ARJUN’S POV:
The Afternoon sun shone brightly over Hegade Mansion. Unlike the other houses of people in my circle, the Hegade Mansion had always offered warmth and hominess. The house exuded the same aura that its owners carried. The Hegades had built everything from scratch, lost it all, and faced extreme scrutiny and humiliation. Still, despite that, they rose again, this time stronger than ever, engraving their name into India’s Business History in a way that will never be erased. And for that, Satyanarayan Hegade and Rupa Hegade had my respect.
It was also one of the reasons why I did not want to be here. Unlike my previous blind dates, I respected Raya Hegade’s parents. I could never offer her love.
The plan had been simple, even though I was running out of time to find a bride.
Women don’t exactly entertain the idea of a husband who’d never love them simply because they deserved better than that, and they knew their worth.
This proposal was Bua’s idea, and I had immediately declined because of my respect for the Hegade’s but Bua being Bua told Dadu, and how could I ever deny him? I was looking for a bride because of him in the first place. I’d offered a blind date like always to end it before I could hurt Raya, but that woman refused. She said If I wanted to meet her, I could come to her home and meet her in front of her parents. Bua was elated, and so here I am in front of the Hegade Mansion, my whole family in tow.
I knew this was nothing but an utterly ridiculous waste of everyone’s time.
I had never even spoken to Raya Hegade before, she had no social media presence, I’ve barely seen her at few award ceremonies, she avoided business parties as if they were the plague.
She was a bit of an introvert, I suppose.
And probably a genuinely nice person like her parents.
After all, her popularity among her employees has been the business world's favourite topic of discussion for the past two years.
“Namaste Vikram Ji”, Mr. Hegade greeted Papa before turning to me with a bright smile. “Arjun Beta”, he acknowledged, embracing me.
My father had a lot to learn from this man.
“Satya, are you going to make them stand there forever?” Mrs. Hegade taunted, earning a laugh from everyone present, my family and theirs.
“Sorry, my bad”, he quickly apologised before inviting and leading us in.
Hegade Mansion was a unique home, where grandeur and hominess resided in perfect balance. It was probably the deep love the two owners shared.
We settled into the vast drawing room, its white marble floors and ceiling made of fine mahogany wood with numerous Mini lights making the room feel extremely cosy yet luxurious. A Huge painted portrait of a young Mr. and Mrs. Hegade together holding a little girl not more than a year or two old, all three of them smiling brightly.
Mrs. Hegade clearly lost in her daughter, and Mr. Hegade was somehow entranced by both his daughter and wife.
Darn it, I really shouldn’t be here.
“Is that Raya?” Bua asked, pointing towards the portrait.
Mrs. Hegade affectionately looked at the floor-length frame that took up almost all the space on the wall, smiled and then turned to Bua,
“Yes, this one was right after her first birthday. She had developed an obsession with Satya’s new Mercedes and wouldn’t stop smiling whenever she was around it.”
“The original photo had the car behind us”, Mr. Hegade added fondly.
“Awww… her smile is so adorable” Bua gushed.
Mrs. Hegade nodded, her eyes twinkling.
“I remember that one time you brought her to Papaji’s place for dinner” Bua turned to me excitedly, “You and Varad were so enamoured by Raya, you didn’t leave her side the entire night” She finished.
I felt my eartips go red… Seriously Bua? When the hell did that happen?
Varad coughed beside me. That Bastard!
“Really?” Maa’s shock was evident in her voice, and Bua just nodded, smiling.
This isn’t funny, it's stupid.
“Please call Didi Uncle, I can’t wait to meet her anymore”, Ananya, my youngest cousin, chirped, earning a silencing glare from Chacha ji.
I shouldn’t have let these Monkeys tag along, should have just brought Varadh with me. He would have behaved like a sensible young gentleman had his mother not been here. He was an MLA, one with a reputation.
“Sure, sure”, Mr. Hegade chuckled but before he could send someone a loud clapping sound caught all our attention, an adorable little girl in a sharara, and Raya Hegade clad in a pastel pink silk saree, her face hidden because she was intently listening to the little boy who was whispering in her ear.
