Arnav Singh Raizada's eyes,flickered between the door of the café and his Rolex watch, every few seconds.If you had looked up the meaning of 'Confidence' in a dictionary, on any of the remaining 364 days of the year, you would've probably found his name beside the word. However, currently, he was a bundle of nerves. Afterall, he was going to meet someone, who had the power of making a decision, that could turn his life a complete 360 degree,for the better or for worse.

He clicked the home button on his iPhone 6 and the wallpaper instantly brought a smile on his face,just like every other time. Right at that moment, he heard a new message alert and his smile widened.He quickly opened it to read a ,"What's going on?" inside the green bubble like thing on the screen. He could totally imagine her adorable face ,with her button like nose scrunched and eyebrows knit together in concentration, her hair tied in a careless bun with few loose strands kissing her face. He was also certain, that she would be biting her nails , a habit she resorted to, when in tension. He replied with a "Thinking if I should stay or just run from here as fast as I can, before she arrives". His phone notified him of a new message, in less than a minute,which read "Aww baby don't be scared,she will realize how amazing you are. It will turn out fine,for you,for US <3". He badly wanted to see her right then, but he knew he couldn't leave immediately, as he was about to do something for a possible forever with her."Thankyou M'lady. I hope so : ) Love you",was his reply to her before his mind drifted to a happy place, which consisted of all the wonderful moments spent and memories made with his love,his happiness,his Khushi.

Arnav and Khushi had met in grad school in London,while they were doing a course in business administration,two years ago.It wasn't love at first sight,though it was hard to avoid the attraction they felt for each other. Being among the few Indians in the batch,they hit it off almost instantly. Getting assigned to the same project, only increased the number of texts and long duration phone calls till wee hours of the morning, with the 'Project discussion Vs. Random talks' being in the ratio of 20:80.One thing led to the other and slowly but surely,they realized that they had fallen in love with each other. A week before coming back to India, they decided to visit one of the most romantic destinations in the world, Paris and they shared their first kiss in front of the Eiffel tower.

Arnav and Khushi had decided to settle down in their respective professions, before informing their parents about their relationship. Arnav had taken over AR Designs from his father and was now quite successful in running the business. Khushi, a chartered accountant, was now working in one of the most reputed consultancy firms in Mumbai.A mutual decision was made and Arnav told his parents about Khushi and they were happy with his decision. Khushi however, decided to tell her mother first and ask her to break the news to her father. Being the only daughter, she was the apple of her parents' eyes. She had a feeling that her father would ultimately agree,but at times it was easier to talk to her mother when it came to talking about guys and relationships. Her father was extremely protective of his little doll afterall. So,Khushi's mother wanted to meet Arnav, before she could talk to her father about him.

"Earth to Arnav", Arnav heard someone say and he was immediately brought back to the present,where a woman around fifty years of age, was sitting on the chair across him and looking at him with an amused smile. To say he was utterly and extremely embarrassed, would be an understatement. He was caught day dreaming, with probably a goofy grin on his face, by his lover's mother. Excellent first impression.

He quickly replaced his silly expression with a small smile and greeted his, hopefully, future Mother in law with a "Hello Mrs Gupta" and extended his hand for a hand shake.

"Seriously? Mrs Gupta? We are not in a business meeting Arnav. Aunty should be fine", she chuckled and Arnav's smile now became a wide grin. He liked Mrs Gupta and he could see the source of Khushi's happy and cheerful attitude. Garima Gupta was a teacher by profession and like they say, interacting with kids regularly helps you stay young, Garima looked like she had just turned forty. Her warm brown eyes which could make anyone feel comfortable in her presence and her bright and genuine smile,made Arnav realize how similar Khushi was to her mother.

"Sure,as you say, Aunty", he replied with a warm smile.

"Perfect. Now that sounds way better".

"What would you like to have Aunty? Shall we order?",Arnav asked her and the next five minutes was spent with the two of them looking at their menus and placing their orders.

Garima closed the menu and placed it on the table and looked at Arnav.

"So Arnav, I don't want to drill you with a lot of questions so I am just going to stick to the basic "Tell me about yourself " and let you go with the flow and say whatever you feel like saying"

Arnav could feel his nervousness slowly ebbing away. Apparently,the bad first impression hadn't done much damage.Great.

