Shehnaaz was sitting on the dining chair, her face contorted into a frown that gave jolts of anxiety to the man watching her from the couch just a few feet away in the living room. She had a card-of-sorts clutched between her palms. There were a couple of letters too, but they weren't the object of her attention at that moment. Siddharth was getting worried as more and more seconds lapsed amid her silence. "Shehnaaz.. Kya hua baby?"

Shehnaaz jerked her head upwards as if recovering from a trance. "Kya?"

Siddharth stood up from the couch and walked towards her, "Kya parh rahi hai mery jaan?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Kab se dekh raha hoon, kis baat pe pareshaan ho rahi hai?"

Shehnaaz pouted and turned to face him, "Woh.. meri class ka reunion hai. Dehradun mein, poora batch mil raha hai."

Siddharth smiled, "Yeh toh acchi baat hai na baby.. problem kya hai?" he asked curiously.

Shehnaaz shrugged, handing him the card. Siddharth scanned through it. "You're supposed to bring a plus one?" He frowned.

Shehnaaz nodded, "That's the rules. Everyone is bringing their partners/spouses." She said quietly.

Siddharth smiled and read the card once again. "Reunion.. Batch 2010. 13 January.. " He frowned thoughtfully, "Toh kab jaana hai?"

"I have not figured that out yet." shehnaaz replied. "Mera mann nahi hai.. But they've been hounding me about this for weeks."

'Mann kyon nahi hai?" Siddharth asked, confused.

"Yaar.." She sighed tiredly. Siddharth pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Mera baccha, kyon itna pareshan ho raha hai?"

"I want to go there with you." She confessed in a voice that would've been inaudible to Siddharth had he not been holding her so close to himself.

It broke his heart, the way she said it. It was as if she thought she was committing a crime by asking him to accompany her to a get-together hosted by her school-friends.

"Jaa toh raha hoon tere saath gadhi. Tujhe tere school ke laundo ke beech mein akela chodne ka koi plan nahi hai mera. Kya pata saale meri absence mein tujhe kya bolke pata lein. Vaise bhi.. saale sab kattar Shehnaazian honge!" Siddharth said with a hint of a smile on his face.

Shehnaaz chuckled. Siddharth pecked her lips softly and smiled at his precious little goofball. "Kushal aur Mehul se baat karta hoon, dono ka schedule woh 3 dinn free rehna chahiye." He said softly.

Shehnaaz nodded. "Thank you."

Siddharth chuckled, "I know mein hamaara relationship public nahi karta, but that's because I don't want to lose this exclusivity with you. I don't want people poking into our lives, judging the god-damned way we breathe around each other, not because I don't want.. y'know to be seen with you out in public." He said.

"I know.." Shehnaaz smiled at him.

"Tere friends ke saath ek minute ke liye bhi akela nahi chhodne waala mein tujhe. Saara time jonk ki tarah chipak ke rahoonga." Siddharth stated matter-of-factly.

"Pakka promise?" Shehnaaz asked.

"Haan pakka promise." Siddharth bumped his nose into hers. "Ab chal fatafat confirmation bhej dono ki.."

***

Siddharth couldn't blink. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her in a western attire before, but right now, Siddharth just couldn't blink.

He didn't want to miss even a microsecond of his princess dressed in a beautiful red-grey-black knee-length dress.

She looked absolutely breathtaking, and it was taking every last bit of his willpower to not kiss the living daylights out of her.

"Mann toh kar raha hai kha jau tujhe!"

Shehnaaz bit her lip, her cheeks heating up into a blush. Siddharth kissed her cheek. "Tu neeche pahonch.. gaadi aane waali hogi keys collect kar lena.. mein blazer le ke aa raha hoon." He said softly.

Shehnaaz nodded and left the room, bursting with excitement. Siddharth smiled fondly at her retreating figure and went to pick up their belongings along with his blazer.

