Tangled Up

"You've got a proposal from Faizaan, he wants to get married to you in six months and we really think that's the best for you..."

Aria just stared at her parents for a good ten seconds and then burst into fits of laughter which astonished her parents as they just looked each other trying to understand why is their daughter acting like a maniac.

"Aria... why are you laughing?", Samreen asked her daughter who was finally able to control her laughter.

"What? I shouldn't be laughing? Aren't you both cracking a joke to lighten the mood?", Aria shot her questions one by one and Samreen facepalmed while Ali just shook his head.

And then it hit Aria.

Her parents weren't kidding.

This wasn't a joke.

THEY WERE ACTUALLY ASKING HER TO MARRY FAIZAAN.

FAIZAAN SHAFI!

Faizaan was the son of Aria's family friend, the brother of one of her childhood friends, the one with whom she fought alot as a kid and the one with whom she lost contact growing up.

Faizaan's parents were still Aria's parents' bestfriends and they visited their house every year whenever they came from Kuwait and Aria was still friends with Faizaan's sister, Kainaat, in fact they spent almost all their time together whenever they come to India.

But Faizaan? He hardly came infront of Aria since 'that' incident.

It wasn't something serious but yeah Faizaan's liking for Aria was exposed by some common friends but that happened when they were fourteen. But Faizaan stopped crossing paths with Aria after that incident.

But here they were, Aria receiving his proposal.

The humour in her eyes and smile on her face, all vanished in a moment.

She held her quivering right hand with her left, an attempt to control her anxiety.

"Wh-what?", she croaked, barely audible.

"Look baby, Faizaan is a really great guy and his family has been friends with us before you were even born. They are more than friends, been with us in difficult times and to be honest, they are more than family to us. We couldn't find a better alliance for you than Faizaan's even if we searched for it and here we are, getting the proposal from his own side.", Samreen explained with a smile and Aria took in a deep breathe as she calmed herself down.

She knew her mother was right, Faizaan was a great guy and his family too was amazing and loved her.

But she never really thought about it.

Never.

"Mum... I'm just twenty-two. I have my studies, my career...", Aria reasoned, her voice soft, her eyes pleading.

This time, Ali spoke.

"You can do your last two semesters through distance learning or can continue in Kuwait."

"I can't do distance learning in this full time MBA, dad! And you really think I'll be able to focus on my studies with the wedding preparations?", Aria questioned, this time bewildered.

Yes, Aria gets furious and emotional when it comes to her career or studies.

She worked hard and prayed alot to get into this university and she was really not in favour of letting it all go because someone wanted to start a family.

No. Not happening, she thought.

But life doesn't always go as planned by our delusional human minds.