Page 70 of When Love Trespassed

Inside, Varun stood by the couch in the living room, visibly nervous in his blush pink kurta set. He was doing his best to act calm, but his eyes kept darting towards the staircase. Like every five seconds.

Shaurya caught him in the act and smirked, walking over with a glass of juice in hand.

“Easy, Buddy,” he said, nudging Varun. “She’ll be here soon.”

“I swear to God, if she takes any longer, I’m climbing that staircase and dragging her down myself,” Varun muttered, half serious, half panicked.

Shaurya snorted, clapping him on the back. “Yeah? Go ahead and try that. You’ll face both Priya and her mother’s wrath. You’ll be engaged and exiled in the same night.”

Right then, the murmurs in the crowd quieted as people turned towards the stairs. And there she was.

Priya stepped out, looking beautiful in a blush-pink lehenga embroidered with matching threadwork and sequins that caught the light with every step.

(Yeah, they were twinning. And, of course, it was Varun’s idea.) Her hair was swept to the side in soft curls and a maang tikka glinted on her forehead.

She looked every bit the modern bride-to-be.

Varun forgot to breathe. For five whole seconds, he just stared.

Then he whispered under his breath, “I’m so screwed.”

Shaurya grinned. “Buddy, you’ve been screwed for a year now. This is just making it official.”

As Priya walked towards him, their eyes locked. Her smile deepened, and just like that, all of Varun’s jitters seemed to melt away. He stepped forward to meet her halfway, offering his hand like it was second nature to him. She took it without hesitation.

The priest cleared his throat from the side, signalling that it was time for the ring exchange. A hush fell over the guests as the couple stood before their families, their hands joined, their hearts racing a mile a minute.

Shaurya quietly slipped away for a moment and returned with Grandpa, guiding him carefully to the front so he could witness the ceremony up close. The old man’s eyes sparkled with emotion as he took his seat.

Then Shaurya returned to Nandini and stood beside her. They exchanged a quiet glance, overjoyed to see their best friends, Varun and Priya, exchanging rings, sealing a promise that had waited patiently for its moment.

And as if the evening couldn’t get more perfect, there was more good news brewing.

A villa in Serene Meadows had recently become available, and Varun had wasted no time in buying it. After the wedding next month, he and Priya would be moving in just down the lane.

Which meant the two couples—Shaurya and Nandini, and Varun and Priya—would soon be neighbours, just a few houses away.

Shaurya and Nandini were thrilled with the news of being so close to their best friends. But it was Grandpa who looked the happiest. He now had both his children and their closest friends within arm’s reach, and that, for him, was priceless.

After the rings were exchanged, Varun and Priya stepped forward to take blessings from Grandpa and their parents.

Priya’s mother, Mrs. Mehra turned to Grandpa with a smile.

“When Nandini married Shaurya and moved next door, we were all so happy for you,” she said. “To have your granddaughter so close, it’s a rare blessing. And now, with Varun and Priya moving into Serene Meadows… well, we’re feeling just as lucky.”

Varun immediately perked up. “Actually, speaking of that,” he said, barely containing his excitement, “I was thinking of taking Priya to the new house tonight. The furnishings are almost done, and I want her to see everything. You know… her future home.”

Everyone turned to look at him.

Varun’s mother narrowed her eyes at him, part suspicious, part amused. His father folded his arms across his chest and raised a brow.

Slightly panicking at the silence, Varun blurted, “I-I mean, I’ll drop her back later! Late night. Very late at night. I just thought... maybe we could spend some time there, just the two of us...”

He looked at everyone’s faces and cleared his throat. “To… to admire the furniture. And the curtains. And… um… the wall colours.”

The silence broke into muffled laughter. Everyone had read the subtext. Nandini nudged Priya, who was blushing furiously. Grandpa shook his head in amusement, clearly seeing right through Varun’s excuse.

Shaurya smirked, whispering, “Control yourself, buddy. Priya’s not going anywhere yet.”

