Ch 9. They said YES!!

A/N - Happy reading cuties, Don't forget to vote! 🌸✨

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Aankh un ki ladi yun meri aankh se,

Dekh kar yeh ladayi, maza aa gaya.

Mere rashke qamar, tu ne pehli nazar,

Jab nazar se milayi, maza aa gaya💌✨

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Are you gay?

Vivaan, who was patiently waiting for her to say something was left bewildered when she asked him about his sexuality. His face turning red with embarassment as he tried to come up with an answer. He opened his mouth to reply with a no but could only reply with a, "Hein?"

Aashvika, being confused at his response, slowly opened her eyes. Still looking down, she once again asked, "K..kya?"

Vivaan, cursing at himself, slowly composed himself. Clearing his throat, he spoke, "N..nahi, aapse aisa kisne kaha?" Vivaan's face turned even redder due to him stuttering as he looked away to conceal his embarrassment.

[N..No, who told you that?]

Though, aashvika relieved by his answer, exhaled a deep breath and just nodded her in negative, indicating that it just a normal question out of her curiosity. Though it really wasn't.

Few minutes later, as vivaan found themselves being engulfed in silence once again, he slowly cleared his throat and asked, "So..what are your hobbies?" He asked, silently cursing himself on asking such a basic question.

Aashvika, thought for a minute and spoke, "I love dancing..and watching movies." Aashvika spoke, a soft smile playing on her lips. Vivaan nodded at her answer and looked away. Aashvika gather a little bit of courage and asked, "What about...you?"

Vivaan, looked over at aashvika and revealed, "I don't have any hobbies." To which, aashvika nodded in understanding.

"So...if we..are going to talk about our future... then we should tell us about our past as well." Vivaan suggested while aashvika just gave him a faint nod, not being able to overcome her nervousness and shyness infront of him. Vivaan, understanding her shyness, exhaled a deep breath and started talking.

"So..i am a buisnessman..i spend most of my time at home and in my office...i have never been in a relationship as i don't believe in this term called love...for me, i believe that it is a waste of time and that's why i've never thought of marriage too." Vivaan revealed.

And yet here i am, at your home, with a marriage alliance.

His inner conscience screamed, betraying his own statement, as if being on a war with himself.

"Since childhood.. I've lived with my grandmother because my parents were usually out of city due to work...growing up with her, i learnt many things from her." Vivaan revealed as realisation dawned upon him. He learnt so many things from him and maybe, just maybe, somewhere this was the reason of his composed nature.

Aashvika nodded in understanding. She inhaled a deep breath and slowly started speaking, "Since childhood..i lived with my parents and abhi..we were all happy but then..one day...i came back from school..and my dad told me that his posting was done in jammu...ever since then..main, abhi aur mumma hi sirf rehte hain.. papa..bas ek do baar aate hain..." Aashvika opened up in a low tone. She remembered being the apple of her father's eye and now that he was in jammu and she was in mumbai, it was extremely hard for her.

Vivaan's gaze softened as he looked down. He realised how much aashvika was suffering yet she never let it get to her mind. "You are very strong." Vivaan spoke unknowingly, his eyes widening at his own words.

Why was he behaving this way? Why was he being caring towards someone whom he doesn't even know properly?

[Author's note: I would suggest you guys to play "Mere rashke qamar" From Nusrat fateh ali khan of 4 minute and 52 seconds to enjoy the story more! 🌸]

He! bey hijaabana woh saamne aa gaye!

Bey hijaabana woh saamne aa gaye!

Aashvika's lips curved into a shy smile as she heard his compliment. As the comfort silence engulfed vivaan and aashvika, vivaan couldn't help but steal glances at aashvika. As he continued staring at her, he felt himself getting drowned in her beauty.

Aur jawani jawani se takra gayi!

Aashvika felt vivaan's gaze upon herself and she couldn't help but nervously rub her hands together. She started breathing heavily while looking here and there to distract her mind from vivaan's intense gaze. But somewhere, she knew, that she couldn't ignore vivaan's gaze for long.

Aankh un ki ladi yun meri aankh se!

It hadn't been long since vivaan was staring at aashvika when suddenly, she gathered all her courage and looked up, directly meeting his eyes. His honey-

brown eyes were shining under the sunlight. She couldn't help but notice the way his eyes widened in shock as she finally looked at him.

Dekh kar yeh ladayi, maza aa gaya!

Mere rashke kamar, tune pehli nazar!

Jab nazar se milayi, maza aagaya!

