"Maa, look who's here...." Prachi called out.

Pragya turns around with a smile to face them.

"Maa, he is my new friend Ranbir. Ranbir, meet my mother Mrs. Pragya Mehra." Prachi introduced them to each other.

"Hello Ranbir. I have heard a lot about you. Prachi really likes you a lot." Pragya said.

"MAA!"

"What? I meant you like him as a friend. Why are you over reacting? Ranbir understood what I meant, didn't you?"

"Yes.....Aunty......" Ranbir said somewhat uncertainly.

"Don't call me aunty. Do I look like an oldie?" she asked Ranbir.

"Sorry..... Not at all..... But how shall I address you?"

"You can call me mom." Pragya said nonchalantly.

Prachi's eyes widened in surprise and Ranbir was at a loss of words.

"Don't mind.....Actually, all of Prachi's friends call me that, so......"

"Maa, they were my school friends!" Prachi exclaimed.

"I think I'll call you anki." Ranbir said.

"What does it mean?"

"It's a mixture of aunty and kaki." he explained.

"Aww..... It's so sweet. You can definitely call me that." Pragya said heartily.

*****

When Prachi took away Ranbir with her, Aryan had nowhere to go. So, he decided to go to the backstage to meet Shahana. Since the guards were familiar with him by then, they did not stop him.

The sight at the backs made him stop and stare. He removed his shades to have a better look at the person in front of him.

Shahana was sipping coffee. Aryan had seen Shahana only in loose pants and shirts. She looked different in that dress, maybe beautiful too......

"Hi. How come you are here?" Shahana had noticed Aryan and had come to him.

"Ranbir sir couldn't wait to meet Prachi ma'am. She took him with her somewhere as soon as we arrived." Aryan gave the update.

"That's good news. Our plan is working!" Shahana said excitedly.

"What are you staring at?" she asked when she noticed Aryan staring at her continuously.

"Uhh....I....You.... Can you see without glasses?" he blurted out.

"I'm wearing contact lenses, you fool." she smacked him on the head lightly.

*****

Soon, it was time for the results to be declared. Ranbir was restless. He hoped that Prachi's hardwork should bear fruits.

A person plopped into the seat beside Ranbir.

"I see, you have made acquaintances with your mother-in-law too." he whispered in Ranbir's years.

Ranbir turned his face to see Varun smirking at him.

"Hi ma'am, I'm Ranbir's cousin, Varun Kohli." Varun introduced himself before Ranbir could stop him.

"Hi. I'm Prachi's mom."

"Now I understand from where did Prachi get all her beauty from. You are looking gorgeous." he complimented.

"Thank you dear."

"Your daughter, Prachi has made the impossible happen. I still can't believe that Ranbir can befriend a girl. Prachi is the first and only female friend he has!" Varun exclaimed dramatically.

"Really? Even Prachi makes few friends and males are rarely among them. I'm glad she befriended Ranbir."

"They make a good couple together....."

"Varun! Can't you keep your mouth shut?" Ranbir glared at him. "Sorry anki, he....."

"He didn't say anything wrong." Pragya said.

Ranbir was flabbergasted.

"Take a chill pill bro. We meant you are good friends and don't interrupt in between serious conversations like this." Varun said in a half-mocking and half-serious tone.

Ranbir didn't know what to say. He didn't like or maybe liked  in what direction Pragya and Varun's conversation was going. He felt that by the end of the event, both of them will have planned his and Prachi's wedding. All he could do was exchange seats with Varun so that he was at least spared from listening their conversation.

*****

Prachi was pacing back and forth in the backstage. She was nervous. Even Shahana had stopped asking her to be calm.

"And the award for the Best Designer goes to......"

Prachi crossed her fingers and closed her eyes.

".....Miss Prachi Mehra of Mehra Designs."

Prachi opened her eyes and onto the stage boldly. Her dazzling smile after receiving the award reflected her happiness.

She was asked to give a speech.

"I'm extremely happy to receive this prestigious award. Hardwork is definitely the key to success. This wouldn't have been possible without a few special people in my life. I dedicate this award to them. First of all I would like to thank my mother for being always there for me and her unconditional love." Prachi's eyes strayed towards Pragya who had happy tears in her eyes and then to Ranbir. He had a proud smile etched on his face. He gave a discreet thumbs up to her without anyone noticing. "Also, I would like to thank my new friend, Ranbir Kohli for encouraging me. There were a few times when I lost hope but he never let me loose faith and believed in me more than I did." Ranbir smiled. "At last, I hats off to the hardwork of my entire team. Thank you."

Prachi completed her speech and got down the stage.

Meanwhile, at the backstage:

When Prachi'she name was announced, Shahana was so excited that she could not control herself and jumped on the nearest person, hugging him.

Incidentally, the person was Aryan. At first, he was too shocked to react, but hugged her back afterwards.

When the feeling of ecstasy slowly sunk in, Shahana realized what she was doing and moved back. The other workers were passing them teasing looks which made her blush.

"I.... I'm sorry...... I got too excited......" she muttered.

"It's OK. For them, I'm your boyfriend and I guess girlfriends do that often." he winked.

"Ahem....." someone coughed.

They turned around to find Prachi.

"Congrats ma'am, we won!" Shahana went to her.

"Congregations ma'am." Aryan too wished her.

"Thank you....." Prachi said smirking for some reason. "If you don't mind, I'm borrowing your girlfriend for sometime. We need to get ready for the after-party."

"Oh....Yeah..... I guess I have to go too Ranbir sir too." Aryan said and fled from there.