Luv (Un)Arranged (Luv Shuv #3)

Chapter 12

12

Song: Kasam Ki Kasam

- Rahul Jain

Aakar

I was an engaged man. Everything was different, but to my disappointment, nothing felt different. Maybe the idea that I was engaged hadn’t sunk in, or maybe I didn’t know what was supposed to be different. But something seemed to be missing. This ceremony didn’t call for an exchange of rings, so I didn’t have physical evidence of being engaged.

My fiancée sat fifty meters away from me, barely exchanging a few glances with me. We hadn’t had one proper conversation, and I hadn’t seen Kriti be her usual cheerful self. I turned around to find her sitting beside her mother, smiling amicably at something my mother said. She, too, looked unsettled, on edge, like something was not allowing her to relax and laugh.

“Aakar.” My father’s voice had me turning around to find him sitting with my uncles and the priest a few feet away. I turned to my siblings, excused myself, and got up to join them.

I pulled a nearby chair and took a seat between my dad and my youngest uncle, Sunil.

Sunil Kaka slapped me on the back in that manly, congratulatory way. “Congratulations, Aakar, how does it feel to be engaged?”

I laughed at that. If only he knew . “It hasn’t even been a day, kaka. Ask me this question after a month.”

We laughed at that, and my dad cleared his throat. I turned to him, and he had a soft smile on his face. “I feel so relieved, beta. Now that you’re engaged, I can stop worrying for a while. With you choosing a wonderful woman like Kriti, and Akira having found that American boy,” he said, deliberately not saying Sam’s name—he was still in the process of accepting Sam as Akira’s fiancé—“I can relax until it’s time for Abhi to marry.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Pappa, you didn’t have to worry in the first place. We’ll all find the right partners when it’s the right time.”

Our priest nodded at that. “That is true, Aakar.”

At that, Dad instantly nodded. “Speaking of the right time, panditji and I were talking about auspicious dates and times for the wedding, and he had a few options for us.”

My mind instantly went on alert mode. Wedding dates? Times? Already?

At my shocked face, Dad said, “Beta, we’re already in the village. It would be good to discuss such important things in person. We might as well discuss a few options with Kriti’s parents.”

“Dad, I haven’t even been engaged for three hours yet.”

Sunil Kaka slapped my back in encouragement. “Aakar, it doesn’t hurt to discuss. We’re not trying to force you and Kriti.”

I looked at my uncles, my dad, and the priest, all of their faces trying to be convincing and pleading for me to hear them out. I could only sigh in resignation. I knew what was coming the moment I said yes. “Fine. What are the options?”

The priest opened his little diary and said, “Today is September 16. The most auspicious dates are December 10, January 18, or February 23.”

I rubbed my hands over my eyes. December was a little less than three months away. My eyes automatically turned to where Kriti sat. She was chatting animatedly with Meera, and I couldn’t help but imagine her being my wife in three months.

And it did not terrify me like I’d expected. I was…excited. Thrilled even.

But I had no right or wish to make this decision before talking to Kriti first.

I turned to my dad. “I need to talk to Kriti before we discuss this any further. I’m going to take her for a drive. You can discuss these dates with her family while we’re gone.”

My dad nodded in agreement. “Makes sense.”

Yesterday, I wouldn’t have been able to outright inform him that I was taking Kriti for a drive. Just one yes and one little ceremony changed it all. Now, this was what being engaged felt like. Spending time with your woman without needing permission from both parents.

With the thought of all the things that Kriti and I could do together without being pushed over by our parents and the society, a sudden lightness filled my chest.

I quickly got up from my chair before they got any more new ideas and said, “I’ll see you all in a while.”

I made a beeline for Kriti, who saw me arriving from a distance. Her eyebrows raised in question, and since no one was looking, I winked at her. Her jaw hung open in shock, and I couldn’t hold in my chuckle.

The moment I reached where all the ladies sat, I turned to my mother. “Maa, I’m taking Kriti out for a while. Dad wants to discuss a few things with everyone.”

Maa smiled at me and then at Kriti. “Sure, you guys go ahead.”

It was hilarious to see Kriti’s comically shocked face. I think she, too, just realized the perks of being engaged. Meera teased her a bit as she came around her to join me, and Kriti pulled her hair in return.

