Siddharth's POV

After resting for a while, I proceeded downstairs to check upon the preparations.

"Hey Sid! What are you doing here?" asked Maa.

"I just came to check out the preparations." I said and started supervising the helpers.

"No need for that! I will manage here by myself. And no protesting! My baccha has not eaten a single morsel since last night. If you want you can go in the garden. Janu is there too. Go and give her company" she said.

And without protesting I went towards the garden.

As I reached there, I saw Janu sitting on the grass with a cup of I don't know what in her hands. I approached her and sat besides her.

"Hey! Don't you know we are not supposed to be eating or drinking anything" I asked.

"Ohh hi Sid! And this here is lukewarm water nothing else" she replied smiling.

"Okay....and btw did you just call me 'Sid'?" I asked.

She was shocked at first but said " I... thought... Nothing. I am sorry I shouldn't have said" she said sadly. I didn't reply and kept observing her expressions. She looked at me and I saw her teary eyes.

Ohh no! Did I hurt her.

I quickly took her hand in mine and apologized. "I am sorry Janu! I was just curious.....I didn't mean to hurt you. You can call me Siddharth, Sid anything you like" I said.

Her eyes immediately brightened up and she replied, "No Sid. You don't need to be sorry. I just assumed we were friends so I called you that."

"Of course we are! Aren't we?" I asked winking and she slapped my arms playfully.

"So....friend! Tell me your secret" I said.

She looked up at me and was visibly shocked.

"What..what do you mean by secret" she asked.

"You very well know that. The day when you arrived here and we were having lunch. What made you upset. You may pretend to be super happy and fun going all the time but I know there's something more to it" I said.

She didn't speak for a minute. Then she took a sip of the water and began.

"I don't know why I am telling you this. I never imagined I'll be speaking about this to anyone but then Avneet came and now it's you. So you wanna know my story right?" she asked me smiling.

"Yes I do wanna know. You can trust me if you want" I told her genuinely.

"But my story isn't a fairy tale....it has never been one. You'll surely get bored" she teased.

"Go ahead Jaan....I am listening" I assured her.

"So....I am an orphan." she said and I was shocked. I never imagined something of that sort.

"I had a happy family. Ammi Papa. They were my everything. I had a brother too, I mean I have a brother. A little one. My Aayan." she said lost somewhere as if trying to recollect the faces of her dear ones.

"Where is he now? I mean Aayan" I asked softly.

"I don't know. I've not seen him since nine years. I don't even know how he looks know" she cried.

I gently squeezed her shoulders to indicate my support.

"So....my parents.....they died when I was six and Aayan was three. They told us that they were going for a business meeting but they never returned back. Only the news of their deaths returned to us. I was shattered. I was afraid. I didn't knew what my future was. More than me, I was afraid and worried about Aayan. He was just a toddler. Anyways as we were kids, the custody went to our uncle and aunt. My mother's sister and her husband. They were all sugarcoated in the court while taking our custody. But then they showed their real faces." she said bitterly.

"You know Cinderella?" she asked me wiping her tears.

"Yeah who doesn't?" I replied.

"Yeah my life was just like Cinderella! I was made to do all the household work. They send me to a school. All of my time was spent between school and household work. Respect? No! That wasn't made for me. But inspite of all this, I never let them reach my Aayan. I never tolerated any shit against my brother. I protected him everytime. Due to my constant insistence they send him to a good boarding school.  And when I was 18, I became independent. I got hold of all the property that my parents had left behind." she said closing her eyes.

"But there's a difference darling! Cinderella had a prince charming in the end. She had a godmother who rescued her. I didn't" she said.

"And then I met Avneet." she said suddenly.

I immediately sat straight hearing Avneet's name. Was I ready to listen to what Avneet's life was, when she went away from me?

"Calm down! I am gonna tell you about her. I know you are super excited" she said giggling and I blushed.

"So I graduated somehow. I worked hard day and night and got an internship in this company. Same was with Avneet. We both had visited America for this internship. We were alloted the same room. Both were in the same condition. Exhausted. I remember in the initial days, she used to skip food and denied everyone for parties and events. This continued for a long time. But gradually she accepted the situation. We both were broken in some way or the other. We supported each other and now we are here, the heads of the company." she finished proudly.

She went through all of this.....I never imagined this even in my wildest dreams.

"Janu....you are one of the bravest girl I've ever seen in my life. You did all of this on your own. You sacrificed your happiness for the sake of your brother. I truly believe he is in a better place now." I said and she broke down.

I immediately engulfed her in a warm hug and she hugged me even more tightly.

How surprising it is! The ones whom we think are the happiest, hide their pain and hold their deepest secrets in their hearts. How selfless and pure such souls are.

"Jaan.....you don't need to worry now. You have me now." I said and ran inside the house.

"Where are you going?" she asked confused.

I came back to the garden and saw her waiting on the same spot.

"Where did you go?" she asked again.

"Here! Let's make our relationship official" I said and forwarded her the Rakhi.

She looked at me shocked for a second and wiped some tears and tied the Rakhi on my wrist.

"So where's my gift?" she asked me.

"Umm.... gift...." I stuttered.

"Go! You didn't get me a gift" she turned to the other side and pouted cutely.

"Here it is!" I said forwarding her a beautiful red rose.

"I know it's not enough but I didn't get enough time to-" I said scratching my neck.

"Sshh! You're the best!" she said and hugged me once more.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

We turned around to see Avneet standing with her arms crossed.

