Author pov :-
The morning sun shines brightly into Vivan's room, illuminating the battlefield of clothes, books, Reyansh, shirtless, sleeps like a Greek statue draped over the bed, while Vivan lies sprawled next to him, his shirt half undone and hair sticking up like a porcupine. Peace reigns, but not for long.The door slams open like a thunderclap.
Mrs. Suryavanshi & Manya: (screaming in unison) "WHAT KIND OF SCANDAL IS THIS?!"Reyansh jerks awake, flailing wildly, almost rolling off the bed.Reyansh: (clutching his chest) "ARE WE UNDER ATTACK?! DID THE ZOMBIES FINALLY COME?!"He grabs the blanket like it's a shield, fumbling and tangling himself up. Vivan sits up groggily, rubbing his face, glaring at the disturbance.Vivan: (deadpan) "What fresh nonsense is this?"Mrs. Suryavanshi points dramatically at Reyansh, who's now standing on the bed wrapped like a burrito, and then at Vivan, whose shirt is hanging off one shoulder.Mrs. Suryavanshi: (shocked) "Reyansh! Shirtless! In my son's bed! This is indecent!Manya: (mock gasp) *"And Vivan! Looking like you just shot a music video titled 'Oops, we woke up like this!'"
Reyansh gasps as if he's been struck by lightning. He throws himself onto the bed, rolling dramatically while clutching his chest.Reyansh: (wailing) "Oh, the betrayal! Aunty, I swear, I am innocent! Vivan seduced me with his—his snoring!"Vivan: (coldly) "Reyansh, I will throw you out of the window."Before more chaos can ensue, Abhiraam strides in, drawn by the noise. Abhiraam: (bursting into laughter) "Well, well! If I'd known mornings here were this entertaining, I'd have brought popcorn!"Reyansh: (peeking from under the blanket) "Uncle, this is serious! Your wife is judging me,Abhiraam: (grinning) "Judging? My boy, I'm impressed! You two have been best friends forever—I always knew there was... chemistry. This is new. Reyansh shirtless, Vivan half-buttoned... Did we interrupt a wedding night we weren't invited to?"
Reyansh freezes mid-dramatic flail, his jaw dropping in disbelief.Reyansh: (shrieking) "UNCLE! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!"Abhiraam raises an eyebrow, feigning innocence.Abhiraam: (teasing) "What? You've been best friends since birth! I'm starting to think we missed a golden opportunity to arrange your marriage."Manya is in hysterics now, clutching her stomach as she laughs. Mrs. Suryavanshi awkwardly clears her throat, trying to suppress a giggle.Reyansh's jaw drops, and he dramatically throws himself onto the floor, covering his face with the blanket.Reyansh: (shrieking) "CHEMISTRY?! With HIM?! I'd rather marry my alarm clock—it's less annoying!"Abhiraam: (smirking) "Well, your alarm clock wouldn't scream this much in the morning."Vivan: (glowering) "OUT. ALL OF YOU."The temperature drops instantly as everyone scrambles out, Abhiraam still chuckling on his way out.Abhiraam: (as he leaves) "Reyansh, if you need wedding planning tips, let me know!"Reyansh groans loudly, burying his face in the floor.Reyansh: (muffled, dramatically) "Your dad is running a sitcom, and I'm the unwilling main character!
