A priest was called to look at their 'Kundalis' and suggest a date for their wedding. He praised that they both were suited for each other and would make a wonderful couple. He then said that there was a date a month from now or they'll have to wait for the next 7 months at least.

A commotion broke out, some were against the idea of them getting married in a month especially Taani and Yuvraj, while some were in favour of it. Of course Meenal and Sumitra convinced everyone to marry Taani and Yuvi in a month. And a date was fixed for the engagement a week from now.

"I'm just saying why delay the inevitable? 7 months is quite a long time to wait and anyways a month is more than enough to prepare for the wedding." Said Meenal while Sumitra nodded her head in agreement. Soon everybody agreed as well, albeit a bit reluctantly.

Taani literally won everyone's hearts with her charm and beauty. Meenal hugged her and started crying saying she was just so happy as Taani gently consoled her.

Gifts were exchanged, both the families were wealthy so no expenses were spared. They both went all out to welcome the other family. Now Taani and Yuvraj were sitting next to each other talking to each other's families. Yuvraj was surprised to see her gentle behaviour. 'Either I'm mistaking her or she is one hell of an actress to act so well in front of everyone. It has to be the latter.' He thought as he found himself stealing glances at her once in a while.

"Bas kar do bhai, aapko hi milengi wo kuch din mai, ese chhup chhup ke kya dekhna?" (𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓?) Rishi who sat beside him, said to Yuvi and coincidentally Taani who was taking a sip of water at that moment started coughing as she also heard what Rishiraj just said.

"Tu to ghar pe mil mujhe, batata hu mai." (𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆!) Yuvi ignored Rishi and gently patted Taani on her back. Ranveer who had gotten up to do the same, sat back down seeing as Yuvraj was there to help his daughter out. In fact everyone gave them teasing smiles at this.

"Bua! Buaa!" Kiara started shouting as she saw how close Yuvraj was sitting next to Taani and she didn't like it at all and wanted to get off of her mother's lap and go to Taani instead. Dhriti helped her stand and she wasted no time to wobble up to Taani. Taani made her sit on her lap and Kiara instantly slapped Yuvi's hands away from her. "Dur! Dur!" (𝑨𝒘𝒂𝒚! 𝑨𝒘𝒂𝒚!)

Yuvraj instantly removed his hands away from Taani to placate the little girl, making everyone laugh. "You have got a very tough competition for Taani's attention Yuvi, Kiki never lets anyone get close to her." Dhriti said as she saw how her daughter was getting possessive of Taani.

"Just see, how we become best friends in no time, then Taani will be the one getting shooed away." He sarcastically said, pinching Kiara's cheeks playfully.

Taani gave him a side eye, clutched Kiara tightly and said "No chance!" and Yuvi just smirked at her. Seeing their playful banter everyone was quite happy and content with their decision.

Soon everything was over and it was time for the Singhanias to head home. Taani once again touched everyone's feet and took their blessings. Even though at first a lot of people didn't want this marriage to happen, they were happy to see that their daughter would be marrying into such a great family. Avi was still not happy about it and made it quite clear to everyone as well.

Taani was in her room looking at today's pictures. She was mesmerized by her and Yuvi's photo, they literally looked like a pair of angel and devil, with her in all white and him in all black. To be quite honest, they did make a beautiful couple. Just a month, and everything would change. For good or bad, she didn't know. But she decided to play her role as someone's wife and daughter-in-law with all her heart. She would do everything to make her soon to be in-laws happy.

***

Preparations were in full swing, in both the families. A guest list was being prepared, invitations were being sent, and many other things like these were being done.

Just two days later, her dad asked her to accompany him and Siya to a charity banquet. She was more than happy to go as she wanted relief from these preparations and constant reminders of her impending wedding. She wasn't new to these banquets and knew that they were very elaborate and lavish. A lot of her friends who she knew because of her father's business were going to be there. So she decided to go bold with her outfit, and wore a red coloured saree and applied bold red lipstick as well.

