Abhigya Stories Collection

Arranged Marriage (OS)

He smiles at me, "Good Morning, Pragya."

"Good morning."

"Why are you frowning?"

"I was just thinking."

"Thinking? What?" he asks me acting as if nothing could be more interesting to him than my thoughts.

"My name!" I replied before I had time to think. Damn it! I was supposed to play hard to get. My friends had told me that if we want our husband to dance to our tunes then we should be a mystery to them.

"Name? What is there to frown about?" he asks me, his smile going all the more wider.

"I was thinking what my name is going to be now." I tell him, rather the truth than fumble in a lie. That was my problem, every time I lie people tend to catch me quickly, so I tend to stick to the truth making my mother quack in fear that I'm outspoken. I had decided that outspoken is better than being tagged stupid and a liar.

"Aaah! What are the choices?" he asks me smiling happily as he kept his palm under his cheek giving me his undivided attention.

"Pragya Arora Mehra, Pragya Mehra, Pragya Abhishek Prem Mehra."

"Hmmm... all sounds good. What did you like?"

"Pragya Abhishek Prem Mehra."

He smiles approvingly, "Even I liked that the best. Why take my surname if you are not going to add my name?"

Then he touched me! He touched me on my cheek with a finger. Then without thinking I touched him, I kept my finger on his perfect cheek. He starts chuckling loudly. Realizing what I did I quickly take my hands off scandalized and then he held my hand and took it back to his face and kept my full hand, palm down on his cheeks. We remained silent for a while as we got lost in each other's eyes or rather I got lost in his eyes while he was wondering what he did to end up with me.

"Did you sleep nicely?"

"Yes. You?" I ask back.

He grins, "I slept nicely as I have been sleeping here for years now."

I frown at him, I was being nice and he was teasing me.

"You'll tell me if you have any problems here, right?"

"Yes." I replied and smartly kept my mouth shut by not asking him to do the same.

He grins giving me that feeling that he knew I was about to ask him that.

"Why did you marry me?"

He frowns, I have never felt more stupid in my life. I closed my eyes and mentally screamed at myself think before you open your mouth. He was silent and didn't reply, I opened my eyes to see if he was still here. He was and looked like he was waiting for me to open my eyes, then he said"Because I liked you."

He was saying that as if it should have been obvious to me! Of all the people, ME! "You liked me?"

"No, I like you!"

"Why?" I asked unable to hide my shock and wonder.

In reply he burst out laughing. "I have never seen anyone so refreshing as you."

"Is that a compliment?" I ask confused because, if we haven't established this fact yet, then here it is, I am dumb!

"Of the highest degree." He says still laughing.

Then I waited for him to ask me why I married him. I waited and waited, he didn't ask me. Finally I lost patience and asked him "Don't you wonder why I married you?"