The haldi ceremony for Alvin and Naina is in full swing, and the entire palace is alive with colors, music, and the golden hue of turmeric. People are laughing, dancing, and celebrating the occasion. Vivan, however, stands in the corner, arms crossed, looking completely disinterested. His presence is more out of obligation than enthusiasm—he's only here for Alvin, his childhood best friend, and Reyansh, who is like family to him.The ritual is simple: the bride's side needs to apply haldi from the groom's side, and now it's Vivan's turn to carry the haldi to Naina's side after Alvin has had his ceremony. He's irritated—he hates these ceremonies and the forced tradition. But for Alvin, for Reyansh, he'll do anything.Vivan is standing near the entrance, holding the bowl of haldi, clearly annoyed. He glances around, waiting for someone from the bride's side to come and accept the haldi. The ceremony feels like a never-ending drag, and he can't wait for it to be over.As he turns around to face the crowd again, he suddenly stumbles into Ishika, who is rushing through the house, looking flustered and anxious. She's a doctor, and there's an urgent case at the hospital she needs to attend to. Her stress is visible, and she's already late. But the collision between her and Vivan is enough to throw her off balance, and the haldi splashes all over her white doctor's coat, ruining it completely.
Ishika: (eyes wide, fuming) "Vivan! You've got to be kidding me!"Her voice is a mix of shock and frustration as she looks at her coat, now covered in turmeric. The stain is huge, and the white fabric, which symbolized professionalism and composure, is now a mess of yellow.Vivan stands frozen for a second, his irritation boiling over. But he doesn't react the way people expect him to—he doesn't shout, doesn't storm off. Instead, he just looks at the stain, his face hardening, but he doesn't raise his voice.Vivan: (in a flat tone) "I didn't mean to do it, okay? It's just a coat."Ishika is beyond frustrated. Her day is already a disaster, and now this. She throws her hands up in the air, taking a step toward him.Ishika: (irritated) "A coat? Do you know how important this coat is to me? I'm already late, and now you've ruined it!"Without thinking, her temper flares, and she scoops up a handful of haldi from the bowl Vivan is holding. With a dramatic flourish, she smears it onto Vivan's shirt.Ishika: (smirking) "There. Now we're even."Vivan's eyes narrow, but he doesn't raise his voice, doesn't shout. His hands tighten around the bowl of haldi, and his jaw clenches, but he keeps his calm, much to Ishika's surprise.
He just stands there, staring at her with an intensity that's a mix of anger and resignation. Normally, Vivan would have lashed out by now. But instead, there's something different in his expression—something colder, almost detached.Unbeknownst to them, Abhiraam has been watching from a distance. He had been searching for Vivan and had overheard the commotion. As he watches the exchange between his son and Ishika, his mind races. He knows how Vivan can be, how he's always had a short fuse, especially when someone disrespects him. But this? This is something he never expected to see.*Abhiraam stands frozen, his eyes widening in disbelief. Vivan isn't reacting. He isn't yelling, he isn't storming off, he's just standing there with a strangely calm and almost resigned expression. The realization hits Abhiraam like a bolt of lightning—Vivan has changed. He's holding back, not because he's letting Ishika win, but because something deeper is going on. The thought crosses Abhiraam's mind with a mix of shock and intrigue:Abhiraam: (thinking to himself, bewildered) "Could it be... Is Vivan still in love with her? After everything that happened?"
Later that evening, Abhiraam calls Reyansh to share his thoughts. Reyansh, the drama queen that he is, answers the phone with his usual flair.Reyansh: (practically shrieking) "Wait, WHAT?!" (he gasps loudly) "He... he DIDN'T get angry?! Are you kidding me? The Vivan I know would have turned that haldi into a weapon and launched it across the room! You saw that right? I need all the details!"Abhiraam: (slightly exasperated) "I'm serious, Reyansh. He didn't do anything. Just... stood there. And I think it's because of Ishika."Reyansh: (suddenly all dramatic and over the top) "Ohhh, this is some NEXT LEVEL drama!" (he pauses, gathering his thoughts with exaggerated flair) "I mean, this is like one of those romantic movie moments, right? Like the brooding hero finally showing a tiny crack in his icy heart, and it's ALL because of the girl! Wow, I can't even—hold on, hold on, let me tell you something else!"Reyansh starts pacing around, speaking faster and faster, adding his signature dramatic touch.Reyansh: (gesturing wildly) "let me tell you uncle the Rolls Royce incident? Ohhh, don't even get me started. Vivan was so angry that day after the coffee incident with Ishika at the mall during Alvin and Naina's wedding shopping, he burned the whole car! Burned it, uncle! His precious car! He was on a rampage, but you know what? And you know what else? He didn't hurt Ishika. No, no. He hurt his car instead—like that was going to solve anything!"
