f o u r t e e n
thank you

"A few days ago I saw a video of a bridesmaid giving a speech at her best friend's wedding. And her words, they stayed with me, you know?" Alisha started speaking with a microphone, garnering the attention of everyone at the party.

"Her words stayed with me because that is exactly what I feel about Sara and Shubman. So, Mr. Gill, I hope you love growing old with her, as much as I loved growing up with her," Alisha announced, her voice laced with love as a tear slipped from her eye, her voice thick with emotion.

Shubman smiled as he glanced at Sara, who had tears brimming her eyes. She quickly blew a kiss at her.

"Eyes on the projector please," Siddharth, another one of Sara's childhood friends spoke on the microphone.

The video began as a soft song played in the background. Pictures- right from the time she was an infant. A bunch of hoots and applause reverberated in the room as adorable photos of Sara and her family and friends appeared. Alisha, Siddharth, Naina, Sahil, Ratna were also seen in the photos. A lot of their cousins, and family were included as well. The slide show came to a halt at a picture of a pre-teen Sara, her elder brother and her parents.

Sara's eyes moistened at the sheer nostalgia of the photo. She was decked up in shades of pink, from head to toe, holding a flashy purse in her hand, and strawberry-printed goggles covering her eyes. A goofy smile off her face, her elder brother- Sujay stood right beside her, his arm casually resting on her shoulder.

We were happy.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Mrinal wipe away her tears, while Atul's face remained unreadable. He gulped, feeling the weight of the family's emotions in the air. Without putting thought into his actions, his eyes flung towards Sara's direction, who was sitting beside him. He clasped their hands together, giving her a gentle squeeze.

To say Sara was shocked would be an understatement. The family photo on the screen reminded her of her late brother, and she was trying to control herself from breaking down in front of literally everyone. Her fists were clenched in her lap, heart was racing when Shubman's warm hand reached out for her cold palm. It was as if his gentle touch and reassuring look were meant to tell her, 'I'm here for you'. And for a moment, Sara wanted to believe that this was Shubman comforting her and not her pretence husband.

Before she could dwell further on the moment, the tension in the air was sliced by a loud, cheerful voice.

"YOU STARTED WITHOUT ME?" It was Aachal. The youngest of the Gill clan spoke stagily as she entered the banquet hall.

"You're late, Aachal," Ishan spoke up this time, shaking his head.

"Oh what do I do if the roads of your city are always busy in traffic," she groaned and she strode in, her dupatta trailing on the floor as she walked.

"Well, I didn't say it because of Aachal's absence," Alisha spoke on the microphone, "But all the photos are put together by Aachal!" Alisha's voice laced enthusiasm as she pointed at the younger Gill, who theatrically bowed in front of everyone.

"Okay, let's resume the video now," she glanced at Abhishek, who had the laptop in his lap. He nodded, showing her a 'thumbs up' as he resumed it. The song was heard again as this time, it was a picture of a new born Shubman. Just like Sara, the slideshow saw pictures of him growing up. A four-year-old Shubman with his newborn sister, him playing cricket with his dad, photos with Abhishek and his other school friends, his cousins.

Yashaswi took the microphone this time as the slide show paused again on a family picture of Aachal, Shubman and their parents.

"And then, these two kids met as adults! Presenting, a year in the life of Mr. And Mrs. Gill!" He announced as everyone started clapping and cheering.

The song 'Mast Magan' from 2 States started playing as pictures of Shubman and Sara from their engagement appeared. Their pictures were of way better quality than their childhood photos, the difference clear as day.

A lot of candid and unseen photos from their wedding ceremonies appeared and Sara felt a twist in her stomach as she looked around to see smiling faces in the room. She looked at the left corner, where Abhishek was sitting with his laptop, to see Ishan and Yashaswi chit-chat about the photos, pointing and laughing as they were clearly reminiscing the events of a year ago. Those two were certainly in a lot of pictures.

She saw her mother and her mother-in-law do something similar, giggling and talking to each other. Vamika had come in the front, eagerly giggling at every picture she and her parents were in. Samaira was with her, holding the younger girl's hand as she too watched the photos eagerly. Sara's eyes landed on Alisha, who was already looking at her, eyes full of adoration. Her cousin Trishna's son, her nephew Abir, who was constantly running around stood in front of her, seemingly tired as he spread out his arms wide in front of her.

Sara smiled at him, carefully picking him up and helping him sit in her lap.

"Maushi, kaka," (Aunt and her husband) he whispered softly as he saw the photo- a picture of Shubman, down on one knee while he put a ring in her ring finger.

"Moment hai bhai, moment hai!" (What a moment!) Abhishek whistled cheerily, pausing the video.

"Moment recreate karna toh banta hai na, Cheeku bhaiyya?" (A moment like this must be recreated, right Virat?) Ishan spoke. Virat, who was seated a few rows behind got up, walking ahead, a grin on his face as he held a box in his hand.

Shubman's face flushed in the anticipation of what was to come. Not wanting to put Sara on the spot, he gently nudged her shoulder, whispering in her ear.