Still, no one said anything definitive. Both Varun and Priya’s parents just exchanged a look, deliberately keeping their faces neutral.

Sensing their hesitation, Varun made his final pitch. “Now that the engagement’s official, you can’t really say no to me anymore, right?”

Grandpa winked at Priya’s father, a teasing grin playing on his face. “Well, sir, I believe the boy just proposed a second time. What do you say? I think we should let him romance the sofa and chandelier in peace.”

The entire group burst out laughing. Even both sets of parents couldn’t hold it in. Shaking her head, Priya’s mother finally relented, waving her hand. “Go. But have her home before midnight at least.”

Varun beamed, victorious. Priya groaned, hiding her face in her palms.

Shaurya and Nandini smiled as they watched their friends so happy. This warmth between the families, this togetherness of friends… it was everything they had ever dreamed of.

Raichand Villa – Late Night

It was well past midnight when Grandpa, Shaurya, and Nandini returned from the engagement party. While Grandpa and Nandini disappeared into the living room, still laughing and gossiping like co-conspirators about the guests at the party, Shaurya stepped out to take a pending work call.

The garden lay still, except for the occasional rustle of the mango tree. The same tree that had once been the cause of petty arguments, eye-rolls, and drawn lines between properties. Funny how things change.

The breeze had picked up slightly, and its branches swayed in the wind as if they were listening in on him.

As his call ended, Shaurya didn’t head back inside.

Instead, something pulled him towards the tree.

He walked over and rested his palm on the bark, the texture rough and familiar beneath his fingers. A small smile tugged at his lips.

“Our anniversary’s coming up next month, Daadi. It’s been one happy year with Nandini,” he murmured, as if speaking to Nandini’s late Daadi, who had planted this tree decades ago.

He exhaled, his eyes still on the trunk. “And I’m confused. I’ve been trying to figure out what to give her. Something that’s unique and perfect, just like her . Of course, I am telling you this because I think you can help me think clearly… help me decide.”

He chuckled under his breath. “You were the first one I ever opened up to, remember? Right here. When I was scared out of my mind about giving love a second chance. I know it was you who sent Grandpa, exactly at that very moment, to hear my confession. It was your way of guiding me and nudging me through him.”

He paused for a long second, his hand still planted on the tree.

“And maybe that’s why I hide nothing from you now,” he added. “You’ve become a habit. Just like Nandini and Grandpa know me inside out, you do too. Whatever I share with them, I have to share with you too.”

Then, lowering his voice, like a little boy revealing a secret, he whispered with a smirk, “But hey, don’t tell them that sometimes, I talk to you first. Even before them. Let’s keep that between us, yeah? Our very own secret!”

The breeze carried his words as if the tree itself was listening. He added, his voice filled with emotion. “When I grow old, I’ll build something for Nandini too. Just like you left this tree for Grandpa. Something that stays long after I’m gone.”

“I didn’t take you for a copycat,” a familiar voice interrupted his tête-à-tête.

Shaurya turned around, startled to see Grandpa walking towards him with Nandini by his side.

But what made him pause wasn’t just his words.

It was the look on Grandpa’s face. There was a softness in his eyes, and a faint smile tugged at his lips, the kind that came with remembering something precious.

His gaze moved from Shaurya’s hand resting on the bark to the roots below, then up to the branches swaying gently above.

For months, Shaurya had fought the very existence of this tree.

And yet, here he was now, not just accepting the tree, but speaking to it and trusting it with the thoughts he hadn’t shared with anyone else.

And that, more than anything, touched something in Grandpa’s heart.

“I hope you are not planning to plant another tree for my Nandu. Do something original, son,” Grandpa said, narrowing his eyes at him.

Shaurya stepped back with a sheepish smile at being caught red-handed. When he glanced to the side, he saw Nandini standing a few steps away, her eyes wide and teary as she watched him standing by the tree, speaking to it, just like she and her Grandpa often did.

She’d heard the story of him once pouring his heart out to this tree in secret, back when he thought love wasn’t for him.

