"I can't just elope with you," The girl sitting alongside Vandana said to the guy at the table with her. Vandana looked up. She was meeting Mekha at the restaurant. Mekha had not arrived yet and she had heard this conversation on the neighbouring table.

"But... Then... you will marry that guy?"

"It is not like I want to." The girl said. "I also want to marry you, Faiz. But you know my situation. Besides you were the one who told me to go marry someone else. What happened to that now?"

"I am sorry. I did not... I don't want to lose you." He caught her hand. "I really don't want to... I may go mad if you get married to some other guy."

Now the girl was melting a bit. Things were interesting, so Vandana turned to look at them to listen more keenly.

"What are you staring at?" the girl snapped at Vandana.

That is when Vandna noticed that she has seen this girl somewhere. She could not exactly place where she has seen her, but she has definitely seen her. "Have we met before?" Vandana asked the girl.

"Not that I know of." She said.

Vandana turned away feeling puzzled. She has definitely seen this girl somewhere.

"Shruthi, please..." The guy said to the girl just then. "Let's elope. That is the only way."

The name hit a cord for Vandana. Shruthi?? She remembered where she has seen the girl now. It was in Ananth's engagement photos. This was Ananth's fiancé. She turned to look at the couple again.

"Faiz..." Shruti turned to the guy. "Look, even I don't want to marry the guy. But eloping...? Where will we go? How will we survive? What about our jobs...?"

"Look, we can register our marriage and then rent a house. You don't worry about a thing. I will manage everything."

Shruthi was melting now "Fine," she said. Vandana did not know what the hell to do. But Shruti noticed that Vandana was looking at them again. "Can we go somewhere else, Faiz?" She asked the guy. The guy noticed Vandana looking at them. He turned to her. "Sister, please mind your business. This is our personal matter." He said.

"Sorry," Vandana told him and got up from her seat. She saw Mekha walking in. She walked to her. "Let's go somewhere else." She led Mekha away from there.

Vandana fidgeted a lot the next day in the office. Ananth was just near her and she could see the engagement ring on his finger. She did not know how to deal with this situation. She had discussed what he heard with Mekha and Mekha had told her that Ananth has every right to know. But Vandana did not know how to tell him that his fiancé is planning to elope with some other guy. That too with their history between them, Vandana telling him this news would be a hell lot more difficult. It is easy to misunderstand the situation.

But then not telling him was not going to be good either. Any good friend will tell this situation to him. He should know now than later when the girl had eloped.

Ananth had got up to go to the pantry when Vandana followed him. She pulled him into the empty conference room. "What? What is with you?" Ananth asked her, startled.

"I need to tell you something important."

"What?"

"Don't be shocked..."

"Now please don't tell me that you love me still." He chuckled, joking.

"What no..." She snapped.

"What is it?" He asked, now interested.

"I met your fiancé yesterday in a restaurant." She said. "Café-restaurant thing... Anyway... She was with a guy..."

"So?" Ananth asked.

"And they were planning to elope together." She finished. And closed her eye to avoid seeing his shocked face. She opened them after a second. Ananth was looking more puzzled than shocked. "Are you... is this a joke?" he asked.

"No, Ananth. Why would I joke about something like this? Trust me. I did see a girl and boy making plans to elope. And it was your fiancé. Shruthi. Right? I even rechecked the photos on your Facebook page to make sure it is Shruti. It is... She is planning to elope with a guy named Faiz."

Ananth finally registered this fact and sat back. His brain was slowly processing this. Shruti was planning to elope?

Vandana watched him. He was silent for a long while. "Okay," he finally said.

"Okay?" Vandana asked confused. "That is it? Okay...?"

"What do you expect me to do?"

"I don't know. Call her maybe... meet and discuss this."

"I'll do that, of course..." He said. Vandana nodded. She waited for a second and turned around to leave. Ananth was still in thought.

"Hey, Anath etta..." Shruthi's voice was still pleasant when he called her. "What's up?"

