts walking towards me.