Sid and his Naaz were sitting cuddled up against each other in a bunch of blankets, looking up at the sky. Shehnaaz had a soft smile on her face as she lay sprawled across her boyfriend's chest while the said person had his fingers running gently through her hair. 

"Shehnaaz, what did you call your parents?" Siddharth asked the girl in his arms. Shehnaaz looked up at him, surprised at his sudden question.

"I mean-- Like I call my parents Mumma and Dad and you call them Maa and Papa right. What did you call your parents?" He rephrased his question, in a manner of explanation. 

"Maa and Baba." Shehnaaz answered. "Although, Auh kehnde hunde si kay mein apne puttar ton aap nu Daddy kahaauna hai." 

Siddharth looked confused, causing Shehnaaz to realise that she had said the last few words in Punjabi. 

"I mean-- I used to call my father Baba and he always told me that he'd make his son.. Son-In-Law address him as Daddy."  Shehnaaz explained. 

Siddharth nodded. "Tera haath maang loon Daddy se?" He asked her again, this time in a softer, more affectionate voice. 

Shehnaaz stared at him for a few seconds, startled, unblinking, quiet. 

Siddharth continued to look at her, smiling. His eyes were screaming of the seriousness of the words that he had just uttered so carelessly.

The words that held enough power to turn both their worlds upside down. 

"You--"

"I want to get married to you little star. I am not saying that we have to get married right now or.. or tomorrow or next week or anything. I just know. I want to be married to you at some point in my life. I want to have a beautiful family with you. I want to take those seven sacred vows with you and I just wanted you to know that." Siddharth said truthfully. 

Shehnaaz nodded, surprised at the sudden confession. "Are we-- Are we discussing marriage?" 

Siddharth blinked, "No-- I mean. We're not, if you don't want to. I know I probably dropped a bomb. I'm just saying." He said softly. 

Shehnaaz smiled. "I know. I'm just..--"

"Don't worry."

Shehnaaz shook her head. "No. Siddharth you asked if you could ask for my hand in marriage, from Baba. You can. I wasn't.. actually ready for that question, yet."  She said quietly. 

"I understand, little star." Siddharth said. He wrapped his arms around her. "I get what you're saying."

"I want to be married to you Siddharth. I do. I want a forever with you. I.. How could I react like that. I d-- I didn't mean to.. Siddharth." She looked at him wide eyed, apologetic, scared-- like she had somehow committed the biggest mistake of her life just by responding the way she did.

Siddharth sighed, cupping her face tenderly. "Shhh.. Breath. It's okay. I know." He whispered to her. "I know, little star. I know. It's okay." 

Shehnaaz exhaled, wetting her lips. "Siddharth--"

"I'm here, little star. I'm right here. Forever!" He said firmly, caressing her face soothingly.  "You understand? I'm right here, okay? Your Siddharth is right next to you baby."

Shehnaaz nodded. "Just.."

Siddharth smiled, opening his arms for her. "Come here little star." 

Shehnaaz moved into his arms, resting her head on his chest. Siddharth held her close, tightly. They stayed like that for a good few minutes.

"I lived in Amritsar before my parents' death. My uncle and his family shifted to Delhi immediately afterwards. They said it'll be a nice change of place for me." Shehnaaz said, breaking the silence that had engulfed them, the last few minutes. 

"What did you feel?" Siddharth asked.

"I felt horrible. I was taken away from the place where I grew up, where I had my parents' love, where I saw them for the last time, hugged--kissed them for the last time. It was like losing them all over again in a more permanent and-- and painful way." She spoke softly, hiding her face in Siddharth's chest.

Shehnaaz wasn't crying, she was just snuggling into him as if snatching at every last bit of affectionate warmth that she could gather from him. Siddharth held her tightly against himself as if to make her believe that he was right there.

"I went to the golden temple when I got my first scholarship, to thank god. To tell my parents. When I joined papa in the office, I visited again, to tell them." She said. 

Siddharth smiled at the new revelation. "That's a great idea. Mein udhar jaake tera haath maang lunga mummy daddy se. Theek hai?" 