"Just go along with it,"

Sara tilted her head, nodding. She was aware that something over-the-top was going to occur, considering Vi bhaiyya and Ishan's involvement. Before something else happened, Abir slipped out of her hold, startling her. Her eyes snapped at the wandering toddler.

"Abir!" She squealed softly, not wanting to catch everyone's unnecessary attention on the child.

"Sara?" She heard her husband's voice, "May I have a moment of you time, love?" His voice gentle and full of love.

Sara turned her head, as she didn't even realise that he had gotten up from beside her and was standing in front of the screen. The box in Virat's hand, now in his.

Shubman took a deep breath in, his heart hammering loudly in his chest. With shaky hands, he opened the box, the elegant ring shining. He cleared his throat, a soft smile adorning his face as he looked at her.

"The last year of my life was one of the most beautiful years of my life, Sara. Thank you for being the best friend, partner and wife ever!"

Sara smiled at him, 'going along with it' as she locked eyes with him, her heart skipping a beat.

"Sara Tendulkar, you came into my life as an angel, my love. Thank you for everything. Thank you for keeping my wallet safe for me because I can never seem to remember where I keep it. Thank you for not saying anything when sometimes I snore at night," His sentence caused an uproar in the room, as everyone laughed.

"Really Sara? I would throw pillows on him when he'd snore," the words easily rolled off Abhishek's tongue. "I guess love does make people stupid," he murmured. Virat glared at the young man, who nervously smiled. "Sorry sorry, continue," he raised his arms in surrender.

"As I was saying...thank you. Thank you for not saying much when I mess up the proportion of salt in the food. Thank you for making my favourite dal khichdi for me. Thank you for all the little things you do for me, which you think are insignificant, but mean everything to me. But most importantly, thank you for smiling at me and thank you for loving me. Thank you for everything, I love you, Sara Gill," he concluded, as he got down on one knee, flashing the glowy ring in front of her.

"Now, will you make me the happiest man on earth and promise me a lifetime together, again?" He asked, his eyes showering her with love. Sara breathed in, her heart thudding.

Everyone seemed so happy. Happy for them. She felt guilty. Guilty to act being in love. It was trickery, wasn't it? A facade. A lie. But the worst part was not the guilt. It was the corner of her heart which wanted Shubman's words to be sincere. It was her stupid hope that the adoration his eyes held to be true.

"Of course," she replied, her voice barely a whisper. He showed a victory smile, sliding the ring on her finger. Sara examined the ring, the ring taking her by surprise. It was sleek and minute, an exact complement to her existing ring. It was her dream design to stack double rings. How did he know?

"Shubman...this ring is gorgeous, love," she softly said as he got up.

"Liked it?"

"I...I loved it," she couldn't her surprise. "How did you know?"

"Got some help from Alisha," he shrugged, trying to sound as casual as possible.

But on the inside, Shubman was nervous. His heart fluttered as she examined the ring and smiled. A year ago when he'd given her the ring, it had been nothing. But today, it was something more. The feelings he harboured for her, he didn't want to label them...not just yet. But, when she happily accepted the ring, he felt the same joy he felt at his international debut.

"Sara bhabhi! You should also give a speech!" Yashaswi said and Sara widened her eyes.

"Oh come on-

"Sara, bol de kuch toh," (Sara, say something) Rohit urged, an encouraging smile on his face.

"Come on Sara, one up Shubman on the speech," Hardik chimed in this time. "Kids come on," he said, looking at Samaira, Vamika and Agastya.

"Speech, speech," Hardik started and the kids joined in. Anushka walked up to the clearly nervous Sara.

"Sara," she wrapped her arm around shoulder. "Don't be nervous baba, everyone here are our loved ones,"

"Okay, okay. I will say something," She announced with a confident smile.

"Shubman, I love you. I love you for being the perfection you are. The world knows about your cricketing skills and talent, but it has been the honour of my life to get to know the person hidden behind his bat. You're kind, humble and funny- not as funny as me, of course, but still," everyone softly laughed, while Shubman shook his head, grinning like a fool.

"Thank you for having my coffee ready for me, every morning as soon I open my eyes. Thank you for letting me put my favourite songs in your car every time, thank you for still not saying anything about that one time I kicked you off the bed at night, thank you for not laughing and actually teaching me about cricket stuff I didn't know. Thank you for everything, love," she ended her speech as everyone applauded.

Sara was surprised at the extempore speech. She had started off, unsure of what to say ahead, but as she started speaking, it was as if...she poured her heart out, enthusiastically sharing everything her husband did for her.

On the other hand, blood rushed to Shubman's cheeks, as he wore a shy smile on his face. He knew it was a fake. But no one could deny him his momentary satisfaction.

Hell, she said I love you twice.

A/N: Long unnecessary rant ahead, again😁
So the 'thank you' speeches were the actual premise of this story. Like I wrote these speeches and I was just like "what is people who say these things in front of the world have a different dynamic behind the screens!?" and then I started writing this story😂
This was the first chapter of the story but then I ended up changing because I wanted to add Ganeshotsav to the narrative, lmao. So yeah, anyway. This is the second last chapter of the first act! Second act, which is definitely a more 'romantic' act starts soon!

Let me know what you think about this one! Lots of love❤️