Chapter 24
The past few days had been utter bliss. Raashi had never been happier in life.
She was so much in love. Sameer was warm and sweet and so much fun to be around.
He showed her that he loved her in more ways than one.
He listened to her, sought her advice on so many things and heard her out when she had a rough day at work.
He was just wonderful. Life with him was perfect.
Her days began and ended with him. They had settled into a comfortable routine, leaving each other only to go to work. Sameer spent most evenings with her at her home and several mornings she had woken up in his arms. Life was great, in every way she had ever imagined and more.
Raashi watched Sameer as he checked the messages on his cell phone.
He sat next to her, playing with her hand while he continued texting on his phone.
They were sitting in a secluded corner in her restaurant, AquaNox, waiting for their lunch to arrive.
Her own cell beeped once, twice and then several times.
Keya, Sheena and she had a common messaging group where they could all chat together and she was being bombarded by messages from the two of them demanding to know where she was and why she was evading their calls and texts.
She hadn’t spoken to them yet or to Janak for that matter about Sameer and her.
She would have to and soon, glancing at the thirty odd text messages that had flashed on her screen in the last few minutes.
Sameer frown and she squeezed his fingers.
“You look worried. Is everything fine?” she asked him.
Sameer kept his phone aside.
“Oh yeah! It will be.” He slid closer to her, lacing her hand with his. Before Raashi could question him further, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Don’t panic now, but...”
But before he could finish Raashi heard a sharp squeal. “OH MY GOD!”
Raashi looked up to see Sameer’s twin sisters standing in front of their table with stunned expressions on their faces.
“It’s Raashi!” Shauna said, surprised.
“Oh! I am so happy it’s you, Raashi,” Rhea said grinning from ear to ear.
Both the girls swooped down and hugged her tight, planting kisses on her cheeks. They looked delighted and Raashi wondered what in the world was going on. She tried to slide away from Sameer but he held her hand tight, shaking his head.
The girls quickly sat down.
“It’s been Raashi all along and you kept it from us?” Shauna asked with an accusatory frown.
“How could you? You know we love her,” said Rhea, making a face.
“Hi, girls. I’m happy to see you too. You’re interrupting a perfectly good date, by the way,” Sameer told his sisters who gave him a sassy smile in return.
“Oh, just a little heads up. Mom’s headed here as well,” Shauna told him. She rested her chin on her hand and gave him a sweet, innocent look.
“Along with dad,” Rhea said, mimicking her twin’s pose and expression.
“You two are having a lot of fun at my expense, isn’t it?” Sameer scolded them.
The twins looked at one another before saying in unison, “Of course we are!”
Raashi’s gaze snapped to Sameer. Seeing the resigned expression on his face, her lips flattened.
He knew. He knew they would be here. God!
His parents were going to be here soon and she had no clue what to expect or what he had told them about her.
She was so annoyed with him for not preparing her for this moment.
She glared at him and Sameer gave her a placating smile in return.
Seeing their exchange, Shauna said, “Oh! Don’t worry Raashi, they will love you.”
“You see,” Rhea said, “he’s been keeping you a secret.” She pointed an accusing finger at her brother. “So we decided to find out which woman has captured our brother’s heart and here we are. Oh, look, here come mom and dad.”
Raashi looked up to see Sameer’s parents headed their way.
Rita Sehgal knew it was time to take matters in her own hand. Her son was spending lesser and lesser time at home. In fact he hadn’t been home several nights in a row. Sameer was love-struck and she wanted to know which girl had caught his attention.
She had tried asking Sameer many times but he had refused to tell her anything and Rishi was as tight lipped as ever. Luckily, her two girls were relentless when they wanted to find out something about their brothers. One call to Sameer’s secretary in the morning and they knew where he was.
Rita was proud of all her kids. Sameer had always been her good son.
He wasn’t as wild as his younger brother and neither was he a rebel like his sisters.
But he was stubborn, fiercely independent and very successful.
Sameer attracted attention wherever he went, particularly female attention and he knew it.
This one girl, however, had brought him to his knees.
She recognized Raashi as soon as they walked into the restaurant and saw Sameer sitting close to her. She had met her before at Sheena’s wedding and then at Keya’s and had also met her at Janak’s party. She was well aware that Raashi was close to Sheena and Keya and that Janak doted on her.
Rita had learned through her sister-in-law, Mina Sehgal, Kabier’s mom’s experience that once these Sehgal men made up their mind regarding the woman they wanted, there would be no stopping them.
Not that she would stand in the way of her son’s happiness.
She only wanted the best for him and she just needed to see and judge for herself if this girl was right for her brilliant son.
They reached the table and she waited and watched as Sameer stood up with Raashi and introduced her to them.
Raashi had met Sameer’s parents briefly in the past, during both her friends’ weddings and at Janak’s party.
But it was nothing compared to meeting them now.
She was so nervous. But they were nice and friendly and treated her like she was their future daughter-in-law.
It was strange because Sameer had never spoken of marriage to her.
So she smiled and spoke to them pleasantly and answered their questions as best as she could.
His parents were equally surprised, fascinated and impressed that AquaNox was hers and that she owned a small but successful restaurant business.
They were a lovely couple and although his father was a man of few words, he had a sharp intelligence in his eyes.
His mother on the other hand was bubbly, vivacious and talkative.
Raashi understood where the twins had inherited their outgoing nature.
At the end of the hour she felt like she was on the hot seat.
