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Hello Lovelies! Just a heads-up for all my Kannadiga's! Kannada dialogues are included in this chapter, so hold you're horses and enjoy reading!

Please comment your heart out! I want to know you're thoughts! 

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Author's POV

Aadhirath and Mridhula guide Ekansh to the garden where the party was held. It was rectangular, spanning from the main gates to the end of the house. 

The 3 of them sat on the front seats, specially noted as the Malhotra Family. There was a table in the middle, in front of them with a banner saying "5th anniversary" implying the cake was to be placed on the table.

Anumita and Sharani, left behind talking, reached their seats as the rest of the Malhotras were seen entering the premises. They all sat in the first row. Mridhula and Dushala sat on either side of Ekansh talking about Akshita.

"Where is she then?" he asks, looking around, "She must be inside, cooking- Ha! Cooking se yaad aya, (Talking about 'cooking',) Akshita didi makes the best south-Indian food bhaiya!" Dushala starts gushing, and Mridhula too joins in.

Soon the gushing stops as Amarpal comes out of the house, heading towards them. "Hello!" he waves at Abhimaan, Dushala and Mridhula. 

"Hi! Amar bhaiya! Kese ho aap?" (Hi! Amar Brother! How are you?) "Thik hu aap kese- Namaste Adhirath Ji, Satyajeet Ji- Kese hai aap Sharani Aunty?" (Greeting Mr. Aadhirath, Mr. Satyajeeet- How are you doing Sharani Aunty?) He asks exchanging greetings.

"Are are Amarpal, dekho aaj mera beta aya hai! Ekansh, ye Amarpal hai, Akshita ka Bada Bhai. Amarpal, ye Ekansh, mera beta." (Amarapl, look, today my son has arrived! Ekansh, this is Amarpal, Akshita's elder brother. Amarapl, this is Ekansh, my son.)

Amarpal smiles at him while Ekansh returns one. He had a sudden feeling of leaving a good impression on her family.

'What was that?... Nothing, Ansh, just peer pressure.' his mind tried to convince him but a voice in the back of his head said otherwise.

"AMARR! illba! Nin tangi karita idale!" (AMARR! Come here! Your younger sister is calling for you!) Anumita's voice called from the house as Amarpal replied, "Ha, Ha, Bande! Bande!" (Ok, ok, On my way! On my way!)

"Akshu bula Rahi hai, ap yaha batheyi, bas abhi kuch deer mai-" (Akshu is calling me, please be seated, just a minute-)

"Oii! Amar! Baro! Yel idiya?" (Oii! Amar! Come on! Where are you?) This time, a softer yet harsher tone of voice shouted. "Mai ata hu." (I'll leave first {C-drama fan spotted 🔫}) he says in a hurry and runs off at the speed of light.

"Suna bhaiya? That was bhabhi." (Did you hear it? That was your soon-to-be wife.) Mridhula informed. 

"She sounds very...aggressive..." Ekansh says, his words slipping out of his mouth without permission. Since he stepped into the house, he felt like his mouth had a mind of its own.

"She is." Dushala continues "But only with her brother, plus she's talking in Kannada, even if she calls you handsome, you'd think she's threatening you-" "She's always shouting at her brother, the two of them never stop bickering-" Mridhula adds,"-Yeah she sounds very scary yelling in Kannada, Maa Kali ki yaad aa jati hai." (It reminds me of Maa Kali- A goddess) Dushala ends.

Anumita comes out of the house towards the Malhotra, specifically Ekansh. He stands up as she says, "Chalo beta, Mai apko Ghar dikhati hu." (Come on, I'll show you around) She says, in the politest manner. 

"Good luck bhaiya!" Dushala says while Mridhula raises her hands, waving her thumbs in the air while Ekansh tries to control his eyes from rolling. Keyword: tries.

Anumita guides him, and he follows his hands tied behind his back, as he reaches the hall where he sees a TV stand on the left with shelves decorated with lots of tall trophies and countless medals hanging from the top.

He notices the French window, the long rectangular dining table, and the rocking wooden chair. Because of his mansion lifestyle, the ordinary house seemed small to him.

But, there was a homely feeling that didn't go unnoticed by Ekansh. The pictures, paintings, and small decorations were perhaps what his mansion lacked. 

The house was buzzing with the Rais, the maids and servants running around with boxes and pooja essentials. He followed Anumita through the hallway and into the kitchen. There were 2 female figures, one clad in a blue saree and the other in a yellow Kurti.

The girl in the yellow kurti turned around just as he entered the kitchen. 

The only sound audible to Ekansh's ears was the sound of her Payal jingling. Everything else was a blur. The other woman, her bua, and even the chatter of the guests from the window and the buzzing in the house seemed to disappear as he came to the conclusion.

