"Of course." Nisha smiled at Sham's mother who reciprocated warmheartedly, "I'm glad you all enjoyed it here." 
"We fixed the mehndi date. Do send the girls over, if you could come, it'd be better!" Nisha listened to her mother who was speaking to Sham's mother. 
She greeted the others and smiled at Shams who shyly greeted her father. She could see how nervous he seemed. 

"Bye!" Atif waved at her as she smiled, "See you guys." 
Ajay and Wahi nodded with a smile. Beside them stood near Kabir, with a casual look. He raised his brows in a playful manner to which she replied with a polite smile, "See you." 
"Yeah..." He muttered, his gaze roaming around her face gently.

His mother spoke, "It was so nice to see you. You're adorable!" 
"Thank you, Aunty." Nisha chuckled, blush coating her cheeks. Kabir watched his mother compliment Nisha and looked away, containing a smile. 

His mother loved giving people compliments and when it was about helpful girls like Nisha, she would go crazy happy. 

Nisha gave him a final awkward look, her gaze moving from his face to the middle of his chest, focused on the button of his panjabi. She moved away quickly, rushed outside by her parents as Kabir let out a shaky breath, touching the button her gaze was fixated on a while ago.

The incident from an hour ago resurfaced at the back of his head, causing an unexpected stir within his chest.

Atif gave him a strange look, "Are you having a heart attack?" 
Getting no response, he walked outside with the others leaving a thoughtful Kabir. Only he'd know if it was a heart attack or not. 

—Time skip—

"Seriously?" Priti asked as Nisha nodded, "Of course, what else?" 
She rested her head on the bed, fixing the sheet mask on her face and continued, "That Kabir seriously holds grudges against me, I'm telling you."
"I remember him from years ago, he wasn't quite like that."
"People change, Priti-pi," Nisha spoke. 

"You, though, always were a nerd and still are one." Priti scoffed. 
"Shut up! I'm a high achiever. Phrase it nicely." 
"Whatever." Nisha rolled her eyes at her sister's remarks, "Now leave the room. Let me rest in peace." 

Hearing the door of her room close, she heaved out a tired sigh. 

Her mind would usually be clouded with work-related stuff in such a relaxed situation. But right now, her mind was filled with thoughts of her sister's weddings. 
She was delighted yet tensed, praying that it all went well.

That was when her mind returned to the incident of today. That moment when her hand accidentally brushed Kabir's panjabi and her bracelet got stuck on his button, made her feel queasy. 

The heat of his body radiating towards her, the intensity of his gaze, her shaky hands trying to detangle the bracelet. It all rushed into her mind. 

In invitations, despite the crowd, there was never a moment where she accidentally got her bracelet tangled with someone's button. Until today. 

Her closed eyes fluttered open as Kabir's face flashed into her mind, and she felt a pressure in her chest. 

She pressed her palms tentatively on her chest, feeling her loud heartbeats. As confusing as it seemed, she gulped, letting it go and shook her head. 

"Never mind, I'm overthinking." She touched her mask, feeling unbearably hot. The air conditioner wasn't turned on, yet she felt strange chills all over her body. 
"He's a serious bother... no way that's the reason for my loud heartbeat or chills, whatsoever." Nisha convinced herself, taking off her sheet mask quickly and discarding it. She pulled the duvet over her and shut her eyes, attempting to sleep.

Her thoughts would cause her a heart attack one day.

The fact they'd be going shopping a day later, and he'd be there made her mind go crazier. 
"Whatever." She whispered, shrugging off the thoughts of how their proximity had caused a havoc inside her. 

—Next day—

"Kabir, why do you keep zoning out these days?" Atif asked, making him frown.
"When did I?" He replied. Ajay and Wahi looked at each other before shrugging it off. 
"How long do I have to wait? I miss Priti..." Shams rolled on his bed while the other 3 heads turned towards him in disgust. Kabir sighed, staring outside the window in an attempt to avoid his stupid friends. 

"Also, Kabir. Can you stop bothering Nisha? She's my wife's little sister." Shams complained as Atif nodded, "Exactly. And she's like 3 years younger than you." 
"She's twenty-four?" 
"Twenty-five this year." 
"Then that's two years?"
"No, you're turning twenty-eight tomorrow. So." 

