It was late in the evening when Dhruv finally reached home. His home, which was their family villa sat majestically in between the beautiful vast meadow filled with flowers. He noticed the head butler and a group of maids, running around to arrange dinner on the dining table. Another maid was cleaning the stairway.
He decided to go in later. After giving away his car keys to the valet, he walked towards the cozy brown swing to soothe all tiredness the day brought. Clear sky covered the entire atmosphere in a warm blanket which he wished to snuggle in for a couple of weeks abandoning work. He took out his phone to check an email which he was waiting to receive the whole day, but winced immediately on coming across a message from crazy bitch instead -
'You have two days till bidding to give your reply' - Crazy Bitch
"Now she's giving me timelines" he sighed to himself and shoved his phone inside as it pissed him off. He was ready giving her the formula for his company's new hair serum or backing off from the Lanka deal, but didn't expect a crazy marriage proposal. Nobody could even imagine such a scenario, maybe except their mad parents who always wanted to pair them up for the company's good. He could never accept such a preposterous offer. Although it was difficult to fight her fair and square in this particular deal, he had no other go now.
'Yup! Definitely a crazy bitch', he thought out loud.
"Hey! What are you doing here alone?" A silky voice called out to him perturbing his vicious thoughts about Riya. When he turned, he saw the woman of his dreams standing there right in front of him with the most beautiful smile in the world. Her pale face and brown eyes were accentuated by the black silk shirt she wore. The red highlights peeping out of her black hair only made her beauty multiply thousand folds.
"Wow, Tanya..... Fancy seeing you here" the color rose in her cheeks as soon as he got up and hugged her.
She smiled with the same soft expression which made his heart skip a beat every time "Just thought I'd drop by and see what you were up to".
He could see her all day and live his life without regrets. "Was just resting for a bit... Come on in, let's have dinner!" he started walking when she stopped him by holding his hand. "Sorry, but rain check? I really have to go to this thing with Niranjan and guess I'm already late", she smiled and elegantly turned her wrist to take note of the time.
Dhruv immediately avoided eye contact and looked down his shoes.
"Oh..." it still hurt him like a fresh wound every time she mentioned his name. She was his one true love, now engaged to his brother. Fate can really be so cruel. At least he saved face by never confessing his feelings for her. Rather than living in a world without her, he would chose living in pain a hundred times.
"Um.... Dhruv? .....You said you'd take care of it but may I ask you what's happening with the deal?" She hesitated before completing her sentence. Her father's pride depended on it and she would do anything in her capacity to save him.
He took her hands in his. "You don't have to worry about a thing, Tanya. I'm here to help you" He reassured her but his heart was heavy due to the meeting with Riya. If Riya didn't back out from the deal, she'd definitely get it. From his last meeting with the directors, he understood they clearly wanted Riya's choice to be their partner. But it was crazy of him to marry her for that. If it was anybody else, he'd have done it by now. Seeing this smile on Tanya's face was much more worth than his pride or acting as anyone's husband only to become a divorcee later. Yet, he could never do that with Riya. Why must it be her? He was frustrated.
"Deep in thoughts?"
"Umm... No... As I already said, you go and enjoy your evening. I'll take care of it", he gently squeezed her hand.
"Thanks... It means a lot to me, Dhruv" she patted his hand before letting it go. "Good night! Take care" she waved on her way out the gate.
He entered inside with a truckload of thoughts swirling around his mind. Tanya rarely asked for anything. She was the kindest and the best human being he ever came into contact with, but now that she had asked him a favor, he should do that even if it meant selling himself. But just the thought of marrying that crazy bitch creeped him out.
He saw Tanya cry once over an injured puppy and it sure broke his heart. It doesn't matter whether she was his or not, all he wanted was to live in awe of her beautiful soft smile. But the b**ch wouldn't allow it. He realized that he was getting irritated again and decided to only think about Tanya and nothing else.
Riya was already very tired for the day. She just wanted to go home and rest but unfortunately she knew that wasn't going to happen as soon as she was called, "Father..... You called?" Riya stood opposite to his desk well aware of why he called. She had her own internal spy to know what he plotted against her every time.
"I want you to dress up and go to Royal Meridian. You will be accompanied by this young man around 7." He flashed a picture of a handsome guy dressed in black suit in his phone. "This is a date I've set up for you. Make sure there's no funny business"
"Father.... I'm not yet ready for this... Can't you please let me settle things on my own? This one thing... Please father", she pleaded him with all her might knowing well nothing would work once he set his mind at something. He looked up at her through his half rimmed glasses and raised his eyebrows.
"I... I'm already seeing someone", she stammered. "Do not lie to me, Riya.. I'm your father. I accepted all your lies till now and gave you time, now it is your time to accept what I do. Today you will go to the date as decided. Dismissed!". She sighed and stomped off his office furiously.
She saw herself in the restroom mirror. Her eyelids were drooping and her dusky brown face was oily and sticky. She was still tired and all the more frustrated now that she won't even be able to go home for another two hours.
"Okay... Fine.... I'll go and tell the a**hole on face that I hate him", she shouted to her reflection in the mirror. She remembered her dad saying 'No funny business' in his grumpy voice. "Argh!" she grunted and left to the restaurant anyways.
As soon as she reached, she noticed the fair skinned man in a black suit waiting for her. He was exactly the same as what her father showed. With the intention of turning him down, she rehearsed what to say, calmed herself and got down.
She was startled on her path when someone from behind wheeled her around by pulling her hand.
"Oh, I'm sorry... I thought you were someone else" the stranger apologized before releasing her hand, but Riya couldn't hear anything.
It all happened quickly before she could try to pull herself together. Thousand needles pierced her body, the pain shot right through her limbs, vile pictures swirled in her mind with the atmosphere closing in on her. She couldn't breathe, couldn't run! Her throat throbbed and she heard someone screaming their lungs out. Her legs became jelly and she staggered and fell with the whole world moving away from her feet. Everything blurred! "Are you okay?" the stranger asked while coming near to help her.
"Noooo!", she shouted at him and pushed him away. She managed to pull up, but started running across the street like a crazy person.