'Keep calm. And he is not my first cousin. He is my cousin Mama's son. So in reality he's a distant relative. We do meet sometimes and share a good bond but I'm surprised your topic never came up whenever I met him. Obviously, he couldn't ask me directly whether I was dating someone or not.

Neither did I tell him. Sometimes, he comes to our place and we have a good time. My family is a bit orthodox and I am not comfortable sharing our relationship with my family or Rohan so soon, not until we're done with our education. Today, I saw him talking on the phone and he was taking your name and even Kavya's. He is staying with us tonight. Then when he went to the washroom after sometime, I took his cell phone and luckily it was unlocked. I checked the number he had last dialled and it was you.

Then I came running to you.'

Virat was speechless and felt like banging his head against the wall. He was confused whether he should thank his fate that he didn't show her pictures or reveal anything about her to Rohan or curse his fate that Mahek was Rohan's cousin. One thing he was sure about was that although Rohan would get upset in the beginning after knowing everything, he won't stand in the way of their relationship. He knew Rohan liked him as a person and somewhere he thought he should tell Rohan everything rather than hiding the truth from him as it would hurt him more later on. He gave it a thought and said, 'I think we should tell him. He trusts me and he won't tell anything at home. Trust me.'

'No, that's impossible. Please. If my parents come to know then they will cut all my freedom away.

They will doubt me continuously, even when I going to a friend's place. We should first complete our education. Please, understand. After all he is my brother,' she panicked.

'Do you know about his current girlfriend?'

'No. He didn't tell me. But I had met his previous girlfriend Zoya. Rather, he had to introduce her because I had seen them together, hand in hand, when I was with my friends. She is a nice girl. We talk occasionally,' Mahek exclaimed.

Sometimes, it's hard to face things you have no control over. Virat was bold enough to confront Mahek's cousin, Rohan. Some say love is blind, but love is challenged in all senses. Because no matter how hard you try, it will always surprise you. Pleasant ones or shocking ones. Virat couldn't categorize this surprise. Mahek had told him such things about Rohan's previous girlfriend Zoya and their relationship that it sent shivers down his spine. He digested the fact that Mahek was Rohan's cousin and was ready to face it with courage but whatever she said about Zoya was unbelieveable. Some things in life are better left unexplained. Virat had already starting planning for a double surprise shocker on Valentine's Day for his friend and future brother-in-law Rohan.

Candy Crush My Heart!

11th February, 2010 'Aadi, she won't be here on Valentine's Day. She will meet me for a few hours but since we can't go on a date together, we are celebrating it today evening. But I just don't know how to make it special for her. Please, please tell me what to do,' Rohan pleaded with me.

I was in Pune during the Valentine's week for my friend's marriage and was staying at Rohan's home.

Rohan and his family were spending a few days at his cousin aunt's place in Aundh but Rohan returned home early as I was coming. He had told his parents he has some official work to do. The only person who knew the real reason why Rohan was coming back home early because of me was Mehak. I had never interacted with them before, because Rohan was my Masi's son and they were his father's relatives. So Mahek and I were not really related as such.

He seemed confused about how he should celebrate his first Valentine's Day with Riddhima. She had some extra cla.s.ses to attend on the actual Valentine's Day, so they decided to celebrate it early. Anyway, when your Valentine is with you, the day doesn't hold importance and even Friendship's Day could mean Valentine's Day to you. It's more about the feelings that two individuals share and how pa.s.sionate they are about each other.

'Keep it simple. The simplicity in your love and affection towards her is more important. I have an idea. Leave it to me. I will make it memorable for you,' I a.s.sured him.

Rohan had decided to meet Riddhima in the evening and I still had a few hours to arrange everything.

For his part, I told him to keep it simple yet special.

'Listen, go on a short drive with her first. I will buy you a CD of romantic songs and you can play them in your car while you drive to your chosen destination. I am sure she will love it. Later on, take her for a romantic dinner to an amazing restaurant. I will check online deals for you so that the meal doesn't drill a hole in your pocket. Finally, to end the evening on a perfect note, park your car on some lonely road while returning and express your love to her with a soft kiss,' I said taking a deep breath after narrating the entire plan to him.

