t h i r t e e n
seven seconds

"Shubman sir!"

"Sara ma'am!"

"Idhar, idhar dekhiye!" (Look here, look here!)

As her stilettos touched on the ground, Sara felt overwhelmed by the loud paparazzi. She breathed in, getting up when she saw her husband hold out his hand for her.

Shubman firmly held her hand, leading the way. They had done this thousands of times before. Yet, it was nerve-wrecking all the time. A slight hiccup and her famous husband would be all over tabloids again, everybody gossiping about his marital life.

"It's fine, I'm here," she heard his soft, reassuring whisper and smiled at him.

"Just wave at them and they'll let us be," he continued, wrapping his arm around her. She gulped, breathing in. Exhaling, she nodded, beaming brightly and waving at the cameramen.

The white lights of the flash were blindingly harsh on her, but she kept her head high. Almost there.

"Welcome Ma'am, welcome sir," a polite woman greeted them at the entrance. "Please follow me," she said as the cacophony of the paparazzi subsided due to the distance.

"Sara," Shubman's voice was urgent as he whispered in her ear. "We are the first ones here, aren't we?"

"Yeah, technically we should be the first ones here. But, the event manager said that there were some changes, and that we should go along with it. Then I was like, this is my event, why would I do that? And then Mummyji was like, just listen to them," Sara paused for a second as she breathed. "So I feel the chances of us being the first is very low,"

"Okay," he replied after a minute, processing all the information Sara had fed him in one-go.

"Just go to the fourth floor," the woman, whose name tag Sara noticed and understood was named Manasi instructed as the doors of the elevator opened. "And a very happy anniversary to the both of you!"

"Thank you so much," Shubman was the first one to be courteous, followed by Sara.

The lift doors closed, making them disappear from other's eyes for a few moments. Sara's shoulders relaxed as she focused on her breathing.

That's when she realised. She was holding hands with Shubman. The couple stood close, fingers interlaced, arms touching in the closed space. Sara's breath hitched at the realisation, her eyes darting towards the floor, heart rate accelerating. She couldn't dare to even glance at her husband who was softly humming to the tune of the song 'Ranjhanaa', the same song they were listening to in the car.

While Shubman seemed calm and composed as he softly sung a song, his heart was hammering in his chest. With his face flushed, and a stomach full of jitters, the elevator ride seemed...long.

He liked holding her hand. It was soft and comforted him in ways he had never been comforted.

As the doors of the elevator opened with a sound, exactly after seven seconds he couldn't help but feel a surge of disappointment.But the scene his eyes were met with, tugged at his heartstrings.

His family, friends...no, their family, their friends, their loved ones. He could see everyone's hearts smiling at the duo as they walked in. Everyone stood, clapping for them as a familiar song played in the background. Shubman knew he had heard the song before but he just couldn't recognise it.

"I think I know this song, " he mumbled to himself which was heard by Sara.

"It's Taylor's song, Shubman. Lover, " she said and he smiled. Of course, it was. Sara's favourite song. How did I not recognise it? I must have listened to it like a thousand times now. Starting with their parents, their family members and friends came to wish them and congratulate them.

"Happy anniversary, idiots!" they heard an enthusiastic voice. In synch, they turned around to see Alisha Deshpande, Sara's closest friend, with red hair.

"Thank you, Alisha, " Shubman formally replied and she grinned.

"So, did your husband actually do something romantic for you or is he relying on his family's rizz?" Alisha asked Sara who laughed at her question.

"Aye Alisha, tujhe kya karna hai re? Humara personal hai, why do you want to know?" (Alisha, what is your problem? It's our personal thing, why do you want to know?) he asked, mock offended.

"Oh buzz off, I know everything," a smirk accompanied her sentence and Shubman internally cringed, knowing what she was referring to. He and Sara had to make up a lot of stories, definitely.

"I'll tell you everything later, " Sara stopped the conversation, trying to hide her awkwardness as she nudged her friend.

"SHUBI," Abhishek's voice thundered as he approached the couple. An instant smile spread on his face as he saw his childhood friend.

"Abhay, tu time pe pohoch gaya?" (Abhay, you reached on time?) Shubman quipped making Abhay roll his eyes.

"Ishan threatened me, nahi toh I would've taken my own sweet time to arrive," he replied.

"Or maybe, maybe- just a wild idea, you came on time for me," Shubman teased. Abhishek ignored him, turning his head towards Sara.

"Happy anniversary, bhabhi. I wish you more strength to tolerate this donkey for life," he wished Sara who grinned at him.

"Thank you Abhay. Also, kabhi toh mujhe mere actual naam se bulaya karo, we're the same age as I keep on reminding you,"

"Sara, Shubman...are you going to spend the entire evening here? Come on now, greet all the elders first, " Mrinal sternly said. Shubman and Sara shared a look before they complied.

"Yeah yeah, you guys go, we have the entire night to ourselves, " Alisha said.

"I do not know this woman, but I agree with her," Abhishek said and Alisha raised her eyebrow at him.

"It was literally us fighting for Shubman's shoes at their wedding. It's been only a year, Abhishek. Do you not remember anything?" Alisha asked, dumbfounded. "I mean, how does a person meet me, " she pointed at herself, "And then forget me?" Her tone was dramatic as she talked with hand movements. Abhishek remained pixilated as he looked at the woman.

"Sara, am I forgettable?" her voice held a frenzy as she nudged Sara. Sara sighed, turning towards her husband.

"Your two other wives need to be controlled, Shub, " she shook her head. "First, Ishan finishes up the ice cream in our house. And now Abhay has hurt Alisha's ego ten minutes into the party. Do you understand? I can't be with Alisha all the time tonight, and she's going to wander with a hurt ego, " Sara said, irked. Her nervousness for tonight was already overwhelming her.

"Babe, my first two wives weren't listening to me. Isn't that the exact reason why I married you?" Shubman retorted, making a face and Sara immediately burst into laughter. She slightly slapped his arm as the duo shared a laugh, walking away to the elders of their family.

As Shubman and Sara scurried away, Abhishek turned to walk away but Alisha reached over for his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Do you really not remember me, Abhishek Sharma?" She asked, frowning.

"I really don't- wait!" He gasped histrionically. "I remember you, you used to have purple hair didn't you? Maybe that's why I didn't recognise you," he mused making Alisha widen her eyes.

"So you mean that I'm nothing without my purple hair? Wow. You've just made this a thousand times worse, Sharma," her voice was low as she conversed. "I will stop watching a cricket match the moment your face appears!" She pledged and his face didn't put effort to hide his amusement.

"You'd be the first and only woman to do that," he coyly commented, as he walked towards his friends.

Shubman and Sara chatted with their families, everyone showering them with blessings and love. After a half an hour or so, they couldn't help but feel their cheeks ache from smiling continuously.

But, it was just the beginning.

A/N: This chapter is basically how the story was originally going to start. Like the first few paragraphs are the original ones from the first original draft of this story! How exciting!!

Let me know your thoughts about this one!

P.S: My impatient sad should have published the spinoff 'New Year's day' after posting this chapter lmao😭