Few days Later

Gauri was good at avoidance, she masked her pain often behind silence, she masked her hurt behind a smile and most often she kept her thought close to her heart that no one ever knew what went through her mind except him, it was why she is using her avoidance tactic against him for the past few days.

Lavanya wedding was approaching near which led her to be missing often when Arnav came to visit Rahul, because she was still not convinced on what to do about their future anymore, the past few weeks she had been thinking of letting him go and yet unwilling to do so and as the time for Lavanya wedding grew nearer her fear increased all over again.

Even now sitting in the Maheshwari house once again for the Mehendi function of Lavanya wedding which will be followed by the Sangeeth later that day, she was thinking about him even when he was not anywhere near her. Her mother had asked Gauri to tell him the entire truth and let him decide on what to do about their future, then there was Rahul who is so taken with Arnav, she never wants to separate them.  And then there was her heart which still loves him and the few moment of desire that made her feel alive in his arms as well

So tell me your husband's name, the Mehendi designer asked and she said the name out loud as if willing to let this day end soon, she was already nervous about tonight Sangeeth and wondered if Arnav will dance with her again, how will she avoid him, if she was dancing in his arms that it took her a moment to notice the sudden stillness in the room.

Until now the room had been filled with laughters and people talking non stop that silence bothered her until she glanced around the room and see the focus was on her, She had no idea why everyone was looking at her until her eyes landed on Lavanya her best friend who was close to tears, what did she do , she had no idea that she asked Kavya who was seated beside her about it .

"What happened?" Gauri whispered to Kavya who had been more of an ally to her in the recent weeks, they have been friends all their life but somehow in the recent weeks they have bonded more than before whether it was to keep Lavanya happy and occupied during the wedding functions  and if she need to be rescued from any guests well meaning questions, Kavya would be there for her and divert the attention from her .

Gauri was fortunate Kavya had been willing to use her Actress fame to help Gauri not be overburdened by the guests and their questions.

"Nothing, you said Arun name when asked about your husband " Kavya answered back and she realized why everyone was looking at her . 

Gauri had been introduced as Arnav's wife everywhere that Arun name would have stood out, but the fact she had been married to Arun for 4 years left it mark that his name had been on her lips subconsciously.

She didn't have an answer to the guest curious glance that she got up and left the room, wishing to erase the slip of her tongue, she didn't expect footsteps to follow her.  The brief hope it could have been Kavya or someone else vanished when the bride to be followed her.

" It had become a habit. I was thinking something else  " Gauri spoke up first as if hoping her best friend won't ask anymore questions.

" I am sorry Gauri, I can't imagine what you went through when he died.  In trying not to hurt you , I had never even asked if you were okay when I asked you to be around for my wedding. This must all bring forth the memory of your first wedding right " Lavanya asked Gauri , her face filled with concern.

" Everything moved fast after Arun's  death, the court case.  My marriage with Arnav , Rahul custody and your wedding , I barely register anything anymore Lavanya.  It feels like I am constantly moving ahead that I hardly began to accept he was gone yet , I didn't really mourn his death yet and in trying to ensure Rahul was fine ,I hadn't grieved properly either , we have been married for four years, it not a surprise his name is ingrained in my mind, but you don't have to worry that your wedding is making me sad because that is not the truth, I am so happy to be here for you even if I am somewhat never really here emotionally sometimes.  It just that I have too much on my mind " Gauri answered back and hugged her best friend willing her to stop worrying about Gauri.

This was Lavanya wedding and Gauri didn't want everyone to walk on egg shells around her. It was only after Lavanya left.  Gauri glanced at her hand and the Mehendi design wondering how Arnav will feel about it and was relieved to find just the letter A weaven unto the design not the full name .

Lavanya had assumed , Gauri had been thinking about her first wedding when in truth, there never really had been any wedding for her both the times .

Arun and Arnav both had married her out of necessity, not love or the promise of happily ever after and it was prudent of her to remember it, if her marriage falls apart after Lavanya wedding.

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Gauri had been avoiding him, Arnav knew that and as the days drew closer he feared that he won't have enough time to convince her to give them a second chance.

Today was Sangeet and they had only few more days left for the wedding, he knew that Gauri had agreed to wait till then but her avoiding him , scared that he won't be able to change her mind.

So when he stepped inside the Maheshwari house.  His eyes searched for her as always and found her missing but he had managed to see her sister who had informed him Gauri was with Lavanya in her room.

"Is she okay ?" Arnav asked his sister whose only answer had been a nod and it was at that moment a tiny bundle ran straight into his arms.

Rahul enthusiasm to see him always made his heart warm and he glanced to see if Gauri was with him. Only to find Rahul came with Ishaan. And for the next few minutes his son had managed to keep his attention until he noticed Gauri walking towards him.

It must be the first time in few days she approached him and then his heart deflated as he realized she wasn't approaching him but Rahul  and as expected  Rahul jumped out of his arms at the sight of his mother .

So it had been distraction of sorts when Vihaan sister , Anjali ( Lavanya) walked towards him. They had met often but she had never really talked with him much ,so he was confused by her sudden approach and more surprised when she asked if they can talk with each other for a moment.