"Hm... Can we meet?" He asked. He was standing alone on the balcony of the office.

"Um... Sure. When?" She asked, now sounding nervous.

"Today, if possible. I want to discuss something important." He said.

"What is it?" She asked.

Ananth hesitated. He did not know if it was okay to discuss it on phone. "I'll tell you when we meet. Tell me when you finish work. I can come to your building."

"Okay," Shruthi hung the call-up.

Vandana was watching Ananth as he was working. He did look a bit flustered. "Hey..." She whispered to him. He looked up at her. "Did you talk to her?"

"I am meeting her tonight." He said.

"Okay. Let me know how it goes." She was curious about the whole situation. This was the first time she was experiencing something like that. Obviously. Ananth was nervously looking at Vandana. "Hm... Can you come with me?" He asked.

"What?" That was unexpected.

"Can you come with me?" He repeated. "For moral support. I don't know how to do this alone. And seeing you may urge Shruthi to be more honest." Vandana thought about it for a moment. "You got me in the situation in the first place," Ananth reminded her.

"I got...? It's your fiancé who got you in this situation."

"I know. But please..."

"Fine." She said. He looked desperate. "I'll come with you."

So Ananth and Vandna waited for Shruthi in the food court in her office building that night. Ananth looked nervous. "If it's true..." Vandana asked, "if she is going to elope... what are you going to do?"

He looked at her. "I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Vandana asked. "You must have thought something..."

"Honestly, my mind is blank." He said.

Shruthi walked to them just then. "Hi, Anath etta..." She said, and she did not recognize Vandana immediately. "Who is this?" She asked politely.

"A friend," Ananth said. "Let's sit down..." They sat down. "Hm... Shruthi, I will be straightforward," Ananth started. "My friend here saw you with a guy in a restaurant yesterday."

Shruthi's face fell pale. She recognized Vandana now. "Anath etta..." She called Ananth unable to say anything. She was looking very scared and flustered.

"Is it true? Are you going to elope with another guy?" Ananth asked.

Shruthi remained silent. She looked down, not able to meet Ananth's eyes. Ananth got his answer. He sat back, and let out a huge sigh. Vandana looked between them. There was just silence after that. Ananth was just sitting like he did not know what the hell to do in this situation.

"Please don't tell my parents. They will kill me if they come to know about it." Shruthi finally said.

Ananth looked at her. She looked really scared. "That should not be his concern," Vandana said.

"Please, Ananth etta." Shruthi sat forward. "Please don't tell anyone or call this wedding off. If my family comes to know they will never let me live with Faiz."

Ananth cleared his throat. Vandana could only blink.

"I'll call Faiz," Shruthi said and fetched her mobile phone out of her bag and called her boyfriend. "Can you come to the food court? Yes, right now... Ananth ettan found out about us. Yes, my fiancée. So come. Quick..." She hung up and gave a comical smile to Anath and Vandana. "He works in the next building," she explained. "Can you wait till he comes?"

Ananth and Vandana could not reply. They just sat in silence until Faiz, Shruthi's boyfriend came. "Hello," Faiz greeted them in nervousness. "Oh... the girl from yesterday," he pointed at Vandana. He sat down beside Shruthi.

"Ananth etta," Shruthi said, "This is Faiz. The guy I love. We have been together for a long time. I told you I had someone, right? But my family will never approve of him. So please... can you just stay silent until we go from here."

Ananth sighed again, as Vandana spoke up, "Do you even know what you are asking for?" But Ananth put his hand on Vandana's hand and silenced her. "You want me to stay quiet until you two elope? That's all?"

"Yes. My family has become a lot lenient with me lately now that I have agreed to marry you. In this way, it will be a lot easier to elope. If they come to know about our plan, they will kill me."

Ananth opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come.

"Brother, Please..." Faiz intervened now. "All you need to do is to stay quiet. And not tell anyone. And we will silently elope from here. You won't have any repercussions."

