Chapter 85 :

As the conversation flowed effortlessly around the dinner table, Rysa suddenly paused mid-bite, her brows furrowing as if she had just uncovered a great mystery.

She turned to Advay, her expression confused. "Wait a minute… I just realized something."

Advay, cutting into his steak, raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Rysa pointed at him. "I never knew your age."

The entire table went silent for a second before Advay froze, fork in midair. Slowly, he set it down and looked at her with pure disappointment.

"You know what?" he said, leaning back. "I'm going to delete that Instagram post where I called you my biggest fan. This is betrayal."

Rysa gasped dramatically. "No, wait! Come on, I never realized I didn't know your age!"

Aditi, taking a sip of her wine, smirked. "Oh, this is gold. Please, continue."

Ananya, already knowing where this was going, hid her smile behind her hand.

Advay sighed, shaking his head. "Unbelievable. And you call yourself my biggest fan?"

Rysa pouted. "I am! Just… an uninformed one?"

Ananya rolled her eyes playfully. "That's just called not being a fan, Rysa."

"HEY!" Rysa protested. "I know everything else about him!"

Advay, still smirking, crossed his arms. "Clearly not everything."

Rysa groaned. "Fine, fine! Just tell me already!"

He leaned forward, smirking. "I'm 20 years old."

Rysa, who had been taking a sip of water, nearly choked. "WHAT?!"

The entire table burst out laughing as she stared at him in shock.

"Wait, wait, wait!" she said, still processing. "You're just four years older than me?! And you're TWO YEARS younger than my sister?!"

Ananya, smirking, rested her chin on her hand. "Yup. Welcome to reality."

Rysa looked at Advay like he had just revealed he was an alien. "You mean to tell me you're only 20 and you've already done all this?! A billionaire?! An IPL champion?! You hit a last-ball six in the final at 20?! You proposed to my sister at 20?!?!"

Advay grinned. "I guess I work fast."

Rysa threw her hands up. "This is insane. You should be illegal."

Aditi, laughing, patted her back. "It's okay, Rysa. You're not the only one who feels like an underachiever next to him."

Rysa leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. "I need to rethink my life."

The entire table roared with laughter, while Advay just casually went back to eating, thoroughly enjoying her reaction.

As everyone enjoyed their desserts, Advay casually looked up and asked, "So, did you guys decide on a wedding date?"

The table went quiet for a second, and then Arjun raised an eyebrow. "How did you know we were discussing that?"

Advay smirked, leaning back. "It was pretty obvious. Typical Indian parent things—planning the wedding before we even ask."

Ananya, taking a bite of her crème brûlée, simply shrugged. "Yeah, I figured too."

Chunky chuckled, shaking his head. "You two are too sharp for your own good."

Bhavana smiled. "Well, since you already know, let's just ask—would any date we pick be alright with you both?"

Advay and Ananya glanced at each other before nodding.

"Yeah, it's alright with us," Advay said.

"Whatever you pick, we're good with it," Ananya added.

Ilana smiled warmly. "In that case, we've set the date—February 19, 2021."

The table fell silent for a brief moment before Aditi let out a dramatic gasp. "Wait. That's three months from now!"

Rysa threw her hands up. "Oh my god, IT'S HAPPENING."

The entire family chuckled as the realization fully set in—Advay and Ananya were officially getting married in three months.

After chatting a little more, the families continued to bask in the excitement of the upcoming wedding. The conversation was filled with laughter, wedding planning ideas, and Aditi and Rysa dramatically reacting to the realization that the big day was just three months away.

As the evening wound down, Advay stood up, stretching slightly. "Alright, it's getting late. I'll drop you guys home."

Chunky smirked. "Already taking up responsibilities. I like it."

Bhavana smiled. "Thank you, dear."

Ananya and Rysa grabbed their bags while Advay took the car keys, leading them out to his black Mercedes-Benz V-Class. After settling in, he drove through the quiet streets, the warm glow of streetlights passing by.

Rysa, still buzzing with excitement, leaned forward from the back seat. "So, do I get to help with the wedding planning, or are you guys going to pretend I don't exist?"

Ananya smirked. "We'll think about it."

Rysa gasped dramatically. "Wow. Betrayal."

Advay chuckled, shaking his head. "You'll survive."

Soon, they pulled up to Ananya's house. As they stepped out, Bhavana and Chunky thanked Advay again.

"We'll talk tomorrow," Ananya said softly, looking up at him.

Advay smirked, leaning slightly toward her. "Looking forward to it."

Rysa rolled her eyes from behind them. "Okay, okay, stop the romance. Let's go inside."

Ananya laughed, shaking her head as she walked in with her family, while Advay watched with a small smile before driving off.

