I was waiting in the car, totally hooked on my PUBG game, knowing she'd take forever to transform from a witch to a human. Lost in the virtual battleground, I suddenly heard a thk thk sound.

I looked up, tilting my head, and there she was, standing outside the car. My heart skipped a beat as I swiftly opened the door, inviting her in. Damn she is looking beautiful , I hope my eyes are working properly . With a mix of excitement and anticipation, I asked her to take a seat.

"Badi jldi aa gyi , Mu to dho leti km se km , vha jake darana hai kya sbko " I commented playfully

"Shutup, okay! I know I look decent," she replied, knitting her brows, trying to defend her appearance.

As I saw her opening the back door of the car,  I quickly dashed towards her to stop her

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked, a frown forming on my face.

"Just going to sit," she replied casually.

"I'm not your driver, sit in the front, okay?" I said, trying to assert myself.

"Do you have Alzheimer's?" she teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh! Of course not, yrr," I replied, slightly offended.

"So why do you forget that your lovely mom doesn't like it when she finds me with you?" she retorted, a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"Yeah, I know she doesn't behave well with you. But please, just forget about her for a while, okay? I apologize on her behalf," I said, trying to ease the situation and mend any tension.

"Okay," she replied, shrugging her shoulders, showing a willingness to let it go.

Well I was expecting you to take some more time, but I see you're quick," I remarked, a mix of surprise and curiosity in my voice.

"Why?" she asked, her forehead creased with a frown, wanting to understand my perspective.

"Yeah because, that's what normal girls do, right? Oh, sorry, I forgot, you are not a girl, you are a Monkey " I replied, playfully teasing her.

"Shutup!! There wasn't much to do. Because of the preparations, I was already wearing nice clothes, I guess, so I just did my hair and came out," she explained, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

"I hope I'm looking decent enough... Am I?" she asked, looking herself up and down, seeking reassurance.

"Ya ya! , ab shakal ka to kch kr nhi skte" I replied mischievously

"Youuu shutup okk" she replied hiting his shoulder getting irritated with my constant teasing

I chuckled at her annoyed face and kept a finger on my mouth

AADHIRA'S POV:-

So, I was already wearing my pink suit, and all I did was let my hair down from a messy bun and put on some lip gloss. With my watch on, I stepped outside.



The car stopped in front of Jai Mata di Jewellers, and let me tell you, the store was absolutely stunning! Their collections were mind-blowing, man!



The shopkeeper was showing us the rings that aunty had already shortlisted for Shayra, so we could finalize one of them...

Let me tell you, all of them were so beautiful that it was really difficult for me to choose the one. I was going through them when I suddenly heard a voice,

"Ooh god , how much more time you are going to take" Kabir exclaimed irritatingly

"What? Me?" I replied, shocked by his comment.

"Yeah, you! You were supposed to help me, but it seems like you're more of a problem here," he commented, sounding frustrated.

"First of all, I came here to help you, but you're not even taking a good look at the rings. Why don't you send a picture of them to your future wife and let her choose?" I suggested

"Good idea, but I don't have her number. And besides, I don't have this much useless time to waste," he replied coldly

"What? You don't have her number?" I asked, even more shocked.

"No, and that's none of your business. So, please choose quickly," he said, sounding a bit impatient.

"But what if I choose one and she doesn't like it?" I questioned

"That's absolutely not your problem, and it's not mine either. Just do as I told you," he replied more Rudely

"Rude" I murmured

"Thanks " he replied completely disinterested

Mujhe kya , uski engagement hai , use nhi pdi to mai kya kru ! (Why should I care , it's his engagement if he doesn't care then why does I do!)

"Hey can you please help me in finalising a ring, I can't do this on my own" I asked to one of the staff

"Sure mam , why don't you try them on your hands , you will definitely get a better idea" one of the staffs suggested

"Good idea" I replied with a smile

"This is looking beautiful na" I said looking to a ring in my hands and gesturing towards Kabir to know his answer

"Finally" was the first word to leave his mouth

"Yeah this is actually looking good" he replied taking my hand in his and suddenly a sense of shivers ran in my hands making them cold and my mind completely blank just at once

"get this one packed" he ordered , bringing me out of my la la land and then I realised

Ooh fish ! I was day dreaming, and that also me with this chachundar ! NO , NEVER!!

