2

"You're late! Ten minutes precisely." Yuvraaj glanced at his watch as Anahita approached him, donned in black slacks and white crop top, matched up with purple crochet drape. Her hair left open, bouncing in flames on her shoulder with each step she took, juicy lips coloured pink and feline eyes lined with kohl.

"Oh, shut up Mr. Stopwatch!" Anahita rolled her eyes, circled him and opened the passenger door for her. Once inside, she fastened the seatbelt and turned to see him clicking the door shut after hurrying inside.

He glared her. "I am your husband, Anahita. Talk to me with respect."

"Not yet." She smirked, flashing a grin to him and Yuvraaj poked her forehead. "Smart eh? It doesn't matter because i will be your husband, would be Mrs. Yuvraaj Prakash."

"Exactly!" Anahita nodded her head, with a fake smile. "Would be."

"And that will be. Don't you worry, sweetheart, we will get married." Yuvraaj was confident.

"Ain't you over confident?" Anahita rolled her eyes.

"There's no one who can complement you better than me and you should be thankful to your stars that I'm getting married to you." Yuvraaj shrugged, making no attempts to start the car.

"We getting late, Yuvraaj. Aai must be waiting for us and i have better plans for the evening than listening your self acclamation." Anahita batted her eyes in dramatic manner before looking away. Yuvraaj ignited the engine on and geared up the car, bringing it to life. "Showing off this stinking not so impressive attitude of yours, you're just adding on to your sufferings. Don't you worry, I will make you dance on my tunes for the rest of our life."

"We will see." Anahita twitched her lips, cursing him inwardly.

"Yes. We have all our life to see each other." Yuvraaj said in a sing sang voice.

The drive to South City Mall was short and silent. Yuvraaj had tuned in a radio frequency that played all her favourite songs on loop, providing her a peaceful ambiance to tolerate twenty minutes journey with the devil of her life. They were meeting after four straight years; except their engagement month back and their equation was same as before.

Nothing had changed, except Anahita's unofficial relationship status. When she accepted Mukund's proposal two months back, she thought it would be the end of the torture, her family was putting her through by drilling Yuvraaj's choices and lifestyle in her mind. But now, that seemed a haze. A beautiful dream she was living and suddenly she was yanked back into bitter reality.

"You Alright?" Yuvraaj broke her chain of thoughts and she nodded, still looking outside at the fading canopy. She couldn't divulge anything to Yuvraaj. She was scared of his reaction and more than that, she was scared to face her Aai-Baba part two - Yuvraaj's parents - who were very much an integral part of her life. She had spent sixty percent of her childhood with them and they loved her same as her parents, perhaps more than them.

She couldn't bring herself to break their heart. It was a dream to everyone to watch them getting married and by revealing her love life before everyone, she would simply hurt them.

"We're here!" Yuvraaj said, stopping the car right before the mall, "Aai is waiting at entrance with Baba and I will join you guys after parking the car."

"Wait!" Anahita impeded him, for the first time. "I will wait for you here. I don't want Aai to..."

"Okay then wait, I will be right back." Yuvraaj finished it for her and drove the car to parking lot.

"Aai!" Anahita engulfed Yuvraaj's mother in a tight hug reaching where Mr and Mrs. Prakash were waiting for them. Just three weeks had left for the dream wedding and both families were on shopping spree.

"How are you?" Anahita asked Mrs. Prakash, still breathing in her embrace.

"I'm good, Anu. How's my daughter?" Mrs. Prakash cooed her and Yuvraaj interrupted, proceeding near them. "She is good too, mom."

"She asked me for a change." Anahita chided, sparing him a glance.

Yuvraaj shrugged, raking his fingers through his hair. "So what? It comes to the same thing whether you reply or I. Anyways," He nodded at his mother. "Get done with your shopping soon because after that, I've to drop her home and I have an important meeting tomorrow."

"Look who's talking!" Anahita grinned at him, high fiving with Mrs. Prakash. For the another first, Yuvraaj didn't reply and moved past them.