" Do you love Rahul as your son ?" The question shocked him and surprised him as it wasn't something he expected her to ask him at all. But the answer had been easy , it must be just few months but Arnav did love the little one and always considered him as his son.

"Yes, You must know by now Lavanya after growing up with our family  , that family isn't just made up by sharing of the same DNA, what brought this sudden question ?" Arnav asked her, he hadn't noticed until now that Lavanya looked bit like she had been crying.

" Mom, met someone recently and they have been dating for just three months and yesterday he asked her to marry him and he said he already think of me as his daughter and loves me as his daughter but but he is still a stranger and I don't think of him as my father " Lavanya spoke up and then burst into tears .

Arnav family tree is filled with all kinds of people that aren't related by blood, and in his experience with them, any new relationship wasn't easy to accept and not all relationship were reliable either. So he had no idea what to advise Lavanya who had come in search of it from him.

" Did you talk with Vihaan about it yet ?" Arnav asked her once she stopped crying, Vihaan was Lavanya  brother and Arnav hoped he could help her more.

" No, I don't want to burden Bhai with it during his wedding and more than that what can I do if Mom wants to marry him " Lavanya answered back, she may not be a kid anymore still the change in family dynamics scared her just as much as it did everyone else.

" Vihaan is your brother, Lavanya . Nothing you say to him will be a burden and also if you want you can talk with Gauri. She will help you better then I did for sure   " Arnav answered back as he remembered Gauri crying in his arms when her mother got married to her step father several years ago. If anyone could relate with Lavanya better than it would be Gauri.

Gauri life had been filled with so many changes that he was awed by her strength each day, after meeting her biological father, he had been appalled that such person exist in the world, in a way Arnav life had been relatively secure from birth, his parents may have married early in life but they loved each other that Arnav and Kavya both had never lacked anything as they grew up unlike Gauri whose parents divorce and custody battle made her childhood miserable.

So she had been to afraid to see her mother marry again, he had seen her struggle to accept her step father and he knew it wasn't easy for her.  Until Lavanya asked him, if he loved Rahul , he hadn't thought of himself as his step father in terms of relationship, for now the little one is contented to have him as Friend will it change in the future he had no idea.

As he walked back inside the room and saw Gauri , he wondered about their past that entangled their heart together in such an change , he wondered about what he can do in present to make her trust him not just with her life but also with Rahul life and he wondered about his future as well.

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Arjun Singhania had seen his son and daughter in law standing at the opposite side of the room looking lost, he didn't know how to bridge the gap between them much less stop worrying about them, he knew they aren't kid anymore and can make up their minds yet his fatherly instincts want to help them someway possible.

" I am worried bout them as well " Adharsh Singhania ,his friend and Gauri father spoke up standing next to him.

" They have been through so much already, I just want our kids to be happy now you know " Arjun answered back.

" They will be , You know Gauri took four years to call me dad. My daughter does  take time making up her mind, but once she finally realize that her happiness lies with Arnav just like we do , she will finally be brave enough to close the distance between them until then I hope Arnav remain patient with her " Adharsh answered back.

" You need not fear on that account , Arnav is the most patient man ever. Sometime I wonder how he is my son as  you know Patience isn't my strong suit " Arjun answered back with a smile .

" He must have taken after your wife. After all she has been married to you for this long. " Adharsh teased back .

" I just want that for our kids Adharsh. A long happy marriage like the ones we have nothing much more than that  " Arjun replied  back and hoped that their kids to get their chance to be happy.

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Gauri saw Arnav standing in the opposite side of the room. He hadn't been approaching her which should have made it easy for her to avoid him , yet she couldn't stop starring at him every few seconds.

It was foolishness to want to dance with him again.  She doesn't want to risk getting her hopes  up that this could work between them and yet she wanted it enough to feel upset with herself.

In a need to escape she walked out of the house and towards the garden, The Maheshwari house had a huge garden where the younger version of herself used to play with Lavanya and Kavya , those memories brought a smile to her face until she heard his footsteps.

A part of her hoped he would follow her and a part of her hoped he wouldn't that she was yet again a contradicting human who can't seem to make up her mind.

" Why can't I make up my mind Arnav, one minute I want you near me the next minute I want to hide from you  ?" She asked the question to him instead hoping he had better answers than her.

"Do you remember what you imagined our future to be back when we were young , you said you can never imagine leaving this city,  you wanted to become an writer of children books and you wanted a small house of her own that you had designed and showed it to me saying this will be our house , back then when we dreamed of our future there were no hurdles or diversions ,it had been easy to dream .

Now after having the dream broken once, you are scared to hope again or even think of your future with me. And I get it Gauri , so I am not asking you to think of our Future yet just think about today , what do you want to do  and if I am part of this day in your life " Arnav answered back .

Gauri knew they both were postponing thinking about the future for the Present , and she didn't want today to change into a regret of the past later. So she dared to dream just for that day .

" Today , I just want to dance with you " Gauri answered back as they both walked inside the house to have that night for themselves .

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P.S : " Sorry this update may feel like a filler after the long gap , but I just want to get back to updating it.  Few more updates before we reach the end and I hope the upcoming updates will make it better. That it for now.  Let me know your thoughts and feedbacks ,hit the votes if you liked it "