Maurvi's POV

I got up and went to college. I had to submit my assignment. Thank God! it was Saturday, I would be free soon. I attended all my classes and then I wanted to go home and sleep but Prachi said she would come and stay at my place. I would have been very happy a few days ago, but today it did not look like such a good idea. Though I was happy that she was talking to me again, the fact that she trusts Naman more than she trusts me was irritating me.

I drove into my garage and was about to unlock my house. When I heard the sound of opening the door. I saw Gautam coming out of his house.

" Hello, girlfriend, how was your day? "

I smiled and said, " Good But I am really feeling very sleepy. "

" Why ? " he asked with a smile.

" Because I didn't sleep last night. " I opened the door and went inside and he followed me.

" Aww... you were so excited about being my girlfriend that you could not sleep. How cute. " He was smirking at me.

" See I am too tired to be witty at this moment. I did not sleep as I was working on my assignment. Prachi called up, she said that she would stay at my place tonight. Means I will not be able to sleep till late. "

" Why do you think she is coming to stay with you when she was avoiding you till yesterday evening? "

" Oh she would talk about you and ask me how it all happened and will try to convince me that I was wrong about Naman," I said while drinking water.

" So I will be a hot topic for you tonight. What will you tell her? "

" I don't know, my mind is really tired. I don't want her to come today. I can't take that much stress. Will you have coffee? " I asked and he nodded. I started making coffee.

"Why don't you tell her to come later if you are so tired? "

" She would think that I am avoiding her. I don't want that... Though I am still angry with her, I want her to stay away from him. I need to convince her." I prepared coffee and gave one mug to him.

" I suggest that you should not say anything about him tonight let's see what she says. Hey, by the way, aunty was right, you make the best coffee in the world. " He smiled at me and I smiled back.

" Oh Maurvi, I almost forgot to tell you, Mehul has invited me to the inauguration ceremony of their showrooms tomorrow. Mehul is opening his jewellery showroom where you can get any kind of design or style under one roof. And Megha is opening her interior designing office and handicrafts showroom. So I think it is a good time for me to introduce you to my friends. I am really eager for that as I hate those awkward moments when we meet. "

" Yes, I understand. Did you have feelings for her, I mean Megha? "

" Oh no, I just liked her and wanted to know her better. I never had feelings for her. I just asked her if she was single and Mehul replied instead of her that, No she is not. Then he said that she was his wife. I was feeling bad that I ever approached her. "

" Ok "

" So, you will come with me tomorrow and pretend to be my girlfriend? " he asked in a slow husky voice.

" Ok, I would come. What time are we supposed to go? "

" The inauguration is at 11 AM. So we would go accordingly. The dress code is ethnic wear. "

" Sure, I will be ready. " Just then my phone started ringing. It was from Prachi. I picked it up, " Hi Prachi.. "

" Hi, I just called to say that I will not be able to come tonight as my maasi is coming. Will come some other time. "

" It's ok, doesn't matter. You enjoy yourself. Bye. " I disconnected the call and took a deep breath.

" You look relieved, what did she say?" He asked me.

" Her maasi ( maternal aunt ) is coming to her place so she can't come today. Thank God I will sleep now. I was a bit tense about not sleeping for two consecutive nights. It is really scary for me. "

" Scary? I think you are exaggerating a bit. Aren't you?" He was laughing.

" Not at all... You know if I don't sleep for two nights then the third day I can even sleep while standing. "

" This is too much, you are kidding me. "

" Trust me, If I sleep all of a sudden under that condition and if anyone asks me anything, I start behaving as if I am drugged or given the medicine so that I can only speak the truth. I would even admit that I murdered someone if I really had. I mean to say that I lose control over my mind. And the funniest part is, that I won't remember anything about it when I get up. " he was looking at me with surprise and then he burst out laughing.

" You are very cute and I would love to ask you about your secrets if I find you sleeping like that. " He winked at me.

" I don't have many and I have not murdered anyone till now." I smiled and said.

" Let me ask that from you when you are talking while sleeping. I have a suggestion that we must not sleep tonight and test this theory of yours. I want to know what little things you are hiding. " He smiled mischievously and my cheeks started getting hot.