"The wedding hall is already booked." Ananth moved a hand through his face.

"No repercussions?" Vandana asked agitated. "What about the mental stress he is going through? And the shame he will suffer afterwards? His bride is going to elope."

"We are sorry for that," Shruthi said, softly, but genuinely. And she looked so sad and cute when she said this that Ananth had no ill words against that. "I am sorry, Ananth etta." Shruthi said again. "Initially, I did plan to marry you. But Faiz..."

"Yeah, whatever..." Ananth said. "When are you planning to elope?" he asked.

"As soon as possible." Faiz was the one who answered.

"You are not considering keeping quiet about this, are you?" Vandana turned to Ananth. But he ignored her. "And you think that is the best possible option?" He asked the couple.

"What else can we do?" Shruthi asked, timidly.

"Please understand that eloping is not something easy." There were creases of experience on Ananth's forehead when he said this. And he sounded dead serious. "Have you thought this through?"

"Yes," Faiz said.

"Really?" Ananth edged forward. "Where will you go? Where will you stay? How will you survive? Since you have jobs, money won't be a problem... But if Shruthi's parents give a police complaint, what will you do?"

"We will just stay away for a couple of weeks, and then come back and rent a house," Faiz said.

"And for that initial few weeks, where will you be?" Ananth was still serious. "You have a place to be?"

"Why are you concerned over this?" Vandana asked Ananth. "They will manage, right?" She looked at Faiz and he nodded. "They are not kids as we were Ananth." Ananth looked at her. She had understood his turmoil. Ananth and Vandana had tried to elope when they were fifteen.

"Just..." Ananth sighed, "Worried as an older friend." He said. He looked at Shruthi and Faiz. "Fine. I will keep quiet about you two. So, elope as soon as possible. It should not be like you run away on the previous day of the wedding."

"Okay," Shruthi said. "Thank you, Ananth etta." She said.

Ananth nodded and got up. Vandana followed him. He sighed as he walked to his car parked outside the building. Vandana hurried to catch up with him. "What was that generous gesture?" She asked him.

"Poor souls." He said. "They just want to live together..."

She scowled and put her hands to her hips. "Do you realise the humiliation you are going to face when the world comes to know that your bride eloped?"

Ananth shrugged.

"Ananth." She called, strictly.

"I am immune to people's words." He said with a smile. "I have heard everything fifteen years back."

Vandana's frustration subsided. Those words got to her. And he had a sad smile on his face that melted her heart. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"About what?"

"About her, of course." She said. "She is your fiancé after all."

"Ha," he chuckled. "Well, I am immune to people leaving me as well," he said. That hurt Vandana. He could see it in her eyes. "Sorry, I should not have said it like that. But I am okay. I am. Trust me. It was not like I was in love with her or anything."

"But you might have had some feelings for her, right?" She asked.

"Not really," he shrugged.

"What? Why would you marry her then?"

"Because my mother liked her. Woah... my mom will really be disappointed when she elopes."

"You wanted to marry her because your mother likes her?" Vandana asked with genuine doubt. "Like... Shouldn't you like a person as well to marry them?"

"I did not hate her."

"But you should feel some feeling, right? Attraction... Affection... Friendship?" But Ananth's expression told her that he felt nothing of these for Shruthi. "What were you going to do after marriage?" She snapped.

"Well, after a while familial love will develop automatically, right?" He asked. "I mean, she will be family. Like mom and dad are."

"What about romance?"

"Do you want me to drop you home?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Listen, Vandana... You and I both know that the whole love thing, the so-called romance - it's all for kids. People grow up. People can survive really well without love. And I honestly don't think I can love anyone now. But that does not mean I have to stay alone forever, right? I need a family."

Vandana could just look at him. She was hit with the honesty in his voice. Ananth also could see that he got her with that. "Come, I will drop you home." He said, more softly.

They got in the car.