Reena's POV. ... flashback. .

India trip .. Yudhi's home

Me and Archi were in Yudhi's room at his home in Mumbai and were having our usual talk and Arohi was going through Yudhi's pictures when he was young, when she suddenly accused me of showing her the wrong picture when she was young.

I had to explain her my reasons for doing it and the talk moved to Yudhi's girlfriend. I was shocked to hear that Yudhi had a girlfriend and was in love with someone. It was unbelievable.

After Yudhi's mom Archi called Yudhi and when he confirmed that he was actually in love with someone, I was devastated. I still remember the day of college party when Yudhi held Arohi in his arms and both were looking into each other's eyes with love.
How is it possible for Yudhi to fall in love with some other girl? I felt like Yudhi deceived me and Arohi too, yet I didn't say anything, as I didn't want to hurt my best friend Archi's feelings. I decided to find out more about this mystery girl after getting back to US. Suddenly I was worried about Arohi and wanted to make sure she didn't get hurt by Yudhi. I could see the disappointment and sadness in her face and cursed myself for pushing her towards Yudhi. I never thought Yudhi would do anything like this.

Even Archi felt devastated and tried to lift Arohi's spirits by promising her support to search for new groom for her. On the other hand Arohi never declared her love for Yudhi to me or anyone, so I felt that there was not much damage on either side. It was my dream to bond both the families with this marriage, but seems, God has other plans.

Place Hyderabad

We were at Hyderabad enjoying the marriage festivities when out of blue Sid's parents approached us through our cousins family for Arohi's hand in marriage with their son Sid.

Once we learnt more about Sid and family, we were very thrilled for Arohi and the chance for her to get into big league. However my first choice was always Yudhi, but I didn't want my wish to get into Arohi's way.

When I asked Arohi about Sid, she put the entire burden on me, telling me that she would marry whomever I decide her marriage with. I felt happy for her confidence in me, but also felt sad, she looked disconnected with the process and didn't seem interested at all, even when the groom was a billionaire.

"Arvind, what do you think is going on with Arohi? She doesn't look happy and I thought this marriage proposal will cheer her up, but she left the entire decision on our shoulders" I asked my husband.

"Reena actually I thought she would be against marriage, but am surprised she agreed so easily. Moreover she has been sad for more than a week now and I don't think she has thought through this completely. Looks like she is hiding something."

"What do you think we should do?"

"This is a very good proposal and since Yudhi is going in a different direction, I think we should agree to it, but keep a door open, until we figure out what's going on in her mind. I think it has to do with Yudhi." Arvind replied.

"I also think the same. So let's talk with Yudhi before we finalize anything, but let's not tell Arohi about it and let her think that this proposal is final." I felt better after talking to Arvind and we agreed on a plan. It was very important for us to figure out what Arohi wants, especially since she put the burden of her marriage on us.

So we agreed to Sid's proposal in principle, but let them know that we will confirm the proposal only after discussing it with other family members. We promised them to let them know our final decision after our Tirupati trip and if finalized, we will do the engagement in Mumbai, before we leave for US.

We hoped Arohi would respond positively after spending some time with Sid, but her face still had the same sad look and we felt disappointed and were not sure if Sid is the right person for her. Also Abhi told us Yudhi has been trying to talk to Arohi and seemed agitated. We were now almost sure that something happened between Arohi and Yudhi and we need to get to the bottom of this issue else we may commit a blunder and mess up her life.

Place Tirupati

Soon we arrived in Tirupati and Yudhi and his family joined us little later. As soon as Arohi saw Yudhi, her face changed and unknown to her we kept an eye on her and Yudhi and saw both of them acting angry and stealing glances at each other. Looks like they were fighting over something, but we had no clue.

Next day we got a break and we put them together while we were in the darshan queue. To give them more space we went ahead of them, but kept an eye on them.

"Archi, just look at Yudhi and Arohi." Yudhi's arms were around Arohi and she was on her toes whispering into his ear and rubbing her face against his cheeks.

"OMG Reena! They look so good together and very much in love. Why are they hiding it from us? You need to do something to bring them together. Tell me if Yudhi is not behaving and I will break his legs, but he is marrying Arohi." Archi was in awe looking at Yudhi and Arohi together.

We were amazed the way they both bonded with eachother, though they were angry with eachother. It proved our theory that they both were in love. Since Yudhi's mom and dad were also with us and saw them together, they agreed with our assessment. But we decided not to do anything unless they come to us and declare their love, else they will blame us for putting them together. Also it looked like there were still issues between them and until those are resolved we cannot move ahead.

We were waiting for Yudhi and Arohi outside, to come out of the darshan queue as we finished ahead of them.

"Archi, look at their faces, they both are glowing like stars and look so happy. I would like to see her happy like this, all the time." I said to Archi, looking at Yudhi and Arohi walking out of the queue holding hands.

"Reena, I don't know what you are going to do, but I want Arohi as my daughter-in-law." I was happy to hear that from my best friend.

"I know, but there are still some unresolved issues between them, so we need to wait till they come to terms with each other." I said.

"Reena until we put some kind of pressure on them, they are not going to resolve these issues." Arvind chimed in.

We all agreed and came up with a plan to put pressure on both of them with the upcoming engagement, even though we had no intention of going along with it. We wanted them to come to us, declaring their love for each other, instead of us forcing it on them.