I arranged for the CD and bought a deal on Groupon for a meal for two at 50% off at a restaurant in Koregaon Park. The restaurant had rooftop dining where you could get a view of the entire city. Rohan better treat me for getting him such a great deal, I thought to myself. Every time a guy takes a girl out on a date, somewhere in some corner of his mind, he's calculating how much the meal would cost him, even if he has a credit card with him. Rohan was happy not only because he was taking Riddhima out on a date to one of the best restaurants in the city but also because he was going to pay only half the price. Rohan was all geared up for a romantic evening with Riddhima.

Rohan took the CD that I had bought from a nearby Pune railway station and kept it on the dashboard of the car. He had worn a crisp white shirt and a pair of blue jeans to go with his Woodland shoes. He reached Riddhima's apartment and called her to come down. He was waiting outside the car, leaning on the door, and kept messaging her to come down soon.

Riddhima was fond of wearing makeup and junk jewellery, and was taking her own time to get ready, increasing Rohan's frustration in the process. She was wearing a magenta-coloured designer suit with zari work on it. She had teamed the outfit with silver jhumkis and jootis. She had gone light on the make-up this time, applying lots of kajal instead, which was Rohan's favourite. As she came outside the apartment, he was bowled over by how pretty she looked. 'How did I get so lucky?' he asked her as he hugged her tightly.

Rohan opened the door of the car for her like a perfect gentleman. 'What's that scent?' Riddhima asked as she took her seat. Rohan had kept a Milano Sandalwood car freshener in the car so the car smelled nice. Riddhima's face glowed in excitement as she inhaled the fragrance. She immediately planted a kiss on Rohan's cheek and held him by his arm as he drove the car.

After a few minutes, he told Riddhima to give him the CD that was kept over the dashboard. She saw the cover of the CD which '100 Romantic Hit Songs' written over it. Most of the songs were her favourite.

'Did you purchase it today?' she asked.

'Yes. I got the CD especially for you since you love these songs. After a lot of effort, I managed to find a CD with all your favourite numbers,' Rohan replied.

Riddhima's happiness was visible in her eyes. She inserted the CD into the player and was looking at the back cover of the CD that had the tracks written on it in chronological order.

'No disc,' the error message displayed on the screen.

I will kill Aditya if this CD doesn't play, thought Rohan. Keeping his fingers crossed, he ejected the CD and, like most guys do, rubbed it on his jeans as if cleaning it. He prayed to G.o.d that the CD would work. He didn't want to feel embarra.s.sed in front of Riddhima.

'It will work. There is some problem with my player. It happens, sometimes,' he said trying to save his a.s.s.

Once again, he inserted the CD into the player. Rohan was biting his fingernails in antic.i.p.ation and praying it would work this time, and it did! A song came on and Rohan heaved a sigh of relief.

Riddhima rested her head on his shoulders and began humming the song.

The song continued for few seconds and then abruptly changed to a new song before the earlier one could get over. In fact, it wasn't even a song! It was like two people were moaning while making out.

Riddhima looked at him in shock and disgust. Rohan hurriedly pressed on a b.u.t.ton to go back to the previous song but a message appeared on the screen saying 'Not applicable'.

Riddhima looked at Rohan in anger, much like how we feel during Candy Crush when only one candy is left to crush and we run out of moves!

'What is this Rohan? You listen to such stuff?' Riddhima screamed.

'No. I mean...I didn't buy it.'

'What the f.u.c.k. You said that you had got this especially for me. So this is the quality of CD you get for me?'

Rohan didn't know what to tell her. He had planned to make her listen to all her favourite numbers, and instead what was playing was the audio of a B-grade p.o.r.n movie. In a panicking state, he increased the volume instead of decreasing it, creating utter chaos inside the car. Riddhima yelled like mad and Rohan just hoped that her voice mixed with the sounds of the CD didn't become entertainment for other people on the road. Thankfully, the restaurant was nearby and they reached just before Riddhima could murder him.

I swear to G.o.d, I will never ever buy a pirated CD from a station, especially when I have to play it for my girlfriend. But I will never, NEVER, ask that a.s.s Aditya, he thought.

Somehow, he managed to keep calm and held Riddhima's hand as he took her to the 9th floor which had the rooftop restaurant. She was still a bit upset about what had happened in the car but forgave him ultimately since she loved the innocent face that Rohan faked in front of her. By the time they reached the spot, the smile on her face was back.

The ambience of the restaurant was mesmeric. There was dim lighting and candles had been lit everywhere. Soft music was playing in the background. There was even a small pool around which some tables were laid. Couples could dip their feet in the pool and talk while they waited for dinner.