We made our way to the front of the house toward my car. Once we were out of sight of the family, I pulled her hand in mine as we walked to the car. Her cheeks flushed as she tightened her hand in mine. That tiny gesture was like a solid punch to my heart. The way she looked at me and her soft hands brought so much peace within me; she made me feel like a king. And I couldn’t stop staring at my queen.

The moment we were both seated, I rushed us out of the main gate and onto the main street. Blessed silence ensued after hours of celebrations and conversations.

We stared at the passing roads for a few minutes before I turned to a relatively empty street and parked my car on the side of the road under the shade of a tree. Finally, I rested my back against the car door so I could properly look at my future wife.

She wore a beautiful dark red saree with intricate gold threads woven in swirls. She’d applied thick eyeliner and a dark red lipstick, her pouty lips enticing me beyond reason. I couldn’t stop staring at her.

Her generous curves, how they’d feel in my arms, under me, over me. I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent a groan from escaping my lips.

“Aakar,” she said, pulling my attention away from her curves, her lips, her pretty hands to meet Kriti’s eyes. Her eyes that were raised in question and an unspoken knowledge that she had just caught me ogling her.

“You look fucking stunning, Kriti.”

A deep red blush rose to the top of her cheeks, and she smiled, meeting my eyes. “Thank you. So do you.”

I chuckled, heat warming my cheeks. “Yeah, well. How do you feel?”

Her eyes widened in relief at the question. Like she was dying to talk about this. She mirrored my position and folded her leg on my seat. “Oh god, I don’t know how I feel. Just yesterday, we were two single people considering this arranged marriage option, talking to each other, and today, you’ve become the single most significant part of my life. I just don’t know what to feel, what to do, what will happen now. My mind is just throwing these questions at me that I have no answers to.”

With every word she spoke, my heart settled, and my mind calmed. Because I wasn’t the only one. I leaned forward from where I sat and brought my hand closer to hers on her lap. I looked at her in question, and instantly, she moved her hand toward mine.

Our fingers touched, and I moved them between hers, feeling the soft pads, the silky, soft skin, and entwined them with mine. I looked at her looking at our joined hands, a small smile on her lips. When I squeezed our hands, she met my eyes.

I leaned slightly closer, a few inches separating us. “Would it make you feel better if I tell you that I feel exactly the same?”

She nodded and said, “It would.”

She looked down at our hands and whispered, “Are you still happy with your decision to marry me?”

Slowly, I pulled her hand closer to my face, forcing her to look at me. I pressed a soft kiss on her hand, making her gasp. “I have never been happier in my life.”

Her cheeks were red, her voice whisper soft. “Me too. I really hope we make each other happy.”

I pressed one more kiss on her fingers—I couldn’t help it. “We will. Happy engagement, Kriti.”

She smiled at that, her breathtaking, bright smile that lit up my insides. “Happy engagement, Aakar.”

I couldn’t help but get pulled into her happiness. Her smile. I leaned closer, slowly, giving her the time to move away or push me away. Instead, she pressed forward. And when I pressed my lips to her forehead, she brushed her fingers to my jaw in a soft caress.

My body screamed to get her closer, pull her into my lap, and put my lips on hers. I breathed in her scent and rubbed my jaw to her forehead, feeling her smooth skin brush my beard. She gasped and clutched my neck.

“Aakar,” she whispered.

Slowly and reluctantly, I pulled away and leaned back to the car door, keeping her hands in mine and resting them on my lap.

When our eyes met, she flushed, shook her head, and giggled. “That was…”

My mouth turned up in a smile. “Does it feel like we’re engaged now?”

She laughed at my question. “That it does.”

I smiled at the relief in her eyes. “Good. And now, I can visit you whenever I want, and we won’t need our parents’ permission.”

“Thank God for that.”

Now that she was relaxed and happy, it was as best a time as any to discuss our wedding date. I grazed my thumb over her fingers and met her eyes. “Now that you feel like we’re engaged, I must broach a slightly difficult topic.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you trying to scare me right after we got engaged?”

She tried to pull her hand away from mine, but I clutched it tighter. “No, no. I’m sorry I started the topic like that. I only wanted to talk about what the priest said to me at the house earlier. About wedding dates.”

She lightly punched my arm with her free hand, her face trying to decide between being relieved and furious. “You’re ridiculous. Don’t scare me like that.”

I chuckled, kissing her hand in apology. Her fury melted, and a soft look came over her face. “So the priest gave me three options of auspicious wedding dates. December 10, January 18, or February 23. I wanted to ask your opinion on those. And if none of these work, we can go home and discuss with the elders.”