Finally, aashvika had looked at vivaan and though he was stunned by the beauty and depth that her eyes held, he was also happy that finally aashvika had spared him a glance. Feeling as if he just won a match, he smiled widely in victory giving away his cold demeanor as aashvika stared at him in shock. Her heart stopped beating for a second before it again started beating with double the speed. She took in the rare sight of him smiling as the world gradually slowed down and went silent, right before her eyes.

Aankh mein thi haya har mulaqaat par!

Aankh mein thi haya har mulaaqat par!

Finally gathering her courage, she asked, "Can i ask you a question?" She asked, her eyes still locked into his. Vivaan immediately nodded while being determined to not break their eye contact.

Surkh aariz huye wasl ki baat par!

"Pucho." He spoke making aashvika open her mouth to speak but due to hesitation, she closed her mouth once again. Vivaan who saw her action, passed her a faint nod gesturing for her to continue. Finally, exhaling a deep breath, aashvika asked, "Why did you say yes to meeting me?"

Us ne sharma ke mere sawaalat pe!

Aise gardan jhukaayi, maza aa gaya!

Her question punched vivaan in his guts as he found himself staring at her with loss of words. His gaze lingered on her face while he wondered to himself, "Why did i say yes to meeting her?" The question echoed in his mind but there was no answer to the question and as if, the overwhelming feeling of the question wasn't enough to what he was feeling, he suddenly started feeling overwhelmed by aashvika's gaze. Finally, not being able to look at her anymore, he looked down. His cheeks becoming redder with embarassment as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Mere rashke qamar, tu ne pehli nazar!

Jab nazar se milayi, maza aa gaya!

Aashvika waiting for his answer, stared at him and found him drowning in deep thoughts. Finally, seeing him this up close, she traced every single line on his face as if memorizing every detail of his face, deeply imprinting them in her mind.

His honey-brown orbs were shining under the sunlight, while his lips were opened as if he was trying to say something but the words were stuck in his throat, not ready to revealed yet. The lines of his forehead were curved indicating him being in deep thoughts.

As vivaan sensed that he was being watched, he looked at aashvika. Their eyes met making aashvika's eyes widen as she immediately looked down with a gasp, her face becoming red with embarassment as she realised she was just caught staring at him. Her heart again started racing while vivaan just chuckled to himself at her flustered state, finally, having an answer, he spoke, "Maybe because...it just felt right."

He spoke while staring directly into her eyes. Aashvika, overwhelmed by the answer, faintly nodded while staring at the ground. Standing up from her place, she fixed her clothes and announced, "We..we should go back now."

Vivaan also stood up and nodding, he walked towards her. He stood beside her but at a distance which wasn't unnoticed by aashvika. As aashvika started descending from the stairs, he stared at her back. "Aashvika, wait!" He called out to her, making her stop in her tracks. Her heart beating loud inside her chest. Exhaling a deep breath, she looked at him from the corner of her eyes, waiting for him to continue.

"You don't want to ask me anything else?" He asked while frowning. They both stood in silence for a few minutes as vivaan waited for aashvika to say something. After what seemed like an eternity for vivaan, aashvika exhaled a deep breath and spoke, "Mere aakhri sawal ne hi mujhe saare jawab dediye." She spoke, her voice barely over a whisper. Immediately turning back, she ran down the stairs not being able to control her racing heart.

[My last question gave me all the answers.]

Vivaan stood in silence, his lips carrying a soft smile. Anukriti walked upstairs and saw him smiling to himself, walking over to him, she spoke, "Kahaan kho gaye?" She asked while wiggling her eyebrows. Vivaan looked at her, "Ka...kahin nahi bhabhi," he spoke while trying to appear nonchalant.

"So, did you like her?" She asked while smiling widely to which vivaan just smiled shyly and looked away. Anukriti's eyes widened seeing him being shy for the first time in her life. "Yeh toh gaya!" She muttered to herself, being stunned but vivaan heard her well. Vivaan immediately turned towards her and cleared his throat. "But..but..i think that we should meet again..you know..." He spoke, once again trying to cover up his embarrassment while anukriti just chuckled and spoke, "Pagal ladka!" She remarked and ran downstairs.

Vivaan followed her shortly and went back to the living room, taking his seat once again. "What did you guys talk about? Tell me!" Vedansh asked while nudging vivaan's shoulder. "Shut up!" He whispered making vedansh pout.

As vivaan's gaze wandered around the living room, he realised that aashvika wasn't present in the living room anymore. A sigh left vivaan's mouth as he looked down in disappointment, while trying to appear as if her absence didn't affect him a bit.