Siddharth and Shehnaaz had landed at the Dehradun Airport the night before. Shehnaaz had taken it upon herself to show Siddharth absolutely everything about the city that she had spent some of the happiest years of her life.

Siddharth, like a dutiful "khasam" to his just friend, had followed her around to every single place, heard her narrate the most obscure and childish stories about the most mundane of the things.

Seven hours later, when they returned to their hotel room after a few fan interactions, selfies, and autographs, nothing could match the look of ecstasy on his little munchkins face. If making them public would give him that every day, He'd do it without missing a heartbeat.

Siddharth had smiled at the thought then, dreaming of a happy forever with his angel, and he was smiling now, getting into the rented Mercedes and driving towards the venue of the party.

"Kya soch raha hai kullu?" Shehnaaz asked cutely.

"Kucch nahi.. mein theek lag raha hoon?" Siddharth asked hopefully.

"Of course. Tu toh grey shorts mein keher dhaa leta hai, abhi toh fir bhi blazer pehna hai." Shehnaaz said playfully.

Siddharth blushed.

They reached 20 minutes later. Thankfully, the hotel staff had made sure not to let the media get the wind of their arrival, and they were escorted safely towards their destination. The hall itself, however, wasn't exactly a piece of cake.

Apparently, half of the people weren't prepared to see SidNaaz together, and when they did, the hall erupted in SCREAMS!

Shehnaaz wasn't exactly expecting that kind of welcome and, as a result, was forced to seek shelter in the arms of Siddharth Shukla, which in turn resulted in more screams. Siddharth laughed, wrapping his arms around her protectively, and pulled her closer.

"Calm down, you guys. She's going to have a sensory overload after this." He called over the crowd of wide-eyed (and still screaming) adults. There were blinding flashes of light as some people got their phones out and began clicking their pictures.

Now, ideally, Siddharth should've shied away from the attention and tried to break the hug, but at that moment, he couldn't care. She was genuinely on the verge of an overload if the crowd didn't stop feral screaming, and that took the absolute top spot in his priority list.

He looked at the event coordinator for help while still holding his little munchkin together. The former nodded and tapped the microphone in his hand.

"Guys. You invited her to have a good time and if you don't stop screaming, she'll have to leave!" He said politely, yet with a firm edge to his voice.

The crowd took their time to calm down but did eventually. Siddharth broke the hug once he was sure that Shehnaaz would be okay and smiled at her, not daring to do anything else in order not to risk another round of feral screaming.

"We should've known, right?" He asked in the barest of whispers.

"I guess." She responded in an equally quiet voice as Siddharth led her into the hall, wrapping his right arm around her waist.

The next few minutes after SidNaaz entered the hall, they were swarmed with Shehnaaz's friends and classmates fangirling/fanboying over Siddharth and Shehnaaz, congratulating her for the success and recognition that she had achieved and how proud they were of her and the fact that they'd known her way before she reached where she was.

Siddharth was around her the whole time, watching her, talking to her friends, feeling pride build in his heart as everyone looked at his girl with respect and awe, keeping an eye out for the men of her batch, staring at her creepy.

Of course! He was a possessive boyfriend by all means, and if a man, whether a friend of hers or not, dared to eye his angel, they would see the worst of him. Stat.

Not long after, one of her friends took Shehnaaz away from Siddharth on the other end of the hall. Shehnaaz looked uncomfortable at the idea of leaving her man alone, but Siddharth smiled at her and blinked. "Go on, enjoy karne aaye hai. I'll find someone to talk to, don't worry."

"But, Siddharth, you don't know anyone here. Tu comfortable rahega na?" shehnaaz asked quietly.

"Don't worry. I'll be okay. If I miss you, I'll find you." Siddharth assured her. Shehnaaz pouted but left with girls while still not breaking eye contact with him. Siddharth smiled. "Come on baby.." He mouthed, gesturing to her group of girls in a "Pay attention to them." Motion.

