RUDRAANSH'S POV:

'BREAKING!!'

'India's rising businessman Rudraansh Mehra has been named under FORBES UNDER 30! The young entrepreneur's stars are over the top. Mehra being the social media sensation since a long time has been in the spotlight several times due to different reasons. Rudraansh belongs to a family of billionaires proving that his skills are his heirarchical wealth...........'

I lowered the volume of the TV of my cabin. The sound is giving me headache. They have been showing this news for the nth time since morning. I switched it on to watch something useful on the news channel but they! Anyways! Bangg!

'Bro congratulations! Tune khush kardiya yarr mujhe! Forbes under 30!! I am proud of you mere bhai!!'

Meet Karan, my best friend from school and a high court lawyer. We grew up and became successful together. I can say, we have seen each other growing.

'Tu kisi din mere cabin ka darwaza todega!' I taunted. He rolled his eyes in annoyance.

'Darwaaze ki padi hai tujhe. You are in the news headlines of every channel and newspaper bro!' He said excitedly. IDK what's there to be this excited? Or....it's just me who is taking this casually.

'Theek hai na! ek naam hi to aaya hai...kal tak sab bhool bhi jayenge' I said monotonously.

'Bhai..tu itna over practical kyun hai yarr! Kal ka kal dekhenge na...aaj jo itni badi success mili hai tujhe...let's celebrate it!' He said calmly.

'Haan to subah se celebrate hi to kar raha hun...vo dekh' I said pointing to a pile of bouquets lying on the couch and coffee table.

It was true. I have been celebrating since the beginning of the day. First, my family. Second, my employees and some some acquaintances. Third, these media houses. And fourth, my best friend. Too much celebration!

Suddenly he came closer to me and sat in front of me on the table looking at me keenly.

'What?' I asked.

'What happened to you phirse?' He asked,

'Nothing' I replied.

'Jhooth' he mocked me back.

'Bhai kab tak uss sab ke bare me sochta rahega? Six months have passed! Unhone jo tere sath kiya they are still paying for it. Phir tu kyun itna overthink kar raha hai?' He said keeping his hand on my shoulder.

'I am not overthinking bro! I don't even think of those shits. They aren't worth living even in my thoughts. And jo bhi unke saath ho raha hai it's just because of their deeds. Karma YK! And chahe unhone jo bhi kiya ho last me we were the winners na!' I said casually.

'Je baat!' He said patting on my shoulder twice with a big grin.

'Colgate wali smile dikhana band kar!' I pulled his leg.

'You don't know, issi smile par kitne ladkiyaan marti hain...aaj bhi iss market me I am the most demanded product.' He said and I looked at him arching an eyebrow of mine.

'Followed by you on the second number.' He joked.

'Aaj kuch kaam nahi hai kya tere paas?' I asked a bit amusingly. He is considered as one of the best lawyers of Delhi after all. I know this but I never say this in front of him. Chane ke jhaad pr chadh jayega varna!

'Aaj ka sara kaam khatam kar ke aaya hun so that I can celebrate my brother's success' He said in the tone which he has been using since the time he came. Over-excitement!

'Itni jaldi khatam kar liya?' I asked while verifying a ppt on my apple computer.

'Delhi ka best lawyer aise hi nhi kehte mujhe' He self appraised. Maine hi kaha tha.

'Haan to vakeel sahab, you might me free but sorry to say..mai free nahi hun' I said in a casual tone.

'Rudra yarrrrr! Come on! Don't be a bore!' he whined.

'Acha atleast mere sath ghar to chal. Revati aunty ne call kiya tha, she has ordered me to get you home. Chalna please!' He continued.

'Par-'

'Neither you have any meeting nor any other sort of important work which needs you to be here. Aur kuch?' He said cutting me. Ye lawyer hai main kyun bhool jata hun!

'Chal bhai chal!' I said finally agreeing.

My family might have got the news from the media. Even I didn't knew that I was going to be named under FORBES until midnight.

We sat inside my Rolls Royce waiting outside my office building. My driver led us to my home which took almost 30 minutes.