“Raya Akka is here, Dhodappa”, the girl announced, and Raya stood properly now, alert, and the little boy who shared a striking resemblance to the girl slapped his forehead. He then looked at Raya as if to say, ‘nothing can be done with his sister'.
(‘Akka’ means older sister in Kannada & ‘Dhodappa’ is an affectionate term for father’s older brother)
Raya just shrugged; she entered the room confidently. The little girl let go of her arm and ran into Mrs. Hegde’s lap. Mrs. Hegade wrapped her arms around the kid affectionately and smoothed her hair.
“Who is this little lady?” Bua asked, clearly impressed by her.
“This is Mariam, our Iqbal’s little devil”, Mrs. Hegade said, ruffling Mariam’s hair.
Raya sat between her mom and dad, the boy was lifted into Mr. Hegade’s lap, “and this is our Ibrahim,” Mr. Hegade introduced the boy.
The room slipped into an eery, uncomfortable silence.
Raya’s hair was pulled into a ponytail, she wore a single polki necklace, uncut diamond studs, subtle and elegant. A gold Rolex on her left wrist was accompanied by a thin golden bracelet, which was the only jewellery she wore.
Her face was devoid of any makeup, she had dark chocolate brown skin, a few acne marks on both her cheeks that resembled freckles and eyes radiating with confidence. She wasn’t shy, not even a bit, unlike my other blind dates. She was confident and… something else I couldn’t quite name.
“How are you, beta?” Bua asked in an attempt to break the silence.
Raya smiled, eyes shining bright, “Good aunty, how are you?”
“I am fine, Beta, that saree looks stunning on you”, Bua complimented.
Raya smiled again, “Don’t say that aunty, it will only make Mumma smugger”, she replied playfully.
Ananya laughed loudly, and that finally broke a bit of the tension in the room.
Mrs. Hegade shook her head. “I think we should let the kids speak”, Maa interrupted with urgency.
“Sure, why not…Raya, do you want to show Arjun around and have a chat?” Mr. Hegade suggested.
Raya nodded, “Would you like that, Mr. Rathore?” she asked, looking me straight in the eye.
I nodded and stood up, ready to follow her out. I need to end this quickly and probably apologise as well.
My phone beeped,
Maa: End it quickly and say NO
Or maybe I shouldn’t just to piss off Maa.
Raya walked out with confidence, and as she turned corridor after corridor, I had a feeling, I looked like a puppy following her around.
She finally stopped at the indoor courtyard, the sunlight seeping in through the open roof. She turned towards me, her face serious.
“Everything I want to say is in there”, she said, handing me a phone. “If you’re okay with what is in there, we’ll then discuss this further”, she said before sitting on the large wooden swing in the middle of the courtyard.
“And that document will self-destruct in” she glanced at her watch “Thirteen minutes…and around fifty-three seconds? Yeah, fifty-three”
Huh?
I looked down at the device and the open document. The first line, in big, bold red letters.
LOOKING FOR LOVE? STOP RIGHT HERE!
And a sub-heading, you won’t get that from ME.
Was the universe mocking me in some twisted way, or was this really happening?
The rest of the clauses were all simple, with no humour in them.
I will continue as Hegade International’s CEO.
You will have no control over my business affairs or personal assets as my husband.
I won’t be involved in any of your business affairs.
And a few other similar clauses around her business, assets, shares and a strict no love policy and a strict No cheating warning in Bright Red.
The document ended with the clause ‘This will be a marriage of convenience, expected to last a lifetime with no divorce involved’.
This was PERFECT.
“I am in”, I said. I’d been feeling guilty, but if Raya wanted exactly what I wanted, even though I had no idea why she was proposing what she was proposing.
This was a fortuitous happenstance. I’d gladly take it.
Raya looked up, shocked, but she quickly masked it. “Did you read it properly?"
I nodded, “But before we discuss further, you need to know something” I told her, I had to tell her.
“Go on”, she prompted, standing up and crossing her arms across her chest.
“I was in love with someone”, I admitted, the mention of it still made my chest feel tight, the betrayal and the wounds it left were still fresh in my heart, “but it didn’t end well”
Raya nodded.