Soon after, Siddharth was too found company in a 30 year old interior designer, who was the husband of one of Shehnaaz's friends. Shehnaaz smiled at him, asking, just like she was doing every few minutes, if he was okay. Siddharth nodded.

He was completely smitten by her already, but when she cared like this.. So innocently, so selflessly, it made him fall in love, deeper if possible. He excused himself and went up to her, "Missing me yet?" He asked, wrapping his arms around Shehnaaz.

"Mm-hmm. I was going to come in a minute and ask you for a dance." shehnaaz responded, relaxing into his arms.

"Ask away, sweetheart." He said quietly.

Shehnaaz giggled, "Mr. Siddharth Ashok Shukla will you--" Shehnaaz was saying, but was cut short as a man dressed in a Black leather jacket came into her view. The girls standing next to her stood surprised at his unannounced arrival. The man smiled, his eyes glued to Siddharth's right arm wrapped around her waist.

"Jasdeep Walia. Shehnaaz ka bahut accha dost tha mein school aur college mein." he held out his hand in front of Siddharth. Siddharth held out his left hand.

"Dushmani chahte hain kya, Siddharth ji?" Jasdeep smirked. Siddharth shrugged, smiling.

"Joking.. Aur sana.. Sab theek?" Jasdeep turned his attention to the girl in Siddharth's arms, and she shrunk further away from him, nodding.

Siddharth tightened his hold on his girl.

He knew.

"Back off man, personal space naam ki bhi koi cheez hoti hai." Siddharth said firmly. "Step back."

Jasdeep smiled. "Sorry. You look hot, by the way." He winked at Shehnaaz before making his way towards the bar, while Shehnaaz hid herself completely in Siddharth's arms.

"Tu theek hai Shehnaaz?" one of the girls asked.

"Yeh kameena college waala tha?" Siddharth asked softy. Shehnaaz didn't reply, but the way she held on tighter to the lapels of his coat gave him the answer.

Siddharth broke the hug forcefully and cupped her face. "Sab theek hai mera baccha." he said, dropping a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Mein hoon na.."

Shehnaaz nodded, biting her lip. "I was told he won't be here."

"We didn't invite him. Maybe someone told him about this last minute." Gunjan replied.

"No point wallowing about that now. Let's go and dance." Siddharth said smartly, changing the direction of the conversation.

"Yeah, uski wajah se party thoda ruk jayegi. Siddharth chal aaja."

Siddharth nodded and followed everyone to the dance floor. The song promptly changed to a soft romantic track, and Siddharth pulled his angel into his arms, smiling unabashedly at her.

The host for the evening took the mike and invited the couples over, telling them about the age-old game of partner shuffle. Everyone cheered, taking their respective positions on the floor.

Everyone danced, and partners changed as the dance went on. Siddharth found himself following his Naaz's every move, and she did the same. Even as they danced with other people, their eyes never left each other.

Eventually, they found themselves wrapped in each-other's arms once again. Siddharth smiled as Shehnaaz rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'll get us both some snacks after this." He whispered to her through the music.

"I'll come."

"I'll find you, baba, enjoy kar. Bombay mein vaise hi kahan time milta hai yeh sab ka?" siddharth said lovingly and parted as the song finally came to a close. "I'll be back. Stay with the girls.. Ok?"

Shehnaaz chuckled and nodded. "Jaldi aana."

Siddharth nodded. "Yes ma'am"

***

She wasn't there. Siddharth had scanned the whole place twice already, and Shehnaaz was nowhere to be found. His heart did a summersault. Jasdeep wasn't either.

He felt it in his bones. He needed to hurry! Shehnaaz was with Jasdeep, and it was bad, so Siddharth ran out of the room frantically.

Shehnaaz had told him all about Jasdeep, They knew each other since school and had come into a relationship in the first year of college. She had described the next 8 months of their relationship as the hell that she didn't want to go through again. Ever!

"He got addicted to drugs in college. He'd come to my PG.. high as a kite and abuse me verbally. He asked for money.. He was crazy.."

