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Walking down the steep inclines of Ooty with Suresh, now my husband, I couldn t stop thinking about how I had imagined my husband to be. I thought how I imagined our afternoons to be. How we would talk aabout serious issues, about work, about how we wanted to do something for the poor,contribute to the society. Suresh cracked a joke. I smiled, just enough to not hurt him... The poor guy had been trying to make me comfortable for the three days that we had been married. He´s so different than the guy I thought I will spend my life with... Suresh pointed towards the valley. He said something and laughed. I didn t hear what he said, I was too lost in myself. But his laughter was infectious. I smiled. This time, not out of mercy. I was lost in my thoughts as we walked downhill. Just then a state transport bus came screeching down the slope and Suresh pulled me towards himself. I looked at the bus that whizzed by, too arrogant to care about a girl lost in her thoughts. I looked into the eyes of Suresh. He held me by my waist. I could feel his heaving chest, his strong hands. This was the first time I was standing this close to a man. I felt safe. I meant something to someone...

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Arshat´s debut novel titled How I got my girl back... A nerd s guide to dating . The book met with resounding success and has now sold 10,000 copies. Arshat likes to explore. He is inquisitive by nature. His friends say he asks a lot of questions. He blames it on his engineering background!

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