21. Drishti-Darsh?

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"Aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai!" Darsh exclaimed, whistling loudly as he threw an arm over Vihaan's shoulder.

"It's just been two months since Dad told me to get married, aur tere yaar ki shaadi do hafte baad hai," Vihaan rolled his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Mera chhod, tu apna bata Darsh Farsh, tu bohot aashiqui lada raha hai aaj kal," Vihaan smirked, nudging him.

Darsh, mid-sip of his chai, ended up spitting it—right onto Aadvik.

"Kutte! Pagal hai kya!" Aadvik exclaimed, standing up abruptly. "Abhi ek aur nayi CA ke saath meeting hai meri! Pura suit ka satyanash ho gaya!" He frantically tried wiping the chai off his suit with a napkin.

"Tere toh chaalis baar accountants hi badalte rehte," Abhinav said, casually flipping through the menu. "Ye nahi ki kabhi CEO badal de."

Vihaan burst into laughter while Darsh barely held himself back from spitting out his drink again.

"Badlunga," Aadvik scoffed, "bacchhe toh hone de pehle!"

"Waise," Darsh said, glancing intentionally at Abhinav, "Maine suna, Veda ki shaadi fix ho gayi."

Silence. Absolute silence.

"Kya?!" All three of them yelled in unison.

Aadvik dramatically stood up. "Kya?! Ye nahi ho sakta!"

"Aur serial baazi kar le, saale," Vihaan chimed in.

"Tu zyada te-te mat kiya kar," Aadvik glared at Darsh and Vihaan.

"Mazak," Darsh began, but the second he noticed the dead-serious expressions of his three best friends, he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Nahi kar raha hoon!"

A nervous chuckle escaped him, but their continued stares made him shut up real quick.

"Veda se mazak nahi," Aadvik muttered darkly. "Muh tod dunga."

Abhinav smirked. "Tab toh Kartik Deshmukh ko bhi nahi chhorega?"

"Ye kaun hai?" Aadvik placed his cup back on the table.

"Veda ka boss,"

"Tera sautan," Vihaan and Abhinav said in unison.

They all exchanged glances before bursting into laughter, cracking silky-smooth jokes like they always did.

"Bhai, tujhe pata hai?" Vihaan suddenly said. "Darsh likes someone!" He nudged Darsh, who instantly choked on his sandwich.

"Kyaaaaaa?!" All of them, including Darsh himself, yelled.

"Haan! Bhai, sun!" Vihaan leaned forward dramatically. "Main IP Karol Bagh mein tha, khane-peene ka samaan lene gaya tha. Aur tabhi maine ek gadha dekha—sheeshe wali choodiyan le raha tha! Haina, mere gadhe?"

Aadvik hooted. "Vo unlucky aurat kaun hai, bhai? Pehle se hi uske liye bura lag raha hai."

"Bhakkk yaar! Kaise ho tum sabh?!" Darsh groaned, throwing a napkin at them.

"After years of waiting, finally teri shaadi ho rahi hai," Swastika said, watching Drishti sitting carefully on the bed, ensuring her mehendi-adorned hands didn’t smudge the white bedsheets.

"Sach mein yaar, it feels like bas kal hi hum Wattpad ke comment section mein mile the, aur aaj tu meri shaadi attend kar rahi hai," Drishti whispered, eyes moistening.

Swastika let out a watery chuckle. "Bhai, tu ro kyun rahi hai? Main kahin chhod ke nahi jaa rahi."

"Haan," she smiled before adding, "Arey, jab mujhe tera courier aaya na, shaadi ka invitation... I was like, ‘Kaun haramzada aisa mazak kar raha mujhse?!’ But bhai, main itni khush ho gayi!" She plopped onto the bed, sighing.

"Sach mein yaar, remember the video calls? Late-night texts? Ek doosre ko gaaliyan dena? And that promise—that we'll never forget each other and meet someday?" Swastika wiped her own tears. "Aur dekh, hum mil gaye! Hum tab fourteen ke the, aur ab—ab hum almost early thirties mein hai!"

Drishti chuckled, shaking her head.

"Time flies really fast, doesn’t it?"

"For sure," Drishti's grin widened.

"It's 12:31 bhaii!! Chal so ja, warna agar late uthi tu, toh sab chillane lagenge. Waise bhi Kumbhkaran ki behen hai tu!"

Drishti burst into laughter, rolling her eyes as Swastika dramatically flopped onto the pillows.

"Drishti yaar, pata hai? BHU mein ek professor hai," Swastika started, sticking genda phool onto the haldi board. "Bhai, matlab... theek-thaak dikhte hain, lekin uff—alfaaz nahi hai mere paas! Unhone mujhe mere birthday pe feminist literature di thi!"

Drishti smirked. "Oooof, intellectual banda hai toh!"

