UNEXPECTED PROPOSAL

UNEXPECTED PROPOSAL
On other side, Rishabh drove to Avani's home in his personal car, accompanied by Kriti. A car carrying Army personnel, along with Rishabh's parents, followed closely. Memories flooded back to the day, he had first arrived and visited Avani's home.

Flashback

Rishabh was standing at Avani's doorstep, his hands clenched into fists. Despite facing nerve-wracking situations on field posting all these years in Army, starting from his NDA entrance exams, he had never felt this nervous. Avani's mom opened the door, expressing surprise at his unexpected visit.

"Rishabh, what a pleasant surprise! Come inside," she welcomed him.

Stepping into the living room, he greeted them with a traditional way "Namaste Aunty, Namaste Uncle," and touched their feet for blessings. Avani's father was seated in the front room, Shreya came into the living room hearing all hustles, shock and confusion was clearly written on her face.

"Hey, Shreya," Rishabh greeted her. She nodded but anger was clearly visible into her eyes. Rishabh turned towards Avani's mother, asking, "Is Anish at home? Can you call him, please?" Anjali was slightly puzzled and called Anish who was upstairs in his bedroom.

Once everyone gathered in the living room, Rishabh began his confession.

"Uncle, Aunty, Anish, I am the guy who broke Avani’s heart a year ago. … I am Major Rishabh Malhotra." Before he could continue, Anish, fueled by anger, stepped forward, flaring his nostrils, and held him by the collar.

"Anish, stop it," Anil, Avani's father intervened, prompting Anish to release his grip. He released Rishabh and stepped back with visible anger in his eyes.

"I understand...what I did cannot be forgiven. But I will not hide anything from you all. Because, it's a matter of our future. Avani and I first met on the basketball court ten years ago. After a few months, I confessed my feelings to her. We have been in a relationship since then. Believe us! We have not crossed any lines and have kept our promises to each other."

"A year ago, I was assigned to a one-man mission. I cannot provide more details as it's a matter of confidentiality. The mission lasted for 8 months, and the outcome was uncertain. Only my dad, Deputy General of the Army Rajeev Malhotra, knew about this mission. Considering the circumstances, I thought about Avani. I believed it was better to be on her bad books than to keep her waiting for me indefinitely. I could have told her the truth, but knowing her, that determined girl wouldn’t have given up. That's why, I chose to lie to her, claiming that I was marrying someone else and ruthlessly broke up with her. I wanted her to move on, if I didn't make it alive.

Rishabh came forward, kneeling in front of Anjali, Avani's mother and took her hands in his. "Believe me, Aunty, I wanted her to move on with her life at that moment. Lying to her wasn't easy for me. If I had told her the truth, she wouldn't have accepted it. Breaking up with her was my only option. Now that I am back, I seek forgiveness from all of you. I know my actions indirectly caused pain to everyone. But please forgive me. I did what I felt the best way to protect her from pain, ensure her happiness, and help her move on. I never anticipated that breaking up with her would shatter her to this extent." He said, lowering his gaze.

Shreya came forward, bent in front of Rishabh, and placed her hand on his shoulder, blinking her eyes in affirmation. Rishabh's gaze went on Anjali and Anil, Avani's parents…

Anil spoke after hearing everything, “Son, we have heard you, and we can sense the truth in your words. This is the first time I am meeting you, but it seems Anjali knows you as Kriti’s brother. The revelation is a bit shocking to us, especially for me, and we are trying to process everything. However, Avani is the one you should seek forgiveness from. If she forgives you, then we will accept your apology wholeheartedly.”

Rishabh got up, nodding at them, and Avani's mother caressed his head motherly. Anish came forward, giving him a brotherly hug.

Anish, breaking the hug said to Rishabh, “It takes a lot of guts to come forward and accept the mistake. This is not even a mistake, but you did it for the sake of Avani’s happiness. But I know my sister well, how stubborn she is. We haven’t seen her laughing or smiling since then. Whenever we met, I saw the emptiness in her eyes and sadness peeking through her smiles. She will take time, but she will forgive you.”

“I hope so, Anish...” Rishabh replied.

"But Rishabh, can you promise me this will not repeat again? I can't see my sister emotionally devastated the way she was for the past year. Even if she did not share her pain with us, we know what she was going through. Can you give me your word that you will keep my sister always happy?" Anish asked him sternly.

"You have my word... I will shower her with all the happiness in the world," Rishabh said firmly, looking straight into Anish's eyes confidently.

"Good then... welcome to the family, bro," Anish said and extended his hand for a handshake. Rishabh took it, and the pact was sealed.

"I was hell angry at you for breaking my sister's heart, but you are no less than the dashing hero of a romance novels,” Shreya said, and everyone burst into laughter.

Rishabh earnestly spoke to Avani's parents and said, “I request you, please don’t let Avani know about my visit. I want to win her heart, but not with the help of anyone. Uncle, Aunty, I need your permission to bring my parents to meet you officially, once Avani arrives home.” He explained his plan to them, and they gave their permission happily.

Flashback ends

A honk of the car brought Rishabh out of his thoughts and he looked at his destination which was just a block away.

At Avani’s home,

Shreya was teasing Avani to the bones, “Sis, you are looking marvelous. I just saw him. He is a Greek God. Please don’t reject him. They seem to be filthy rich and influential too,” she winked looking at Avani.

“Will you shut up? Or there is one more way, why not you go down instead of me? You are beautiful, perfectly eligible for marriage,” Avani suggested, wiggling her eyebrows at Shreya.

“No can do… Papa already introduced me as your sister,” Shreya said with a smirk, blinking her eyes “Okay, let’s go! They are waiting.” Shreya said, pulling Avani out of her bed.

Avani, with a heavy heart, started coming down the stairs with Shreya. Although she had nothing to do with this proposal, she was unable to look up, feeling nervous and contemplating ways to reject the proposal.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Avani's mother took her to the living room, with Shreya walking beside her. Nervously looking down, Avani entered the living room fondling with her fingers A lady approached and hugged her, startling Avani.