"Right. It's Kabir's birthday. Where's the treat?" Ajay's question made Kabir scoff. 
"We deserve a treat since you're a year closer to death." Wahi pointed his finger at him while Shams laughed, "Stupid idiots." 
"We're going shopping tomorrow, right?" Atif asked, making everyone nod. 
"I'll empty his credit card." Wahi planned, making Shams frown. He got up, staring at his friends intensely as they all planned things. Kabir, on the other hand, didn't say much. He only smiled deviously, preparing for the upcoming events.

—Next day—

"This is beautiful," Shams said to Nisha, who was busy checking out a few dresses. She hummed, "For Priti-pi?"
"Nope, you." He spoke. 
"Um, this one's nice too." He said, running through a few more dresses. Nisha smiled, "Brother-in-law, you're a saint." 
"That I am, thanks to your sister." 
"Okay. Please don't say those to me, I find it utterly disgusting." Nisha showed him her palm as she sighed. She looked around until her eyes caught a certain figure. 

Sham's eyes diverted in the direction of her gaze, "There goes that devil. God, the amount of shopping he's doing exceeds all your cousins' total shopping." 
"Well, though I brought 7 of my cousins, I can't help but agree." She chuckled lightly, seeing Kabir wink at Shams as he took a few more shirts, taking them to the cash counter. 
Ever since they entered the shopping mall, Kabir was the one who exceeded anyone's shopping. Shams tried to stop him from buying too much but he didn't listen. 

"Is he always such a troublemaker?" Nisha asked as Shams sighed, "Honestly, I don't know either. Usually, he's good, but sometimes I feel like I could push him off a cliff without any regrets." 
She smiled slightly, "This dress will look good on Soha." 
"Huh?" Shams checked it out and nodded. The red beads on the white dress didn't look bad, instead depicted vibrance and set the festive mood. 

She moved her gaze from the outfit to the far-away figure at the cash counter but looked down immediately when his head turned towards her. 

Suddenly, she heard Shams speak, "Only because it's that devil's birthday... otherwise, I'd have sued him." 
"It's his birthday?" She asked, surprise evident in her voice. 

Shams shrugged, nodding. 
"Oh... then why is he here instead of—?" 
"Celebrating with his friends and family? Everyone's busy with the wedding, of course. But, we'll surprise him at night with a cake and decorations at home. This is his first birthday here in years." Shams smiled and Nisha nodded, stealing a glance at Kabir once again. 

As much as she was fed up with him acting like a pure devil at times, she'd feel guilty for not wishing him on his birthday. 

"Should I go with a gift? What gift can I even give to him?" She frowned to herself, confused. She was outright gullible when it came to people's birthdays. 

"Adil, stop running!" Adisha scolded as Adil stuck his tongue out at her. He bumped into Ajay and Atif who stopped and picked him up. 
Nisha sighed seeing her siblings cause chaos around. Her cousins were buying clothes and joking around. 
"How broke do you think you'll be after this?" Nisha asked making Shams sigh, "Enough for Priti to ground me the first 6 months after our wedding." 
"Doesn't she do that anyway?" 

Shams thinned his lips at her question and walked away. Nisha smiled, feeling slightly emotional. 
"How can love like that exist?" She asked herself in a low voice, walking towards the cash counter where Adil, carried by Atif and Ajay, was calling her. 

If anything, she could never expect such wholehearted love in a place like this. Where she never saw any form of love being expressed amidst people, she'd never know if that fictional love could exist.

She stood near Kabir, pretending not to see him. How would she wish him, again? 

It always became awkward when it was about communication. Especially with someone like him. 

"Nisha! Tell them to leave me!" Adil groaned, trying to get out of the grips of the two men beside him.
"Call her sister, you monkey." Atif spoke as he rolled his eyes, "No." 
"Then we aren't leaving you," Ajay smirked. 
"Gosh, why are you all so troublesome?" Nisha asked, frowning. Suddenly, she heard Kabir's voice, "Your Master is here." 
"Yes, Master." Adil called, "Please rescue your slave!" 
"What the hell?" She cringed, making the 4 males around her laugh together. They continued their disgusting play as Kabir tried to save Adil. She couldn't help but laugh when Adil accidentally bumped his head on Atif's nose, making him groan.