"Arey sun!" Swastika continued, eyes twinkling. "He's so kind, so mature, so responsible. Ek baar na, main lecture le rahi thi aur kisi student ne mujhpe comment pass kar diya. Bhai, agle din sabko pata chal gaya ki usne usi student se 'I am really sorry, Miss Swastika' do sau baar likhwa diya, vo bhi notice board pe!"

"Bhhaaaaiiii?! Sachhi?! Kya banda hai vo? Literally, kaash mera pati bhi aisa ho!" Drishti sighed dramatically.

"Chup kar! Mujhe toh mere bechare jiju ke liye dukh ho raha hai!" Swastika teased, plucking another flower to stick onto the board.

"Acha chhod, tu mujhe apne swaami ke baare mein bataa!" Drishti wiggled her brows mischievously.

Swastika bit her lip. "Aur ek instance sun! He's so cute, ekdum pookie hai!"

Drishti snorted. "Pookie?"

"Haan, pookie! Sun na! Ek din mujhe strawberry pastry khaani thi, lekin Vrindavan mein kahi nahi mil rahi thi. Maine casually apni colleague se mention kiya, bas! Agle din na, mujhe mere desk pe chaar strawberry pastries mil gaye!"

"Chaaaar?" Drishti raised a brow.

Swastika nodded eagerly. "Bhai, jab maine poocha ki itni kahan se aayi, toh pata hai kya bola?"

"Kya?"

"Usne bola, ‘Do laa deta, magar accha nahi lagta. Toh chaar laa diya. Waise bhi aapka favorite hai na?’" Swastika mimicked his voice, her face softening.

Drishti gasped. "YOU LIKE HIM!"

"Hatt! Kuch bhi!"

Drishti smirked. "Uska naam kya hai?"

Swastika hesitated. "Darsh Agnihotri."

Silence.

Then—

"KUTTI! BHAI HAI VO MERA!" Drishti screamed, jumping up like a maniac. "BHAAAI REALLY?! You like that suar Darsh??!! That kutta Agnihotri is meri maa-baap ki doosri aulaad!"

Swastika stared at her, mouth hanging open. "WHAT?! Tera bhai hai vo?! Lekin—"

"Lekin-wekin chhod, tu bhi shaadi karle! Aur Instagram caption rahega—'From Wattpad comment section to marrying the loves of our life in the same mandap! Bhhaaaaiii!! Slayyyed! Mwah mwah! Chef’s kiss!"

Swastika was about to protest, but before she could—

"DIDIIIIIIIIII!"

They turned to see Darsh waving at them. But as he reached closer, his smile faltered.

Darsh’s steps slowed the moment his eyes landed on Swastika.

His usual confidence wavered—just for a fraction of a second—before he schooled his features into polite neutrality. Professional. Normal. Like how he should be around a colleague.

Swastika, on the other hand, had stilled, fingers lingering on a marigold flower she had been fixing onto the decoration board.

There was no reason to feel awkward. Absolutely none. They worked together. They had conversations. Normal conversations. So why did this feel… not that?

Drishti, standing beside her, glanced between them and bit back a smirk.

Darsh cleared his throat, nodding once. “Miss Swastika.” His voice was calm, polite—almost too polite.

Swastika straightened a little, her expression giving nothing away. “Mr. Agnihotri.”

Drishti exhaled sharply. “Arrey, tum dono office ke conference room mein nahi khade ho, normal baat kar lo.”

Darsh’s fingers twitched. “Bas… surprise ho raha hoon. Didn’t expect to see you here.”

Swastika hummed, adjusting a flower on the board. “Likewise. Me and Drishti met online though.”

"Areee I told you about that nakchadi ladki righttt? Wahi hai ye," Drishti said feeling proud.

Another pause.

Darsh shifted slightly "Kyaaaaa?" rubbing the back of his neck. "You? Uh?—uh, bride’s side?"

Swastika nodded. "And you’re the bride's brother?"

"Yeah."

Another pause.

Drishti crossed her arms. "Bhai, tum dono IT department ke servers ki tarah kyun behave kar rahe ho? Lag raha hai kabhi bhi crash ho jaoge."

Darsh huffed a quiet laugh, looking down for a second before glancing back at Swastika. His usual smirk wasn’t there—just something unreadable in his expression. “I should—uh, I’ll get going.”

Swastika nodded, her voice even. “Of course.”

Darsh turned, stepping away, but just as he reached the corner—he hesitated.

And then, almost instinctively—he glanced back.

Swastika wasn’t supposed to be looking.

But she was.

Their gazes met, just for a second. A brief, fleeting moment that neither of them acknowledged.

Then, just as quickly, he walked away.

Swastika exhaled.

Drishti, meanwhile, grinned but smirked internally “Bhai, ye toh mazedaar hai, isse to bohot maja ayega.”