"What took you guys so long? Romance?" Mrs. Prakash teased, winking at Anahita with a smile, once Yuvraaj was out of sight and she rolled her eyes.

"Romance? That too with your terribly boring son. Please! I don't have such bad taste." Anahita showed her palm and Mrs. Prakash slapped her shoulder, playfully. "Hey, my son looks like Tom Cruise okay. Don't underestimate him."

Anahita gasped, dramatically, cupping her face. "Tom what?"

"Anu." Mrs. Prakash faked annoyance before buzzing into laughter. Anahita was closest to her and that made her mother in smooth waters about not struggling to pave way in her In-laws heart. Mrs. Prakash was always warm to Anahita as her own daughter and Mr. Prakash coddled her alike Anahita's own father. They were the only reason why Anahita was forcing herself to tolerate Yuvraaj.

"Let's go inside otherwise your Barbie doll son will throw a fit."Anahita grabbed Mrs. Prakash's palm and led her inside, followed by Yuvraaj's father.

"Anahita, why do you call him barbie doll? I am afraid what he will do if he gets to know about it." Mrs. Prakash buzzed in laughter.

"Your son is indeed a barbie doll, Aai. He has gotten girly traits when it comes to shopping." Anahita rolled her eyes. It was another aspect of his charming persona. Yuvraaj had a penchant for shopping. Proper brands! Colours! Trends! Everything. Since childhood, he had always picked things tastefully and after several trials while Anahita just concentrated on filling her cart as much as she could.

"Try this!" Mrs. Prakash hurled a green saree at her direction and nodded at the dressing room. "Go on and try." With that, the wedding shopping started and it took Anahita's immense willpower to curb the instinctive wish of running away. She was tired of emptying almost every drawer filled with dresses in her cart. Mukund chose the exact moment to nudge her constantly with his infinite calls. She was going to get mad.

"Aai. I'm not getting married tomorrow. Let's wrap it up now." She made a face, urging Mrs. Prakash to stop checking another dress for her. She had taken least interest in the shopping because Mrs. Prakash knew her taste and what was best for her more than Anahita knew itself. She was positive that she would each one of the dress they had bought.

"Please!" She inserted quickly and by the time she finished with the heap of shopping bags, Yuvraaj was already done with his shopping and was out in the parking lot.

"Dad. I am going to drop her. Will be home soon." Yuvraaj informed before gathering Anahita's shopping bags and putting them inside his car. Anahita was so tired that she didn't object and flopped on the passenger seat. Yuvraaj adjusted himself on the driver seat.

"Are you tired?" Yuvraaj asked, while driving and Anahita cracked her neck before nodding. "Yes."

"You wanna a cup of coffee?"

Anahita jerked her neck at him at once and cocked her eyebrows.

"Come on, be out with it!" She demanded.

Yuvraaj casted a confused glance at her before swiping his eyes back in the road. "What do you mean?"

"You know very well." She rolled her eyes.

"What are you up to, Anahita?" Yuvraaj faked a gasp, making her flinch in disgust.

"Oh, cut the crap short, Yuvraaj. Seldom I utter such double entendre and you know very well what I mean. Why do you suddenly offer me coffee? I mean i know you."

Yuvraaj flaunted a cheesy smile. "Getting it into habit. Don't you want me to care for you? You will be my wife after all."

"I find it incredible. I mean it's hard to digest that you care for me. This is so not you." She made a cross sign with her fingers.

"People changes." Yuvraaj regarded her briefly. He halted the car near the pavement and unclicked his seatbelt. "I will be back shortly."

Anahita stared at him and nodded. Yuvraaj zoomed out, she watched him crossing the road and disappearing inside the Starbuck. She sunk low in her seat and gnawed on her teeth.

People changes! Does he mean that he has changed? Is he not the same bully anymore? Can I trust him and tell him about Mukund? Would he understand? What if he doesn't? What if he has not changed? What if he is fooling me?

Cyclone of conflicted feelings wallowed in her mind and she found herself tethered within her emotions.

"I think...I should tell him." She blew a sigh and decided. Her fingers knotted together on her lap and she craned her neck to see Yuvraaj coming towards her with a paper bag in his hand.