Rohan had a print out of the discount coupon and showed it to the manager. He read the print out and showed them to a table by the pool. Rohan held out the seat for Riddhima and asked the waiter to get them the menus. Once done ordering the meal, Riddhima took Rohan by the hand and pulled her to sit near the pool, with their feet dipped in the water. Rohan went closer to her and kissed her on the cheek, saying, 'I love you, Riddhima. Happy Valentine's Day in advance. You are mine and will always be.'

Riddhima kissed him back and pulled his cheeks lovingly. It was like a dream come true for her, sitting beside her prince charming by the poolside,with candles around them and a perfect view of the city.

'Here is your wine, sir,' the waiter said handing them two gla.s.ses of wine.

They had ordered white wine with some Pasta, as offered in the deal.

'Cheers,' Rohan said as they clinked their gla.s.ses together.

No matter how many fights you get into or how many times you get upset, if you truly love a person, then even one look of theirs will bring a smile on your face.

'I want to spend all my future Valentine's Days with you. Promise me, even if we get busy, we will take out time from our schedules to celebrate our togetherness,' Riddhima stated.

'Yes. I am really lucky to have you in my life,' Rohan said kissing her hand.

Maybe the almighty had it all planned. Maybe he wanted Rohan to meet the wrong person before he could introduce her to the right person, so that he would know how to value her love. They both decided to confess their love to their parents to get their approval.

After spending a wonderful evening together, they decided to leave. Since the bill had already been paid through the online deal, they started to leave. But it really turned out to be their unlucky day because the manager came in with the pending bill, despite the online payment having been cleared.

Rohan was shocked to see the bill.

'Sir, you had taken a deal which included 2 gla.s.ses of wine with which you got 2 complimentary ones as well. Plus, you were even served Pasta with it. But the deal didn't include the other dishes you ordered in the main course, sir. The pending bill is for that,' the manager explained.

'You should have told us beforehand what was included in the deal and what wasn't. How were we supposed to know?' Riddhima asked in annoyance.

'I am sorry, baby, for putting you through this.'

They had no option but to pay the pending amount. Sometimes if your luck changes for the better, it only lasts for so much before it changes again. Rohan's luck was certainly not on his side that day. The bad luck trickled down on me too as I got a couple of nasty messages from him saying Bhenchod, teri maa ki aankh, saala gaandu.

Not only did they have to pay the pending amount but, since Rohan had forgotten to carry his debit card, it was Riddhima who had to pay the pending amount for it.

Though, in my defense, I had told him to confirm whatever is included in the deal with the manager before he ordered anything. But he didn't. But his response to me was completely different from that of Riddhima. When a girlfriend says don't drink and drive, a guy's reply is 'You're so caring baby' and when the same thing is said by a friend or a brother the reply is 'Apne baap ko mat sikha saale.'

Though everything had not gone according to the plan, Riddhima was enjoying her time with Rohan and had no complaints at all. Rohan had parked the car in a secluded area after leaving the restaurant.

His phone beeped with a message from Virat but he ignored the message as he wanted to end the date on a perfect note without any glitch. Virat had even messaged him while they were having dinner. He wanted to talk to Rohan about Mahek and so he wanted to ask him to meet. Rohan, however, ignored the message. It was a deserted road and there was no one around. Rohan took this opportunity to kiss Riddhima on the lips. His kiss came as a complete surprise to her, but a pleasant one. She returned his kiss with equal intensity. In that kiss, they felt like they had become one-in body and in soul.

There Can Never Be Another You 11th February, 2010 Virat's Apartment 'Virat, please think it over. If he tells his dad everything, it will create unnecessary complications in our relationship,' Mahek said trying to convince Virat.

Mahek had come to Virat's apartment in the evening to convince him not to go ahead with his plan, but he was adamant about confessing their relationship to Rohan and had even called him up but Rohan didn't take his call or reply to the message that he had sent him. Mahek was scared since she knew her family was quite conservative and did not support love affairs.

'You trust me?' Virat asked.

'Yes. More than myself,' Mehak replied with a sad face.

'Then leave everything to me. Why do you look so terrified? Everything will be fine,' Virat smiled.

'Virat, you don't know my parents. They are kind of strict. That is the only reason I have never uploaded our pictures together on Orkut, forget about Facebook.'