"Uh.. sure,I can do that.. So,my name is Arnav Singh Raizada.I was born and brought up in Mumbai. Ours is a joint family and I live here with my parents,Nani and my mamaji's family.I do not have siblings. Anjali Di and Akash, my mama's kids,take that place anyway",he paused while the waiter arrived with their coffee and continued, after taking a sip of the amazing beverage. Garima was looking at him , her small smile never leaving her face.

"So, that's my family..After schooling, I did a course in fashion designing in college, because I was expected to take over the family business-AR Designs. So after graduating, I went to London to pursue a degree in Business administration and that is where I met Khushi..".Garima nodded without interrupting and Arnav continued.."We got to know each other slowly, became very good friends and towards the end of the course, realised that we have feelings for each other. But at that time, we weren't sure of what life held in store for us. So we wanted to figure that out first, before we could talk to our families about the relationship.. After coming back to India, I worked in our company as an employee till recently,when I was finally confident enough to take over the position of CEO from my father. Khushi got her dream job too and that is when we decided that we should tell all of you about us..",Arnav paused,not knowing what more to add.."Uh.. that's all I guess", he grinned sheepishly,effectively bringing his monologue to an end.

Garima added some sugar to her coffee and stirred the contents for a second, before looking at the guy in front of her, who was looking like he was about to check his board exam results.

"So, you think you have impressed the girl's mother?", Garima asked, trying hard to keep a straight face. She was going to have some fun at his expense.

"I might have..", he trailed off, slowly rubbing his eyebrow, thinking of what more he could do to convince her. This was crucial and only her approval meant a green signal to the next stage. Should he talk about how he would treat her daughter like a queen? What if she thought that sounded like a cliché movie dialog?

Garima couldn't stop herself from bursting into laughter. "Oh my! Why are you so nervous?", she asked a visibly surprise Arnav.

"Uh.. It's just that, I meeting my possible in-law and I don't know how to convince her about being good son-in-law material"

"I was pulling your leg Arnav", Garima confessed with a big grin on her face. "You seem like a good guy and I am definitely impressed at how you are now leading one of the biggest fashion empires,at such a young age.Khushi means the world to us and you probably might have heard that from her already.And we have never denied her of anything that could bring her happiness. That doesn't mean we pampered her to such an extent that she is a spoilt kid. Definitely not.She knows her limits and we made sure of that. It's just that, we will not be able to stand her getting hurt in any way,physical or emotional. Her father is extremely protective of her and that's why she decided to let me in on her secret and ask me about the course of action. I wanted to meet you, to see for myself, if her 'Perfect decision making spree' still holds good. She has always been a good judge of character and she seems to have made the right choice,again.I can see the sincerity in what you say and the way your eyes lit up when you spoke about Khushi. I also saw the love she has for you,in her eyes.I will talk to her father about you.I hope this works too.But please promise me just one thing. Never, ever hurt my princess", Garima nearly choked when she said the last line and Arnav took her hand in his and squeezed it before looking straight into her eyes and replying with a," I won't.I would rather die"

The moment he said that, Garima couldn't help but chuckle. The intensity of the moment was lost when she said,"Sorry, but that sounded so cliché"

"God! Exactly what I did not want happening", Arnav sighed exaggeratedly and looked at the woman in front of him and realized something.

"Wait a minute! Did you just say you are okay with having me in your life forever?"

"I guess so. Are you having second thoughts now?"

"Of course not. Are you kidding me ? Oh my God thank you so much,Aunty!!!"

"I can see Khushi's influence here. Drama King and Queen awards go to.."

Arnav laughed at that. "Honestly, I never ever imagined being able to talk so freely with someone other than my family"

"Get used to it then. You will get along well with her dad too. Keep your fingers crossed and go along with Khushi to her Devi Maiyya's mandir everyday ", Garima chuckled when Arnav became nervous again.

"What if he doesn't agree?"

"What then? You might have to find another girl"

"WHAT ? NO WAY! Aunty! I thought you were on my side"

"But I have known the other party in question, for almost 25 years"

"But.."

"Oh my! Are you pouting? I see a ten year old boy wanting his favourite chocolate, not a 26 year old CEO asking for the hand of my daughter", Garima laughed and Arnav relaxed, realizing that she was pulling his leg, yet again.

"Khushi is so much like you! Gupta girls are fun", Arnav grinned and felt so much at ease, talking to her. This didn't seem like their first meeting at all! He had grown very fond of her and he really hoped that she would become another mother figure in his life and tease him like this,always. He totally wouldn't mind that.Probably for the first time, someone other than Khushi or his family, has brought out this side of Arnav, the carefree side..and he loved it.

