The Blazing Heiress

01|| A beautiful trouble

She is both hellfire and holy water. And the flavor you taste depends on how you treat her.

-Sneha Pal

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I know many of you guys skipped the author's note. Please do glance at it once before you start with this chapter :)

Three years later after the prologue:

"It's high time you settle down with someone.", the feminine voice over the speaker, making him groan in annoyance. It wasn't the first time his mother asked him to get married and settle down. He shook his head slightly, visualizing his mother would be giving him a disapproving look. She had been nagging him to wed since his nephew was born.

"Mom, this same conversation again?" he asked, repressing his irritation from the tone.

Last week, they had this same conversation when they had an occasional family dinner. The previous year his elder brother and sister-in-law welcomed their second child. His mother now wants him to settle down like his elder brother and start a family. Talk about Indian family and their urges to get their children married as soon as they reach the age of twenty-five. He still remembered her aghast expression and the depiction of dissatisfaction on her face when he declared to wait for a few more years.

"You will be thirty in three years, Viransh!" she said from the other side of the call. He let out a sigh and leaned back in his seat as he halted his car at one of the traffic signals displaying a red light. He was already late for his meeting with Mr. Jaideep. Coincidently her mother called him when he was on his way to meeting the shareholders and executives at Desai Enterprises and started the same topic of conversation he was dreading, counting to his nasty mood.

"I already told you that I am not ready. Can you please drop this topic?" Viransh requested, almost beseeching.

"No, I won't. It's time for you to start a family of your own. Look at your brother. He got married to Rhea when he was twenty-three. Now, he has a beautiful family with her." she said as a matter-of-fact. "Also, remember your college friend, Abhinav? He got married a few days back. Even your younger brother is dating some girl. When are you-?"

"What do you expect me to do then? Encounter some random woman today and fall in love with her at first sight, then get married and have children? This isn't some Bollywood movie, mom. The real world doesn't work like that. Maybe, nowadays, it goes around like the Tinder app. Swipe left and right, and boom, you are matched." he said while swiftly driving ahead. "But I am not like that. This marriage and romance are not my things," he nearly growled while narrowing his eyes on the caller id, and his gaze lingered on the device, not realizing the car in front of him had halted.

"Well, son, there are plenty of women out there waiting to marry you-" she spoke only to be cut off by a crash sound. He jerked forward while his hands were tightly gripping the staring wheels.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he pressed brakes.

He heard a gasp from the speaker, followed by a series of questions with concern evident in her voice., "Viransh, what was that? Are you okay?"

"I am fine, mom. I will call you back later." Before his mother could reply, he ended the call.

Cursing something under his breath, he got out of the car. His initial anger ebbed, catching the sight of the woman getting out of her car. He noticed a pretty girl coming toward him. Suddenly, he couldn't look away from her. As she came closer, he got a better look at her, except that the girl with rich brown eyes and the downy onyx hair had him bewitched.