Arranged Roommates

|3| Mutually Agreeable Arrangements

Mr. Aryan Arora.

Handsome. Gorgeous. Model worthy beautiful. And any word in the dictionary would not be able to describe how fine this man was.

Focus.

"Why did you video call?" I frowned.

"Because when you said that you are ready to discuss this over a call, I didn't necessarily interpret it as an audio call. You should have been more specific." He shrugged as if video-calling me at eleven in the night was no big deal.

But it was a big deal for me! I wasn't prepared enough for this face-to-face talk in such a personal setting. Especially not when I was in my bed.

And because I had been staring at his face for more than maybe a minute, too lost in my thoughts of how I was going to tackle this situation, he took the liberty of kindly pointing out the horrid condition of my face.

"Why is your face red?" his eyebrows knitted in confusion before he moved closer to his camera to examine my face, "And your nose is also swollen. What were you doing? Wrestling with your bed or something?"

I consciously covered my nose with my hand as my eyes narrowed at his audacity of making fun of me when he was the one who was a late sluggish snail.

"Are those dark circles under your eyes?" I squinted my eyes as if observing his face.

He touched below his eyes as I exclaimed in a fake high-pitched voice, "Oh! I forgot, silly me," I dramatically slapped my forehead, "it's because you are too guilt-ridden to have a good night's sleep after ditching people on dinners every day, right?"

He sighed and combed his fingers through those lush black strands of his hair as his expression morphed into that of regret, "I already told you how sorry I am, you can't hold it on me forever."

"I can and I will. The first impression is the last. And you failed miserably at making a good first impression." I shrugged, "But it's okay, I am very generous, I gave you a second chance out of the goodness of my heart."

"Very generous indeed," He nodded his head but I could detect a bit of sarcasm in that sentence. I rolled my eyes. "So tell me, why do I feel like I know you from somewhere?" he asked.

"How would I know that?" I looked at him with a blank stare, adjusting a little more comfortably on the pillows.

"Right. Okay." He cleared his throat and glanced anywhere but at me, suddenly seeming to be awkward.

When I didn't say anything, he fake-coughed again, "Ahem. Ahem." I was confused when his gaze lightly lingered below my neck before looking away abruptly as a slight red hue coated his cheeks and the points of his ears.

I lowered my eyes just to be greeted by the view of the deep plunging neckline of my decade-old T-shirt. Oh shit! Everything was too clearly highlighted without a bra on. I told you I wasn't prepared for this video call.

Never been more embarrassed in life, I adjusted my clothes and held my phone up so that only my face was visible in the cam, all while he still focused on my forehead, not deterring his eyes below that.

Trying to dissolve the awkward situation, I asked, "So, are you marrying on your own will or under family pressure?"

He relaxed a bit, and chuckled, "That's a loaded question. It's a bit of both you can say. But a big reason for it is honestly my dad's wish because I wasn't planning on a marriage anytime soon. Not ready for commitment yet. What about you?"

That's good.

"Do you want an honest answer?" I asked seriously and he nodded.

"This is purely family pressure for me. I don't believe in marriage and all. I think it's bullshit."

He would surely say no to marriage after this and then I would be free. I mentally fist-bumped myself for such a good answer.

His eyes shot up in shock, clearly not expecting such a blunt answer and his lips pursed, processing my words. Trailing his fingers through his unkempt hair again, he exhaled loudly, "That's quite understandable. So why don't you tell your parents that?"

"I have told them more than a million times since I got my very first arranged marriage proposal at twenty-five. They keep emotionally blackmailing me. I don't want to tie myself to the obligations that come with marriage."

"Okay...so what you are saying is that you don't want to invest yourself in marital responsibilities?"

"Exactly."

"But for this marriage to happen was my father's last wish and I would do anything possible within my realms to make this happen. And you clearly need relief from your parents' constant pressure." He spoke slowly, trying to make sense of our situation, "So, if you agree, we can come up with a mutually agreeable arrangement."

I asked curiously, "And what kind of arrangement do you have in that oh-so-genius mind of yours?"

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