Chapter 4
Samaira
Oh My God! I can’t believe it! I got a chance to review some of the books I was waiting to read and publish them under my name!
That is so exciting. I quickly text Aria, Amaya, Piyu, Bhavya, you should probably leave the office once the day is over," Adhira advised. "And I know you'll complete the work assigned to you."
"Yeah, I know. But I have fun reading so this is me spending my youth. Thank you for the assignment, ma’am. You have no idea how much it means to me," I expressed sincerely, gratitude evident in my voice. "And thank you for having confidence in me."
“Oh honey, you deserve it, now go home,” She says with such a motherly tone that reminds me of my mom, I nod my head. She goes a couple of steps ahead but stops, turns back, and, “How are you going home?”
"Um, I'll probably walk home," I replied when Adhira asked about my plans.
Her eyebrows shot up in concern. "Where do you live?" she inquired.
"East Village," I answered.
"Alright, today I’m dropping you home in my car.” she said with a warm and kind smile. I hesitated, I didn’t know if that was a good idea taking favors from my boss!
“Come, it’s late. I’m sure your mom would feel better knowing you didn’t walk home alone.” She said kindly, her brows slightly furrowed.
I reluctantly gave her a grateful smile. She quickly called her driver as we exited the building. The driver pulled up with her car just 30 seconds later, he got out and opened the door for her and me. We slid in the back.
“George, take us to East Village first, we will be dropping Ms.Bhatt first.” She said to him, as he nodded and pulled in the street.
"Thanks again for the ride, that’s really kind of you," I said, forcing a smile. "It’s four blocks, so I hope you’re not going too far out of your way." Still, the irony wasn’t lost on me—just this morning, I’d mentally strangled her son at least twice.
“Nonsense!” she exclaimed with a flick of her hand as if my comment was the most ridiculous thing in the world.
My mother wasn’t even in the same country and I was reminded of her.
“If it were me instead of your mom, I would be panicking for my child’s safety, if I found that my daughter was out so late.
” she chuckled. Man, all moms are the same, specially Gujarati moms.
I huffed out a small laugh, still feeling nervous. My hand instinctively reached my neck to touch my necklace but I found it empty. I sat up straight and started searching in my bag.
My frantic search alerted Adhira as well. “Is everything alright?” She asked, possibly baffled by my sudden change.
“Yeah I think I lost my necklace”, I answered trying to recollect if I wore it today.
“Oh dear, I certainly hope it wasn’t expensive or sentimental.
Don’t worry darling, I'm sure it must be at home.” She offered comfort which I was grateful for but it did nothing to help.
How do I tell this kind woman that it was both expensive and sentimental?
And moreover what will I tell my parents. God help me.
Kartik
I met Aarush around 9 at the pub. It was a bit packed but not so much that we wouldn’t get a table. We are currently sitting at the bar when the bartender finally pays attention to us and gets our drinks.
“So did Aunty get convinced to veto the condition?” Aarush asks as he sips his scotch
I sigh, “No but I did find out why there is this condition in the first place”
Aarush looks at me with question in his eyes, I take it as a sign to continue, I tell him all the things Mom told me, and the fact that I have around 25 days to find someone.
He is awfully silent for a while as he swirls his drink, I take a sip of my scotch, lost in thoughts. I am jerked back to reality as he speaks up. “Why not hire a fake?” he suggests
‘What do you mean?” I fire back
“You know I read a romance book to impress a girl,” he says after a moment of contemplating.
I am more confused than ever.
“Wait, you read a romance book?
“It’s not a big deal, but in that book, the main characters get fake married”
He looks at me expectantly as if I get what he is trying to say when on the other hand I have no idea what he means. I read a few romance novels as well but I will die before I admit that to anyone.
“Hold on, so you mean I find some girl…get fake married to her” I ask him with confusion.
He nods quite eagerly and goes on further
“So look, you find a girl, you ask her to fake marry you for whatever period, give her something she wants in return and when you have the company under you, you and the fake wife get divorced, simple.”
He explains as if that’s the most normal thing in the universe and I am an alien.
"I'll be hiring someone and paying them to be my wife!" I exclaimed, the absurdity of the idea dawning on me.
Aarush grinned, clearly amused. "Yes, now you're getting it!"
"Are you insane?!" I couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief.
He rolled his eyes, unfazed by my reaction, as I shook my head. "How else then? You'll find someone to fall for in 19 days," he said with mock sarcasm.
I groaned, feeling increasingly frustrated by the conversation. It seemed pointless. I should just go home and join a dating app with the sole purpose of finding someone to marry.
We both left the bar; Aarush lived in East Village, and I resided in Soho. I dropped Aarush off along the way.
Upon reaching my empty apartment, the loneliness washed over me. I longed for someone to come home to.
Sighing, I got ready for bed, but Aarush's ridiculous fake marriage idea continued to nag at me.