I took a deep breath, I had never really talked about it to my blind dates, because my first line had always been ‘Don’t expect love from me’, and that pretty much ended the conversation before we even started talking.
“It was very serious, I was fully intent on marrying her” I paused, the memories still hurt, a lot. The fresh air of the courtyard suddenly felt toxic, making it hard to breathe.
“Look, I did it once, I am never doing that crap again” I finished unable to say more.
“How serious are we speaking?” Raya raised an eyebrow. My mind was immediately fogged with her memories, us cuddling, hugging, the night- drives and waking up next to each other… tangled, Fuck!
“All that was left was for me to put it on paper, make her my legally wedded wife” I closed my eyes. A sharp sting poking my insides. I was starting to feel sick.
“Ooohhh”, Raya drawled.
“So, sex and all?”
I blinked. That took me by surprise.
“I am sorry for your loss,” she offered. “As long as you don’t go crawling back to your lady love-”
“I won’t”, I cut her off, suddenly feeling a course of hot white fury surge through me.
Raya looked taken aback but quickly brushed it off.
“Sorry”, I apologise, feeling guilty just as quickly as the anger had bubbled up.
After a minute of silence, “There won’t be any romantic love involved, understood?” she stated, her eyes narrowed, warning me.
“You’ll have my respect, but no love involved”, I assured.
“And you’ll face my wrath if you ever cheat on me. Me getting angry isn’t very pleasant” Her eyes spat fire now, radiating an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine.
I wonder if I looked that deadly when I threatened people.
“If you ever find love, you are free to leave”, I told her in all honesty.
“Fuck love” was her immediate response.
“You really okay with marrying ME?” she asked, uncertain.
“Yes”…. “Just don’t fall in love with me, miss Hegade. You’ll only get hurt” I wanted her to know what she was getting herself into. I would hate to break her heart. I’d sworn off love for this life. I could never do it again, not after everything that happened.
Raya scoffed, “Not everyone wants to get in your pants, Rathore” I choked on my saliva. What?
Raya’s eyes turned big, taken aback by her own comment. She bit her lip, “I meant…not everyone wants to fall in love with you- Rathore”
I bit my lip to stop the chuckle from escaping me.
“What are you waiting for? Let's go back in” she rambled, abruptly turning on her heels and rushing back in.
Just as we were about to enter back inside the drawing room, she turned to face me, “I’ll get my PA to get in touch with yours free up your schedule and get whatever paperwork, clauses, prenup anything you need sorted, I’ll get mine done as well. We’ll figure the terms together” she said before entering back in with a bright smile, as if we hadn’t just agreed to a marriage of convenience, A contract marriage.
Our families were busy with conversation. Papa and Mr. Hegade were laughing at something while Maa looked tense. Ibrahim and Mariam had charmed my cousins, Agastya and Ananya, and even Varad looked slightly impressed. Bua, Mrs. Hegade and the other two ladies from Raya’s family were engrossed in their own conversation. Maa was pretending to be interested in their conversation, but I knew my mother better.
“They are back” One of Raya’s aunts, I assume, announced our presence.
“So…How did it go?” Bua wriggled her eyebrows. Oh…Bua!
Raya turned to me, slightly tilting her head towards Bua. Silently asking me to reply.
“We are ready to get married”, I said, my voice barely above a whisper. So, unlike me.
Bua clapped her hands loudly, engulfing Mrs. Hegade in a hug. Mrs. Hegade looked shocked. Mr. Hegade’s expression mirrored my Papa’s. They couldn’t believe their ears. Ananya jumped up and down, shaking Varadh violently. While he just sat there staring at me intently, clearly shocked.
“Sach mein?” Mariam asked loudly. (Really?)
“Are…are you both sure?” Mr. Hegade asked, still slightly trance.
Raya just nodded; I followed suit.
“I’ll call Pandit Ji right now, we shouldn’t delay such auspicious events. Besides, Papa ji isn’t doing very well,” Bua declared and took Mrs. Hegade’s hands in hers. “Rupa, if it’s okay with you and Satyanaryan ji can we get them married as soon as possible?” She requested sincerely.