Shehnaaz nodded. "I wanted to say the same thing." She confessed pouting cutely.

"Mm-hmm?" Siddharth nuzzled her face gently. Shehnaaz giggled at the ticklish sensation of his nose on her cheek. "There's no hurry right?" 

Siddharth smiled, shaking his head in a negative response. "No hurry at all, little star. I want you to enjoy this period of courtship. At the end of the day, baby you're mine for a lifetime and that's something none of us will change, no matter what!" 

"Good."

"Okay, do you want to go back downstairs now?" Siddharth asked her. 

"Not now. It's nice here." Shehnaaz said in a soft childlike tone. 

Siddharth smiled. "Yeah-- Yeah it is." He sighed against her hair. 

Shehnaaz rested her head on his shoulder.  

"You didn't ask me how my meeting went." Siddharth said quietly.

"Didn't it go well?" She asked worriedly.

Siddharth shrugged, " I'm not completely sure. They want to meet Dad once before finalizing. I'll have to be present that day." He informed Shehnaaz.

Shehnaaz nodded slowly. "That's good. I already wanted Papa to be in on this deal. It works in our favor." She said casually. 

Siddharth sighed. "You will need to be there too. I am officially handling this, but you know the details better." 

"Yes I.. I can do that Siddharth." Shehnaaz said, confidently. 

"I.. just-"

"I've accompanied Papa to such meetings before, Siddharth. Our father doesn't know how to function without either one of us." Shehnaaz said, chuckling.

Siddharth smiled. Our father

"Is something bothering you Siddharth?" Shehnaaz asked. 

"I have a bad feeling." Siddharth confessed. 

Shehnaaz took his hand comfortingly, kissing the back of his palm. Siddharth smiled softly. 

"Let's go downstairs, Maa wait kar rahi hogi." Shehnaaz said. 

Siddharth nodded. 

***

Shehnaaz stood at the door of Siddharth's cabin, arms folded on her chest, lips pursed in a thin line. Siddharth was so engrossed with his work that he didn't even acknowledge the time 

She entered the room with a soft sigh and settled across from him, retraining the scowl of annoyance on her face. 

Siddharth didn't look up and continued to work. 

"Siddharth, khaana kha lo, fir time nahi milega. Back to back meetings hai 6 baje tak." Shehnaaz said softly. 

Is it humanly possible to be angry with him?

Siddharth looked up, "Hey. I didn't hear you come in." He said mildly surprised. 

"I was quiet. What are you working on?" Shehnaaz asked 

"Proposal for 4:00." He responded.  

Shehnaaz nodded and gestured for him to hand her the file. "Lunch kar lo pehle. Yeh mein karti hoon. Proofing karni hai?" She asked.

Siddharth nodded. "Price Quotation dekhna tha. Ek do jagah assets undervalued hai. Mein kar loonga, don't worry." 

Siddharth shook her head firmly. "It's okay. I'll manage that. You eat first." 

Siddharth sighed. "Have you eaten?" 

Shehnaaz nodded. 

Siddharth stood up from his chair and bent over to her side, pecking her lips softly. "Aaj aap bhi toh unn meetings mein ho na mere saath. Time toh aapke paas bhi nahi tha, saans lene ka bhi nahi. Kab khaaya?" He asked curiously. 

Shehnaaz looked at him innocently. 

"You know you can not lie to me and yet you try." He frowned at her in disapproval. 

"Come, Let's eat. I'm sure we'll do this in time between the two of us." Siddharth said, leading her to the couch.

Half an hour later, Shehnaaz rushed into the conference room breathlessly. "Sorry. I had to do some last minute checks." She looked apologetically at Siddharth & her father. Siddharth smiled at her in assurance while she handed the papers to Ashok. 

"The meeting hasn't started yet. You're okay." He said, pulling a seat for her next to himself. Ashok held back a smile at his gesture. 

His son was positively smitten by this girl.

The rest of the project team however didn't have the instinct to keep their feelings to themselves and gaped openly at the man. 

A few minutes later, Harsh Sharma-- The owner of Sehar constructions entered the conference room with a small team of delegates, and sat next to Shehnaaz. 