"Sometimes.. when I argued with him.. he-- he slapped me.. kicked--"

Siddharth didn't need to know. He saw the pain in her eyes, and it told him everything. He had vowed to himself that day to never let her face something like that ever again.

Siddharth found Shehnaaz in the parking lot of the hotel, pinned against an SUV by a man, Jasdeep.

"Get the hell off her!" Siddharth growled, yanking the huge man away from his Shehnaaz. She was a sobbing, hiccuping mess. Her kajal was smudged across her face, and she looked terrified.

"Baby.. Shehnaaz tu theek hai na?" Siddharth asked worriedly, pulling her into his arms. "I shouldn't have left you alone. Kya hua?"

Shehnaaz was sobbing uncontrollably, causing his anger to flare. "What did you do to her, you bastard?" He growled in the direction of the man who was trying his best to look confused and surprised.

"I didn't do anything, buddy. She was the one who called me here. She was kissing me. We were just -"

"Not another word." Siddharth took a predatory step towards him.

Jasdeep chuckled. "Isne bataya nahi hoga. We were in a relationship. We loved each other. Aaj itne time baad dekh ke raha nahi gaya hoga us-se." Jasdeep smirked.

"Don't. I'm warning you." Siddharth growled.

"I know you must be hurt. Aapke saath aayi hai. Mere saath yeh sab. But it's not my fault. Yeh dari sehmi bechaari ke naatak par believe mat kariyega. Badi cheez hai yeh Shehnaaz." He said, putting the side of Shehnaaz's exposed arm. She flinched.

"Don't touch her." Siddharth said angrily.

"Arrey Siddharth-ji, aap to Bigg Boss mein rahe hai uske saath. Ek ladke se, doosre par flip karna toh fitrat hai iski. Kabhi Paras.. Kabhi Siddharth toh kabhi Asim." He smiled evilly.

"Mere saath bhi 8-10 maheene rahi. 2-3 tab bhi rahe honge iske backup ke liye. I loved her but she was a bitch. She cheated on me and I left her. She'll do the same to you, just wait. Once she's through with you, she'll destroy you and leave!" He said, looking sympathetic to Siddharth. "I'm just trying to do some good to you."

Siddharth kept a straight face. "Agar Shehnaaz iss haalat mein mere pass nahi hoti toh mein shayad tera khoon kar chuka hota ab tak. Woh dari hui hai, aur mein abhi usse aur nahi darana chaahta, so thank your stars that you didn't come in front of me some other way." Siddharth said coldly.

Jasdeep gulped at the intensity of his words.

"Rahi baat uske character ki.. uske past relationship ki, toh uska ateet kya tha, kaisa tha yeh mujhe tere jaise keede se jaan-ne ki zaroorat nahi hai. Shehnaaz meri jaan hai. Yeh kaun hai.. kya hai, kaisi hai, mujhse behtar koi nahi jaanta! Dobaara iske 100 meter ke daayre mein bhi dikha toh zameen ke 6 ft neeche hoga. Agar apni jaan pyaari hai, toh dobaara apni ghatiya zubaan par, usska naam laane ki himmat mat karna warna zabaan kheench loonga teri." He said sincerely.

Jasdeep knew better than to try and test his words, especially when his faith in shehnaaz was so firm. He was left with little choice but to leave in silence.

Once the man had left, Siddharth pulled out of the hug and pecked her lips. "Sorry baby. Akela nahi chhodna chahiye tha tujhe."

"Teri galati nahi hai." She responded quietly. Siddharth smiled and pulled her back into his arms. "Chal hotel chalein, bohot ho gya reunion."

Shehnaaz snuggled into him prompting him to carry her to their car bridal style with a smile on his face.

"He'll never hurt you again. I promise." Siddharth thought.

It has been way too long. But one story I had previously written in my device has been deleted and I have been working to get it back for days.

So, how did you like it?

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