Engagement

Manya halted in her tracks, inhibited by her fear and the uncertain identity of the person standing there. But the very next moment, she decided to step forward, if only to prove to herself that she had that same fearless Manya Rahal within herself.

As soon as she reached the middle of the garden, lights turned on all of a sudden and she noticed the figure turning to face her.

"Arjun!" A scream of excitement, relief and happiness left her mouth when she noticed the person standing there was none other than Arjun, dressed in an outfit totally different to his usual style.

The very next minute, the relief and excitement was replaced by anger at the elaborate prank he had played and how she had nearly collapsed from anxiety.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" She directed a stern glare at him, that could definitely grill someone on the spot. 

But Arjun had come prepared, and he did not let her threatening gaze falter him from his resolve. "What do you think a boy is planning to do, when he is standing in the middle of a heart made of flowers, in the middle of a garden decorated with lights, roses and balloons, and not to forget... holding a bouquet of roses in his hands?" He spoke out in one breath as he presented her the bouquet and flashed her a cheeky smile at her stunned reaction. When he realised that she was too overwhelmed with processing everything and won't be saying anything for a while, he added "Of course, I am proposing to you, you dumbo!"

Manya just looked at him, flabbergasted. *For the first time in a while, she found herself speechless- not because she was shocked at him proposing to her, but because of the efforts he had put in. She noticed that the place she was standing in, was indeed enclosed by a boundary of red roses, small fairy lights ran in strips all through the garden, making it seem like the starry night had come to meet the earth. There were balloons spread around, and on closer inspection, she saw that there were pictures attached to each one. Pictures of their childhood, their adolescence and every moment that they had spent together and cherished. But there was something else she noticed- the decoration was definitely not done by a perfectionist, and that could only mean one thing…*

Her gaze landed back at him and she asked in a low voice, "Don't tell me,you have prepared all of this alone! Without anybody's help…"

Arjun nodded and sat down on one knee, picking up a big box from where it was placed by his side and holding it up in the air.

Before he could begin whatever he had prepared, the beautiful moment was interrupted by Manya.

"Don't you think the box is quite big for a ring? And wait a moment and tell me this first- did you really want to propose to me by incorporating the factor of surprise, or did you want me dead by giving me the shock of my life?"

The glow on Arjun's face was gone as soon as he heard the statement. He knew that she wasn't serious, but still the thought of losing her was enough to make his heart break into a thousand pieces.

"I am so-sorry, I really didn't mean to-"

Manya tried to rescind her remark and handle the situation, as she noticed that his face had become really sad and the smile had faded. 

He interrupted her apology with an explanation of his own. "Actually, I had researched nearly a ton of proposal ideas, but none of them were up to the mark. And what was more crucial- the person for whom the proposal was supposed to be planned, is really moody. So I was understandably afraid that in case she got angry after the romantic proposal and threw the ring back at my face, then what would I have done?"

Manya laughed at his statement, partially out of the accuracy, even though she would never admit it. She then proceeded to repeat her first question,which was still left unanswered.

"Ya, okay- but don't you think the ring box is a little too big?"

"Umm...no, I don't!" He grinned, refusing to say anything further.

"What do you mean? Do you want to put a ring on my fingers, or do you want to put one on my neck, like cattle?"

She tried to glare at him for not answering her question properly, but failed as soon as she looked at the smiling face of the person sitting in front of her and her own face broke out in a smile as a reply, without even consulting her first!

Arjun then lowered his gaze to the box for a minute, then lifted it back to her face as he started speaking. His eyes were glued to spot each and every reaction making itself known on the canvas of her face.

"This box contains everything- everything you have missed when I was not able to meet you, see you or talk to you. When I was not sure which corner of this earth you had been hiding in, then this is how I used to spend my time- writing you letters and my diary. As I said, quite literally everything. So before I propose to you, I want you to know each and every thing about me and then give me the answer to 'Will you marry me?'"

Manya smiled and spoke, "I already know everything about you, you dumbo! We are childhood sweethearts, remember?"

Arjun winced at her innocent remark, and then spoke up with a somewhat guilty expression. "Manya, there are still many things about me that I might have hidden from you. I haven't told you-"

"Arjun! I respect your space, and the things you chose not to tell me. There must have been some reasons which had made you hide those things from me, in the first place! So I really don't want you to feel compelled to tell me about them all at once, right this instant. And there is especially a need for correction when you think that it is my right to know them. In fact, it is only your right to decide whether you want to share something with me or not! And even if you decide otherwise, I love you with everything you come with- your flaws and strengths, both!" Manya replied.

A drop of tear appeared on the corner of Arjun's eyes. This was the girl he was going to marry someday, and he was going to propose today, to make that day arrive even faster!

Arjun put the box aside, taking her hands and speaking sincerely, "Manya, will you marry me?" 

*Manya looked at him with sparkling eyes, she knew what she wanted with certainty- this was what she had been dreaming of, and it was already written in her destiny. This was the moment she was waiting for, knowing that he wanted to propose to her, and she wanted him to- but when it was finally happening, why was she not able to say anything?!*

She gathered all the strength in her body to answer 'yes'; but it was just her tears that kept on flowing and all the words she knew seemed to have gotten misplaced due to the flood of tears. She took a deep breath and nodded her head to say yes, with tears falling down from her eyes and making her face a total mess.

Arjun quickly slid the ring on her finger, and she suddenly heard a hubbub from behind them, and loud voices exclaiming, "Congratulations!" 

Arjun pulled her in a hug, and she noticed that both their families were present there as well as the children who were old enough to be up at this time. This was the happy ending of their love story, and the start of a completely new chapter of their lives. All she knew was that she was happy to the limits of happiness that her soul could reach.

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The entire city was decorated, everything was painted in the colours of happiness, and it looked like some festival was going on, but the Rahal mansion was loaded with security guards, and so was the Chauhan mansion.

It was going to be the biggest merger of not just the two biggest families of the city, but also two industrial giants.

Everything was taken care of, the security at every check post had been doubled and everyone knew the reason behind it- it was indeed the biggest event of the year, the engagement of Arjun Chauhan and Manya Rahal.

The invitations had been sent out, the stage was decorated, the families and friends had arrived, and now only a matter of waiting for the groom and bride to arrive.

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Manya was ready and sitting in the room, waiting for Arjun to come and get her.

She was a little nervous because she knew that with this changing relationship, her liabilities would also change. And the ensuing confusion about whether she was even ready for that, was wreaking havoc in her mind.

She heard a knock on the door and stood up quickly. Managing her lehenga, she adjusted it so that she wouldn't trip on it's hem, and rushed to the door.

"Ishaan, you! What are you doing here?" 

These were the only words that drifted off from her mouth.

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A/N- Hello my darlings! ✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧

This is finally the second-last episode in this story, and I'm getting so sentimental! It has been a long and fulfilling journey, and I'm so glad to have you guys along with me. The final chapter will be up soon, but you might have to wait a little. (◕ᴗ◕✿)

Sending you much love. ♡