Published on 07.03.2021
● A A R O H I ●
Fuck fuck fuck !!
I should've called Kiara and let her know that I'm back so that she could also be back and I could be spared from making breakfast. My stomach growled in hunger. The thought of stepping into the kitchen and prepare something itself made me groan. I looked around in the cabinets and fridge and settled on making bread butter as it won't take much time. Smart!
'You mean lazy,' my subconscious chided.
Shut up! I sat down on the recliner with the plate on my lap. Just when I was about to take a bite and soothe my appetite, my cell rang. Why can't people give me few moments of peace?
Unknown number. I frowned. I picked up the call when an eerily familiar sound was heard from the other side. I remembered it instantly. It was his voice.
"Hello. Dr Sharma?" His voice hoarse and deep.
"Hello V-Vihaan." I replied uncertainly.
Why is he even calling me? The start of a new day couldn't be any worse.
"Yeah. It's me. Actually we weren't able to talk yesterday to each other so since you've a leave today let's meet today and discuss few things." His voice was calm yet so calculated which made me slightly nervous.
Wait why should I be nervous? Actually wait! How dare he just tell me to come and meet when the first thing he should be asking is if I want to meet or not which obviously I don't want to. Great! Fucking great! One more person in my life who didn't care about my opinions.
Meri koi feelings nahi hai?
(Don't I've any feelings?"
Composing myself and mustering up enough courage to make my voice sound as intimidating as his personality I said, "Mr Agarwal shouldn't your first question be if I'm okay to meet you or not?" I raised my eyebrows before realising that he couldn't see me.
He took a pause before replying back, "Dr Sharma I suppose the purpose of yesterday's meet between both of our families was to fix our marriage and in accordance to that we were supposed to talk which unfortunately couldn't happen and since you're on leave, I don't see any reason why would you not want to meet me." His tone was formal and cool as if his answer was meant to defy my previous reply. No wonder he was a businessman. Narcissist!
"Fine," I grumbled. "But I'm not free till 7 as my leave has been cancelled. So let's meet around 7:30 at my apartment. I'll text you the address." I was in no mood to go to any restaurant or cafe after my shift is over.
"No worries. I'll pick you up by your hospital." He said casually.
"NO!"
"What?"
"I have my scooty and I can come back on my own. So thank you very much."
"Don't be silly Dr Sharma. I'll pick you up since MG hospital falls on my way. End of the discussion. I'll see you at 7." I didn't even get a chance to reply because that narcissist hung up. Why does nobody listen to me? Why do people keep ordering me? What am I? A two year old toddler?!
I kicked the recliner bottom with my right foot in annoyance which didn't help much unfortunately since the next moment I was clutching my foot up due to the pain. Sigh.
● V I H A A N ●
Finally. Finally I'm going to talk to her. One on one. It was already 6:30 in the evening. I left my office and got into the elevator. I couldn't help but remember the morning conversation with her. She definitely was one of a kind. I mean instead of agreeing to meet me today instantly she actually told that I should've asked her if she wanted to meet me or not. And not only that, she was pretty stubborn. The woman doesn't fail to surprise me. It seems there are so many shades to her. The way she stuttered while uttering my name and then the next moment reprimanded me, her voice suddenly changing from nervous to flat and assertive. Her voice.. She had a certain command over the way she spoke which showed how well aware she is of her speech. Everytime I had heard her, she sounded confident and strong. It was amazing to see how she conversed with me as if she's no less than me. It wasn't everyday that I met women or in general people like her. Almost everyone seemed to sound nervous, carefully choosing their words when they first meet me. It was different and it intrigued me.
It was 7:15 pm and yet she hadn't showed up. I was going to ring her up but then thought of going inside and looking for her myself. I'll also get a tour of the hospital although hospital isn't a place where you go for a tour but nervermind.
I walked through the passage carefully looking around me to spot her so that I don't have a hit and miss moment with her. It didn't took me long to find her. A little distance away she was standing talking to a lady. I watched her from afar. A little girl who looked around the age of three years came to Aarohi and tugged at the hem of her kurta. She turned towards her before taking her into her arms. The kid wrapped her arms around Aarohi's neck. Aarohi seemed to be instructing something as she had pointed her index finger towards her motioning it to make her point clear. She then bend to take out a chocolate from her bag which was kept on the chair beside her and handed it over to the little girl who wasted no time in grabbing the sweet and pecked Aarohi's cheek. Aarohi giggled and watching her laughing wholeheartedly made my own heart flutter with joy. It was such an adorable sight. She looked so beautiful, so carefree. She stopped laughing when she noticed me. Pecking the little girl's cheek she handed her to the lady, picked her bag and made her way towards me.
"Good evening." She muttered lowly giving me a small smile.
"Good evening. Let's go."
The ride to her apartment was silent. I couldn't help but steal a few glances at her while she leaned towards the window having her eyes closed while the wind played with her hair that had escaped the braid and splayed out across her face. I had a strong desire to move those tendrils behind her ear so I could see her peaceful face clearly with no barrier.
We reached her place after a twenty minute drive. I followed her as she lead me. She asked me to make myself home and excused herself to freshen up. Her house was cozy. Dining table was set on one corner. The TV was set on the front wall. The sofa set was arranged near the window giving away the view of the city. Off white walls which multiple wall hangings at random positions. And most of them seemed to be handmade. They were beautiful. I could literally feel the warm loving vibes that the home radiated. Undoubtedly Aarohi and her friend had put in a lot of efforts, love and care to make the house the home that it is today. There was a picture frame that was kept on the table in which Aarohi had stuck her tongue out while her friend pouted and their arms were around each other. It was a picture when they were kids.