We called Sid's family and apologized to them and informed them that at this point we cannot go ahead with their proposal because of personal issues and not because of any fault on their side and wished them good luck.
However we decided to keep it a secret from Arohi and Yudhi, until they figure out a way to deal with their issues and put pressure on them.

Later that day, I warned Arohi about following rules as she was a bride now, hoping that she would declare her love for Yudhi, but she didn't do that. I also felt she was avoiding Yudhi. That night Arohi came to my room to sleep with me.

That was the night, I realized how much she loves Yudhi, as she cried in her sleep and was murmuring Yudhi's name over and over. I consoled her and rocked her to sleep again. It became very clear to me after that, she was not going to be happy with anyone else other than Yudhi. I need to find a way to bring them together on their own.

Place Mumbai

We were back in Mumbai at Yudhi's home after dropping Arohi in Bangalore.

"Reena, Yudhi is in very bad shape, thinking Arohi is going to get engaged tomorrow. Maybe we should intervene now." Archi suggested.

"I think it would be better if they come to us. Let's wait till tomorrow and see if he breaks" I suggested trying to be patient. I knew the pressure on Arohi and Yudhi was growing, as the engagement was getting close, since they didn't know that we cancelled it.

I was hoping that both would break or atleast one of them, as it was less than 24 hours for the the engagement. Finally that night at 9 PM, Yudhi walked into my room.

"Auntie, we need to talk. I have a confession to make." He looked desperate.

"Sure Yudhi, what's on your mind? You know you can talk to me about anything." Even though I knew what was bothering him, I wanted him to come out with it.

"Its about Arohi."

"What about her?"

"I know my timing is very bad, considering her engagement is tomorrow, but I need to tell you, how I feel? I love Arohi with all my heart and soul and am sure she loves me too." He sounded so genuine and his voice was breaking and he sounded like he was hurting. I wanted to hug him as soon as he said those words.

"Did you tell Arohi about your love? "

"Yes Auntie, I did tell her when we met in Tirupati, but we have a misunderstanding between us. She blames me for something I didn't do, but doesn't give me a chance to explain myself. I am sure, once she knows the truth, she is going to regret this engagement, so I am here to request you to stop the engagement and give me some time to prove my love."

"Ok, why don't you tell me about this misunderstanding between both of you." I was eager to hear about it and also afraid to know how bad the situation was between them.

Yudhi explained the entire story between him and Kat and how the selfie landed in Arohi's phone. Now it was clear to me how Arohi lost her phone and the reason behind her sadness. I asked Yudhi to give me thirty minutes before I can do anything about his request to stop the engagement.

I called Kim and got the other side of story to make sure Yudhi was right. Kim complained to me how Arohi was ignoring her and the reason she couldn't let Arohi know the truth, because she was not taking Kim's calls.

Arohi went into a shell after she saw the selfie, as she was badly hurt and felt deceived by everyone. After learning the entire story, I discussed the entire history with Arvind and Yudhi's mom and dad and we arrived at a solution. We then called Yudhi again.

"Yudhi, how long do you want to prove your love and how will we know that Arohi also loves you?" Arvind asked Yudhi.

"Uncle, I need thirty days and I will make sure Arohi will come to you and declare her love for me. I know she is hurt, so I need some time to convince her about the truth. Also Kat is out on vacation, so I may have to wait till she comes back. So please give me a chance and postpone the engagement till then."

"We cannot postpone the engagement Yudhi." I said looking at his face for reaction.

"What! No!!!" He shouted. "If you do the engagement, I will loose her forever. I don't think it's right for me to chase her, once she is engaged to someone else."

"Yudhi, we decided to do you a favor and the engagement is going to be with you." I laughed and ruffled his hair.

"OMG! Thank you. You almost gave me a heart attack. But don't you want to wait till Arohi confirms my love?" He was so happy that he hugged all of us.

"Yudhi, you both are so dumb. Everyone around you guys know that you both are in love, ofcourse you both are the last ones to realize it. This engagement will be a secret one, only us and of course your sisters will know, but Arohi won't. We are giving you more rights to make it easy for you to prove your case. You better convince her and let us know if you need help. Arohi put her burden on me, so I am taking this risk in good faith. But to be sure I am doing the right thing, I need her to come to me and declare her love for you. Then you guys can go public with your engagement. Understood?"

"Sure Auntie, I promise."

Next day we performed Arohi's engagement with Yudhi at a temple with just us and Yudhi's family.

Currently. .

Place USA

"So Arohi, that is the story of your engagement. Now you are free to declare it to anyone you want. I hope you are happy now." I said patting her shoulder. She hugged me and started crying.

"Thanks Ma, I don't know what will I do without you. You know me better than me. Thanks for giving me Yudhi. I love him so much." We then did a family hug. I was glad that Arohi was happy and not angry with me.

"I am glad you are not angry that we had little bit fun at your expense." Abhi exclaimed.

"I am not angry at you guys, but him!" She raised her eyebrows pointing upstairs "he is a dead man, no mercy for him."

"Common Arohi, please don't kill him, you can't marry a dead man."

"Oh no! He is going to die slowly. I am gonna torture him for the rest of his life for playing with me." She rose slowly to go upstairs to meet her fiancée Yudhi.

Half way up the stairs she turned back and warned us "Don't come upstairs, no matter what, ignore even screams for help." And she was gone.