Surprised would be an understatement of the decade of what Sejal was feeling now, because she obviously never expected Aryan getting on his knees to propose her although that wasn't happening but this was something stunning beyond that.

"I am a self centered man, not to forget a bit egoistic also. I don't see right and wrong, I only see what I want to and that makes me ruthless and I don't care because I actually don't really care. There are my friends and people who think they can change me and I personally don't think it is possible because I am me and I don't have a trait to change. Look at the irony now also I am just talking about me-"

Sejal watched Aryan in amazement because she never knew the man who is now speaking in front of everyone, all she could still focus on was being paranoid of the what ifs.

"Well there is something I want to share, on a personal level. I was sitting there and watching Dr Seghal answer all the questions so confidently and I don't know what happened to me but I was feeling different. From days you guys are creating up buzz that we are together so here it is, we are actually seeing each other."

Sejal couldn't breathe not understanding why Aryan made it official without even talking to her regarding this, and moreover they weren't into commitment.

Aryan took a diabolic pause letting the reporters grasp in the shock and amusement of the situation because he himself had no idea what he is up to.

"Sejal is somebody who didn't try to change me or the least, she didn't expect me to change-she just accepted me to whoever I am. And that is what makes us even more beautiful-" Aryan turned towards Sejal and gave an affectionate lopsided smile to which she replied by asking what is all this with her lip movement.

"We had our own stages of denial, love, understanding, jealousy, care, empathy and lastly acceptance. Going through all and even more of them we reached to where we are now, I don't do commitments but watching her sitting serenely and smiling at you all I realized what I am missing. Trust me I never imagined even in my deepest nightmares that someday I am going to be this impulsive and do something unreasonable because I am madly in love but I really don't know when will be the next time I feel like this again so I have many things to tell you Muneca, shall I?"

Sejal gulped in an inevitable lump of confusion and dreadful silence as everybody were waiting for her answer but somehow her voice was lost so she barely nodded knotting and unknotting the end of her amber dress.

Aryan gave a beautiful smile at her nod.

He walked up to her crossing Dr Shravan Bhattacharya who was impressed with his step but didn't wanted to show it because he was interested in playing the role of hard father now.

Holding her right hand Aryan looked squarely into her hazel eyes which were swimming in nervous confusion now, he tightened his grip on her to assure that everything is alright but instead his touch made her heart hammer frantically on her ribcage.

"I realized that every morning when I open my eyes it is you whom I want to see first thing in the morning and not as in photo, like in a bed sleeping beside me." That made her blush due to all the attention on her which obviously Sejal wasn't used to.

"I think it was on your birthday the first time I saw you crying I felt the pain but then I understood that I can never see you pain because that makes me sick and that changes my definition of pain I guess. Now all I want to do is always keep watching how you smile and I want to be the reason behind it. Your laugh is so contagious that it always does the job of making me happy. Honestly I never thought I could feel all these raw emotions in my life because I believed they were just fantasies and there is nothing true in them but I was wrong."

Sejal's breath hitched as she could watch the passionate love in the eyes of Aryan and as they continued staring at each other it felt like they were in another universe where words weren't required for communication and they could simply stare and understand whatever they wanted to say to each other.

And all this felt so real that Sejal couldn't believe it, she knew they were serious about their complicated relationship but she never thought he would profess his love in front of such a large audience because Aryan was always a private man away from the media.

"I know all this is sounding so cheesy or cliché but trust me I want to get old with you, I want to see us enjoying the world together and I don't think my system could work properly if I don't see you once in a day. You have become my addiction, you taught me love exists. You made my life sane."

Sejal didn't know what to say because all this felt so surreal and emotional, she didn't realize that a tear has leaked out of her eyes until Aryan was stroking it away with his thumb along with a chuckle lacing his voice.

"I don't expect you to say a yes right away but yeah I would love the positive answer though. And honestly speaking I am not even here with an engagement ring, huh- this was so unplanned so I just don't have anything to seal the deal with except my stethoscope."

Sejal chuckled not wanting to cry also because this was supposed to be a happy moment, and she had no reasons to reject him or wait for any appropriate time for accepting it.

"Will you marry me Dr Sejal Seghal?"