While they went to pack our order , I just noticed a cute ring with a small butterfly on it

"Can I just try it" I asked taking the ring in my hands admiring it



"Sure mam"

"Wow , this is looking so beautiful" I exclaimed seeing the ring in my hands



After admiring the ring for a good 5 minutes, I started trying to remove it.

"Okk thanks," I said, but to my dismay, the ring got stuck on my finger! Oh no!

"SHIT!" I exclaimed, feeling a sense of fear as it was extremely expensive for me. Kabir turned to see what happened, but I was too focused on trying to remove the ring, even though my finger was starting to hurt badly. My emotions were a mix of frustration, panic, and desperation as I struggled to free my finger from the ring.

"What happened?" he asked as he finally came up behind me.

"This ring... this rii...ng got stuck on my finger," I stuttered, struggling to form proper words. My eyes welled up with tears, and they started streaming down my cheeks due to fear. I couldn't control myself as I thought of the consequences.

"Okk, calm down. Let me see," he said softly, gently wiping away my tears.

He took out a hanky from his pocket and gently wiped away my tears. Then, he held my hand, and I felt a strange but nice feeling. It was the first time a guy had held my hand like that.

He tried pulling out the ring calmly and patiently, but it didn't budge. I closed my eyes tightly in pain as it was hurting badly while he was trying to remove it

"Aaaaah," a scream escaped my mouth as he applied some force to remove the ring and He quickly let go of my hand.

"No need to remove this," he said firmly, looking into my eyes and those were the only words I heard from him after that.

"Get the bill ready of this one as well," he instructed the shopkeeper, asking if they had any ointment.

"What?" My eyes widened in surprise.

Oh my god, I hope I don't die of shocks today I thought, feeling a mix of anxiety and relief trying to know what's in his mind

I hurriedly ran after him, desperately trying to explain that I couldn't afford the ring. It was way too expensive for me, and I didn't have the money for it.

"Who's asking you to pay?" he replied, sounding a bit exasperated.

"But... but I can't take it from you either," I stammered, feeling conflicted.

"So what else are we supposed to do now? Shall I cut your finger and then take out the ring?" he retorted sarcastically.

I paused for a moment ,

"Umm... no, okay," I finally said, my voice trailing off as I fell silent

After the payment was done, he gently took my hand and applied ointment to soothe the redness caused by our struggle with the ring. I never expected this from him, especially not from someone I used to fight with a lot during my childhood. For the first time someone took care of me . It felt indescribably nice and beautiful.

"Is it okay now?" he asked softly, his voice filled with concern.

"Yeah," I replied, my voice filled with gratitude and a hint of surprise.

He has really changed a lot, or maybe I never took the time to get to know him better and made my own assumptions. Turns out, he's a genuinely nice person.

"Be careful next time," his words snapped me out of my thoughts.

I nodded in response, feeling a mix of gratitude and a desire to make things less awkward.

-------

We sat in the car, surrounded by an uncomfortable silence that lasted for what felt like an eternity.

Finally, breaking the silence, I mustered up the courage to say, "I'm sorry."

"What?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Sorry," I repeated, emphasizing the word, hoping to convey my sincerity.

"Why?" he asked, his gaze meeting mine, his eyes searching for an explanation.

Taking a deep breath, I mustered the courage to speak my truth. "I'm sorry for the ring," I replied

With a gentle smile, he shook his head. "No need to apologize. It's okay," he reassured me.

"I often find myself doing favors, especially for animals. This time, it was you, chipkali." He replied teasing me

""What?" I scrunched my nose, a playful expression on my face.

He chuckled and replied, "Arre it's okk yrr, don't bother about it too mch okk."

"Okk," I said, a smile spreading across my face .

KABIR'S POV :-

Feeling a mix of emotions, I couldn't help but reflect on the situation. Seeing her in pain made me feel a twinge of hurt myself. Even though I may not like her, I knew deep down that she couldn't have done it intentionally. She wasn't that kind of person. So, I decided to buy the ring. It may not have been too expensive for me, but for her, it could have had serious consequences if anyone else found out.

As I fastened my seat belt, ready to start the car, my eyes caught a message from my mom. It said, "Don't forget to pick up your outfit from the designer."

Seeing the message, the first thing I did was hiting my head on the steering wheel in frustration.

"Hey, the steering wheel will break," she said, playfully

"What?!" I exclaimed, a hint of amusement in my tone.

"Yes, I mean your head won't break so easily, I know. That's why I cared about the steering wheel," she replied, her words laced with a touch of playfulness.