"That we are", Garima replied and the next half an hour was spent in chatting about many random topics from favourite sports to movies to music.

"You know you remind of the male lead of one of the shows I used to watch"

"Yeah? Which one?"

"I am not sure if you have heard but it's called 'Iss Pyaar ko Kya naam doon""

"Haha that guy? But yeah I agree there are similarities...profession, family.. and BTW I do know that serial, thanks to your daughter. She is one crazy fan and made me watch the show when we were in London"

"She did? Actually, I should've expected that"

"Yeah and I even have an account in that forum. It's fun to read fan fictions.. oh-kayy I shouldn't have said that."

"What did you just say?"

"La la la laaaa"

"Stop singing and admit it. You have an account in Wattpad? And YOU read stories there?"

"You won't tell Khushi right? I won't hear the end of it otherwise", Arnav pleaded and Garima burst out laughing till she had tears in her eyes. Who would've thought the famous CEO reads fan fictions based on a famous hindi show?

"I am so going to use this to my advantage someday", Garima finally said, after her laughter had died down and was replaced with a mischevious smile.

"You won't, you are nice. Anyway are you there too?"

"Of course. I don't just read Fan fictions though ;)"

"What's your User Name?"

"Wait-For-It"

"Are you serious?", it was Arnav's turn to laugh.

"Oh come on, I really like 'How I met your mother' and BARNEY !"

"Right... okay. You are amazing", Arnav replied, still chuckling.."You sure you are not from our generation?"

"Had I been from your generation, we wouldn't be talking about getting my daughter married to you,young man"

"Good point", Arnav said ,with a sheepish expression."Actually, I might have seen you on some of the discussion threads..Mine is "Winter is coming""

"That's you? And you laughed at my user name !", Garima chuckled.

"Wow, this is the first time I am meeting an online acquaintance in person and that turns out to be my future mother in law"

"I know right. Haha, nice meeting you online buddy",she extended her hand which Arnav promptly shook and gave her a mock salute. They continue chatting for a little longer, before Garima said that she had to leave.

"Will see you soon,Arnav. I had a nice time talking to you! Hope to meet your parents soon,things going fine"

"Sure Aunty. Thankyou so much for making me feel so relaxed. I am really looking forward to talking more with you. I hope uncle says okay"

"I do too. God bless you and see you", Garima patted his shoulder and left, telling him that she has her car , when he offered to drop her home.

The next week passed in a blur but it was a happy week for Arnav and Khushi. Khushi's father was apprehensive initially but when her mother couldn't stop praising the young man that their daughter had chosen, he decided to give them a chance. Arnav and family met Khushi's in a restaurant for dinner and the families instantly liked one another. To say that the lead pair in the story was relieved, would be putting it mildly.

The talks were positive and by the end of dinner, the families had decided to get them engaged in a week. Everyone was happy and Garima looked at Arnav with a "I-told-you-so" expression. Arnav gave her a grateful smile and mouthed a "Thankyou" for which she nodded smilingly.

The engagement was a grand affair,and was held in the hotel Hyatt.A beautiful solitaire was placed on Khushi's ring finger and a gold with diamond ring on Arnav's.The engagement was over amidst cheers and hugs and soon Arnav pulled Khushi along with him to the terrace.

She looked breathtakingly beautiful in a deep red lehenga and he couldn't stand sharing her with others,any longer. He pulled her towards him in one swift motion and she blushed beet red under his intense gaze. He looked very handsome in a dark brown sherwani, which was a contrast to his fair skin.

Khushi finally managed to start talking.."FINALLY, Arnav! I can't tell you how happy I am. You are mine, from now, till forever. Wow..",However,the rest of her sentence was muffled when Arnav crashed his lips to hers, in a toe curling and soul searing kiss.Khushi responded with equal passion and soon enough their tongues spoke a language of their own.They pulled away after a few seconds,to catch their breath and rested their foreheads against each other.

"I love you Khushi Kumari Gupta, soon to be Singh Raizada", Arnav whispered,his breath falling on Khushi's lips.

"I love you more, Arnav Singh Raizada. Thankyou for coming into my life", she responded and hugged him, placing her head near his chest, to hear his heart beating strong and fast, in excitement and anticipation for a new beginning, for a new life together, with the love of his life,his Khushi.