Last day of the exams — University is in a rush with a chatter of students who are about to leave for the summer vacation soon. Some are clicking group pictures, some are bidding goodbyes and some are hugging their friends tightly as if they won't meet again

Nikhila, Anitha, Deepika and Anagha stepped out of their exam centre

“How's the exam, girls?” Anagha asked them gently

“It's fine. We did good” Anitha replies making Nikhila and Deepika nod along with her

“All the best, girls. Now the real test begins” Anagha wishes them softly giving them an encouraging smile

“Thank you, Anagha” Nikhila and Anitha say while Deepika pulled her into a hug

With that Anagha leaves for their shared apartment

Yes, whatever Anagha said is true. It's a test for Nikhila, Anitha and Deepika because they three decided to confess their feelings to their first love who happened to be their sports professors

Deepika texted Vaishnav to come to the garden area of the University. Seeing no reply from him

She asks, “Nikku, Ani if any of you find Nav then can you inform him to come to the garden area?”

“If we find him we'll inform him” Nikhila and Anitha speak calmly making her nod

With that Anitha and Nikhila left for the stadium. Anitha goes to the football court where Shashank might be practicing football and Nikhila goes to the Subhash's cabin and stops outside the door as she witnessed him discussing something with his best friend, Vaishnav Raichand

She doesn't want to disturb them but she needs to confess her feelings now because if not now she can never confess them again and she doesn't have much courage to speak up

She gently knocks on the door interrupting their discussion. Subhash stops talking and looks at her, who's looking back at him nervously, almost guilty for interrupting their discussion. He sighs softly and signals her to enter inside

Vaishnav looks at his best friend and his sister and shakes his head and gives her a gentle smile. He knows his sister by now that if she decides to confess something she gets nervous quickly because she's not good with her words nor his best friend. Vaishnav and Nikhila might not be related by blood but their relationship is stronger than the blood relation

"Vaishnav Bhai, Deepika wants you to meet her in the garden area” Nikhila says softly making him nod and ruffles her hair

“I'll take my leave now. You both carry on” Vaishnav says casually and goes towards the entrance of the stadium and disappears into the garden area

Nikhila looks at him nervously. She doesn't know where to start and how to start. Her hands gripping her bag tightly because of fear and nervousness which is clearly evident on her face

Subhash doesn't initiate the conversation. He wants her to lead and gives her the space which she needs and he always gives her not making her feel overwhelmed. He knows she doesn't open up quickly to everyone. She only opens up her heart in front of some people and he's one of them

He takes the water bottle from his bag and extends it towards her. She takes the bottle and drinks trying to calm her nerves. She took some deep breaths before she started speaking

“Sir, I need to talk to you about something important. It's related to my personal life” Nikhila says gently yet her voice is nervous slightly waiting for him to react

He doesn't show any emotion but he doesn't stop her from speaking because he knows that constant questioning makes her shut down completely and that's the last thing he doesn't want to do

Before she can say further. Subhash's mobile rings loudly with his PA, Vibhav Patil’s number

“I need to take the call, Nikhila” Subhash says and steps out of the cabin to attend the call

He answers the call and listens to the PA carefully. Once Vibhav finishes talking. Subhash says, “Inform Vaishnav that I'm leaving for Lucknow for a week. Book the tickets for me and mail me” His voice is low and commanding leaving no room for argument

Nikhila couldn't hear anything because the cabin is soundproof. Subhash enters back once he hangs up the call and looks at her who's waiting for him patiently

“What do you want to tell me?” Subhash asks gently which is nothing like what he used for his PA earlier

“I love you, Subhash Sir. I don't know how, when and why it started. At first it started as a crush when we met for the first time then slowly my feelings started into love. Despite telling myself a lot that “you're my professor and I'm your student”, “we had a huge age difference” and “we can't lead a happy life” my heart never listened and it fell for you despite the professional boundaries I surrendered myself without my knowledge. I love you, Sir but I won't force you to love me back because love isn't something which grows from force, blackmail or point blanks. It's up to you whether to accept me or reject me” Nikhila's voice breaks at the end slightly. She confesses everything that she feels for him and if he says no then also she won't force him and he knows that very well

Subhash looks shocked to the core. He never expected that she'll confess to him like this when he already has a slight idea about her feelings towards him. He never expected that her confession will be this raw, and genuine

But before he could react his mind wandered to those haunting memories of the past which he tried to bury. The memories of his parents' unusual behaviour — one moment they will all be lovely and the other moment they show their true colours. He danced on his parents' strings all his life without his knowledge. When they want something from him they'll be showering him with love and discarding him after the work gets done. They keep arguing constantly yet blame falls on him. There are days where he used to cry alone for whole nights without sleep.