'Auntyy...lijiye lekar aa gaya aapke bete ko!!' Karan shouted as soon as we stepped inside the house. I smacked his head lightly.

'What?' he asked.

'She must be in the second floor...yahaan kyun gala faad raha hai?' I said.

'Ohh right!' he said smiling sheepishly. I wonder sometimes that is he the same person considered as the best in his profession!

Before we could continue ourselves, Dadi and dadu interruped us.

'Aa gaye Rudraansh Mehra!' dadu said.

We smiled and went near them. Both are in their 70s and were the heads of our family. Shivraj Mehra, my Dadu is an inspiration not only for us, but also for every aspiring or successful individual. He is a man of culture. Despite of being renowned in the entire world, we haven't seen an ounce of arrogance in him. Whereas Shanti Mehra, my dadi is the sweetest lady just like her name. She has been his support system throughout his life. No wonder why dadu is always head over heels for her. She is both strict and cute. We can say both of them have been the witness of every phase of their life be it the beginning or the summits of success together. Inspiring enough!

Karan touched their feet and they blessed him. Being best friends since childhood, he shares a great bond with each one in the family.

'Itne dino baad to tujhe theek se dekha...varna to kab aata hai kab jaata hai pata hi nahi chalta.' Dadi said.

'She is right Rudra..I know kaam zaroori hai but ek successful businessman banne ke liye you should first know to balance work and life...You should work to live, not live to work' Dadu said.

'Sorry dadu dadi, I will make sure next time se aisa na ho.' I said looking into their eyes. But I can't promise.

'It's ok beta...chalo dono andar aao' Dadi said.

I met everyone one by one properly. I wasn't able to come home since a couple of weeks with anyone due to some ongoing projects. They reacted as if they saw me after months. Kind of!

We all sat on the dining table and the servants started serving the lunch. Moments passed talking and laughing with each other. But suddenly I realised-

'Mumma, Where are Aadhya and Inaya?' I asked.

'Inaya hasn't returned from the college yet...kuch fest hone wala hai to she is busy with it and Aadhya office gyi hai' Mumma answered.

'Ohh!'

Anand Mehra, my Dad has two siblings, one brother and one sister with him being the eldest. My parents have three children- I, Dhairya and Inaya whereas Anil Mehra and Meenakshi Mehra, my chachu and chachi have three children-Aadhya, Vedant and Riddhant who are non-identical twins. My bua, Kavita Mehra Arora, Dad's only sister lives in New York with her husband Manish Arora and her kids.

'Kuch din yahin ruk ja na Rudra, you have came after so long' Chachi said.

I was about to deny but dadi interrupted.

'She is right Rudra, abhi free hai to spend your time with us, phir pata nahi kab time milega' Dadi said.

'But dadi-'

'I have verified your schedule Rudra, na koi clients hain na koi investors, nothing would be disturbed in few days' I said sternly.

'Vo sab to theek hai par-' I tried to say but-

'What I said Rudra, work-life balance' dadu spoke.

'Okay dadu' I sighed. I can't win against him.

I furrowed my brows thinking how she got to know about my schedule. Something clicked in my mind and I turned my head to look at my not-so-innocent best friend devouring kheer without looking at me. I glared at him. He looked at me and gave a 'what?' look.

'Baad me mil mujhe' I mouthed.

Sometimes I wonder if my mom has appointed him as a private detective!

'Vaise Rudra, tu free hi hai to-' mumma started speaking taking a pause. I looked at her.

'Mere dhyaan me ek ladki hai, maa papa aap kahein to...' Mom said excitedly. I left a long sigh.

'Mumma, not again, maine bola hai na jab bhi mai ready ho jaunga I'll tell you guys'

'Bhai, aapke answer ka wait karte baithe to phir to ho gayi shadi' Vedant said.

'Aur aapke chakkar me humari bhi nahi hogi phir' followed by Riddhant.

Chachi smacked he back of his head and I giggled a bit unnoticeably. He derserved!

'Badon ke samne koi aise bolta hai!' Chachi scolded them.

'Meena they are right, Rudra you need to answer, you are twenty-eight, abhi nahi to kab beta' Mom said.

