Ever after

                                    

                                          
"Ab var aur vadhu pheron keliye khade ho jayiye"
Ankit's eyes held his bride. She looked angelic clad in the red lehenga. On might even believe her meek innocent look if they didn't know her better. She looked at him from under her lashes and said "If you have finished ogling me, shall we get on with the rituals already" She said sarcasm dripping from her voice but yet maintaining her sweet smile. This was the Mukthi he knew. He couldn't helpnbut smirk.
"So eager Mukthi... You flatter me" He said taunting her. In their five months of so called relationship one thing he did know was the right buttons to push to taunt her.
Mukthi gave him a look which made him feel like a rodent. "You wish"
While they were taking the pheras he was amused by the number of glares he was recieving. The fact that his own sister had threatened him to not to hurt her was something he found quite intriguing. What was so special about this girl? His mind flew back tho the events that happened a few hrs back.
                          
"I don't know what you are upto but I know for a fact that all of this is apart of some cunning scheme of yours. Mukthi di is like a sister to me and I care for her. If you so much as think of hurting her in anyway, you know what I can do."
Ankit looked at his little sister. It's been 3yrs since she had talked to him. The girl who stood in front of him nowhere resembled the small girl in pigtails who followed him around. Their twisted family had effectively destroyed both their childhoods. When he saw the her hard eyes he regretted not trying hard enough to atleast save hers. Not that he had the luxury of letting her know that.
"After 3 yrs of silence and you break it to threaten your own brother. Father would've been proud of you" He said his voice mocking her. "Arohi Murthy. Nice name by the way"
"Don't!" She said her glare becoming colder by the second. "I'm not your sister and neither do I want anything to do with your family. I came her here for Mukthi di and you know better than to take my words lightly.
He knew that she meant every word she said. She knew too much and had the power to do so much more. There was much more to her than that meets the eye and noone knew it better than him. No matter how much she tries to hide it, this girl in front of him was every bit his sister, Anika Agarwal.
He gave her a curt nod. " I'll drop you home"
Arohi scoffed "Oh now you want to play the brother! How touching! I'm pretty sure I can survive without your brotherly affection. After all I've got so many years of experience of doing just that." With her final scathing remark she walked away without a backward glance.
...
Finally the rituals were over and it was time for the bidai. Mukthi was being crushed by her mother in a hug.
"You know we did it all for you own good, don't you. We love you darling"
Her mom said.
"Yeah. Right right" Mukthi said struggling awkwardly to get out of her mother's grasp and finally succeeding.
She was soon engulfed in another hug. This time it was Aliya. "Take care yourself. If he tries anything and I mean anything at all to hurt you, you call.... Oh no!"
Aliya suddenly straightened herself holding her belly.
"Aliya. Is everything alright?" Mukthi asked worried. Aliya looked at her and said
"I... I think my water just broke!"
...
Never in a million years did Ankit imagine his wedding night to be in front of a labour room. His new wife, was pacing infront of the labour room in all her bridal glory along with the soon ti be Dad. Aliya's screams were filling the hall and Dhruv looked like he was about to faint any moment now.
"Dhruv!For god's sake would you please calm down. She is going to be fine." Mukthi said trying to calm him.
"But.. But she is in so much pain. I'm never going to touch her again!" Dhruv said with his head in his hands.
"Yeah right!" Cabir said rolling his eyes" Good luck with that!"
"Dhruv, why don't you sit down and have a drink." Nandini said making him sit and handing him a cup of coffee.
"Hey buddy! It's Aliya. She is stronger than the rest of us put together. She'll be fine." Manik said sitting beside him and giving him a bro hug.
Ankit was watching the group with amusement mixed with curiosity. He never had anyone who cared for him like they did and he had successfully pushed away anyone who ever tried. He felt like an outsider watching them from a distance. Just then the nurse came out and said.
"Congrats Mr. Dhruv, your wife just delivered a baby girl"
The group erupted in a chorus of hugs and cheers. Dhruv was handed the baby in a bundle and everyone surrounded him cooing to the baby. A few minutes later Dhruv was allowed to go in to meet Aliya who was doing fine as per the doctor. Ankit found himself sitting beside Mukthi who had the baby in her lap.
"Well it was quite a show I must say." He said to her.
"I still don't understand what you are doing here." Mukthi said to him not able to take her eyes away from the child.
"How can I abandon my wife on our wedding night. What kind of a husband does that make me" He said faking an offended look.
"Mukthi just rolled her eyes "Doesn't she look like Aliya" she said slightly stoking the babys soft cheek.
Ankit looked a the tiny bundle in her lap and leaned in closer to have a better look. He felt a twinge in his chest watching her holding the child with a tender expression on her face.