His cousins were pathetic.

They didn't do any justice to her description.

Akshita's POV

I was in the kitchen, helping Rasika with the food preparations as Amarpal shouted from his room, "Oi! Gilligala Rani! Vand nimisha ba illi, nange help mada swalpa!" (Oi! Queen of Parrots, Come here for a minute and help me!) 

"Bande, Bande, Vand Nimisha!" (On my way, on my way, just wait a minute!) I shouted back swirling the payasam in the kadhai. I finished my work in a few seconds. Wiping my hands on my dupatta, I turned around, wanting to head over to Amarpal's room to help him with the tabals. 

But in front of me stood, what seemed like an Indian-Greek god. Inches taller than me, his hair was dark black, contrasting perfectly with his light brown hazel eyes. My eyes trailed down, noticing his perfectly pink lips. 

I looked at his outfit. 

Yellow. 

I looked at my mine, 

Yellow.

As if we realized at the same time, I look up to find his eyes locked onto mine as the realization draws upon us. 

His eyes don't move, locked with mine as I feel physically unable to advert my eyes from his beautiful hazel eyes. 

And as if I were in a movie, Yeno Yeno Agide starts playing in the back of my head. 

Ekansh's POV

Clad in a yellow Kurti, a yellow veil pinned on her right shoulder, and her hair tied in a messy bun, with a claw clip.

Anyone could tell just by looking that she had been working for the last hours as sweat beads were formed on her forehead and some even wetting her hair as some curled strands were falling on the sides of her dusky face.

Her eyes were magical, yellow spikes starting from the pupil, but the overpowering forest green spreading from the outer edges of the iris suppressed the yellows, she had a sharp but delicate jawline, and the rawest pink lips I had ever seen.

Author's POV

Anumita watched their interaction, biting her lips, trying her best to hide the smile dancing on her lips. She cleared her throat loudly and both of them broke eye contact. Ekansh tightened the grip on his wrists behind his back, diverting his eyes, while Akshita bent her head down, fixing her Kurti.

Akshita's POV

"Ekansh beta, this is Akshita, my niece. Akshita, ye Ekansh hai, Sharani aunty ka beta." (Ekansh, this is Akshita, my niece. Akshita, this is Ekansh, Sharani Aunty's son.) Amma says, as the music in my head abruptly stops. 

My eyes widened as I looked at him from top to bottom again. 

"Toh aap hai vo Ekansh bhaiya jinke baren mai vo sab baat karte hai.." (So, you are that Ekansh 'Bhaiya' meaning brother, who they keep talking about...) I say more to myself than him.

He narrowed his eyes, almost irritated.

"Vo sab?" (They?) He asks, "Aapke Bhai behen, jab vo hamare ghar ate the-" (Your brothers and sister, when they came to our house-)

"AKSHITA! Illi ba! Veshta wait madbeku ninge?!" (AKSHITA! Come on! How long should I wait for you?) Amarpal's voice booms from the hallway. 

My face turns to the door, my eyes still locked with his narrow questioning eyes.

"BANDE!" (On my way!) I shout and unwillingly run towards the door down the hallway. 

Ekansh's POV

"Toh aap hai vo Ekansh bhaiya jinke baren mai vo sab baat karte hai.." (So, you are that Ekansh 'Bhaiya' meaning brother, who they keep talking about...) She says more to herself than me.

The bhaiya after my name from her mouth didn't sound right. It almost made me agitated as my eyes narrowed. 

"Vo sab?" (They?) I ask, "Aapke Bhai behen, jab vo hamare ghar ate the-" (Your brothers and sister, when they came to our house-) She replies in her melodious voice.

My eardrums melt hearing the soothing sound of her voice, which had that slight Kannada accent. Uff, Mar gaya mai toh. 

"AKSHITA! Illi ba! Veshta wait badbeku ninge?!" (AKSHITA! Come on! How long should I wait for you?) Amarpal's voice booms from the hallway. 

Geez, these siblings are something. 

Her face turned to the door, her eyes still locked with mine. Just as a smile made its way onto my face, acknowledging the effect I had on her, "BANDE!" (On my way!) she shouts, running towards the door down the hallway. 

Author's POV

"BANDE!" She shouts, running into a room just down the hallway.

His eyebrows shot up to his hairline, surprised at her speed.

Like sister like brother, he thought to himself, remembering how her brother running away before.

"Toh, Ekansh beta, hamari Akshita kesi lagi apko?" (So, Ekansh, what do you think of our Akshita?) she asks, chuckling, walking him out of the house, towards the garden, "Acchi hai.." (She's good...) The words slip out of his mouth again, before he curses himself mentally.