But seeing it herself now… it was something else entirely.

It tugged at her soul. It was, without a doubt, one of the cutest things she had ever seen.

A grump like Shaurya , emotionally guarded, allergic to vulnerability, talking to a tree !

If that wasn’t a miracle, she didn’t know what was.

As she approached him, Shaurya slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close. “Well,” he said with a smirk to Grandpa, “if you’ve got a better idea, I’m all ears.”

Grandpa chuckled. “The mere thought that you want to leave something behind for my granddaughter… that’s enough, Shaurya. I’m impressed.”

Shaurya looked down at Nandini, grinning. “If not another tree, then maybe a private library? Only romance novels. All kinds. Even the dark ones that you love.”

She laughed through her tears and gave his chest a playful punch. “Stop it,” she whispered, her cheeks pink. Then she walked towards the mango tree and placed her palm on its trunk. Then she turned to Shaurya.

“I’m sure whatever you do will be wonderful,” she said softly, glancing up at him. “But nothing can beat what Daadi left for Grandpa.”

Grandpa felt nostalgic. He smiled at the tree like it held his entire world… and maybe it did.

Shaurya, wanting to comfort Grandpa and bring back the smile on his face, took a step towards the tree and teased, “That I agree with. But I do have one complaint.”

Nandini raised an eyebrow. “What now?”

He pointed at the tree. “This tree is biased. The way it responds to you and Grandpa, like it actually listens to you both, sways more when you talk to it, sheds a leaf when you’re sad... it doesn’t talk to me like that. It doesn’t give me any sign. Not yet. Not even after a year.”

Grandpa chuckled, wiping the corners of his eyes as he stepped closer to the tree. “That’s because you haven’t hugged the tree yet. My Ambika is still waiting for a hug from you to take you under her wing and respond to you.”

Shaurya blinked, then looked at both of them with mock outrage. “Wait—you’re serious? That’s the official tree ritual? And you’re telling me now ? After all this time? Such a small thing, and none of you thought to mention it?”

Nandini grinned and threw her arms around the trunk. “It was a top secret. But now that we are a family, you should know about it too. Daadi loved hugs.”

She winked at Daadu mischievously, who smiled like he’d been waiting for this very moment.

Shaurya frowned. “I’m not taking any chances,” he muttered, already moving forward. “If that’s the secret to getting ‘the sign’ from the tree, I’m not wasting a moment.”

He stepped up beside Nandini and lovingly wrapped his arms around the other side of the trunk.

Nandini giggled as their hands brushed and instinctively intertwined behind the trunk, their fingers lacing together against the rough bark. And just like that, the leaves above rustled louder—as if Daadi herself had heard and seen them.

“That’s it,” Grandpa said, his voice choked with emotion. “You’ve got your sign. She sees you now too, son.”

Shaurya didn’t expect to feel anything. Truth be told, he’d thought they were messing with him, and he was just playing along to humour them both. But as he stood there, with arms wrapped around the old tree, his fingers laced with Nandini’s, something in him shifted.

He felt it.

Something subtle… something real. Like the tree, after all this time, was finally pulling him in. Accepting him. The warmth. The calm. The rustle of leaves seemed like a welcome, like Daadi was embracing him in her fold.

For so long, he thought the tree only responded to Grandpa and Nandini. That its signs were reserved for them alone. But now, he could feel it. The tree had finally opened its arms to him too.

“Wait for me,” Grandpa called out, walking over with that same glint in his eye. “I’m not missing this moment.”

He joined them at the centre, wrapping his arms around both the tree and the people he loved most. Three hearts beating in quiet harmony under a canopy of leaves and shared memories.

The wind had quieted now. But the branches of the tree still swayed and danced in delight.

The old arguments had ended, and love had taken root. Right here. Right under this mango tree.

And how could the tree not bless them?

Because ‘ when love trespassed’ , it turned strangers into family—where love bloomed, old wounds healed, and every heartbeat finally felt like home.

The End