Then another memory, where he was waiting for his ex-girlfriend on the engagement day while she didn't show up instead she ran with her idiot boyfriend who's good for nothing. He waited for her the whole night even after the guests left without having food and water which exhausted him emotionally and physically and he landed in the hospital bed for a week

Before he could do anything, his mobile popped up with a mail notification from his PA. The flight tickets for Lucknow which starts three hours from now. He takes his bag and leaves without answering anything

Nikhila looks at his retreating figure in confusion. She waited. Seconds passed. Minutes passed. Hours passed. There's no trace of him returning back. Exhausted from the exams and the confession she stands up and locks his cabin door carefully and starts walking back to the apartment which she shared with her best friends and sister-in-law

The moment Nikhila stepped into Subhash's cabin. Anitha entered the stadium and looked at Shashank who's practicing football as usual

He noticed her arrival and stopped practicing and gave her a small smile which she smiled back nervously

“How's the exam, Anitha?” Shashank asks gently

“It's fine” Anitha replies and puts her bag on the bench nearby

“Can we talk now, sir?” Anitha asks hesitantly after glancing at the football in his hands

He quickly puts the ball on the bench and dusts his hands giving her his full attention

“What is it, Anitha? What do you want to talk to me about?” Shashank asks softly

“Sir, what I wanted to say is —” Her talks were stopped with his mobile rings suddenly with his colleague, Yagnesh Chawla

“I need to take this call, Anitha” He says looking at her apologetically

She nods and he leaves for another part of the football court. He listens to what his colleague spoke and nods solemnly

“I'll be there in an hour.” Shashank replies and hangs up the call

He comes back to Anitha who's waiting for him patiently yet anxiously. She heard every word of their conversation because it's an open place and Shashank had a bad habit of answering the call on the speaker phone

“Y.. You should leave, sir. We can talk anytime but many people need you right now” Anitha says softly making him nod

“Go back home safely, Anitha. We'll talk when everything becomes alright” Shashank promises softly making her nod

With that he walks out of the stadium and gets on his bike and glances at his mobile which has her picture with their pets, Titan, Cherry and Whiskers surrounding her.

“I know what you wanted to say Moonlight but now I can't risk losing you” Shashank mutters softly and glances at her who's still in the football court glancing at the sunset looking calm but worried

Back at the football court, Anitha looks at the sun and whispers, “Just be safe, sir” She hugs her bag to her chest tightly

Once the sunsets finally, she leaves for the apartment

Back at the garden area,

Deepika is waiting for Vaishnav anxiously. Vaishnav jogs into the garden area and accidentally bumps into her because of the hurry

“Oouch, Nav, is this time to jog?” Deepika rubs her arm where he dashed her

“Sorry, Ika. Nikku told me to meet you and I didn't notice your message. I was actually talking to Subhash about our new branch opening in Lucknow. I made you wait right and I'm sorry for that” Vaishnav explains and holds his ears when he apologized making her smile softly

“So will Subhash Bhai leave for Lucknow?” Deepika asks in confusion

Vaishnav nods gently just then his mobile rings out loudly with Subhash's PA, Vibhav Patil's call. Vaishnav glances at his mobile with confusion and looks at Deepika who's equally confused

Vaishnav answers the call and puts it on the speaker phone and listens to what Vibhav has said. Vaishnav hangs up the call and looks at Deepika

"Subhash Bhai leaving for Lucknow and the flight is in three hours” Deepika remarks shockingly and Vaishnav sighs

“What do you want to talk about, Ika?” Vaishnav asks gently diverting the topic

“I love you, Nav. I realised it long ago but I was afraid of your reaction. I realised I did all the things which I never allowed with anyone — I let you call me Ika, I called you Nav myself, I let you ride me home whenever I was tired after the sports class, I let you take care of me when I was weak with my health and I never let anyone come to me not even Nikku, Ani or Anagha. I love you, Vaishnav Raichand.” She kneels in front of him by the end her voice is soft and looks vulnerable which is unusual for her personality waiting for his reaction

Vaishnav drops on his knees in front of her and asks, “Can I hug you?” His voice is gentle

She nods and he hugs her tightly without hurting her. After a few moments, he pulls back from the hug

