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Mithran Yadav walked into the Jodhpur Palace, decked up like a bride, for his best friend Shravan Maheswari's wedding reception. Isha, their college mate, had travelled with him for the function.

His other best friend, Abhay Agnihotri, and his wife Kiara had also reached the destination.

"Hey man. When did you reach?" Mithran asked.

"Just now. Siddhu came here a few days ago. Mom and Dad are meeting with Shravan and Drishti's parents. When did you arrive?" Abhay Agnihotri asked.

"We arrived by evening. Booked into a nearby hotel. Took a much-needed nap. And here we are," Mithran said.

"Let's go inside. We are already late," Isha said.

"As you wish, darling," Mithran said with a wink, earning an eye roll in return from Isha Mehta.

He had known Isha Mehta since his college days. After their graduation in Bangalore, Shravan had gone abroad for post-graduation, and he himself had worked as an architect at a firm in New Delhi.

Unlike Shravan Maheswari, he came from a humble background. His father was a government employee, and his mother a homemaker.

After his post-graduation, Shravan had brought up the idea of a startup, and Mithran, being a risk-seeker, dived into it without a second thought.

And their company thrived; their first project was a huge success.

Isha had joined their team when they started, and their friendship had grown over time.

If anything, his parents' marriage had taught him that friendship is more important in a marriage, even more than love.

He did not want a submissive woman as his wife. He wanted someone who wouldn't hesitate to call out his bull.

And he wanted friendship in his marriage.

That's where Isha came in. Isha was his friend, and he had even had an on-and-off crush on her over the years. So he was pretty sure love could happen once they got married.

All he had to do was get her to agree to his proposal.

They walked into the ballroom where the function was held, and he saw Drishti complaining about something to Shravan.

"How about a photo, guys?" Mithran asked as he walked towards them with Isha, Abhay, and Kiara.

"You guys are late," Drishti accused as soon as she saw them.

"Sorry, Drishti. Kiara had an appointment with a doctor in the morning, so we got delayed," Abhay said.

"Oh, what happened to bhabhi?" Drishti asked in worry.

"Nothing. Just a light fever," Kiara said.

"Okay, guys. Stay closer for the photo," the photographer called out.

The formal party was over soon, and Shravan's mother took Drishti with her to introduce her to the other family members.

Mithran stepped out into the garden with Shravan and Abhay.

"You look very happy," Mithran commented, noticing the constant smile on Shravan's face.

"I am," Shravan said with a sigh of content.

"Aww. Shravan is in love," Mithran couldn't help but tease. Shravan had always been the silent type, always opting for peace. People had mistaken his silence for arrogance many times.

It was kind of hard to believe that the silent, peace-loving Shravan had fallen in love with the loud and crazy troublemaker Drishti.

"I don't know, Mithran. I have never been in love before, so I don't really know what love is. If wanting to wake up to Drishti's face every morning and wanting to go to sleep with her in my arms is love, then yes, I think I'm in love," Shravan said, staring at nothing, with a smile on his face.

Mithran gaped at his best friend as he heard the poetic note in Shravan's words.

Shravan Maheswari being poetic? Would the surprises cease to happen?

Not necessarily, as long as Drishti Maheswari is in his life. They had seen a totally different side of Shravan ever since Drishti had come into his life. Mithran was pretty sure that Shravan had fallen in love at first sight of the green-eyed beauty.

"But then I wonder if it is too soon to know whether it is love or not. I mean, we have known each other for hardly a month. That is too short a time to fall in love, right?" Shravan asked in confusion.

"Maybe. You shouldn't hurry into something without being sure of your feelings," Abhay said in a tone that made both friends look at him.

If Shravan had changed for the better after marriage, the exact opposite had happened with Abhay. To think that his was a love marriage unlike Shravan's accidental marriage.

"Abhay, is everything alright?" Shravan asked.

"Of course, yes," Abhay said too quickly, raising more suspicion in the other two people's minds.

"If you say so," Mithran said, not at all believing what Abhay said. Something is definitely wrong with him. If it were anything other than marriage, they could have pried it out of him.

But marriage is between two people, and no third party is allowed to interfere.

"Tell us more about you and Drishti," Abhay prompted. They let him divert the topic rather than prying him to come out with his problems.

"What do I tell? She is so totally opposite of me. She sometimes gets on my nerves like crazy. Logically speaking, I should stay a hundred miles away from her to stay sane. But when I don't see her around, a weird restlessness happens to me. As I said, the feelings are so confusing, but I like those feelings," Shravan said.

"Maybe you should stop confusing us too," Mithran joked.

"Maybe I should," Shravan said with a chuckle.

Mithran's phone rang, and he saw that it was a call from his mother.

"Excuse me, guys. I need to take this call," he excused himself and moved a little away from the other two and attended the call.

"Amma," he greeted as soon as he picked up the call.

"Mithran, he is bringing her home," he heard his mother crying.

"Who? What are you saying, Amma?" he asked in confusion.

"Your father is bringing her home. I heard him talking on the phone," his mother was hysterical.

"I don't understand, Amma. Who is he bringing home?"

"His daughter. He is bringing his daughter home."

"No, that's not possible. That must be a misunderstanding. How can there be a daughter? I'm an only son," Mithran said, trying to comprehend what his mother was saying.

"I will die if he brings her home. I have always turned a blind eye to him having them in his life. But I can't let her into my home," his mother cried through the phone.

"You knew it all along?" he asked in disbelief.

He couldn't believe that his father had another family. He had always known that there was a lack of communication between his parents.

His mother had always been the typical obedient wife who never questioned her husband's words. But he couldn't believe that she would have let him have an affair.

And his father, he had always seen his father's love for his mother. He had seen the way his father cared for his mother.

All this while, he had thought that his mother's nature was the problem in their relationship. He had never realised that his father's affair was what made his mother that way.

"Relax, please. I will be there by tomorrow morning. We will talk then. Take care, Amma," he said and hung up the call.

"Mithran? What's the matter?" Shravan asked as soon as he came back.

"I don't know. I need to get back home soon. Mom sounds so panicked. She was almost hysterical. Give me a moment. I need to make another call. You guys go inside," Mithran said and proceeded to book early morning tickets for his return journey.

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