“Wow. This makes it even more serious, doesn’t it?”

“Yep. I felt the same when the priest told me. That’s why I had to get you out of there. The elders sort of look at us like we’re just dying to get married and start a family.”

She scoffed. “Right? As if we’re not scared or nervous or don’t have any goals or ambition in life other than to get married.” Her rant turned louder and louder as she continued, “But no, none of those matter to them. Not really. Our ambitions are good enough only when we’re young. But the moment you turn twenty-one, they conveniently forget all about the hard work you’ve put into your goals your whole life. They just want us to simply shift our goals to finding a husband. It becomes their life’s goal. Like we’re just an assignment to them, another thing to cross off their list so they can move on to the next one. And we all know what that is.”

“Babies,” we said together.

She startled at my voice as if she had forgotten my presence.

I raised my eyebrow, trying not to laugh at her passionate rant. Her face turned red, and she quickly averted her eyes and looked out the car window.

How she tempted me! Her words, her fierce temper, her thoughts, her pert little nose, and the way her eyes flared when she was pissed off. I just wanted to kiss her angry face and feel her passion and fire, clutch her closer to me and feel her fingers dig into my skin.

I was such a fucking goner.

If only she knew.

Kriti

I didn’t know what came over me, but I could not stop my mouth. One moment, we were having a conversation, and in another, I was off on my own little tirade, the conversation with Aakar long forgotten.

I could feel his eyes on me, looking at me, his amused smile burning a hole through my face. “What?” I asked; my cheeks were on fire.

“Nothing. Nothing at all. I feel pretty fired up myself.”

His voice held that amused tone as if he could just burst into laughter at any moment. Although I was glad he wasn’t making my little speech a big deal.

“Shut up,” I grumbled and finally met his eyes.

He raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not saying anything. But if I may, you are absolutely right.”

That did soothe my frayed edges. “Of course, I am. So where were we?”

Aakar composed himself and rubbed his hand along his beard. “The wedding dates.”

“Yes. The dates. Well, I have some concerns.”

Aakar nodded.

“I have my school children to think about.”

I looked at my hand that was still in Aakar’s. I’d forgotten we were even holding hands, as if it was just natural. Like a part of me. I shook my head to focus, still keeping my eyes on the way Aakar was grazing his thumb along my hand in encouragement. “The school term ends in mid-April. None of these dates would let me finish the school year. To be honest, the year has barely begun, so I guess it’s simply a moot point to think about finishing this school year.”

Aakar’s hand tightened on mine, and I looked up to see his lips pursed in thought. “Do you want to finish the school year?”

My heart warmed at his question. I would have to delay the wedding by over eight months to finish my school year. And everything within me screamed in denial at that scenario. “I don’t really want to wait that long to get married to you, if I’m being honest.”

His chest visibly shuddered in relief. “Oh, thank God. I love it when you’re honest.”

I chuckled. My heart danced with excitement. He, too, can’t wait to marry me.

“Well, I do feel like I’ll have to quit in late November or early December if we choose to marry on December 10th. I guess the Christmas break would be soon enough, and the exams won’t start till January. I could be done with some portion of my syllabus by late November. So the kids have an entire month to prepare for their exams. January could also be a good transition for another teacher.”

Aakar silently listened to me talk with myself. He didn’t jump in or try to give me his opinions. Only when I was done did he ask, “So, is December your preference?”

Before I said yes, I asked, “What is your preference? Your thoughts on the dates?”

He ran his hand in his hair—his thick, lush hair, longer on the top and shorter on the sides—as if hesitant to answer my question. “To be honest, I really want Akira to be a part of our wedding. And she has her college break from mid-December to mid-January. So I’m very much in the preference for the January wedding.”

“Why wouldn’t you say that beforehand? What if I hadn’t asked you?”

He shrugged. “I just wanted to know your opinion first. I would’ve told you about my preferences as well.”

I nodded. Like I told him, it didn’t make much of a difference to me what date we chose out of the three. I wasn’t going to be able to finish my school year either way. I was more concerned about joining a new city school in the middle of their school year. I might not get the job as a class teacher in the middle of the year, but getting to teach a few subjects would be great for a start.

Aakar was silent while I mulled over everything.

“What are you thinking?” Aakar asked after a few minutes passed.