“I love you, Ika. I started loving you from the moment I saw you. Though we used to bicker like kids. I love you for the way you are. Your strength, your fierce personality, your stubbornness and everything about you makes me fall into your love everyday. Will you be my saviour for a lifetime?” Vaishnav gently asks his eyes glinted with unshed tears

Deepika nods and hugs him tightly and says, “Yes, yes, yes a big yes”

“I won't let anything happen to you, Ika” Vaishnav says softly like a promise

“If you get into trouble I'll always pull you out from his, Nav” Deepika murmurs kissing his cheeks gently

Divank drives in his car towards a water lilies (Neel Kamal) lake which is in the outskirts of the city. Beside him, his girlfriend, Pridha Dixit sits silently who's literally got exhausted after asking him where he's taking her

She glances at her boyfriend before turning her face away and her lips curled into a cute pout

"Don't pout, Pridha. Those cute pouts make me want to kiss you hard until you forget how to breathe" Divank says casually making her eyes go wide in shock

"You idiot. How dare you tell that? Don't you have any shame" Pridha retorts back making him car stop abruptly at a point

"Wh.. why did you stop the car?" Pridha asks nervously

Divank doesn't say anything he gets down from the car door and opens the passenger side door and gives his hand. She takes his hand and steps out

"Can I pick you up? The path from here is filled with thorns" Divank asks gently not wanting to make her overwhelmed

Pridha nods. He takes out the camera from the back seat and hands it to her

"Carry this. You might use this after reaching there" Divank explains softly and lifts her in bridal style

Divank walks towards the lake slowly and Pridha looks at the surroundings in confusion because these are so unfamiliar to her. Once he reaches the lake he puts her on the ground

She looks at the place in awe and starts clicking the pictures in the camera as a professional photographer — adjusting lens and trying various angles

Divank smiles seeing his Mi Lucero happy. Once she's satisfied with the pictures she clicked she sat on the edge of the lake putting her legs inside. He sits beside her and pulls out a ring box. He hands her the box and looks at the chain along with the locket with grabbed her attention. It's the Northern Star Pendant

She hands him the pendant and says, "You bought this right then you put this on me"

He takes the pendant and puts on her neck. He starts, "Pridha, I bought this pendant with my first salary for you. I know I left without any information and I'm sorry for that. At least I should inform you about my departure. Can I deserve another chance?" His voice is soft and sincere

She nods and hugs him tightly. She says, "I don't know what happened and why you left but don't think about the past. You're here right now. You're with me and that's more than enough for me"

Both sat there in silence enjoying the stillness of the lake

In a rooftop restaurant,

Nivank and Ravya are sitting on their table. The restaurant is empty because Nivank rented it for the whole evening as he hates disturbances

Ravya stares at him in disbelief and asks, "Are you mad? Did you just rent the whole restaurant for this evening?"

"Of course what's wrong with that. I want to spend some alone time with my girlfriend" Nivank states bluntly

After a few minutes, Nivank takes out the box from the pocket and gets on one knee in front of her. Ravya stands up immediately looking confused

"Avi I know I never actually proposed to you properly just let me do it properly. Will you let me be yours completely in every universe?" Nivank asks softly

She forwards her left hand towards him and he pushes the Silver Zirconia Rose Gold Ring in her ring finger of her left hand. She makes him stand and kisses him passionately and he kisses her back. After a few minutes, they broke the kiss and hug each other tightly

On the other side of the city in a quite pent house

Charan and Anagha are curled against each other watching a rom-com movie. Just then, Charan kissed her cheeks diverting her attention from the movie

"Charan let me watch the movie" Anagha scolds him softly

"Do you love me, Tigress?" Charan asks suddenly out of no where

"Why did you ask me suddenly?" Anagha looks at him suddenly

"I don't know, Anu. My brain doesn't work sometimes properly I just ask random stuff" Charan says softly without meeting her eyes

"Did you start getting insecure about something again?" Anagha asks directly

"Not insecure I feel scared sometimes that everyone will leave me just like mumma papa did" Charan replies quietly

"If your Matashree is here then she would have given you a big, tight slap so that your brain works properly and stop thinking about these stupid things" Anagha retorts sharply

"Remember one thing, no matter what happens I won't leave your side and I love you, idiot" She says again and hugs him tightly

Finally done with the prologue

Guys guys guys this is a multiple couple book — three couples are main couples and remaining three couples are supporting leads but they also have their own stories

How's the prologue

Hope you all like the prologue

Positive response is highly appreciated

Negative response is strictly prohibited

Kindly ignore the grammatical mistakes

See you soon with the Character Aesthetics and Tropes

Take Care

Love you all 💞💞💞