They reached there in time and her father introduced them to a few people and as she guessed, a few of her friends were standing near the open bar. They called out to her as soon as they saw her.

Pranav Khanna, son of a business associate of her father whistled as she sauntered over to them. "Woah there miss, went all out today huh?" He teasingly said, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. She returned the hug briefly and moved away.

"Might as well, just look at you all." Taani replied as she alternated between giving a hug and shaking their hands in greeting.

"Why haven't we seen you for so long? Where have you been? You've missed quite a lot of dinners. And I have so much gossip for you!" Sonia said as she sipped on her drink, she offered to get one for Taani as well, but she refused.

"Breath Sonia! I've been away for an internship. I'm back now though. So what have I missed?" She excitedly asked, she didn't hang out with these people on a daily basis because she couldn't relate to them more often than not, as they were the epitome of rich and spoiled and Taani didn't like it. But since she was on the same level as them in wealth, even above some of them, they treated her with respect and as a part of their group so she didn't mind spending a little time with them in these banquets, acting like one of them.

"Raghav and Mahira are engaged!" Sonia said getting all excited.

"No way!" Taani widened her eyes in a dramatic way as if she heard the most exciting secret, in reality though she couldn't care less about Raghav and Mahira. "They both are jerks though and deserve each other." She said with contempt. She would never judge anyone so harshly but Raghav really was a creep who would always find ways to flirt with her, even when she told him not to and Mahira was a stuck up bitch who thought everyone was beneath her.

"Where's your shadow today?" Vaibhav asked. Taani scrunched her eyebrows in confusion and asked "Who?"

"Mehra obviously, doesn't he always hover around you whenever you guys attend any event? I bet you guys are going to end up marrying one day." He went on to say how he could never even approach Taani when he was around and finally got a chance today. Taani didn't reveal that she was already spoken for now. Nor did she say anything about her upcoming marriage.

Taani genuinely became upset when she heard about Siddhartha. They would always come to these events together and then make fun of these stuck up people afterwards. Today she was all alone. "I don't know, he must be busy." She vaguely replied and changed the conversation.

All this time, Yuvraj who was standing a few feet away from her with some of his business associates listened to their every word. 'Now she's showing her real face, she's just as stuck up as all these people. I knew it.' He bitterly thought.

He became angry when they mentioned her and Siddhartha getting married in future and she didn't refuse it nor did she say anything about Yuvraj and her wedding in a month. He walked up to them and stood beside Taani.

"Surprised to see you here Ms. Mittal." Taani was shocked to see Yuvraj standing beside her and panicked that he would somehow reveal that they were getting married. She didn't want to deal with her friend's taunts and teasings. All her friends looked between them in suspicion.

"Mr. Singhania, it's surprising to see you here as well." She said, maintaining her calm composure.

"It's a charity event and I'm one of the top businessmen of course I'm ought to be here." He confidently replied and mocked her simultaneously. "Of course." Was all Taani said and prayed that he would move along now but surprise surprise, he didn't. In fact he kept staring at her.

"Won't you introduce us to this gentleman Taani?" Sonia asked looking at Yuvraj with blatant interest, the way she looked irked Taani a lot but she didn't bother saying anything.

"Uh...he is a business tycoon and a family friend. Yuvraj Singhania." She replied not knowing what else to call him. Yuvraj clenched his teeth in anger as she called him a friend. He stood and engaged in a few conversations with a few of them then moved on from there without even sparing Taani a glance.

Taani also stood with them for quite some time and then walked out into the balcony to get some air, staying in the crowd for a long time always made her feel suffocating. She took a deep breath as she looked down at the busy streets. Suddenly she was yanked and dragged to the back of the balcony away from everyone's eyes.

She struggled to get free but the person holding her was far too strong. He flipped her and made her stand against a wall, as soon as her back touched the wall she opened her eyes in fright, only to look at the angry face of Yuvraj. "What the hell Yuvraj?" She tried to move away only for Yuvraj to take hold of her throat in a firm grip.