I didn't realise that I was staring for too long when Aarohi forwarded a glass of water to me. She had tied her hair in a loose bun but hadn't changed her clothes.
"Friend?" I asked gesturing towards the picture with my eyes.
A faint smile settled on her features. "Best friend. Kiara."
"She isn't here?"
"She's at her boyfriend's place."
I nodded in understanding.
"Anyways let's get back to the main topic. You wanted to meet me. Why?" She raised her eyebrows while I frowned.
"I hope you know that the marriage is due in two weeks. We obviously need to know each other enough considering that we'll be living together." I said as if it was the most obvious reason. Her demeanour changed when I spoke about marriage. I could feel her tense up. She stared at the wall in front of her before replying.
"Yeah I know. My parents had messaged me. Mr Agarwal, I don't know about you but I want to make my stance very clear." Something about her tone was off and that scared me. She continued, "I'll be honest. I'm marrying you because my parents want me to. Before you jump into conclusions let me tell you that I've no boyfriend neither do I've anything against you or anyone in your family. Your parents are really sweet. And even you seem to be a nice person. It's just that while growing up I had made up my mind that I'll never ever get married. But anyways. I just want you to know that if you're marrying me, don't keep any expectations from me nor will I keep any. Even if we get married, I'll never be your wife because I'll never fulfil any responsibilities that is expected from a wife." She continued explaining herself. She even revealed how her parents lied to her so that she would be able to meet me.
I was dumbfounded. It wasn't as if I was looking for settling down, even I was marrying because my parents want me to. But I was looking forward to it. I didn't know to what extent but I was ready to accept everything wholeheartedly. Didn't know why but I felt uneasy. It hurt a little that her feelings didn't resonate with me. I was eager to meet her, know her while she just wanted to run away from this whole ordeal. She had stopped talking and was waiting for my reply.
Taking a deep breath, I said trying to sound as normal as possible, "Dr Sharma, if you don't wish to get married to me then let's just cancel the wedding. Even I'm marrying because my parents want me to. But if you aren't comfortable then we must not take this any further."
She looked at me. Her eyes soft before she started speaking, "I know I'm silly. But it doesn't really matter. If this marriage gets cancelled, my parents will find someone else but they'll make sure that I settle down with someone. Both our families go along well. And for some odd reason, your family even likes me. I don't want to hurt so many people when everything is already fixed. I just want to convey that it's not about me but about you. If you are ready to marry and accept me the way I'm, then there's no problem. But if you aren't okay with it and are looking for something more, then let's just back off from this marriage." She continued to look at me, her expressions soft yet unreadable. She sounded guilty and sad.
If this marriage gets cancelled, my parents will find someone else but they'll make sure that I settle down with someone.
And suddenly the thought of her marrying somebody else who wasn't me didn't go well with me. I thought for a while still staring into her eyes. What was there to lose in this? I wasn't chasing love. I wasn't chasing marriage. I was okay with being single. I was okay with the thought that someday I'll get married and I was even okay with the thought that I'll forever remain single. I would accept anything. We would get married but continue to lead our individual lives without bothering each other and won't cross each other paths. My parents wanted me to settle down because they felt that I needed a life partner who would be there for me, support me and would never let me feel alone no matter what. Even if I got married to Aarohi, they wouldn't know about the equation we shared. This whole thing didn't sound that bad, did it?
"I'm okay with everything you said." I said confidently. Her eyes widened and lips parted as if she didn't expect me to agree.
"Really!?" her voice an octave lower. I slowly blinked my eyes and nodded.
"Why me?"
"Why not you?" I countered back.
"I mean you could get anyone you want then why me? Look at you and look at me! Our standards, personalities, profiles nothing match. Heck! I'm not even pretty enough while you've looks that could put many actors at shame. I belong to a middle class family while - "
"SHUT UP!" I yelled to stop her from further rambling and she flinched. Was this woman out of her senses all of a sudden? "I really didn't take you as someone who judged people on their status and all. I felt you were one of those who didn't give a fuck about the orthodox mentality of this society. What do you take me and my family as? Do you really think that I'm so narrow minded or shallow. And do you really give a damn about looks because I sure as hell don't! You're beautiful just the way you're. My parents liked you because of the person you're. Confident, strong, determined, dedicated and honest. I really didn't know that you could be this stupid." I shook my head incredulously running a hand through my hair. Whatever she had said earlier still made sense but this was some another level of insanity.
I heard her gasp tiredly. "Look I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean any of that towards you. I just found it difficult to believe that you people were ready to accept me even with all my flaws. I shouldn't have assumed such things and categorised y'all. It was very wrong of me and I'm sincerely sorry." She looked down at her lap fidgeting with her fingers. I understood where she was coming from so didn't push it any further. It was then when I realised something.
"You just said I've looks that could put many actors at shame so you basically just told me that I'm hot" I whispered leaning a little forward with a smirk on my face. She stopped fidgeting with her fingers and snapped her head towards me. Her eyes wide while she struggled to get something out of her mouth. She bit her lower lip and turned her face away from me. That was the first time I saw her being nervous and at a loss of words. She looked so freaking cute yet so enticing. She again turned her head towards me, the nervousness had completely disappeared and she was back to her usual self.
She leaned a little towards me and my breath hitched. "You're beautiful just the way you're. Didn't you just say that about me Mr Agarwal?" She whispered, her voice low that made her sound even more attractive. And then she smirked raising her eyebrows challenging me.
"Then we're even Dr Sharma." I retorted back.
Neither of us made an attempt to move back and continued staring at each other with an equally intimidating gaze. Our stare game was broken when we heard the doorbell ring and Aarohi got up to open the door.
***
Third chapter!
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