There was a pin drop silence in the whole room of hundred plus reporters and twenty RCSM delegate persons including her father, Sejal didn't know how to answer that-was she supposed to say a plain yes or make it a bit twisty by saying I am ready to be Mrs. Shetty ?

"Hey, shall get on my knees?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Okay-?"

As Aryan tried to pull up his pants a little bit up for kneeling down Sejal shouted a no which hailed disappointment on his face but he masked it up immediately because a man should be strong enough to face a rejection.

"Ah-I mean yes."

Aryan looked at her in confusion whether she wanted him to kneel down or what the hell was she doing but a somewhere in the corner of his heart he wished that yes would have been for his proposal.

"Shall I kneel?"

"No- My answer is Yes."

Aryan's happiness skyrocketed to the distance of the last star in our universe and he pushed the microphone aside which was in front of Sejal and pulled her up with his bare hands making her squeal in terror. Somehow Aryan managed to kneel Sejal on the table separating them and holding her waist he raised her up and started circling her round and round in complete madness making her scream in a happy giddiness.

Letting her down Aryan gave her a tight hug giving a brief kiss on her cheek. A large applaud of claps and some whistles made them realize that they were in the middle of a hundred people who were now watching them like just a romantic movie scene ended.

Sejal was smiling like an idiot because she had never expected this man to propose her marriage. Once she thought about marriage and pushed the thought aside because Sejal knew it will again be her who would go with a wedding proposal to him just like their commitment-less love proposal but love surely has its own way with people.

Dr Shravan Bhattacharya gave a happy smile to both of them which only meant that he was happily approving this relationship and there is nothing more he could have asked God for.

Aryan fished his pocket and revealed a beautiful bracelet and Sejal recognized it immediately as it was the same one which she had seen on his hand when they met in the metro which felt so odd on his hand because it was a girl type bracelet.

Sejal watched him in confusion because in these few days this man was turning into a bundle of amazing surprises.

"This is something very precious to me and as I don't have a ring why not give this to another very precious of mine?"

Aryan said with an adorable smile clasping the bracelet in her left hand and all she could think is was it all happening in real?

"Is this some wedding bracelet?"

"Sort of." Aryan said kissing her hand and then planting another soft affectionate kiss on her forehead which made her knees weak and feel all giddy.

~

"I didn't expect that coming but I am scared."

Sejal explained to Darshan who was listening and thinking about something very deeply, as if solving a CTF level puzzle without any keyboard.

"That only means one thing, you are never going to be exposed and I would expect you to keep things like this because nobody wants an off railed Aryan at the moment."

Darshan was so happy that his move had worked and he needs not to worry about Aryan finding the truth anymore. He had already deemed a conversation with Jessica and made her swear to stop investigating the yellow case for Aryan. Finally everything was falling in place but the tension still hanging on Sejal's face said him she needs more convincing.

"But Dr Vyas don't you think it is wrong to start a relationship with lies?"

Darshan simply rolled his eyes because here he was giving up on her to keep her happy and this lady wants to turn into Mother Teresa and etcetera.

"First thing you there is a difference between lying and hiding, look its simple Shitty didn't tell you anything about his past even the basic about his family so you expect the same from him-and trust me he can never find out."

Although that all sounded so convincingly beautiful but still a part in her believed that their love was stronger and that one truth wouldn't change the dynamics of their relationships. But being rational and practical Darshan was right, why bring up something which isn't required now?

It is better to live for the present than swim in the shackles of past.

"Are you kidding me? Who proposes without a wedding ring? Gosh-I need to teach that man some serious etiquettes.."

Katyusha entered the flat exclaiming in complete astonishment and kept on blabbering and chanting about something that she made Nikhil gift her some specially cut diamond ring while Sejal simply muted her and concentrated on the infinity locket in her neck and how special it felt now.

"He should have at least informed me, I would have been helpful damn it!"

Katyusha was still rambling as Raghav swiped in to the house with paper bags and pizza boxes, Sejal always felt so blessed to have Raghav and Katyusha in her life because they wouldn't judge her for whatever she is like her being the daughter of Dr Shravan Bhattacharya didn't change anything between them nor her being Yellow changed Raghav's attitude towards her.