On November 23, 2020, Advay was lounging on the couch, scrolling through his phone, when it buzzed with an incoming call from Ananya. He answered lazily, putting her on speaker as he leaned back.

"Hey," he said casually. "What's up?"

Ananya's voice came through, amused and slightly mischievous. "So… guess what?"

Advay smirked. "You finally admitted that I'm your favorite cricketer?"

She scoffed. "Please. I think Bumrah might still take that spot."

"Wow," he deadpanned. "Betrayal."

She laughed. "Okay, okay, back to my news. I got invited to Koffee with Karan."

Advay raised an eyebrow. "Oh, nice. Have fun."

She clicked her tongue. "Not so fast. Karan Johar wants you to come along with me."

That made Advay pause. He sat up slightly, frowning at his phone. "Wait… what?"

Ananya grinned. "Yeah. Since I can bring a cricketer with me, he specifically asked if you'd join me."

Advay leaned forward, rubbing his temple. "Do you really wanna go?"

Ananya laughed. "Why do you sound like you're being forced into a hostage situation?"

Advay groaned. "Because last time I went on that show with Virat, I called you, and you ended up accidentally revealing our relationship to the whole damn world."

Ananya let out a dramatic sigh. "Ugh, don't remind me."

Advay smirked. "And now you want to go back together? Fully prepared for Karan to dig into every detail of our lives? You do realize that man is legally incapable of not stirring drama, right?"

Ananya chuckled. "Yup. And I think it'll be fun."

Advay tilted his head, still skeptical. "Fun? You do realize the rapid-fire round is basically a social experiment designed to end friendships, right?"

Ananya grinned. "Oh, I'm aware. But I trust you. You wouldn't say anything stupid."

Advay raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So that means you plan to?"

She giggled. "Maybe."

Advay groaned again, shaking his head. "I already know I'm gonna regret this."

Advay sighed, already knowing he couldn't say no. "Alright, fine. When is it?"

Ananya grinned. "November 26."

He glanced at the date on his phone. "Three days from now?"

"Yup," she said cheerfully. "Plenty of time for you to mentally prepare yourself for Karan's questions."

Advay smirked. "Yeah, or plenty of time for me to fake a last-minute injury."

Ananya laughed. "No chance. You're coming with me."

Advay shook his head, amused. "Guess I don't have a choice, do I?"

"None at all," she said sweetly.

On November 26, 2020, the day of the Koffee with Karan shoot, **Advay slipped into his usual effortless style—**a dark blue cashmere t-shirt, a leather jacket, and denim. He grabbed his keys and headed out to pick up Ananya, already preparing himself for whatever Karan Johar had in store for them.

Pulling up outside Ananya's house, he honked once, waiting for her to step out. When she did, his smirk instantly turned into a look of disbelief.

She was wearing the exact same outfit.

Dark blue cashmere t-shirt. Leather jacket. Denim.

Advay raised an eyebrow as she slid into the passenger seat. "Okay, what is this?"

Ananya, buckling her seatbelt, looked at him innocently. "What?"

He gestured between the two of them. "This. The matching outfits. Are we a boy band now?"

Ananya snickered, finally noticing the unintentional twinning. "Oh my god."

Advay shook his head. "This is exactly what Karan needs. Now we're giving him extra ammunition."

Ananya laughed. "Well, we are engaged. Maybe we've just reached that phase where we dress alike."

Advay groaned. "Kill me now."

She grinned, nudging him. "Relax, Rai. We look good."

He sighed dramatically as he pulled onto the road. "Karan's gonna have a field day with this."

Ananya smirked. "Oh, definitely. But hey, at least we'll look great while he roasts us."

Advay shook his head, already regretting this decision, as they drove off toward the studio.

As Advay and Ananya arrived at the studio, they were immediately greeted warmly by the staff. Some of them were visibly excited, asking for photos and quick selfies.

"Sir, huge fan!" one of the crew members said as he shook Advay's hand.

Another staff member grinned at Ananya. "You both coming on together—this is going to be the episode of the season!"

Advay chuckled, posing for a few pictures. "You guys are setting the bar too high already."

Ananya smirked. "We'll try to make it entertaining."

Just as they were wrapping up with the staff, a familiar voice rang out.

"Ahhh, my favorite couple!"

They both turned to see Karan Johar walking in, arms wide open, his signature grin in place.

"Look at you two," he said, taking in their outfits before dramatically putting a hand over his heart. "Matching outfits? Oh, you're just feeding me content now."

Advay groaned. "I knew you'd say that."

Ananya laughed, giving Karan a quick hug. "You have to admit it's funny."