She breathed a sigh of relief as they all stood up to leave after their lunch.
Sameer held the exit door for his mom as their driver brought the car around. Just before she settled inside the car she kissed his cheek and whispered, “I like her. Don’t you dare mess this up, okay?”
Sameer smiled at his mom and shut the door.
His father glanced at him briefly from the other side of the car and gave him a thumbs-up sign before they drove away.
He turned to walk back into the restaurant to see Raashi waiting for him at the exit, staring daggers at him. His sisters were nowhere to be seen.
Reaching her, he put his hands out in an appeasing gesture.
“I just found out. I swear. I didn’t know they were coming. That text message earlier? It was Rishi. He found out my parents and sisters were headed our way and gave me a heads up. I tried to tell you, but the girls got to us before I could.”
“Sameer, I wasn’t prepared for your family to find out about us so soon.”
He raised her chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Well, you had to meet them sometime. And since you’re going to marry me, I think it’s best to meet my family as well, isn’t it?”
Raashi gaped at him, her mouth open wide. Did he just announce to her that she would marry him? That was so typically arrogant of him. She stepped back, away from his hold.
“I did not hear a proposal in that statement anywhere.”
“Will a ring change your mind?”
Sameer knew he had stunned her, again. He couldn’t live without her. He loved her so much. Of course, he wanted to marry her and soon.
He watched as she kept opening and closing her mouth, like she had absolutely run out of words.
Finally, she recovered sufficiently to say, “You have a ring?”
“No,” he smiled, giving her a sheepish smile. “But, we can go get one right now. I honestly was thinking about getting you one. But then I wanted you to have the joy of choosing your own ring. So, what say? Will you marry me?”
Raashi stared at him for a few seconds.
“Oh My God!” Raashi rubbed her forehead. “This is the craziest marriage proposal ever.”
Sameer put his arms around her, pulling her to him. “You and I have been crazy from the start. Our relationship has been far from normal. So why not add a crazy proposal to the mix? That too right in front of your restaurant where I fell for you all over again!”
He gazed up at the board of AquaNox above them.
Raashi smiled. She couldn’t help it. She knew he was remembering the last time they were at AquaNox when she had unceremoniously dropped a bowl of pasta on his lap. They had come a long way since then.
Sameer pressed her closer to him. “You haven’t replied yet, sweetheart. Will you marry me?”
“I love you. And yes, the proposal is completely, utterly, unbelievably insane. But...it’s perfect. Yes, I will marry you.”
Sameer let out a shout of joy and lifted her off her feet and twirled her around. Raashi laughed, her heart thumping in pleasure.
“What is going on?” Sameer heard Rhea say.
He lowered Raashi down and still holding her, said, “She said yes.”
His sisters looked at him strangely and then their eyes widened in understanding.
They screamed in delight. They pulled Raashi out of his arms and hugged her.
They jumped on him and hugged him too, talking excitedly and animatedly.
And then they promptly forgot about him as they peppered Raashi with questions.
“Girls, I am just going to get my car,” he told them. His sisters were oblivious to what he said, as they continued chatting with Raashi. But Raashi nodded at him, still smiling. He grinned at her back. How the hell did he get to be so lucky?
“How are things with you?” Raashi asked Rhea when Shauna went to get their car.
The younger girl smiled. “Everything is fine. I don’t know what you said to both my brothers that day, but they apologized to me. They have been great ever since. Especially Sameer. He’s been very understanding and he actually listens to me these days. And I know it’s all because of you.”
“Really, sweetie, I didn’t do much,”
“I know it was you. I may not be ready to confide in my brothers, yet, but I am getting there. I will, soon.”
Rhea held her hand, squeezing it tight. Raashi raised her head, searching for Sameer’s car and found him approaching them. Holding Rhea’s hand, she stepped down from the pavement onto the road to wait for Sameer.
Raashi was so focused on what Rhea was saying that she didn’t see the speeding bike coming her way.
She heard Sameer’s frantic yell a second before the bike almost slammed into her.
She stepped back, just in time and tripped over the pavement, falling onto her back.
The biker never slowed down, he went careening into the traffic and disappeared around a corner.
If she would have dithered even a second longer, he would have crashed right into her.
Raashi opened her eyes as pain radiated down her back. She winced.
Rhea’s worried face came into focus and in the next moment Sameer crouched in front of her.
“Raashi, oh, God! Are you okay?” Sameer asked her.
She was unable to speak. She was completely dazed and disoriented.
“Raashi, talk to me, sweetheart. Are you hurt?” Sameer asked her. When she still didn’t reply, he touched her hand.
“Talk to me, baby,” Sameer implored
Raashi could hear the agony and fear in his voice. She swallowed as she tried to gather her bearings. Her back hurt due to the fall, but that was it.
“My back hurts,” she whispered, swallowing again.
Sameer cursed long and hard. A crowd of onlookers had gathered and he could see several of Raashi’s staff surround them. Rhea held out a bottle of water and Sameer grabbed it.
He gently lifted Raashi’s head and helped her take a few sips of the water.
“Sweetheart, do you think you can move?” Sameer asked her.
When she nodded, he gathered her in his arms and carried her to his car, which he had left running on the side of the road in his rush to get to her. Rhea followed him as he lay Raashi down on the back seat of the car.
“I am going to take her to the doctor and then drive her to her house. Go home with Shauna. I will talk to you later.”