Abhiraam walks into his room, his mind spinning with thoughts of what he just witnessed. His wife, Jeevika , is sitting on the bed, flipping through a wedding planning magazine. She looks up at him, noticing his unusually smug expression. Jeevika: (raising an eyebrow) "What's with the face? Did you finally figure out where Vivan disappeared to?"Abhiraam: (leaning dramatically against the doorframe, hand on his chest) "Oh, I found him all right. And you won't believe what I saw."Jeevika: (rolling her eyes) "Let me guess—he was brooding in a corner, glaring at the haldi like it insulted his entire existence?"Abhiraam: (grinning) "Not this time, Jeevika. Not this time."Jeevika narrows her eyes, intrigued.
She sets the magazine down and crosses her arms.Jeevika: "What happened? Spill it, Abhi. And don't drag it out like one of those saas-bahu dramas."Abhiraam: (sitting on the bed, hands flailing) "Okay, okay! So, there he was, standing at the entrance, looking like someone forced him to carry that bowl of haldi under threat of death. And then BAM! Ishika walks in, all stressed out, and he turns... and crashes right into her!"Jeevika: (smirking) "Oh no. Don't tell me—haldi on her doctor coat?"Abhiraam: (nodding dramatically) "Exactly! The poor coat looked like it had been attacked by a turmeric explosion. And Ishika? She went full Hulk mode! She smeared haldi right back on him, on his shirt!"Jeevika: (gasping, hand over her mouth) "She didn't."Abhiraam: (grinning, voice rising) "Oh, she did. And the best part? He didn't yell, Jeevika. Not a single word. No glare, no stomping off, no tantrum!"Jeevika: (suspicious) "Wait, wait, wait. Are we talking about the same Vivan? Our son? The one who once flipped a dining table because his toast was burnt?"Abhiraam: (nodding emphatically) "Yes, that one! He just stood there, calm as a monk. And do you know what that means?"
Jeevika: (leaning in, eyes wide) "What?"Abhiraam: (grinning mischievously) "It means our ice prince has a soft spot. For Ishika."Jeevika: (bursts out laughing) "Oh, come on, Abhi. You're reading way too much into this. Maybe he was just too shocked to react."Abhiraam: (waving his hands dramatically) "Shocked? Vivan? No, no, no. This is love brewing, Jeevika. The kind that starts with a fight, like in all the best movies! I mean, did you SEE the way he just let her throw haldi on him? That's practically a love confession for him!"Jeevika: (laughing harder) "So now you're a love guru? What's next, matchmaking them behind their backs?"Abhiraam: (grinning devilishly) "Oh, I don't need to. Reyansh is already on it. I called him, and the drama king is spinning this into a full-blown Bollywood saga. He even brought up the Rolls Royce incident and the mall coffee fiasco!"Jeevika: (snorting) "Oh dear. Reyansh exaggerating? Shocking."Abhiraam: (leaning closer, whispering conspiratorially) "But you know what, Jeevika? If Vivan and Ishika do end up together, imagine the stories we'll have for our grandkids. 'Your dad fell for your mom over a bowl of haldi!'"Jeevika- (laughing, shaking her head) "You're impossible. But fine, if this is love, then I'll support it. Just don't get too involved, or you'll scare them both off." Abhiraam: (smirking, leaning back with his arms behind his head) "Scare them? Me? Never. I'll just... nudge them. Subtly."Jeevika- (rolling her eyes) "Subtle? You? That's the funniest thing I've heard all day."
Hey fiction fam!!! How was the second chapter??? Hope u liked the plot....stay tuned for more soon
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