Anumita chuckles as she says "Usko aapke rishte ke baarein me nahi pata hai..." (She doesn't know about the proposal you have made...) Ekansh's eyebrows knit together, "Esa kyu?" (Why so?) He asks.

"Apki maa ne kaha tha, ki n bataye, Sharani aap par pressure nahi dalna chahtihi agar aap is rishte ko inkaar karte hai toh hum samajh sakte hai... vese bhi Akshita ke liye toh bahut rishte ate rahte hai..."
(Your mom requested not to inform her, Sharani didn't want to put pressure on you, if you don't agree to this proposal then we can understand... anyway, Akshita receives lots of proposals now and then...)

The last line stirs something in Ekansh's heart as he replies, "Nahi aunty, Mai iske barein Mai zaroor sochunga, sham tak time hai..." (No Aunty, I will definitely think about this, there is time till the evening...) he replied.

It was confirmed. Ekansh's mouth didn't have a mind of its own, it was his heart talking without a second thought.

Anumita looks at him. The shock could be seen clearly in her eyes. "Sach mai?"(Really) she asks, as he replies to her with a nod and a smile.

"Amma!" Akshita's voice calls. She was running again. With her phone in her hands, she stopped at the main door. She grinned. "Id nodu!" (Look at this!)

Anumita narrowed her eyes, not being able to read the text chat Akshita was showing on her phone. "Trishna texted me...'Hello Akshita, I heard that you've planned a party for your fufa Ji's business breakthrough. Is it true, because I might have happened to be in Bhopal TODAYY!" she says, reciting the last words louder, as her excitement grows.

Anumita's eyes widen in happiness, "Are wah! Ye toh bahut khushi ki baat he! Amarpaaalll!" (Oh wow, this is great news! Amarpall!) she calls from the garden, "HA MAA?" he replies from inside the house, "Trishna Bhopalnalli idale ante! Aulu barta idale ega!" (Trishna is in Bhopal it seems! She is coming here now!) Anumita informs Amarpal.

"EYNU?!" (WHAT?!) he replies, shock evident in his voice, "Haudu, Nanu hogta idene main roadige, barti ya?" (Yes, I am going to the main road to meet her, are you coming with me?) Akshita asks shouting back, loudly, so her voice can reach him.

"ill vo Kane, nang illi kelsa ide!" (no dude, I have work here)

"Yavagle kelesane irratade avnige, Huccha-" (Mr is always busy in his oh-so-important work, Crazy man-) "Ouchhh" her mother grips her ear, scolding her while Ekansh just stands there comprehending the conversation.

Even though it was not that bad of a swear word, it still counted, and little did Akshita know that her soon-to-be husband was standing witnessing this entire scene, admiring her without himself realizing it.

He didn't need to know Kannada to understand what was going on and by the looks of it, Akshita had probably used some ill words on her brother, earning her some scolding and a red ear.

There was just something in the way she expressively talked, her hand movement could make a language of their own. The way her shoulders would wiggle, showing different emotions, the way her eyebrows and eyes moved, enrapturing the viewer of her beauty.

"Amarpal irli ille, neen hogu." (Let Amarpal be, go by yourself.) "But maa," she starts, whining, her eyebrows knit together, her knees slightly bending, pleading "You are going by yourself and it's final!" Anumita says, a bit sternly.

"But maa! What if I- I- "she says, eyes moving left to right, thinking about the endless possibilities, "I don't know-" she says, raising her hands, making hand gestures as she continues, "Trip on a rock fall on the road and a car runs over my head? Huh?" she says in a single breath, exaggerating.

"Avnige ba anta hel alla Amma!" (Convince him to come with me na Amma!- Mother) She whines like a baby, pointing into the house, at an imaginary Amarpal.

Her bua sighs and turns her head towards the right, spotting Ekansh standing there, his eyes glued to Akshita, a small smile playing on his lips, and his eyes full of admiration.

And that is when a light bulb switches on the top of Anumita's head as she pulls Ekansh out of his la la land, "Accha, toh tum Ekansh Beta ke sath chale jana." (Okay, then you can go along with Ekansh.)

~ 1,515 Words 

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Hello, my lovelies!

Thank you for 30 reads overnight!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I have to say, I have some crazy things planned for this 'Party' like just crazy! And the more I write, the more my brain is making things up 😂😂

I did go a bit overboard with this chapter though. I wrote this chapter to about 2,250 words 😅. I have moved the scenes to the next chapter because it was getting too long.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! <3 Don't forget to add this book to your library so you don't miss any updates!

Comment! Please! I wanna hear you're thoughts! Did you like the change in the Main Lead's POVs once in a while or was it confusing?

I hope you have a great day/night <3

Don't forget to vote if you enjoyed the chapter! <3

Lots of Love
Until Next time! <3

~ 1,657 Words