'I understand your concern and I am taking full responsibility for it, Mahek. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone before and I am not taking such a step without giving a thought.'

For the past few days, Virat had been constantly thinking about whether he should tell Rohan everything. According to him, it was the right time to talk to him about Mahek as he had played a vital role in bringing back happiness to Rohan's life. He was confident that Rohan would take the news well and show support. He also knew that Rohan was not very frank with his parents and would not rat about their relationship to them. And if anything went wrong in the process, Mahek would be there to support him. The extent to which they trusted each other was extraordinary. They talked like best friends, fought like kids, argued like a married couple, and protected each other like siblings. Every girl wants a bad guy who will be good to her and every guy wants a good girl who will be bad to him. Virat may have dated many girls in the past but he treated Mahek like no other girl and she too gave the relationship her all, showering all her attention on him. They decided it was time to change the gear of their relationship and obtain a clearance certificate from Rohan.

'Are you sure?'

'Yes. We will celebrate Valentine's Day with him and Riddhima. Now give me a smile,' Virat said kissing her cheeks.

He called Rohan once again but this time too, he didn't respond. Finally, Virat decided to e-mail Rohan about it. By doing so, even Mahek would not have to face him directly. Mahek readily agreed after which Virat logged on to his Gmail account. Before mailing him, they thought of talking once to Kavya and take her opinion on it too. Though Virat had already discussed the entire matter with her, he still wanted to talk to her once to get her opinion on it. Her support and presence were of utmost importance to him.

'Kavya, we have finally decided to tell Rohan about our relationship. Do you think we are doing the right thing?' Virat asked as she answered the call.

'Please tell him that he is completely wrong,' Mahek screamed into the phone from behind Virat.

Kavya responded, 'If I had felt like you were doing something wrong, I would have stopped you yesterday itself. I will never let you do anything wrong until the day I am alive. Go ahead, my boy.'

'Kavya, at least you be on my side,' Mahek screamed into the phone again. Virat turned on the loudspeaker so that both could hear each other and he wouldn't go deaf in the process.

'If Virat wouldn't have taken this decision himself, I would have forced him to. Hiding your relationship from Rohan is like almost breaking his trust, something his past girlfriend also did,' Kavya reminded them.

'Virat told you about Zoya too?' Mahek asked, s.n.a.t.c.hing the phone from Virat.

'Yes. Don't worry. Everything will be fine.'

Kavya disconnected the call after wishing both of them luck, and also prayed for their togetherness.

She wanted to be with them but the doctors had told her to rest for a few days. Virat and Mahek missed having her around but knew it was important for her to rest in order to recover faster.

It doesn't matter how strong your bonding with your friend is, even the strongest friendships are put to the test by love. The only man who could be as protective as her dad was her brother. Though Mahek was his cousin and they were never very frank with each other, he was his elder brother and nothing could change that. Virat was a bit nervous too but he was firm on his decision and Kavya's affirmative response made him stronger. Virat gave Kavya a peck on the cheek and told her not to worry too much.

He then began typing the email.

Hey Rohan, I know you will be confused looking at my mail. I tried to reach you through the phone but your number was either busy or not available. So I thought of mailing you since even Mahek was a bit afraid to talk directly to you. Eighty percent of relationships wouldn't have even begun if messaging service didn't exist. It has made our life so much easier. Oh yeah, you might be thinking how I know Mahek. Bro...no sorry...I can't call you bro now. You know that I'm a reticent person by nature, especially when it comes to my private life. That's the reason why I never shared any details with you about who I was seeing though you shared everything with me. Remember, I had told you that I was in love. The woman I'm in love with is none other than Mahek, your cousin. Trust me, I did not know she is your sister and neither did she know that we were friends and talked sometimes. It was only until a few days back when she saw you talking to me during your stay at her house that she came to know. She was afraid of facing you since she didn't know how you would react. But I didn't want to hide anything from you since we are friends and owe it to each other to tell the truth. The moment she told me everything, I decided to confess to you that I love her and am extremely serious about her. I know it comes as a big shock to you and you might even be angry at me but I promise you, if you have any issues with me, I will go away from Mahek's life forever. I will not even ask you a single question. But Rohan, I really love her and want to be with her forever. If you give us your support then Mahek and I would love to celebrate this Valentine's Day with Riddhima and you.