" Ok, but what if I sleep during the inauguration tomorrow? I will not be able to pretend anything. " I smiled at him with a raised eyebrow.

He smiled and said, " Ok, you are right, we will try it some other time. But it seems that you are a mysterious girl not as simple and sweet as you look and I would like to solve all the mysteries. " he said with a different kind of expression in his eyes.

" Let's see... But I am happy that she is not coming today. I am still upset with her. Naman challenged her that he would break our friendship and she still likes him. I did not want to talk to her tonight. I am irritated with her. For god's sake, is she blind? What happened to her? I don't know what she likes in him. If she would have come today, I am sure I would have said all these things. "

" It's ok, just calm down. It happens. "

" No I am sorry but I am frustrated with them. Imagine that out of 24 hours I was spending at least 10 hours with her and still, she can have a doubt about me. I tell her even if I sneeze. Doesn't it occur to her that if I ever had a crush or any feelings for him, I would have told her? I swear I am missing her a lot but I don't want to see her face too. I want to slap her hard but want to keep her away and safe from Naman." I was really angry with her.

" You are an angel, Maurvi. You are a true friend. You want to protect your friend and are fighting for it. It is ok to get angry sometimes as it is she is not taking you seriously so cool down and take your time. I will help you and if you miss your friend, just come to me and give me a hug. I won't make mind. " He smiled and winked at the last sentence.

" Thanks for the offer, I may consider it. " I smiled.

" Good. Now let me tell you that my friends can ask many questions. So be ready, they may tease us mercilessly. We need to look like a normal couple. Will you be able to do it? "

" I am good at acting so don't worry. Just don't look at me while I am telling a lie. I may get conscious otherwise. Most importantly, just don't touch me as I am very ticklish. I am not used to anyone touching me so I usually get a jerk. " He smiled mischievously and nodded.

" Ok, so I will take your leave. Oh, mom and dad are going to Mumbai tomorrow in the morning so come and meet them. They would be coming home anytime soon. " I nodded at that.

Gautam's POV

I came back home. After about half an hour she came to our place. She brought Matar paneer and Jeera Aaloo with her.

" Hey, you wanted to sleep so why did you make this?" I asked her.

" I thought that aunty must be very busy doing her packing so cooked for her as well. " She said with a smile.

Mom and dad are very fond of her, especially dad as she understands his jokes very well. He has an amazing sense of humour and according to him she also has that. Mom was packing for both dad and herself. She asked mom if she needed help. Mom hugged her and asked why she was looking so tired. She said she had to finish an assignment so she couldn't sleep last night. Mom went to the kitchen and saw that she had already brought food.

" You work really very hard beta but you don't take care of yourself. You must take proper rest. You should not have done it. " Mom scolded her and she smiled.

We all had dinner together. Mom told me to take care of her and I nodded.

After dinner, she went to her place. We also slept as mom and dad had an early flight.

**********

I got ready and went to her house. She opened the door and I kept looking at her. She looked so elegant and beautiful today in a long white Indian dress.

" Good morning. Do you think this dress is ok? If not I will quickly change into something else. " She asked me and I said that she looked Perfect. We sat in our car and I drove to the showrooms.

We reached there and we went inside. I found Mehul standing right next to Megha. The moment he saw me, he came towards us. He looked at Maurvi who was walking with me.

Hi! You are late, Gautam..... I see that you have a friend with you..... may we have the honour to meet her?" He asked me as he was looking normal after a long time... The usual awkwardness we had recently between us was not there.

" Sure. Maurvi, he is Mehul my friend and his wife Megha." She said hello to both of them.

"And... She is Maurvi... My girlfriend " I said with a smile.

" What?? When did that happen? Why didn't you tell us?" He asked so many questions.... He looked so happy for me.

" It happened just like that... We didn't even get to know... Though we are just an initial stage of our relationship. " I replied with a smile and looked at her, she smiled shyly.

" Maurvi I suggest that you think properly before getting too involved, he is a bit mad. " Mehul said with a wink.