Abhimanyu who saw his sister going directly into her room frowned and followed her. He opened the door and noticed aashvika standing infront of the room's window. He slowly approached her and asked, "So?" He asked catching her attention as she looked at him.

"So?" She asked. "Is he gay?" He asked making her scrunch her nose. "Tune dubara yeh bola na mere saamne, main tujhe maar dalungi!" Aashvika warned abhimanyu making him hiss. "Fine, fine, calm down chudail!" He exclaimed.

[If you said this to me once again, i will kill you!]

Aashvika sighed and walked back towards her bed. Abhimanyu followed behind her shortly.

"So..did you like him?" He asked making her look down as a shy smile crept on her face. Abhimanyu though happy for her, hid it behind a disgusted expression. "Now don't start smiling like an idiot." He groaned in annoyance but nonetheless hugged her. Aashvika hugged him back while smiling.

Suddenly, the door of aashvika's room opened, revealing priya. She closed the door behind her and rushed towards aashvika's bed. "Kaisa laga beta tujhe?" She asked while aashvika just looked down.

[How was he, dear?]

"Sabji jaisa, khareed lein kya?" Abhimanyu exclaimed making priya frown in annoyance.

[Like vegetables, should we buy him?]

"Kya yaar mumma, kaise sawal karte ho?" Abhimanyu asked while being frustrated but priya ignored him and just kept staring at aashvika, waiting for her to answer.

Aashvika, feeling her mother's gaze upon her, slowly looked up and spoke, "It felt... right." She spoke as she remembered how vivaan had said the same thing, a few moments ago. Priya's eyes softened at her as she caressed her hair. "Let's go then." She spoke making aashvika nod as they stepped out of the room.

As they all stepped out of the room and walked down the stairs, vivaan's gaze fell on aashvika when she entered the living room and a shy smile flashed across his face. Vedansh stared at him with a teasing grin and mutter under hus breath, "Yeh toh pakka gaya!"

"Aashvika, what is your answer?" Divya asked, her curiosity piqued. "Don't be stressed, dear." Shaurya replied making aashvika nod in response.

Aashvika took a deep breath, her whole conversation with vivaan replaying in her mind. The way he respected her personal space, the way he replied to her question, all those things made her heart flutter like a butterfly trapped in a cage. She felt a warmth spreading through her chest, and her cheeks flushed with a gentle pink hue.

Slowly, gathering all her courage, she looked up, her gaze directly falling on vivaan, only to realise that his gaze never left her for once. As their eyes met, they both felt everything stop. The world around them had stopped, the time had stopped, the chatters around them had stopped, and the only thing they could hear were each other's heartbeats pacing normally, as if all their worries had vanished.

The air was thick with tension, and the silence between them was palpable. It was as if they were the only two people in the room, lost in their own little world. Aashvika's eyes sparkled like diamonds, and vivaan's gaze burned with an intensity that made her feel seen, truly seen.

"Haan." They both announced in unison, their voices barely above a whisper, making everyone shocked. Divya immediately stood up and hugged priya, her eyes shining, while priya hugged her back, a wide smile spreading across her face.

Everyone exchanged hugs and smiles, their faces aglow with happiness, while aashvika and vivaan just kept staring at each other, as if having a silent conversation through their eyes.

The room erupted in a cacophony of cheers and congratulations, but aashvika and vivaan were oblivious to it all, lost in the depths of each other's eyes. It was as if they had found a secret language, one that only they could understand. The world around them melted away, leaving only the two of them, suspended in a moment of pure connection.

As the noise around them grew louder, aashvika's lips curved into a soft smile, and vivaan's eyes curled at the corners, his face lighting up with a radiant smile. The room faded into the background, and all that remained was the gentle hum of their heartbeats, beating in perfect sync.

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Soon, everyone found themselves sitting in the living room, engrossed in the conversation of vivaan and aashvika's wedding rituals. The warm glow of the chandeliers cast a golden light on their faces, and the soft hum of conversation filled the air.

Meanwhile, vivaan and aashvika stood in the balcony, the cold evening air hitting their faces, while a comfortable silence engulfed them. The faint stars twinkled above, like diamonds scattered across the velvet sky, and the distant hum of the city created a soothing background melody. They both secretly stole glances at each other, their eyes locking for a brief moment before darting away, neither daring to initiate a conversation.

Vivaan, determined to break the silence, asked, "Why did you say yes?" His voice was low and husky, and aashvika's heart skipped a beat as she turned to face him. She slowly rubbed her hands together, her eyes fixed on the ground, as she tried to overcome her embarrassment.