"What happened? Is everything okay?" She asked

"Yes, it is. Just that mom asked me to pick up my outfit as well," I replied with a sigh.

"So what's the point of hitting your head so hard?" she asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.

"Nothing, just that I hate all this shopping and stuff, and now I'm getting super irritated with it," I explained, frustration evident in my tone.

"Ooh," she replied, understanding my annoyance.

-----

Picking up the outfit, we made our way out of the store. It hardly took Kabir 10 minutes because he didn't even look at it once, just picked the first one.

"Umm, can I ask you something?" she asked, her fingers fidgeting nervously as we walked out of the store.

"Would you mind if I say no?" I replied, teasing her a little.

"Please, Kabir, listen. It's important," she insisted, her tone filled with urgency and a hint of vulnerability.

"Ok, say," I replied, my lips forming a tight smile.

"Uuhhmm , actually, I want you to not tell anybody that I was out with you and helped with all this, especially the ring incident. You know how Shivani aunty dislikes me," she stated, her voice filled with concern.

"Relax, Aadhira. I won't tell anyone about the ring. Look, I know my mom doesn't like you, but that's just how she is. I don't even know the reason behind it. You're her best friend's daughter, after all. But don't worry about anything. I'll manage everyone, okay? And to be honest, she behaves that way with everyone," I reassured her, trying to ease her worries.

"Btw, should I say one more thing?" she asked, sounding curious.

"Go ahead," I replied

"You have really changed, I must say. You aren't that frustrating, irritated, and arrogant anymore. And most especially, not the 'macchar Kabir' that I used to hate as a child," she said, laughing.

"Hey, shutup! Okay, I wasn't ever like that, okay? It's just that you used to annoy me a lot, especially when we were left to play together. Oh god, you would just eat my ears with your nonsense. So, who doesn't get irritated?" I responded, joining in her laughter.

"Shutup, okay, I was a very nice girl," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

I let out a light chuckle, finding her response amusing.

"Okay, drive then. I need to go home," she said, sounding quite annoyed this time.

"Alright, as you say. But I thought you asked me for ice cream as a favor for helping you today. That was more of a problem indeed," I said, teasing her a little.

"Oh yeah, wait, what did you say?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Nothing," I replied with a laugh, trying to play it off.

_________________________________________

We pulled up in front of an ice cream parlor, and I asked her to go and get the ice cream just for herself because I didn't want any.

"So-called fitness freak," I heard her murmuring under breath but it was clear to me.

"What?" I asked, curiously to know her response .

"Nothing," she quickly replied, not wanting to start a conversation about it.

"Alright, then go and get the ice cream. I don't have the whole day to waste, okay?" I said

As she was about to head outside, lost in her thoughts, I  suddenly stopped her remembering her habit of making of so called quick choices that makes her eternity to make and got out of the car.

"I couldn't believe he said that! "He's such a monkey, and I'm dealing with a crab," she muttered to herself.

But I heard it and Left out a light chuckle

After finishing her ice cream, just as she was about to get back into the car, she spotted a beautiful jhumka vendor on the street. Without any hesitation, she ran after it, completely captivated.



Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to get out of the car and see what was going on. There she was, standing in front of the jhumka display, looking confused as she tried to decide which one to buy.

Internally, I facepalmed myself against the car because I knew my hour is about to be wasted again. Why did I bring this  chalti - firti aafat (walking disaster) here!

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, I finally approached her.

"Choose quickly, or I'll leave you here," I stated firmly, trying to hide my frustration.

"No, you can't," she pleaded, her eyes pleading for more time.

"You know I can, and no one will question me," I replied confidently, putting on my sunglasses to emphasize my point.

"Accha, please, just 10 minutes," she begged, her voice filled with desperation.

"No, only 5 minutes," I insisted, trying to compromise while still maintaining my patience.

She stared at the jhumkas for a solid 2 minutes before storming back to Kabir, stomping her legs in frustration.

"So, which one did you buy?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"None," she replied, her tone filled with disappointment.

"What?!" I exclaimed, shocked by her response.

"You wasted my 15 minutes just to come back empty-handed?" I retorted, clearly annoyed.

"Well, you didn't give me enough time to decide, and you didn't even help me," she stated, flipping her hair back in defiance.

"Useless Kabir! Now, please, let's not argue. Just drive, okay?" She said

I facepalmed myself and shook my head in disbelief. But, surprisingly, I couldn't help but find her cute in that moment.

Alright" I replied grinning and drove towards the house