Dedicated to singhaghotra Thanks so much for supporting me and my work! <3

Chapter 19 - Do You Love Sanya?

"You have lipstick on your face, Shravan."

"It's probably yours."

I shrugged, knowing he wasn't wrong. Under normal circumstances, it would've sounded wrong, but everyone knew it was the fault of Manan's idiotic kissing game. As we sat in the back seat of the car, on our way back to Shravan's house, I had noticed the red marks on his face. Shravan has no idea about this.

He began wiping his cheek furiously . . . the wrong cheek, may I add.

"It could be that aunty's," Shubham suggested from the front seat. Manan was driving.

I cracked a smile and nodded. "If it doesn't work out with Sanya, we know that in Harayana, there's a person who's waiting for Shravan, ready to attack him with a kiss every time he goes to her."

"Shut up and tell me if my face is decent looking," Shravan said rudely.

"Your face is decent looking," Shubham said.

Shravan glowered at the back of the guy's head before gesturing me to examine his face. Due to the darkness, I moved a little closer to scrutinize at the spot. I was a little conscious at first, but then I reached out to the cheek actually having the stain and wiping the area with the palm of my hand. For some reason, I felt my face burn. Manan suddenly braked hard, halting the car and making me bump into Shravan. Things got really uncomfortable.

Shifting away, I turned to see what was the problem.

"Do you not know how to park a car?" Shubham asked Manan. I didn't realize we've reached the mansion already. "Who gave you a license? I swear you Indians can't drive."

"And you're imported from China? You don't even know how to drive a gear shift car," Shravan defended his cousin.

Ouch.

I stifled my chuckle.

Shubham muttered something incoherent.

The four of us got out of the car and entered the house. The only problem lingering over our heads was me meeting my mother. Actually, I don't even think the guys cared until an argument over who was going with me erupted.

"I'll take care. I'm the youngest and the best looking," Manan proposed.

Was he serious?

"Be quiet. As the oldest, I'll escort her--"

Shravan cut off Shubham's sentence. "Virdee and I are a packaged deal nowadays. Wherever we go together, we stick together." I really liked the sound of that. Until I remembered that wherever we went together, it was for his girlfriend and elder brother.

"I can visit my mother alone," I stated. "That way, it'll be easier to correct her misunderstanding about me having a fiancé. None of you have to be worried. I'll be fine."

I didn't give them another chance to fight.

If they knew, I survived the past entire year alone and independently in this state. Having such friends was an advantage, but they were only temporary. After finding their respective family members, they'd be in America and I still here.

The night or well early morning since it was past midnight when we returned from the function passed by swiftly. I woke up at six and decided not to waste time. It'd be best if I spent just a day with my family and then come back. Who knew Papa might even send me away prematurely? After all, leaving my home against his will earned me resentment and neglect.

Finishing my morning routine, I was ready by sixty-thirty.

Rushing out of the house to catch a taxi, I was astonished to see a car parked with Shravan ready in the driver's seat. His window was open.

"Come on, before the others wake up," he said.

I got in the car seat next to him and couldn't help but stare. Didn't I make it clear I wanted to go alone?

"Shravan, why are you--"

"I don't sleep well nowadays, so I easily awoke from sounds of you move around. If you have forgotten, we made a deal that if you be my replacement Sanya, I'll help pay for your mom's treatment." He was way too casual about it.

"But there's no money problem right now," I said. "The ride will be very long. You don't need to come."

He was just wasting his time.

"Consider it a birthday gift. Happy birthday, Ahar Virdee." For the first time, he used my full name. It sounded really sweet too the way he said it. "You're finally . . . Wait, how old are you?" He began reversing the car and then we headed out of the property. The gates were already open.

"Just turned eighteen," I lied.

Anything over eighteen made me feel old.

"Or twenty three," he corrected. How did he even know that? "I remember you telling me you were twenty-two after you got me beat up by those hockey players."

I grinned. "I can only recall you getting beat up."

He made weird faces. "Was it enjoyable?"

"Absolutely."

We both maintained a small conversation, stopping by to get directions, and then following behind a public bus that was headed towards Chandigardh. Since it was early in the morning, I don't know what time I fell asleep. The car stopping and Shravan nudging me woke me up. I rubbed my eyes under my glasses and checked to see whether we had made it already.

Sadly not.

We stopped at Dhaba (roadside restaurant).

"The bus stopped," Shravan explained. "We stop when our GPS stops." I scoffed. "Let's get some breakfast as well. I'm starving."

"So am I."

We left the car and took a seat on one of the cots. Shravan ordered paranthas with butter, plain yogurt, and buttermilk. He even asked for a salad on the side. When the food came, he nudged the salad towards me and took the plate of deliciousness for himself.

"The paranthas are for me," he said solemnly. "As Sanya, you have to maintain your figure. Eat healthy. Avoid the cholestrol filled paranthas."

He began eating one right in front of me.

My mouth formed an "o."

He didn't expect me to starve, did he now?

"You just told a punjabi girl to avoid paranthas," I said in disbelief. "On her birthday." Suddenly, I felt terrible for Sanya. "Don't tell me you're one of those guys marrying a model because she's skinny and fit." He nodded, agreeing with my words. "You're gonna make Sanya starve after marriage? How satanic!"

He chuckled.