'Mom, aisa nahi hai ki I want to stay bachelor throughout my life par abhi I want to focus just on my business, so ye topic phir kabhi' I said.

'But-' mom was saying but was interrupted by dadi.

'It's Ok Revati, itne din se busy tha, let him rest a bit, koi kahin nahi bhaga ja raha, we'll talk about this later, Dadi said and I smiled. Thank God!

'Okay Ma! Vaise mai Bata dun ki ek ladki dekhi hai Maine...abhi you rest, shaam ko baat karte hain iss baare me' Mummy said to me.

'Okay Mummy!' I answered sighing. I know she won't let me go until I say anything positive regarding this. It's simple, I'll deny or give some excuse as usual!

After having the lunch, I came to my room which is on the third floor to have some me-time. Don't take me as an arrogant grumpy brat! I just enjoy my own space that's it! I opened my mac book to check out some mails because I had nothing important to do at the moment.

Suddenly, the door of my room opened with a bang revealing my brothers. Not surprised, I am habituated. Inspite of being 22, they just can't behave maturely. I sighed. I looked at them for a mili-second and shifted my eyes back on the screen.

'Bhai, why don't you want to get married?' Asked Vedant.

'I already answered Vedu' I said.

'Or you have someone in your mind jisse aap shadi karna chate ho?' Asked Riddhant.

'Maine aisa kabhi kaha? Mujhe to yaad nahi' I said looking at the screen of the Mac.

'Nahi par aapko dekh kar we think so! Vedi you know about bhai's secret crush na!' Riddhant said in a teasing tone.

'Shut up Riddhu...meri konsi crush?' I spoke annoyingly as I was annoyed. I literally do not have any crush. Except one, maybe!

'Why? You forgot about the blogger jiske aap itne bade fan ho? Abhi badi mummy ko Bata doya to to she will give adds in the newspaper for that blogger' Vedu said.

'Shut the damn up guys! I just like her content, nothing else' I answered.

'Okay okay....if you say, hum Maan lete hain!' Both said.

'Good. And now just get lost' I said but whom I was kidding, they didn't even buzzed from their places.

I ignored them and continued with my work for a few moments and took a nap for a couple of hours.

I woke up and went in the main hall where everyone was sitting with cups of tea. Dad and chachu also came back from the office with Aadhya and Inaya.

Both of them stood up, hugged and congratulated me for both, cracking the deal and getting named in the FORBES. I smiled. This name thing didn't mattered to me much but my family is happy with it, what else I want!

'Congratulations Bhai' Aadhya said smilingly and side hugged me. I patted her head.

'Congratulations big brotherrrr!!! Inaya shouted hugging me tightly. I smiled and reciprocated the hug.

'Party??' She asked.

'Whatever you want, I'll get you' I said and she grinned.

'And dad, chachu, aaj dinner ke liye let's go to our restaurant, what say everyone?' I asked.

'Sure, why not!' Chachu answered.

I saw dadu giving a thumps-up at me. Work-life balance! I wanted to spent time with everything since I missed them too.

We chit chatted for some time, me with a cup of coffee.

'Vaise' Mom caught our attention.

'Rudra shall we continue?' She asked.

'Kya mumma?' I asked getting confused.

'I like a girl for you and all of us know her' She said. She just can't let this topic go!

She took her phone and opened something, a picture probably and passed it to dadi who was sitting beside and and to everyone else too. Everyone smiled as soon as their eyes fell on the screen.

Finally the phone came to me.

And

And

And

I WAS SHOCKED!!!!

It would be understatement actually.

My eyes came out of the socket.

I felt burning sensations on my cheeks.

I just couldn't believe it.

It was her.

Like seriously her!

How?

OMG!?

ANVESHA SETHI!

**********************************************************

Alright so Chapter 2 done here!

Anvesha's alliance for Rudraansh?

Will Rudra deny as he does always?

How will the Sethis react after knowing Revati's intentions for their daughter?

Will Anvesha agree?

How come Rudra knows Avi?

What do you think what's gonna happen next?

Stay tuned for upcoming chapters!!

Make sure you vote and comment!

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RADHE RADHE!