Karan grinned. "Oh, it's hilarious. And trust me, this episode is going to be iconic."

Advay smirked, shaking his head. "I already know I'm in trouble."

The lights dimmed slightly, the iconic black-and-gold set of Koffee with Karan glowing under the studio lights. The audience settled, the cameras rolled, and the familiar theme music played as Karan Johar took his seat, his signature espresso cup in hand.

Facing him, Advay and Ananya sat comfortably on the couch, the anticipation in the air evident.

Karan grinned at the camera. "Welcome back to Koffee with Karan! And today, we have two of the most talked-about people in the country right now. One is Bollywood royalty, the other is cricket's ultimate game-changer… together, they are India's favorite power couple!"

The audience cheered as Karan gestured toward them. "Please welcome the incredibly talented, always stunning Ananya Panday, and the man who made history with a last-ball six in the IPL final, the one and only Advay Rai!"

Advay smirked, shaking his head as the applause continued. "Wow, no pressure at all with that intro."

Ananya laughed. "Yeah, Karan, way to raise expectations."

Karan waved a hand dramatically. "Oh please, as if you two need any introduction at this point! People have been dying for this episode ever since the proposal. And might I say—what a moment!"

Advay chuckled. "Here we go."

Karan leaned forward, eyes twinkling. "Come on, we have so much to talk about! The final, the proposal, your insane season, the bet Ananya made you—oh yes, I know all about that."

Ananya groaned, covering her face. "I knew this was coming."

Karan laughed mischievously. "Oh, darling, we're just getting started!"

And with that, the show was officially underway, with Karan Johar ready to dive into all the drama, romance, and revelations that fans had been waiting for.

As the show officially began, Karan leaned forward, his signature smirk in place, his espresso cup in hand.

"Alright, let's get straight into it," he said, glancing between Advay and Ananya. "Because let's be honest, everyone wants to talk about it. That final. That six. That proposal."

Ananya instantly covered her face, already anticipating the teasing. "Oh god, here we go."

Advay chuckled, shaking his head. "Knew this was coming."

Karan snapped his fingers. "Of course you did! I mean, come on! You hit the biggest six of your life—literally and figuratively—on live television!"

The studio erupted in applause, and Karan gestured toward the screen behind them.

"Let's relive that iconic moment, shall we?"

The big screen lit up with footage from the IPL final—

Advay standing at the crease, six needed off the last ball.Him stepping back, closing his eyes, thinking about the 2019 heartbreak.The tension in the stadium, the camera focusing on his face.And then—BOOM! The ball was launched out of the stadium.The RCB dugout erupted. Advay threw away his bat, running wildly as his teammates chased him.

The crowd in the studio cheered loudly, and Karan dramatically placed a hand on his heart.

"Ugh, I get goosebumps every time I watch it!" he exclaimed.

Advay smirked. "You should've been the one batting then."

Karan gasped. "No, darling. I would've collapsed from the pressure before the ball was even bowled."

The clip continued playing—Advay celebrating, the RCB players crying, and then...

The moment everyone had been waiting for—the proposal.

Advay walking up to Ananya, Anushka covering her eyes.Him kneeling down, opening the ring box.Ananya gasping, covering her mouth, tears in her eyes.Him asking, "Will you marry me?"Her showing her hand, him sliding the ring on, and the hug that followed.

As the clip ended, the entire studio erupted into applause again.

Ananya, completely red in the face, groaned. "This is so embarrassing."

Karan turned to her, grinning. "Embarrassing?! Darling, this was a Bollywood moment! You couldn't have scripted it better if you tried!"

Advay, leaning back on the couch, smirked. "That's what I said."

Ananya rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't encourage him, Karan."

Karan gasped dramatically. "Encourage?! I am worshipping him! Advay, tell me, how long had you been planning that?"

Advay shrugged, smirking. "For a while. But I knew one thing—if we were gonna win, I wanted it to be the moment."

Karan leaned forward. "And were you nervous? Because let me tell you, watching it live, the way you just casually knelt down after hitting the biggest six of your life… I was screaming at my TV."

Advay chuckled. "To be honest, yeah. I was nervous. Not about the game—that part I knew I could handle. But the proposal?" He exhaled, shaking his head. "That was a different kind of pressure."

Ananya glanced at him, smiling softly. "You didn't show it, though."

He looked at her, smirking. "Had to keep my cool."

The audience awwed, and Karan clutched his chest dramatically. "Oh my god, stop. I'm obsessed with you two."

Ananya laughed, shaking her head. "I knew coming here was a mistake."

Karan pointed at her. "Oh no, sweetheart, we're just getting started."

Advay groaned playfully. "That's what I was afraid of."