"Here we celebrate the engagement of Sejal!"

Raghav exclaimed making her smile as everybody echoed the same line after him, and Darshan was hawking at the door like only his stare could open that.

"Are you expecting Viona?"

Sejal couldn't help but ask because these days he was so busy with her and honestly Sejal could witness the red bulbs on their heads the first time she met them at the restraint during dessert where she almost got jealous of Viona calling him Dr Vyas.

"N-ah."

Raghav gave a loud laugh on this weird interaction. Katyusha set up the table with all good food stuff raising the appetizer of everybody present there.

"Rags why did you bring so much of food? We don't even have a cat now!"

Katyusha shouted over the table and Raghav said we are going to be joined by friends, which meant Nikhil, Sarah with her three year cutie daughter Roshini, Tiger and the least surprising name Viona. They all felt like a group obviously except Viona and yeah as usual Aryan couldn't make in because of some important meeting at work.

"Hey Banana welcome to the coupling club!"

Nikhil shouted from the door giving a wide grin as Katyusha ran in time to give a small welcome peck to him, marriage surely doesn't changes many things.

Giving a small hug to her Nikhil went and grabbed a pizza slice but Darshan was quick enough to hold his brother hostage telling that they are going to play a game then eat pizza.

~

Raghav and Darshan has pushed the sofas aside from the centre of the hall and they put on few mats, including two yoga mats to make space for everyone to gather around and make a circle.

Pizza boxes were distributed and then they were having a talent showcase round game because they didn't want to go with the classic truth or dare thing. Moreover they didn't know when will be the next time they all could find spare time together to have fun.

Darshan initiated the game by doing a weird display of dislocating his elbow which made everybody grasp in disgust and fear except Nikhil because he was an audience to such acts most of the times at home.

Sarah said she could sync her eyes with whatever direction the mentioned or something, so everybody started shouting right, left, up, down and surprisingly she was good at it then she played with her eyebrows making different line shapes with them which made everybody laugh.

Nikhil could play with both British and American accent to whatever sentences thrown on him and every time he spoke Sejal would almost swoon to his statements even if he was saying sewage is the most delicious drink!

Little Roshini started crying because she wasn't allowed to eat the junk food so to calm her down Katyusha started mimicking Mickey mouse, Doreamon and a lot many cartoon characters which grabbed everyone's attention specially Nikhil who was no watching his wife in amazement.

Then came Viona, she said she could sing well and Sejal knew how well Raghav was with drums. He can literally play it on any wooden surface, so Viona sang thousand years to which Raghav gave a background score tapping the wooden table. This surely gave the super hit song a new version in its own playlist.

There was no introduction required for Sejal as she went with her ramp walking thing, they dimmed the lights and gave torchlight to give a spotlight for her to show her modeling skills. Then Tiger replaced her in the spotlight starting to his moon walk.

Like a perfect sync Darshan would tamper with the music beats in his phone and Tiger caught up with all of them without missing any beat which amazed Sejal that he was a man of talents, his words changed her decision to claim the position at RCSM

"I think I could do better."

Everybody craned their neck to the door where Aryan stood nonchalantly leaning into the frame holding his blazer in his right hand.

Sejal couldn't keep her emotions in check as she flung herself into his arms in just two mere seconds. She was missing him here and now he just came. Aryan traced his thumb finger o her lips and kissed her cheek almost kissing the end of her lips.

"I missed you."

Those three words made her feel so alive.

"This is going to be epic!"

Darshan shouted and made room for two people to compete in dancing. For the next fifteen minutes Aryan and Tiger competed like some international competition. Sejal was surprised that Aryan was such a pro in dancing, he was so elegant with popping and hip hop. This was also something she didn't know about him.

They couldn't decide a winner even after three rounds of voting so they tied the competition and soon everybody joined them in the dance floor swaying and shouting like crazy zombies just learning to live.

If they only knew what the future had in store for them!

. . . . .

Phew!

Finally done with the chapter ^^)

How does it feel? We have only one part left!

Happy Ramdan to all my dear readers and I hope it brings serene and love in the world.

Love,

Sana Afreen

P.S-I have added a prologue to the story!