"Sorry if I am late." He said, sitting beside her and handed her the drink. "Your favourite!"

"You know?"

"Of course!" His voice had a smugness. Anahita didn't argue and slurped on her drink, first time impressed with his chivalry.

"Anahita!"

She looked at him with quizzical eyes.

"Is everything alright?"

Anahita was dumbfounded. She gulped and after a pause, asked. "Why do you ask this?"

"I have noticed that someone was calling you repeatedly and you didn't pick up the call."

So the moment has come, She thought, now don't blame me mom dad that I brought Mukund up. Yuvraaj is the one.

She gave herself a clean chit and prepared to reveal about Mukund but the exact moment, Yuvraaj's cellphone buzzed and he excused himself to attend the call. He maneuvered the steering single handedly and drove to her home. He halted the car outside her home still conversing on the call and Anahita had taken the cue. She collected her bags and was about to step out when Yuvraaj grabbed her hand.

"What?" She shrugged.

Yuvraaj drew the call to an end, his eyes fixed on the screen. "Show me your bags."

"What?"

"Show me your bags." Yuvraaj said clear and straight, casting her a glance.

"Why?"

"Just give it to me." He demanded and Anahita handed all the bags to him mechanically, silently observing him. Pulling out all the dresses, Yuvraaj did a close postmortem of them, scrutinizing each and every piece with his hawk eyes. Some curled his lips, some made him frown and few - very few - managed to scrape through his inspection. He tossed them back in the bags messily. Anahita was fuming in anger with his stunt of examining her clothes.

"What the hell was that?" She managed to speak through her greeted teeth.

"Tacky as always. I thought that you would've changed over the period of nine years but no, you're still the same. The same old tacky Anahita Maurya." Yuvraaj mocked her, ghost of smile playing on his lips.

His words somehow managed to unleash the beast in her and without any preamble, she pounced on him and laced her fingers around his neck tightly.

"I'll kill you today. End of my miseries. No Yuvraaj and definitely no marriage." She seethed, using every ounce of power in her to strangulate the person beside her. Yuvraaj was taken aback with her assassin incarnate. Neither did he get the time to anticipate her move, nor could he tackle her.

"Anahita. You mad...woman!" He gasped, fortifying his grip on her wrists to wrench them away but metal chains of Local Prison was calling Anahita with dedication and she had set her mind firmly upon the notion of sending Yuvraaj to heaven in business class.

Having no other option left, Yuvraaj traced his fingers on her waist and started tickling her. Anahita whimpered in defeat as she couldn't help but loose her hold before becoming a laughing mess. Tears bounced in her eyes as Yuvraaj's fingers danced on her sensitive skin.

"What...the hell...was that?" He panted like an asthmatic patient, reaching for his breath and glared Anahita. She sniffed in anger, "This...this is the reason I don't want to marry you. You are so shameless to rummage through my clothes."

"And if you won't marry me, who's the guy, dying to marry you?" Yuvraaj mocked, sprucing up his t-shirt.

"I don't want to talk to you." She muttered, looking out of the window. Seeing her angry, Yuvraaj poked her head. Frustrated, she jerked his hand off and clasped her palms together pulling open the door. Yuvraaj chuckled at her antics and poked her cheek with his index finger.

"Yuvraaj... Please." She finally whined, suddenly feeling too miserable. Yuvraaj and his teasing had a pattern. He would fight with her to the extent she would mope and then he would take liberty in coaxing her which somehow stimulated her anger more.

"Okay fine. I am sorry." He apologized, still smiling. "I was joking and you know that."

"Is my life a joke to you?" She looked at him with brimming eyes and pressed her lips in thin line. Her voice came out all broken.

"Anahita."

"Let it be." She interrupted and climbed out. Yuvraaj watched her striding inside her home. He expected an invitation, for the sake of courtesy but laughed at his own expense. His joke really irked her.

"Still a kid." He muttered to himself and drove off.

Now, how's it? What do you think about this couple? Views please and votes. :)