The lights were dimmed slightly as the meeting commenced and Siddharth stood up, firing up his laptop. 

Midway through the meeting, Shehnaaz felt a hand tracing her arm. She shifted slightly, biting her lip rather harshly. A few minutes later, she felt the hand on her arm again accompanied by a soft almost inaudible whisper. "Come on, settle down." 

"Stop it, sir." She whispered furiously.

The man snickered. "I'm sorry love." He said sweetly. Shehnaaz gritted her teeth, nodding at him.

Another few minutes later, as she watched Siddharth present his proposal, resolute. Refusing to acknowledge the man sitting on the next chair to her, she felt his hand resting only slightly above her knee.

A tear slipped through her eyes. Siddharth stopped dead, unable to get another word out. He looked at Shehnaaz only to find her wiping her eyes unnoticed. 

"Shehnaaz-- M.. Miss Gill can you pass me that file. The-- The blue one. Price details. Also, I'd need you to explain a little something." Siddharth called her to the front. Shehnaaz took the file and approached him.

"What do you need?" Shehnaaz asked.

"What did he do?" Siddharth hissed angrily. 

Shehnaaz gulped. "Wha-- Who?" 

"Harsh Sharma. What. Did. He. Do?" He asked, his eyes spitting fire at the aforementioned man. 

"Nothing.. he was--"

"Don't lie." He spoke in a tone of warning. 

Shehnaaz looked down at her feet. 

"Stay. I think I'll need you here in another minute. There's no point in going back to sit." He said firmly. 

Shehnaaz nodded and moved out of his way. Siddharth looked at her, sighed and returned to the presentation as Ashok watched his children confused. 

"Sorry for the interruption, gentlemen." 

***

Siddharth entered his father's cabin startling the girl sitting inside out of her reverie. 

"Hey." Shehnaaz smiled at him, halfheartedly. 

"Hey. May I?" Siddharth asked, gesturing to the place next to her on the couch. Shehnaaz nodded.

Siddharth walked towards the couch and sat next to her. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" Siddharth asked hopefully. 

Shehnaaz sighed. "Nothing happened. Siddharth. He was being touchy and I told him off." She lied to him.

"He wh--"

"Siddharth. It's okay." She took his hand in hers and pressed at it.

"Are you sure baby?" Siddharth asked.

"Yes. I'm sure." Shehnaaz assured him.

"5:30 meeting was pushed to next week, Mr. Dutta's wife was admitted in the City Hospital for cardiac arrest just an hour ago." Siddharth informed her.

Shehnaaz closed her eyes, sending a quick prayer to the god for the woman's speedy recovery. 

Siddharth couldn't help but smile at the selfless and pure spirit of his girl. "She's going to be fine, little star. I'm told that it wasn't that serious." He told her comfortingly. 

Shehnaaz smiled. "That's.. That's good." She responded quietly. A few seconds later, she moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Siddharth instinctively reached for her waist, wrapping her in a protective hug. 

You're lying to me little star, I know that. I promise this won't be repeated. I promise you that. 

"Ice-Cream khaayegi?" Siddharth asked her. Shehnaaz nodded.

"I'm tired Siddharth." She groaned softly, snuggling more into him. 

Siddharth chuckled softly. "Kaam toh hai nahi. Ghar chalte hai. Jaake coffee bana doonga apne baby ke liye. Okay?" 

"Aur Ice-Cream?" Shehnaaz lifted her head, looking at him adorably.

"Ice-Cream.. Ice cream khaane dinner ke baad chale jaayenge. Beach pe." He said kissing her nose. "Okay?" 

"Mujhko abhi khaani hai." She pouted.

Siddharth laughed softly at her sweet demand. "Your wish is my command, little star. We'll get you a huge tub, on the way home. Happy now?" 

The girl nodded eagerly. Siddharth bent slightly to capture her lips in a soft kiss. 

"You're my life, little star." Siddharth said softly. 

Shehnaaz smiled. "Dramebaaz." 

Siddharth smacked her head affectionately. "Pagli."