"Oh no, this little one is far too innocent to be like her" he said. The baby then chose the exact moment to give a lopsided smile dangerously resembling a smirk. "On second thought I think you might be right" he said watching her warily. Mukthi burst out laughing at his expression. Ankit couldn't stop the warmth that spred through him when he heard her laugh for the first time. He mentally shook himself trying to ignore the the strange feelings he was having for the third time that day. Mukthi was just a buissness deal and he would do good to remember it.
The chaos of the delivery lasted for a few days and Ankit found himself wandering his way back to his wife. He needed to know her well to keep her in control and manipulate her to his will. Ankit always used to watch people, always the observer but never the part of the crowd. He had the ability to read people find their true motives and their weaknesses and use it against them. This talent had served him well to this day. Mukthi on the other hand confused him, he was pretty sure he had her all figured out, but more he knew about her more curious he became. Not only her, even her friends, he kept on waiting for atleast one of them to drop the act but nothing has happened so far. Surely all these so called friendship has to have some motive or the other. No one does things for free. It was the weekend and somehow they were all at Aliyas place fussing over the new mother and the baby.
"Nandu! How many times have I told you not to starve yourself" Manik was literally screaming.
"Oh please Manik! I'm not starving. I just had a juice an hour back." Nandini said trying hard not to pull out her hair. The moment Manik came to know about her pregnancy he had pretty much gone psychotic.
"How did you survive this again?" Nandini asked Aliya all frustrated. Aliya gave her an understanding smile "Oh you'll get used to it."
"Well it's a good thing I won't have to suffer through this... stuff" Mukthi said trying to keep her voice indifferent.
"Well with the way your husband keeps staring at you I think otherwise" Navya said hiding her laughter. " What staring? " she said looking at him only to find his eyes locked with hers. She found her cheeks getting warm. A sudden cacophony of feigned coughs from her friends brought her back to reality. "Oh shut up!" She glaring at them.
Alya was watching them with curious eyes. Suddenly she got up and said. " Come on all you lazy people lets jam!"
"Hell.. Yeahh" Cabir said giving her a five.
" But sweetheart you shouldn't take stress" Dhruv said wrapping an arm around her.
" I'm fine hubby. " She said giving him a peck on his lips. " Besides music is stress buster. "
" Nandu, Navya.. Why don't you guys join in with us too. It'll be fun. Come on!" Alya took the baby from Nandini's arms and promptly put her into a completely startled Ankit's lap. "Hold her would you?" With out waiting for an answer she dragged the rest of them away.
Ankit was still in shock holding the squiggling infant in his arms. These people are nuts. Why else would they leave him with a new born. Mukthi watched Ankit holding the baby like a bomb about to burst. She had to bite the inside if her cheek to stop from bursting out laughing at look of pure terror in his face. Well who knew the ruthless hulk of man was afraid of babies. She gave Aliya a questioning look to which she just shrugged.
Their jamming session went on for half an hour. Mukthi eyes involuntarily wandered to her husband and the baby. After his initial terror she saw how gentle he was being with her. She felt something soften inside her. Maybe he wasn't too bad after all.
Dhruv was surprised to find his daughter in the dubious hands of Ankit but soon it turned to amusement when he saw the look pure relief in his face when he saw him approaching. Manik who was beside him burst out laughing when he saw Ankit. " Oh my god! Did she just pee on you. Such a smart girl!"
"She takes after her father." Dhruv said trying to maintain a serious face but miserably failing.
Ankit glared at the pair of them while handing back the baby to Dhruv.
" I'm pretty sure she is worse" he said.
Dhruv just laughed and gave him a pat on the back. "Thanks man!" He said giving him a nod.
" God! Agarwal you stink. " Cabir said pinching his nose.
"Stop being juvenile. Moron!" He shot back only to have them laughing at him
" Come on lets get you cleaned up." Mukthi said taking him upstairs.
" Don't forget to lock the door!! " Aliya yelled at them from downstairs with a smirk.
"Shut up!" Both Mukthi and Ankit said at the same tume to a bunch of smirking faces!
Ankit had a curious feeling. It felt like he actually belonged with them, like he was no longer an outsider. These people had apparently accepted him into their tight circle. He should be proud of his acheivement after all. Earning their trust could be very useful to him in future but strangely he felt different. Mukthi looked at him with her eyes bright with laughter and finally he understood the strange feeling. It was...happiness.
                          
....
                          
And they lived happily ever after! Lol! That would be the biggest lie anyone could ever say. So no this story has no happily ever afters. But yes, these crazy bunch of people made a lot mistakes but they always stood up for each other. In this roller coaster of life they lived, loved, forgave and made a bunch of beautiful memories together. Sometimes that's all you need... a perfectly imperfect piece of forever.

                          
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A/N. This story is finally coming to a close. Just another piece of epilogue and we are done. Pls let me know what you think. Adieu!