"Try moving again and you'll see the worst side of me." He said tightening his hold on her throat once in warning. Her eyes widened in fear at his actions.

"What is the meaning of this?" She asked trembling beneath his fingers, in anger or anticipation? She didn't know.

"Just wanted to get some things through your pretty little head, princess." He said moving close to her face, almost touching her lips with his but not actually doing it.

She tried to move her face away from him, only for her head to be met with the wall. He smirked at her attempt and leaned even closer. 'She can be cute sometimes.' He thought as he looked at her.

"What things?" She asked in impatience.

"First, you never let another man touch you, let alone hug you." He tightened his hold on her throat briefly to warn her. Instantly she went on her defence mode. "It's my body and I can do what I want with it. And hugging someone is not a crime!" She said in anger.

"Oh my darling, then you'll see what I will do in retaliation and I can assure you, you won't like it one bit." She pouted and looked up at him in anger but didn't bother replying to him. "Stop calling me that and what else?" She asked instead.

"Second, when someone tries to ship you with anyone, you firmly reply that you're getting married to me!" Taani's eyes widened when she realised that this cheeky bastard heard everything her friends said. "It's none of their business who I'm getting married to." She replied

"Oh but it is and you make a point to tell them that." He looked at her red lips, which looked so kissable right this instant.

"Get away from me now!" She tried to shove him away to no avail, he didn't even budge.

"Last but definitely not the least kitten, you dare to introduce me as your friend in front of anyone else ever again and married or not I won't think twice to kiss the daylights out of you in front of them. Got it?" He said, brushing his lips with her just once, getting a taste of cherry on them. He wanted to do much more than that but seeing her bewildered look he held himself back.

Taani's eyes widened beyond imagination at his threat. "You bastard, get away from me!" She tried shoving him away once again but this time he moved away of his own accord and placed his hands in his pockets with a lean posture acting like nothing happened, like he didn't just threaten her.

"Have a wonderful evening, Ms. soon to be Singhania." He gave her a mocking bow, turned and walked out of there, leaving her a blushing and fumbling mess. She stood there for a few more minutes trying to get her heartbeat to slow down, and then moved back in the hall.

She literally stumbled as she saw him standing near the entrance with her parents. Ranveer waved at her to come. She made her way towards them, albeit a bit hesitatingly.

"Taani kahan chali gayi thi? Kabse tumko dhud rahe hain hum." (𝑻𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖? 𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈.) Siya said clutching on to her hand in concern.

"Yahin thi maa, don't worry." (𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒂, 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚.) She said, avoiding eye contact with Yuvraj.

"Dekho Yuvraj bhi yahan aya hua tha or mujhe pata hi nahi tha, tum mili?" (𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒀𝒖𝒗𝒓𝒂𝒋 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎?) Ranveer asked oblivious to her previous interaction with Yuvraj.

"Ji papa." (𝒀𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒅.) Ranveer nodded at her and turned to Yuvraj once again. "Ab hum chalte hain beta tum apna dhyan rakhna." (𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅.)

"Ji aap bhi papa." (𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒅𝒂𝒅.) Yuvraj said as he bent down to touch their feet. They felt proud of him that even after being amongst so many big businessmen he didn't hesitate to touch their feet. "Bye Taani." He said with a sweet smile. In return she just narrowed her eyes at him, said a quick 'bye' and hurried out of there behind her parents, scared that he would do something again if she stayed back. Yuvraj let out a loud laugh as he saw her literally fleeing from there.

'Kitni dur bhagogi meri jaan? Aana to tumhe mere hi paas hai...' (𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒐, 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆? 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚.)

To whomsoever's birthday it is today, a very happy birthday to you love. Have a wonderful day and a long life. May you achieve everything you ever wished for. Vote and comment.

Shukriya❣️

-Your Taani