"This is a mall for god's sake! Stop them!" Shams complained from behind.
She chortled, "Guys, stop... we might get kicked out." 
"Oh, we so won't," Kabir said, his gaze moving from the males to her. He stared at her for a bit more than usual and looked away, "Leave my friend!" 
"Oh, he's your friend? This little monkey?"
"Stop calling me that!" 

She sighed, looking at the cashier who gave them a distraught stare.
"I'm sorry for them." She whispered to the woman, sighing internally. She could pretend she knew none of them. 
Nisha slowly moved away from them and entered another shop where she found a few bracelets and watches.

Her eyes scrolled through the collection inside the glass-box. Some were too catchy, some had lots of unnecessary pearls and beads. Why did that fashion even exist? She wondered. 

Still, she picked out a few of them — which she found standard and acceptable — and had them packed. She stuffed them in her handbag, keeping Kabir's one separate and smiled, "I'll give these stupid people the bracelets later." 

"Let's go get something to eat," Shams spoke, checking the time. 
"It's been almost 3 hours since we're away so..." 

As they headed towards the cafe of the mall, Nisha watched Kabir move away somewhere. She stared at his back as Shams kept calling him but he disappeared into the crowd. 
"Why is he going to the women's jewellery section?"
"Probably to buy something for his mom." 
"With Sham's money?" Nisha asked as Atif laughed, "Nah, he would only buy his things with Sham's money. If it's about his mother, he'll never let anyone else pay." 
"Our solid guy Kabir." Wahi inserted as everyone chuckled together.

Nisha nodded, a small smile forming on her lips.

Within the next hour, they were at their last shop. Nisha didn't know how to wish Kabir and she wondered why she usually felt burdened about wishing people. She had to, otherwise, it felt like a crime to her. 

And she should wish him, she just needed the chance to.

In this gathering, there was almost no chance for her to talk to anyone properly. 

"What did you buy?" Sham's loud voice reached her ears, turning her head in their direction. Shams gave Kabir — who held a small bag in his hand — a strange look.
"Who is it for?"
"Not telling you." 
Atif interrupted, "Is it for your mother?"
"No." 
"Then?" 

He sighed, his gaze falling on Nisha. They both shared brief eye contact as he strode towards her. 
It confused her at first but her eyes widened as realization dawned upon her.

He held the bag in front of her, "This is for you." 
"Huh?" She asked, blinking twice. He stared at her blankly, the ever-lasting intensity in his gaze twisting her insides. 
Getting no response from her, he took two steps towards her and insisted, "Take this. It's for you, no pranking." 
"I didn't say you were pranking." Nisha whispered to herself and continued, "I don't think—"
"You don't have to think." 
Her breath hitched when delicately held her hands, handing her the bag. She could feel the warmth of his hands despite his delicate touch and a tingle spread across her skin.

Her flustered gaze travelled from his face to the bag. 

"Open it!" Shams said from behind as she sighed, hesitantly opening the bag. She saw a rose gold anklet with a butterfly on it. It was beautiful and elegant, she liked it. 

A soft smile adorned her face as she looked at Kabir, her smile dissipating. 

"Uh, thank you." She let it out, an awkward noise dying to leave her throat. He smiled at her, "Of course." 
Her cousins were staring at them weirdly, it made her physically uncomfortable.

She watched Kabir walk towards a chair nearby and pick some bags which were kept on it. He handed one to Adisha and proceeded to do the same with the other females. 

"Oh... he bought anklets for everyone." Atif shrugged. 
"I thought he was gifting it to Nisha exclusively." Ajay sighed and Shams relaxed, focusing on other things. Nisha stood there, staring at the anklet in her hands.

She was relieved he bought it for everyone. For a moment, it didn't make any sense for him to gift her with an anklet. 

"Oh, and here's your credit card." Kabir spoke, forwarding a card to Shams who gasped, "You little—"
Okay, not with his money either. Nisha was safe and relieved.

Though she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel slightly shy when he handed it to her in front of everyone, this was a hundred times better.