"I didn't think you'd take me so seriously, I'm kidding." That was anything but funny.

I picked up the sliced radish pieces and threw at it him.

"Where's my plate?"

He shrugged. "The guy probably assumed we were eating together, so he only brought one. Only because it's your birthday and we don't have much time, I don't mind sharing." Needless to say, I didn't give a second thought before pouncing at the food. At least there were two glasses of lassi (buttermilk). The salad remained forgotten.

"Hey Shravan, how did you propose to Sanya?" I randomly asked, out of curiosity.

He stiffened a little.

"Classic proposal: Ring in a wine glass," he answered. "Thankfully, she didn't choke on it." That was alright, I suppose. At least, he made some effort of a proposal.

"How did she react?"

He sipped on his lassi and with a thoughtful face, as if remembering that moment, answered, "A few tears and a yes. It wasn't too extravagant or anything important."

His indifferent attitude raised my concern. Truth be told, he didn't even act like that was a significant moment in his life. Or at the very least, memorable. When Preet and Rahul talked about their special proposal, I could see the love radiating. Thei faces were lit up and Preet was beyond exuberant.

Shravan wouldn't even meet my eyes.

"You asked someone to commit to you for the rest of your life and called it unimportant? Shravan, do you love Sanya?" I couldn't help but ask.

His gaze fixed with mine. "What's love?"

I wasn't expecting him to ask me that question. Nevertheless, I raised a question that my mom always said was crucial between lovers. "Can you live without Sanya?" From his expression, I felt I caught him off guard. "My mom used to say that if a guy really loves a girl, he can't live without her. She's his reason to smile." My mother was very knowledgeable about this topic. She had a love marriage herself.

Even though there's loud chattering around, the silence between us is deafening.

For the first time, I doubted his love for his girlfriend/fiancé. His face gave away nothing and I knew he was thinking over my words.

"If I could live without her, Virdee, I would've been able to sleep peacefully every night since she got kidnapped," he said quietly. "I wouldn't have bothered doing my own investigations in order to find her. I wouldn't have asked for help from you or the police. In fact, I'd sitting at my house right now, working on the business projects I have neglected the past few weeks."

Maybe he did love her, after all.

I was overanalyzing his words and extending it out of context. Just like I did that night after I had a nightmare and Shravan stayed back to see if I was fine. Shravan has been frantic since he lost his Sanya and his brother. I had been with him all this time and still managed to ask such a stupid thing. He loved her! I didn't know why somewhere inside me, that realization felt hurtful. Why should I even be bothered whether or not he loves Sanya?

It's not like I have feelings towards him.

He was just my friend.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, "for questioning you. It's not my right to do so."

He shrugged and we silently finished our food. I knew I upset him by that question. By the time the bus and we were on our way, my mind went back to Shravan's words. I couldn't understand my deflated feelings. It was like I expected or hoped he'd say something else. Something other than him loving his would-be wife.

I need to stop this.

He loved her.

That's it.

After an abundant amount of wrong turns, we reached the hospital after a long time. Shravan hardly exchanged a word with me on our way to the directed hospital room where my mom was kept. I stopped outside the room and peeped in from the glass circle cut in the door to look inside.

Wearing a hospital gown, Mumma sat on the bed, holding a cell phone.

Her head hardly contained any hair. Her face though was the same, matured and wrinkled.

The doctor had already given us permission to visit.

Shravan gestured me to head inside.

Smiling madly, I opened the door and said in a stern tone, "Mrs. Virdee, get off Facebook!" Her hand flew under the blanket, hiding the phone, but seeing me, her face brightened. I ran and hugged her tightly.

"I've been waiting for you since this morning," she said, hugging me back. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you."

My fifty-year old mother had a few tears which she wiped away with the back of her hands. I took a seat next to her and held her hands. The last time she was close to me so I could visit her regularly. All this new distance killed the likelihood of my constant visits. Her eyes soon moved past me to the person standing in the doorway.

"Shravan?" she asked.

"Hello," he said uneasily.

"So, you're my jamai raja (son-in-law)," she said, looking him over. I bit my lip. We had plenty of time to explain to her he was someone else's to-be husband. I just didn't know where to start. Shravan pulled up a chair next to me and sat down. "Ahar told me nothing about you." I pouted at her reprimanding glare. "But I'm glad she found such a handsome, young man like yourself. She always told me she was going to marry someone who's name started with a 'sh.'"

That was nothing something Shravan needed to know! Ever!

Mumma didn't know she was digging my grave right now.

Shravan grinned. "Really?"

"Of course." I tried to tell her to stop it, but the woman kept going, "It was always someone who's name started with a 'sh' who caught her fancy. Remember that Shaurya, Ahar? Shaheed? Sharad?"

"Mumma, please stop naming my classmates."

I had nothing going on with any of them. They just had very nice names. Okay, maybe I had a crush on Shaheed, but then I found he had a girlfriend. That was the end of that romantic tale.

Shravan was amused at my embarrassment.

That wasn't the end.

Mumma continued bringing up stories about me that even I didn't know existed.

My life sucks.

__________________

A/N

Hello, hi, how are you? Khana kha ke jaana.

What did you think of the chapter?
Shravan loves Sanya, right?

Ahar apparently has a soft spot for the "Sh" wale names. Shravan, Shubham...

Any predictions?

If you have time please check out my other stories. <3