His Inconvenient Bride | ✔️

| ii: best buddies |

It was obvious that every child in the Agarwal household would take over the legacy of being a hotelier. Being a forensic expert was my dream career, but being a hotelier was in my blood.

Marigold Hotels was one of the most luxurious hotels in India, and each one of the Agarwal children handled one branch. My cousin brothers were in charge of the hotels in Chennai and Kolkata, whereas Anika Di and I handled the Jaipur and Mumbai hotels, respectively.

A small part of the revenue that was generated from the profits from the Jaipur branch was my salary as I was living alone for the past years.

The two ancestral palaces that our family owned were converted into hotels, one of them being the Jaipur branch.

I wasn't a full-time hotelier. It was Anika Di who handled most of my work, whereas I just went over the numbers and details.

I was brushing my thumb over the picture, reminiscing all those happy and sad times we all had spent together. Though we were all in touch with each other and skyped almost every day, I hadn't seen them in person for two years.

All were busy with their jobs. Time had passed away so quickly, and now my best friend, Chirag, was getting married to the love of his life.

"I am coming back, weirdos," I smiled and kept the picture in the bag.

*   *   *

After a tiring journey of two hours, I finally reached the place which was my home. Jaipur, the pink city of India, is rich in cultural heritage and was my home. The dusty roads, the crowds, and the ethnicity was my identity. I closed my eyes in satisfaction as I felt the air. After collecting my bags from the baggage belt, I came out of the gate and noticed a chauffeur standing in front with a board held up, saying, 'Mrs. Chauhan'.

An unknown emotion rushed through me. It was very rare when someone associated me with him. Soon, I was seated in the car, and we were heading towards the outskirts of the city. I savoured the views of the scenery as the car passed through the highway. The journey was short as we soon entered the premises of the palace.

There stood The Marigold in all its glory. It still looked the same white palace, a bit cleaner now with a beautiful fountain in front of it.

All the childhood memories played in front of my eyes like a slideshow. I had inherited this from my late grandmother, who was very dear to me.

I had spent every summer here with my best friends. In fact, all of them had their own rooms. I sadly smiled at the reality and wondered how times had changed, and we weren't kids anymore, and everything wasn't the same anymore.

We had an unsaid pact of getting married in this palace. Even I wished to get married here. But not all dreams come true.

I was welcomed by the manager, Mr. Singh. He signalled the ladies to put a garland around my neck, but I raised my hand and stopped them from doing so. It was too much for me.

"How are you, ma'am?" asked Mr. Singh.

"I am fine, Mr. Singh. How are you and your family?" I politely questioned on the way as we were heading towards the reception area.

"My family is well and good. Your room has been cleaned and arranged. Your bags have been taken to your room. Lunch will be served in half an hour. So, why don't you go and freshen up?"

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Singh. But first, I would like to meet my friends, and I will have my lunch with them. Do you have any idea where they are?"

"Ma'am, they are in the lounge on the first floor for lunch. Let me escort you there," he said.

"No, it's okay. I can manage by myself. Can you please keep the file containing the minutes of the half-yearly meeting in my room? I would like to go through it and later on discuss it with you."