Did she misunderstood the situation. What if she thinks I was flirting with Jaan.

"Avu..no! It isn't like that!" I tried to say.

Jannat hit me on the head and started laughing.

"You're such a Dumbo Siddharth!! You watch too much of Indian TV serials or what? Avneet said laughing.

"Oh God! That means you didn't mistake anything?" I asked relieved.

"No! And I am really really proud of you Sid! The way you supported Janu was really heart touching!" she said with a proud look.

We kept on staring at each other and didn't realize that Jaan has already left.

Come on Siddharth! Its now or never!

I caught her wrist and pinned her to a pillar. Shocked would be an understatement for her reaction.

"Sid!! You have really lost it!! Is this the time or place to do such things! Yeah! At night in the room it's okay-" she quickly bit her lips realising what she said.

I smirked and started tracing her face with my fingers.

"Oh! So you're giving me open permission to do such things at night...locked in a room" I said huskily.

She blushed and turned around to leave when I tightened the grip on her encircling my arms around her waist.

"Siddharth...." she moaned.

"Avneet" I whispered.

I turned her around so that we are facing each other now. I rested my forehead on hers and she did the same. (Yeah! Just like that night!)

"Avneet.......I am ready to forget our past.... All these years there's not a single moment where I haven't thought about you.....even though it was hatred. Avneet will you be mine again? Will you accept me and make me yours, again? Will you come back to me again?" I whispered looking straight into her eyes.

She was shocked, she was surprised, I can't decipher the emotions on her face.

"Sid....ever since you left, every moment I've thought about you. Whether it was getting an internship or getting a job. My birthday or my promotion party.....I've always wished for you to stand by me in those happy moments. Sid.....I know....but I need you to give me some time. I hope you understand that it's not easy to love again when you've had the worst experiences due to love... and it's more difficult to love that same person again....Sid...are you ready to give me time?" she asked emotionally.

I nodded readily. Even if it takes a thousand years I am ready to wait for her.

"But before that....." she clutched my shirt's collar and crashed her lips on mine....Woah! I never knew this side of Avu. I immediately responded back. This kiss....was slow, no urgency. She deepened the kiss and I let her dominate. I don't know how long the kiss lasted.

(Come on! Do you think I'll be counting seconds in this situation?!)

She left me and quickly ran inside the house....was I dreaming? Pinch me!

Avneet's POV

I don't know how I got the guts to kiss him but I did! I think, finally, things are going great. I mean I can surely give a chance to Sid. Maybe we can marry after Bhaiya and Di. Finally.....

Night 🌉

We all got ready for the Jagrata although we were all feeling sleepy.

"Wow! Di you are looking so pretty!" exclaimed Reem.

"Thanks Reem" I said pulling her cheeks.

"Jannat is also looking great!" said Faisal.

"Thanks Fais! No one compliments me here!" she said faking anger.

"Who said that? You are looking like a princess!" said Sid approaching us.

"Aww... thanks!" she exclaimed happily.

He looked at me from head to toe and then looked in 360° direction.

What? Is he surveying the house?

Then he looked at me again and gave me a flying kiss.

"Hatt pagal!" I lip synced and blushed.

Later everyone arrived including Roshni. I assume Sid will break his relationship with her very soon. I'll talk to him later about this.

We all sat down in the living room which was transformed into a Mata ki Chauki for this function. The atmosphere was entirely positive and the vibes were fab. The singer started singing some devotional songs and we played our roles by yelling "Jai Mata Di!" whenever someone said "Jor se Bolo!"

The function went on all night. And the kids were hardly keeping themselves awake. It was now 3am and everyone was struggling to let their eyes remain open. I saw Siddharth sleeping peacefully in my lap. And Rosho was also fast asleep besides Janu. Thank God! If she was awake, she would've created a lot of fuss regarding Sid sleeping on my lap.

Sid stirred a little in sleep and hugged me tighter. Thank God no one's watching....wait...Shitt!

I saw Roshni standing in front of us looking ghostly. Something's wrong with her....she looks kinda different.

"Siddharth" she said calmly.

Siddharth woke up with a jerk by hearing Roshni's voice. He immediately left me and stood up a little far way from me. Then Roshni stared at him for a second and left from there. Siddharth ran after her.

"Siddharth" I called back but he didn't turn.

I ran back after them and found them arguing about something in front of Sid's room. I leaned closer to hear them.

"No Roshni! Calm down! There's nothing like that in between us" he clarified.

What is he saying?

"Yeah yeah! She's nothing. Then why were you sleeping hugging her in her lap!" she asked crying.

"Rosh! Try to understand she's just a friend!" He said softly.

Just a friend...... Am I?

They continued arguing and suddenly Roshni fell down unconsciously. Before she could hit the ground, Siddharth caught her and carried her inside the room. I quickly ran inside. This is not the time for thinking, I told myself.

"Thank God! Avneet you came!" he sighed.

"Could you just fetch me some water?" He asked but I wasnt paying attention. My mind was fixed on the lines, "She is just a friend!"

"Dammit Avneet!! Didn't you hear? Water I said!" He yelled on top of his lungs.  I nodded quickly and ran to get some water.

As I entered the room with a glass of water, I saw Siddharth bending down and kissing Roshni's forehead.

That's all for now.

Target: 80 votes (which gets completed quickly!)

Unexpected na!! There has to be some drama😝

Till then bye!

Love💕-Neha