It took Mrs. Hegade a few minutes to compose herself. “Arjun, Raya, are you both sure?” She asked us. Her gaze fixed on us, trying to uncover what we were up to.
I suppose she simply couldn’t figure it out.
She sighed, “Indira, it’s their life, let us not rush them, shall we?” She tried to make Bua understand.
“Mr. and Mrs. Hegade, if you're okay with it and if Raya doesn’t have a problem either. I would like to get married as soon as possible. It's Dadu’s last wish to see me married, it's only a request, though,” I told them honestly.
My marriage was what Dadu had requested from me when we almost lost him four months ago. Dadu was the anchor that always led me on the right path, he made my childhood memorable, he guided me as an adult, he always stood by me and encouraged me to follow my passions, and he fought everyone for me. I owed him that much.
“If that’s so, I am ready”, Raya agreed.
She walked towards her parents and took their hand in hers, “Mumma, Appa… If you’re okay, let’s make Arjun’s Dadu happy, shall we?” Her words were honest, something in me told me that. It made me feel a sense of something warm. Something nice, deep within.
“Besides, we have a lifetime ahead”, she reasoned.
“Are you sure?” Mrs. Hegade cupped her face. Raya nodded, a warm smile gracing her lips.
“Fine then”, Mrs. Hegade breathed out, a lone tear escaping her eye. Raya wiped it and chuckled, “Don’t think you’ve gotten rid of me just yet, I’ll make Arjun move here”, she joked, an attempt to try lighten the situation.
Her parents engulfed her in a tight hug, and I felt a pang of jealousy hit me. Raya Hegade was perhaps the luckiest child on earth to have parents like them, who weren’t ashamed to express their love.
Sweets arrived out of nowhere, and the atmosphere soon changed from extremely emotional to one of excitement. My cousins ganged up on us, alongside Ibrahim and Mariyam, bombarding us with questions.
When we were finally free from the clutches of family and my cousins, after what felt like hours. The elders were involved in discussing the more serious aspects of the wedding, while my cousins were given a tour of the Hegade estate by the little duo.
I found Raya leaning against the doorframe, affectionately observing her parents engrossed in the discussion. A slight smile tugged at her lips.
“Thank you”, I told her with genuine gratitude.
She smiled, and turned to look me in the eye, “Rathore, you don’t have to pretend to love me or anything, Appa is a living love detector, it will hurt him. We will just keep it real…and don’t hurt my parents”
“I don’t need your love, but I’ll need you to try to love them, … They are very lovable, you know,” she finished, and there was a vulnerability in her voice. One I hadn’t felt until she uttered those words.
I nodded. That was easy. She was right, her parents were very lovable, and I already had immense respect for them.
“You better share your Dadu, though”, she said, her demeanour shifting to something playful.
“I am very possessive when it comes to him”, I returned.
Raya fake- gasped, “Then I am stealing him from you”. She stated a challenge hiding beneath her words.
“I’d like to see you try”, I returned the challenge. Dadu is mine. I could share, but she must ask nicely, and he can’t like her more than he loves me.
Before she could come up with something to say, Mariam came running with Ibrahim following behind her. “Akka, come, we showed them everywhere except our secret places, I like them…they are really nice” Mariam went all adorable puppy mode on Raya. “Can we show them around, please…please…please, please, please”
Raya was in a bit of turmoil, it seemed but she nodded reluctantly, letting Mariam pull her away towards my cousins.
Ibrahim tugged at my sleeves, adorably glared at me and motioned for me to bend down to his level. “Don’t hurt my Raya akka, I’ll make you drink bitter gourd juice”, he said in all seriousness. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Ibrahim glared again, annoyed. “Do you promise to not hurt my sister or not” he said extending his pinky.
“I won’t do anything that will hurt your sister”, I promised, in all honesty, hooking my pinky with his.
“I’ll let you into our secret place then, come”, he said, taking my hand and running behind his sister. I scooped him up into my arms, he was so tiny.
“We’ll reach faster”, I reasoned, walking behind Raya.
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