Ameer had just finished his morning prayer when the doorbell rung.

"Must be the milkman."He thought.

He grabbed a container from the kitchen and headed to the main door. As he opened the door, he was expecting to see a heavy dark-skinned man with big moustache and always scarily smiling face. But what he saw was something he had never imagined to see in his wildest of dreams.

"Rini!"

Aarini Mathur.

His ex-girlfriend.

That too in a red bridal attire.

•••

"So you ran away from your wedding?"He asked to the runaway bride sitting in front of him.

Aarini nodded, her eyes downcast.

"Rini, are you insane!? How can you do such a big stupidity? And you knock on my door after doing all this disaster?"

"I know, it was stupid of me to run away on my wedding day. But I felt trapped in that engagement, and realised it too late. I came to you because I thought you'll support me. But if you too wanna make me look like a wrong person I am leaving right now."She said with tears in her eyes and immediately stood up to leave.

However, Ameer stopped her.

"Rini, I never said you are wrong. Your way to handle the situation was wrong. You know this stunt of yours will damage your family's reputation."He gently held her shoulders and made her sit on the couch again.

"But I couldn't think of any other way. It was too late."She sobbed.

"Alright, tell me why you ran away."He sat in front of her, on the wooden table placed in the middle of the living area, surrounded by a couple of couches and a three-seater sofa.

"I am engaged to Aadijay Chauhan for the last two years. Our fathers were business partners. As I don't have any brother, Aadijay was supposed to be the next CEO of their company. So they decided to get us married, so that Aadi could become the legal heir of my father as well. I never had any problem with this engagement. Aadi was a bit robotic though, someone who rarely displayed emotions. But I liked him. However, things started getting worse when I got to know that I have no shares in the company, even when technically I am the heir of half of the shares. And then I was told I am supposed to be a homemaker after the wedding. Yet I decided to let this be. But just an hour before the wedding rituals, I saw Aadi kissing his ex-girlfriend. So I ran away. Because I knew no one will support me even if I told them about this."

"Rini, why you think even your parents won't support you? You are their only child."He tried to make her understand.

"Ameer, I was never the child they desired to have. They wanted someone like Aadijay, and not me. I was just a liability to them."

"Now here you are wrong. They love you, Rini. Every parent love his kid."

"But I hate them. I hate them for making me hate myself all my childhood."By then her tears were unstoppable. The anger of all those years came running down as the teardrops freeing from her eyes.

"Alright, let's pause this conversation. I am very hungry and you'll be hungry as well. So let me prepare some breakfast for both of us."

He kind of tried to distract Aarini. And the trick worked when her stomach grumbled due to hunger.

"Okay, but I need to change."She was tired of wearing that heavy bridal attire and jewellery and makeup, and desperately wanted to get rid of them.

"Grab something to wear from my cupboard. But don't open any drawer, you may see something you don't wanna see."

"For example?"What she may see that she don't wanna see?

"My undergarments."

She rolled her eyes while making an Eww sound. Because, yes, she don't wanna see them.

•••

Anika opened the door of her apartment as the ring of doorbell reached her ears. And as expected a grinning Ameer was standing with a vessel in his hand.

"Namaste, Miss Neighbour."He greeted.

"Assalam Alaikum, Mr Neighbour."She replied back.

"Can I have some milk? My milkman is running late. Probably busy romancing with his fishmonger lover."

"Of course, half of my grocery goes in your service only. I might start charging you or I'll go short on my savings."

"Well, I have a good solution to your problem."

"What?"

"Let's remove Srivastava from your last name and add Ameer Akram Chaudhary instead. Then I'll be the one in charge of all the bills, including grocery."

"I am happier with you looting my ration on the name of neighbour bonds, rather than getting imprisoned for my whole life."

"Am I that bad of a guy?"

"No. However, I am too young to be tied down in a marriage."

"Then have some mercy on this poor peasant of yours and give me the milk I requested for. I have a guest to entertain."

"As you say, my poor peasant."

"Only yours, my queen."

Just like this the love birds began their daily routine of romancing through their flirtatious and funny conversation.

Only if Aarini hadn't decided to come out of Ameer's apartment, that too in his clothes.

"Ameer, what's taking so long?"And her gaze fell on Anika, the kind neighbour Ameer had mentioned.

From the way Anika's eyes moved towards Ameer for an explanation, she understood there's more to the two of them than the so-called neighbour bond.

"Anika, meet my old friend Aarini Mathur." Ameer introduced Aarini.

"Well, Anika, I am his ex-girlfriend and we broke up three years ago after two years of dating. And I ran away from my wedding just a few hours ago. I am here simply because I have nowhere else to go. And trust me, I am over with him."Aarini explained the whole scenario in one breath, shooing away all the doubts that invaded Anika's mind just few moments ago.

"Oh, you ran away! That's iconic! Join me for the breakfast, I really want to know how it feels to be a runaway bride."Anika was genuinely excited to know about a real life runaway bride.

"I have no problem."Aarini smiled.

And both the girls entered the apartment whose door read Anika Srivastava in big bold block letters.

"Wow, they bonded so quickly."Ameer was beyond surprised at how quickly Aarini and Anika got along so well. They developed an instant history with each other.

•••

"Mrs Mathur, I never expected your daughter to be so shameless. She has humiliated her own parents and us by running away."Avantika Chauhan, Aadijay Chauhan's mother, hissed angrily.

Shailja Mathur kept quiet. She was disappointed at her daughter's actions.

"Prabhat, we need to find your daughter at any cost. Our reputation is at stake."said Raghav Chauhan.

"Don't worry, Raghav. Rini will be found soon and she will marry Aadi at any cost."

The groom, Aadijay Chauhan, was astounded to listen the elders talking. They didn't bother thinking why Rini decided to run away. They were only worried for their public image and so-called reputation.

He used to think that she was in love with him. Or at least she cared for him. But if she had feelings for him, why she ran away? Or she never loved him.

"I was a fool to fall for her innocence. To think she loved me."He thought.

He felt abandoned.

By the woman he was falling for.

However, before he could realise his love.

She ran away from him.

But he won't leave her.

Never ever.