“Just that I’m okay with a January wedding. I’ll have to start working on applying to a few schools in your city, talk to my school’s head of department to ask for a few recommendations, and talk to Meera since she’s moving to Ahmedabad in a month. So hopefully, we can plan something together.”

His smile grew the more I talked.

“What? Why’re you smiling?”

He shook his head. “I love how passionate you are. It is very inspiring. And if you need any help or want me to look for some contacts, let me know. I’ll ask around.”

Of course, I needed help. So, without any hesitation, I said, “Definitely start asking around. I’ll take every help that you can offer. I would hate not having a solid work plan after getting married. Because you don’t know…”

I realized what I was about to say and thought better of it.

“I don’t know what?” Aakar asked.

“Nothing.”

“No, tell me.”

“Nope. You’ll judge me.”

His eyes widened in disbelief. “You’re deliberately being stubborn and mysterious, aren’t you? I’ve already decided to marry you. Why would I judge you?”

I couldn’t help but smile at him. But I narrowed my eyes in suspicion when I asked, “You promise you won’t judge me and think I’m a bad person?”

He squeezed my hand tighter. “I promise.”

I looked at our joined hands and met his eyes. “Well, the reason I’m so adamant about having a solid work plan before I get married is that I would like to start working right when you do after marriage. My mom would insist I start after a few months of staying home and getting to know your family first. And I feel like even your parents might expect that. But I’m not going to agree to that. I’m afraid that if your family sees how convenient it is for you and everyone in the house when I’m at home full time and helping everyone around the house, they won’t really like it when I return to work. They might feel that things aren’t the same and later feel dissatisfied with my choices.”

He was about to intervene, but I shook my head and continued, “I just don’t want to give them false hope and create this image of being the epitome of a daughter-in-law. It would just be better to start working right when you do. This way, they’ll know that I am a working woman and have dreams, goals, and priorities in life that are not just about serving my new family.”

I didn’t move my gaze away from him the entire time I spoke. I needed to gauge his reaction. But he was as solid as a rock, his hold on my hands warm and strong.

“Kriti, I understand where you’re coming from. But I must tell you that you don’t have to start working right away under this pressure or fear that my family wouldn’t like it when you start working after being used to seeing you at home full time. If you want to live at home and get more acquainted with everyone, you will have my full support whenever you choose to start working. Be it seven days after marriage or seven months. I won’t let my family members make you feel bad for working. I’ll take responsibility for them. I promise you.”

My heart warmed at his promise. He seemed to be a specialist in taking on responsibilities. I nodded at him in thanks. “Thanks, Aakar. But I still would like to start working when you do.”

Aakar shook his head and smiled. “Then you will. Start working on finding a new job with Meera, and I’ll talk to a few of my friends and see what I find.”

His words gave me the assurance that I needed to make my decision. “Well then, let’s get married in January.”

His smile was brighter than the sun. “January it is.”

With my hand enveloped in his, he pulled me closer. I leaned into him until our faces were mere inches apart. Gently, Aakar grazed his finger on my forehead, pushed the stray strand of hair behind my ear, leaving behind sparks of heat along the shell of my ear.

He bent closer, and my eyes closed.

He grazed his cheek against mine, the feel of his beard causing goose bumps to spread all across my arm. I clutched his shirt and arched my neck, wanting to feel his beard everywhere.

A sound tore from his chest, a rumble and a groan, sending shivers down my spine.

“Kriti.” His hoarse whisper along my neck had me pulling him closer.

He rubbed his bearded jaw along my throat and laid a scorching, hot kiss right on the curve of my neck.

A loud moan escaped my mouth, and I needed more of his hot kisses.

But before I could pull him even closer, Aakar slowly pulled away from me.

Our eyes met, and his pupils were dilated and clouded with dark, heated arousal. And it was all for me.

“No more, Kriti.” He held me by the back of my neck, his thumb pressing at my cheek. His voice was hoarse, like it was causing him great effort to push the words out.

I tried to regain my rapidly beating heart as he looked at me with barely restrained lust. Taking a deep breath, I nodded and released my grip on his shirt with sheer force of will, leaving a nest of wrinkles behind.

“The next four months are going to be agony,” he said.

And I couldn’t help but agree.

“In four months, I’ll be your wife.”

“I can’t wait.”

With that, he quickly kissed my forehead and turned on the car to take us back home.