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Vikram and Vihaan, done with their chat , Vihaan's off to his office ,just like that. Vikram's at his desk, calm and primed.

At the other side, Archana left the office and went to her apartment.

she dropped her bag on the couch and sank into it, shoulders heavy, eyes closed for a moment , letting the whole day slide off her.

After a minute ,she picked up her phone and started scrolling through Instagram.

As she scrolled , her phone lit up ,with a call from her friend Sakshi .she answered the call and said in an irritated tone , "Sakshi, seriously? you were planning your wedding and didn't even tell me ?"she let out a frustrated sigh. "Do you even realize how annoying that is ?"

Sakshi said, "Ho ho, cool down. I also just got to know my marriage is going to happen."

Archana noticed she didn't sound happy. "Are you not happy about this marriage?" she asked.

"Not at all. I don't even know him. How should I marry him?"

"By the way, what's his name?" Archana asked.

"Vihaan."

"Oh... what's his full name?"

"Vihaan Singh Rathore ."

The moment my friend said those words..

I felt like my whole body go numb.

" I was going to marry Vihaan Singh Rathore."

For a second, i just stared at the phone.

And then-

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

Sakshi started laughing on the other side while i almost dropped my phone.

"Yes , Archana.'

she laughed and said

"I'm not interested in marriage ."

I leaned back in couch slowly.

"well.." I said dramatically, "at least your future husband is hot and rich."

Sakshi groaned loudly on the other side.

"ARCHANA!"

"what? I'm trying to comfort you."

"This is not comforting."

I laughed softly.

"Come on, it's not that bad. You're rich, he's rich. Your future children are already billionaires."

"Can you be serious for one minute?"

"Okay okay, fine." I smiled. "Tell me everything."

She stayed quiet for a few seconds.

And somehow...

That silence itself told me she was stressed.

"I met him" she finally said softly.

That caught my attention immediately.

"Ohhh?" I smirked. "So our Vihaan Singh Rathore finally appeared?"

"Stop calling him ours."

I laughed quietly.

"What happened then?"

Sakshi let out another tired sigh.

"He was so... cold."

"Hm?"

"I don't know, Archana. He barely talked. Half the conversation felt like a business meeting instead of two people discussing marriage."

I listened quietly while she continued.

"And the worst part is-he wasn't even rude. He was just... distant. Calm. Quiet. Impossible to read."

Honestly?

"So what did he say?" I asked.

"He asked about my company first."

I burst out laughing instantly.

"Of course he did! CEOs will literally discuss quarterly profits before emotions."

"ARCHANA, I'm serious!"

"Okay okay!" I said between laughs. "Then?"

"He said this marriage makes sense for both families."

"Ouch."

"Exactly! SEE?"

I could practically imagine her lying dramatically on her bed while complaining.

"I swear, the entire conversation felt so formal," she continued. "And you know what annoyed me the most?"

"What?"

"He kept acting like everything was perfectly normal while my whole life was changing."

For the first time since the call started, I became quiet too.

Because underneath all the jokes...

I could hear it.

She was nervous.

Not scared.

Just overwhelmed.

"You don't like this marriage?" I asked softly.

she stayed silent for a moment.

"I don't know," she admitted quietly. "Maybe I would've liked it if he actually felt human."

I smiled a little at that.

"That bad?""Yes! And don't even try to romanticizing him. He's not some movie character."

"Hm..." I pretended to think. "Still rich though."

She groaned loudly again.

"You're impossible."

"And you're overthinking."

She went quiet again.

Then finally said in a softer voice-

"Archana... what if this never becomes real? What if we're just two people forced into the same life because our families decided it?"

"You know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think both of you are too stubborn for this to stay boring."

That finally made her laugh.

And honestly...

Hearing that small laugh felt like a relief.

"This morning, I had a meeting with Vihaan."

There was silence for a second.

Then suddenly-

"Vihaan Singh Rathore?!"

I laughed softly at her reaction. "Why are you so shocked?"

"Because first I'm getting engaged to him and now my best friend is having business meetings with him. This sounds unreal."

"It was just a meeting, Sakshi."

"Still," she muttered dramatically. "My future fiance and my best friend already finalized a business deal before the engagement."

I shook my head while smiling.

"The meeting went well actually. We discussed the project plans, and finalized the deal. That's all."

"Hm..."

"He's professional," I continued simply. "Very calm during meetings."

She sighed softly from the other side.

"Yeah... he's calm all the time."

There was a small silence between us after that.

Then I suddenly remembered something.

"By the way," I said casually, "you send me a wedding invitation directly that way."

There was silence for one second before she burst out laughing.

"Archana, it's not a wedding invitation. It's an engagement invitation."

"Oh please, same difference."

"No, it's not," she argued dramatically. "You got the wrong information."

I laughed softly while fixing my hair absentmindedly.

"Whatever it is, you still have to invite me properly."

"I'm sorry about that," she said. "Everything happened so suddenly here. I've been stuck with family discussions the whole day."

"Hm. Fine. I'll forgive you but i want you to invite me properly for wedding."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

I smiled faintly.

"So when's the engagement?"

"Friday."

"THIS Friday?"

"Yes."

I immediately sat up straighter.

"Sakshi! You're telling me this now?"

"I was busy!"

"Oh my God," I groaned dramatically. "I have schedules, meetings, presentations- you have to tell me these things at least ten days before."

She laughed softly.

"So... are you coming or not?"

I sighed dramatically while opening my calendar on the laptop beside me.

"I'll have to see my schedule and manage everything somehow."

"You HAVE to come," she said immediately. "At least come for the engagement day."

"I know, I know."

"No excuses."

"I said I'll try!"

"Archana."

"Okay fine," I laughed. "I'll be on my way somehow."

"That's better."

For the next few minutes, we talked normally again.

About work.

About family pressure.

About how weird adulthood actually was.

Slowly, the stress in her voice started fading away.

And honestly...

I was glad.

Before disconnecting, she suddenly said,

"Archana?"

"Hm?"

"If this wedding turns into a disaster, I'm moving into your house."

I laughed instantly.

"Deal."

And with that, the call finally ended.

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