" Oh only if you knew me well, you would have given this suggestion to him. I am definitely a crazy girl. Tell him to think at least 10 times. " She winked at him and he burst out laughing.

" Where did you find her... She is just perfect for you. She can handle you very well but can you? I am really very happy for you. " He said to me and my smile widened.

"Congratulations!!! The showrooms look so good and have so much variety. Great simply great. You thought of almost everything. " She congratulated Mehul and Megha.

" We are very glad to know that you liked it. Gautam, Do you know Sagar found her? " Mehul said all of a sudden.

" Seriously Wow !! Great man .... He must be on cloud nine. Where is he?"

" He has gone to see the showrooms." He replied.

" Congratulations to both of you...... Megha you have really done them so nicely. They are massive and magnificent. " I said to Megha and she just smiled and said thanks.

" Where is Vikram? You are always together... Why is he still not here?"

" He seems to be a bit distracted these days... Since the new interns have joined the hospital. Something has changed..... Though I can't point it out. And he is not telling me..."

" Don't tell me that he is falling for someone. " He shook his head. We were talking when Mehul's brother Mudit called both Mehul and Megha. They excused themselves and went to Mudit.

" Wow! There was no awkwardness between us today. Thank you so much. I am so relieved today. I feel as if we are back to normal. Thank you so much. " I was so happy that I didn't even realise and hugged her hard and kissed her head.

I realised what I did and released her immediately. She looked shocked and flushed.

" Oh ... sorry, I was so happy that...I didn't realise. " I tried explaining it to her and she nodded. She was so confident in front of Mehul.

After that, we saw both the showrooms and she bought a few handicraft items. I wanted to buy something for my mom. So I asked Maurvi to help me in selecting. We selected a very elegant diamond pendant set for mom. I also bought a pair of pearl earrings and a cute bracelet with different charms attached to it and asked her how it was. She said it was very cute. I told the salesgirl to pack all the things.

We had lunch and looked for Mehul and Megha but got to know that there was some problem and Mehul took Megha home. Sagar also seemed to have left. I wanted to meet him but it's ok. I was happy for him. We also came out of the mall and drove towards home. I thanked her once again and she went inside her home.

I came to my home and laid down on my bed and kept looking at the ceiling. She was so beautiful... I love being with her. I noticed how men were looking at her with admiration in their eyes. I still remember what I felt when I hugged her hard. I can't get that feeling out of my mind. She looked flushed and I wanted to keep her in my arms. She felt so good in my arms.

*********

Maurvi's POV

Oh, God!! I don't know how to behave, I am already half-crazy about him and he doesn't even know about that. My heart literally stopped when he hugged me so hard all of a sudden. I can't even avoid him, now that our parents are not in Delhi and he thinks that he is in charge of me as his parents told him to take care of me, while both his as well as my parents are not here. I don't want things to get awkward between us. I must not let him know what I feel for him.

I just kept thinking about him when my phone rang. My mom was calling, " Hello beta, how are you? Are you eating well? Do you need anything? "

" Calm down mom I am fine, I am eating well most of the time aunty sends food for me, as she came to know that I usually eat fruits because I feel that there is no need to cook for just one person. But today they have gone to Mumbai so I will cook. "

" Ok send food for Gautam too. They take such good care of you while we are not there. " Mom said.

" Yes, mom I will cook for him as well. How are Noopur and dad? "

" Oh she has gone for her training.. and your dad is busy as usual. I am missing both of my daughters. "

" I miss you too mom. I miss mine banters with Noopur. "

" Yes, we also miss that. Take care beta. Love you and miss you. "

" Bye mom"

It’s 6 PM, I was about to make dinner when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and saw that Prachi was standing there.

' Hi, come in, I was planning to make dinner. What would you like to eat? "

" Anything would do, what were you planning to make. "

" I was planning to make something light and healthy as we had a very heavy lunch. "

" We? Where did you go for lunch and with whom? She asked me.

" I went to an inauguration party with Gautam. His friend opened two showrooms in that famous new mall."

" Oh, so you are already meeting his friends? " She said sarcastically.