Love, Virat Virat re-read the entire mail once before clicking on the press b.u.t.ton. After checking his outbox to see if the mail had in fact gone, he logged off. Mahek gave Virat a tight hug in appreciation of all the efforts he had been putting and the respect he had shown towards her brother Rohan. Every girl expects three things from her boyfriend-loyalty towards her, respect for her own s.p.a.ce, and respect for her family.

Virat had given her all three and more. So many times Virat had thought that he would never find someone to love him the way he needed to be loved. But Mahek had come into his life and showed him what true love really is.

Rohan and Riddhima's date ended with a long pa.s.sionate kiss in the car. They spent some time together alone in the car, not only romancing but also laughing about the fun things they had done on their date.

After dropping Riddhima on the way, he reached home and logged on to Gmail like he always did.

Today, strangely, the first unread mail was from Virat.

Rohan read the mail for the fifth time that day. It wasn't what he was expecting. He had no clue about how he was supposed to react. Different thoughts were running through his mind and though he was not so close to Mahek and didn't share a great rapport with her, still she was his sister. He couldn't believe that Virat was dating her. The more he thought about it, the more the picture became clearer in his mind.

He suddenly remembered that he had met Virat near Mahek's house in Aundh. He had even mentioned once that his girlfriend went to the same college. He felt like going to Virat's place and hitting him hard and abusing him, but he knew that was not going to help anyway. Moreover, Mahek would have lost all her faith in him. He kept calm and thought for some time. Then he called the both of them to fully understand what was happening.

Virat was confident about speaking with Rohan but Mehak was completely horrified and ignored Rohan's first few calls until Virat told her to answer it.

'Will you both tell me since when has this been going on?' Rohan asked.

'Rohan, we've been seeing each since mid-August but you have to believe me, I came to know about your relation with Mehak just a few days back when your family and you were at Mahek's home. I understand your concern but believe me, I am not with her just for fun. I am serious about her and want to marry her once I get to a place in my life where I can look after the both of us,' Virat said in a convincing tone.

'Bhaiya, I did not want to tell you this as I was afraid you might tell my parents. You know them well and I don't need to tell you how they would have reacted. Virat is not lying. In fact, he's the one who forced me to tell you this and not hide anything from you. Please Bhaiya, I am sorry for hiding the truth from you but I had no other option,' Mahek added in a low voice, afraid of facing Rohan's wrath.

'Is it true love or just infatuation? Virat, I had told you about my past relationship with Zoya and how it ended abruptly. I realized what true love is when I meet Riddhima. No doubt, I loved Zoya but Riddhima gave me a feeling of what true love is and taught me how to love back. Mehak, you also know about Zoya. Don't you?'

'Rohan, I only want to say that I will make your sister really happy. I won't say those filmy dialogues that I will never bring tears to her eyes and so on, because we go through so much in our lives that tears are bound to fall. But whenever they will fall from her eyes, I will be there to catch them.'

'Bhaiya, I really love Virat and my life will be a living h.e.l.l without him. Please. I am sorry. I will always share everything with you. It's a promise from a sister to her brother,' Mahek added.

After a brief conversation, Rohan hung up the phone without giving his verdict on their relationship.

Virat and Mahek became nervous as Rohan had said nothing about whether he had accepted their relationship or not. Mahek cried thinking Rohan would tell everything to her parents and their lives would become a complete mess. Virat continuously tried to calm her down but somewhere even he was worried about their relationship, now that he had got no response from Rohan. Rohan on the other side didn't wanted to express what he felt about the entire episode. He was worried about Mahek and it was obvious that, being a brother, he would be protective of her. But somewhere, he had blind trust on Virat and knew that he won't fool around with Mahek. The way he had helped him move on with his life made it evident that he valued relationships and believed in making others happy. After thinking for a few hours, he sent the same message to both of them: Just because I am okay with your relationship doesn't mean you cross all your limits. And one thing you both have to promise me is that you won't divert your mind from studies till your college gets over and also from each other till life gets over.

Virat screamed in happiness when he read the message. He immediately messaged Rohan, I won't make the second promise because I don't want to divert my mind from Mahek even after my life is over. My love for her is not limited to this lifetime. It's far beyond that. Thanks for supporting us. Also, I need to tell you one extremely important thing related to your life. Please don't ignore it or take it lightly. I feel that it you should know this since it's never easy to face the truth. I will tell you once we meet on 13th evening.