Shreya's POV
I got out of the car. I felt overwhelmed when I saw the luxurious mansion in front of my eyes.
I rang the bell, tearing my eyes off the surroundings as the reason for my presence here again shook me to reality.
That night of the accident is still vivid in my memories.
I am still trying to digest everything in just a few hours and my world collapsed all over. Maybe when our parents died, I still had a reason for My Anu to live, but now...
The doctor cleared his throat and spoke, "Like I am saying, the surgery is costly too and your sister doesn't have much time..."
"How much?", I whispered with my sore throat, which led my sentence to be income as the word 'time' died in my throat.
The doctor mistook it for money and replied with his calculation, "almost 3 lakhs", which made my head feel heavy and then everything blackened in front of my eyes.
The door opening brought me back to reality. A middle-aged woman wearing a plain blue saree stood there with a questioning gaze towards me.
"Namaste (Hello), I am Shreya, and I am here to meet Priya Kothari". I introduced myself and explained my reason for being here.
She remembered me, "Oh dear, I remember Priya bitiya (daughter) told me that her friend was coming to visit her today."
I followed behind her towards maybe Priya's room. I cannot yet believe myself that one day I would step into such a place which I have only seen on TV.
The woman led me to the garden in the backyard instead of the room in the mansion. From a distance, I could see Priya, who was looking as beautiful as always enjoying tea.
The weather is pleasant today as well, with clear blue sky, cool air and gentle sunshine.
The woman informed her of my arrival, and she nodded in response to the woman to leave her alone.
I took the opposite seat facing Priya, who was looking towards me with a small calculative smile while studying me for a while.
I have been very confused as I am poor now and, really, I have forgotten how to enjoy tea since my parents died.
"Don't worry Shreya, just feel at home.", Priya smiled friendly at me.
Her words reassured me and slowly I felt relaxed.
Her expression seemed a bit assessing me again and I can't really believe that we look somewhat similar to each other. I was surprised when I first found her in front of the hotel I am working in. I was even more surprised when we chatted for an hour because we had similarities, yet we are different personalities.
She is arrogant, confident, outgoing and extroverted in nature.
Whereas I am simple, kind, shy and introverted in nature.
She is stubborn, honest, brave and could go at any length for her loved ones, which is similar to mine in every way.
We have similarities not only in the face but also in the body, especially the clear brown soulful eyes. After a little makeover and when we were both wearing similar dresses, it was hard for anyone to recognize the differences.
"Shreya, you remembered the task, right? Become the bride, holding off the groom long enough until I can marry my love Anuj, though he would be pretending to be our friend here at the wedding.", Priya explained.
I nodded and replied, "At first I thought that it was totally absurd. Well, it's real life, not a book, but fate is all that matters, and reality is much crueler than our thoughts. Now I am completely ready for that job. Just pay me the amount as soon as possible."
"Of course, I won't break the deal. But this is a tough mission, Shreya. Don't you wonder about the groom?", Priya asked, raising her eyebrows.
I widened my eyes and my heart started beating hard as, due to all this chaos, I never thought of the main problem in the hand. Then I shook my head, as I didn't care who Priya's groom was, what I cared mostly about was the amount of money I would be receiving, which is enough for curing her younger sister and letting her go to the best school in the city.
"My would-be groom is Amit Agrawal"
What?
Amit Agrawal...
I couldn't believe what I had heard or was it my fantasized imagination.
Amit Agrawal is one of the well-known diamond merchants of India and is from a rich family. His influence all over the world was so strong that everyone believed in his abilities, which he had shown after his parents' death and solely handled, and he set an example among the youngsters.
Amit is the prince in most of the girl's fairy tales because of his bravery that he reached such heights in the corporate world and is in the top 10 Asian businessmen and gentlemanly mannerism.
I also hold a certain admiration and gratitude for him, because when he visited India last year, he donated some money to several schools and my sister's school is also one of them. At that moment, I was unable to pay the complete fees for her examination and was afraid that she had to drop out of school, but he came as my savior and thus the year went by without any more hassle.
But according to Priya, Amit is nothing more than a person forced on her by her parents and she could always see the desire in him to possess her. Priya said that once he became his wife, he could never be able to taste her freedom again, maybe forever.
If Priya hadn't met Anuj, she would have resigned to marrying Amit, but after meeting her bodyguard, Anuj, her view on life changed. She wants a simple life and love.
"Amit and I have known each other since childhood, and I believe I have a certain understanding of him though it's been 8 years since we met. He is a proud person and hates lies, so if he knew that I had run away and married another man, he would never let you out of his sight until he punished you and maybe your sister would be in danger too,", Priya's words bubbled a certain line of worry within my heart for Anu.
In the first place, I was only thinking about delaying the marriage but never thought of my escape plan from him. If I could not escape, then Anu...
"Shreya, you have a younger sister named Anu, isn't it?", Priya asked me, at which I nodded, still in daze about Anu's safety.
"I can promise, apart from the money you will be receiving, I will protect your sister from Amit, will send her to the best school, and will even hire someone to take care of her. What are your opinions, Shreya?"
"How can I be sure of her safety? After all, we all know that he is a powerful man and can easily get information about Anu", I asked with nervousness as fear crawled within my skin, making me shiver at the thought itself.
"Yes, his power is worrisome, but he is good at heart, and I don't believe that he could harm her anyway, given that he himself has a sister.", Her words gave a sudden relief, yet something is there which I am unable to pinpoint.
I started fidgeting my fingers in utter nervousness, yet I knew that this was my only option.
Priya brought two copies of the agreement and motioned me to read and sign them.
"If you agree, then sign this agreement and, of course, I will also sign, which means our agreement would be valid and if anyone violates the agreement, then the one who violated have to pay three times the amount mentioned to the opposite party", Priya explained further.
I looked at the agreement neatly placed on the table, and I knew after that my life would be changed forever, which was for either bad or good.
After reading the documents carefully, it is mentioned that we both have certain rights and responsibilities which are equal for both parties.
I took the pen offered by Priya and signed both the agreements, whereas Priya did the same.
"Take one of the copies with yourself and half of the amount agreed will be deposited into your account by evening.", she reminded me, at which I nodded, taking one of the copies, thus taking my leave.
I huffed a sigh of relief as soon as I was out of the mansion, hailing an auto-rickshaw to the hospital.