Aashvika's mind was racing, "Hey kanha ji! Kya bole ab hum inhein? Ki hum pehle din se hi aap par fida hain? Nahi nahi! Kisne kaha hum fida hoon! Woh toh hum bas sochte the inke baare mein!" Her face painted itself in the deepest shade of red, and she felt like she was drowning in her own thoughts.

[Hey kanha ji! What should i say to him now? That I'm head over heels for him since the starting? No no! Who said that I'm head over heels for him? It's just that i was only thinking about him!]

"Boliye?" Vivaan asked once again, his voice a gentle nudge, making Aashvika panic.

[Say?]

"Woh hum fida hogaye the..." She hurriedly spoke, but immediately covered her mouth with her palm after realising the slip of her tongue. Vivaan's eyes widened as he froze, his world spinning, as he stared at aashvika. His jaw dropped, almost touching the ground.

[Actually i was head over heels...]

"Wha..what?" He asked, stunned, making Aashvika hiss as she looked down in embarrassment. "No..nothing. Mu..mumma is calling me." Aashvika gave him an excuse, her voice barely above a whisper, as she turned around and ran away, leaving vivaan standing alone.

Vivaan looked at her retreating figure with amusement, aashvika's words echoing continuously in the back of his mind, "Woh hum fida ho gaye the..." He felt his heartbeat rising as his face got warmer. His lips broke into a wide smile as he looked at the sky, the faint stars twinkling like diamonds in his eyes.

Vedansh, who was secretly watching everything from the corner, walked towards vivaan with a teasing grin flashed all over his face. Reaching vivaan, he wrapped his arms around vivaan's shoulder from behind and pulled him close, startling him.

"Tujhe vo sun dikh raha hai? Tu vo sun hai!" Vedansh spoke, his voice low and teasing, as he stared at the setting sun. Vivaan looked at the sun and then back at vedansh, confusion displayed all over his face. "Kyu?" He asked, his voice laced with amusement.

Vedansh looked over at him with a teasing smile and spoke, "Kyunki..jis tareeke se woh dhal raha hai, ussi tareeke se tu bhabhi ke pyaar mein dhal raha hai! Dekha maine! Kaise tamatar ki tarah laal ho raha tha!!" He teased him, making Vivaan glare at him.

[Because... the way that sun is setting, it's exactly the way you're melting into sister-in-law's love! I saw it! How you were turning red like a tomato!!]

Seeing vivaan's expression, vedansh hurriedly removed his arms and ran away as vivaan threatened him, "Saale! Jaa kahaan raha hai? Abhi batata hoon tujhe, ruk tu!" He yelled, laughing, while running behind him.

[Saale! Where are you going? I'll tell you, just wait!]

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It was around 8 pm and everyone sat in the living room, tension fleeting in the air as the pandit ji who was called to announce the auspicious time for the wedding, sat in the centre.

After sometime the pandit ji came and spoke, "The auspicious time for the wedding is after 8 months and the auspicious time for the engagement is this month only." He announced making everyone cheer in happiness.

"I'm really happy to know that." Priya spoke, divya came towards her and hugging her, she spoke, "Okay, then as we have decided, the engagement is going to be after two week." Priya smiled at her words at her words and spoke, "Then let's meet at the engagement." Divya's eyes were filled with warmth as she nodded and spoke, "Aap sabke saath kab samay beet gaya, pata hi nahi chala." Priya's smile deepened as she nodded while guiding them all towards the door.

As they stood at the door, vivaan touched priya's feet, earning blessings from her. Aashvika, who was standing with vivaan's family, stared at him from the corner of her eyes, her heart filled with warmth.

"Come soon beta." Divya spoke while cupping aashvika's face as aashvika smiled shyly.

Finally, bidding everyone goodbye, the malhotra family left. Abhimanyu and priya walked inside, already preparing for the engagement while aashvika walked behind them, her mind filled with various thoughts.

"By the way aashu! Tell rushika and ishani about this good news too! I'm going to call shiv and tell him about this!" Priya spoke while aashvika just nodded and went to her room, calling it a day.

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Thank you for reading✨

So, you're telling me that my babies are getting married already?? 😭

Well let's see what the future holds for them! Also, vedansh?? Kitne maze loge vivaan ke? 😭😭

Anywaysss, do share your thoughts and don't forget to vote!!❤️

If you guys have any questions regarding the story you can ask me on my instagram or here and i will answer them 🦋