It was in December 2013 that I met Sagar at an arranged marriage meeting. He was a family friend’s son and had moved to Austria. His family was visiting India and wanted us to meet each other since, we were both looking to get married and were of the marriageable age. At first, I was pretty skeptical at the thought of meeting him but after stalking him all over social media, I realized that he was kinda cute and hence, definitely worth meeting!
I arrived a bit early, so I got us a nice table in a cozy corner in the Marriott Hotel cafe. I had never, in my wildest dreams expected myself to be so excited to be meeting a guy in an arranged marriage setup. Soon, Sagar arrived and nudged me on my shoulder, saying ‘Hey!’ Blushing, I stood up to greet him and we made ourselves comfortable. We really hit it off and I told him all about myself, my family and my hobbies.
However, I couldn’t help but notice that while he seemed like an excellent listener, he was also exceptionally quiet. I did pause and ask him if he was getting bored, to which he responded that he was listening. After one hour of non-stop talking, two cups of coffee each (we both had ordered lattes, soulmates I had thought!), some wedding preparations in my mind, Sagar finally decided to talk! Excited to hear more about him and how he too, had possibly fallen for me… he said he would like to share something honestly with me.
A little taken aback by his serious demeanour, but maintaining my calm, I told him to carry on. He told me that he had recently gotten out of a long term relationship. Now that he was touching 30, his parents had pressured him into meeting me and that was the only reason why he had come. He said that he still had feelings for his ex and did not want to jump into a new relationship just yet. He sounded slightly guilty for making me hopeful by coming for this meeting and pretending to be interested. However, he also added that the little he had gotten to me, he thought that I was an amazing girl who deserved someone who loved me truly. He told me that he would tell his parents ‘no’ for this meeting but he wanted me to understand the real reason for him rejecting me.
Hearing all this, I sat quietly, trying to process it all in my head. To be honest, I was seriously taken aback and I weirdly felt very hurt deep down (even though I barely knew the guy!). I held myself together and thanked him for being honest. We ended the conversation on that note and I headed home, hoping that this was our first and last conversation ever.
A year later, Sagar and I did end up staying in touch as ‘friends’ till he visited India again and we met again. This meeting was very different from our first meeting. We met as friends, it wasn’t with any expectations, but he told me that he was completely over his ex and he would like to give him and me a chance. Coincidentally, I had not found ‘the one’ in that duration either, so I decided to give it a shot as well.
So my love story finally did have a happy ending, Sagar and I are happily married now! I guess life has a master plan for each one us wherein, we meet people in the most eccentric circumstances and ultimately love does find a way!
* Names changed to protect privacy.
Images: Shutterstock
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