Chapter 3

"In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing."

Ayushi was pacing in her room, she was anxious about this marriage proposal.

Marriage is the pure bond between two individuals formed with love, care & respect but not with a deal.

She sighed sadly. She didn't even want to meet that guy. Why the heck were they giving money to her parents? Was she an object that was being sold to them, that's why they were paying for her? Why?

"I cannot let this happen. It's my life, I've to take a stand against them now. I'll say a straight "no" to that guy who's going to buy me as if I'm an object," Ayushi spoke to herself, in a determined way.

She was wearing a beautiful peach-colored Sari that her stepmother bought for her yesterday. "A goat is fed well before slaughtering her", that was happening with Ayushi too. Her parents were so nice to her, she didn't receive any slaps or abuses from them from last night! And that's why there were no bruises on her body, making her look flawless. She was looking beautiful in that attire, with minimal makeup. Her half-sister Ankita, did all her makeup.

"Let's go, they've arrived," Ankita spoke solemnly. She never disliked Ayushi but she neither liked her too. She was just neutral towards her.

Ayushi took a deep breath and followed her sister. Finally, it was time now.

She entered the living room with the typical arrangement of this kind of meeting, that is, with a tray full of refreshments and tea. She was looking at the floor while walking. All the members of that boy's family were watching her moves intently, especially the boy.

"Sit, dear," the boy's mother spoke after Ayushi kept the trays on the center table. Although Ayushi was going to reject this proposal, she greeted them with a "Namaste". She sat near that lady on the sofa and kept her eyes down.

"I must say, your daughter is very beautiful, Mr. Anil. My son fell in love with her from the time he has seen her photograph which you sent to us," the mother of the boy spoke proudly. The word "love" got Ayushi's attention, she immediately looked upwards and saw that a very sharp & beautiful pair of honey-brown eyes were staring right at her. Those eyes belonged to the person who came here for her hand for this marriage. Needless to say, he was handsome, like very handsome. She looked down immediately when she heard chuckles and whistles around her. His family was teasing him as well as her now.

"They were so much lost in each other's eyes," his mother commented and both blushed at that.

"Well, now I think they should just talk in private as I've no questions for Ayushi, I already liked her. Aryan, take your soon-to-be-bride to the garden. You don't have any problem in that, right?" Aryan's mother spoke a little authoritatively. Why would she not, after all, she was the Boss here.

Ayushi stood up and walked near Aryan, she walked to the garden with Aryan following her.

She gestured him to sit on the chair and then she too sat on the chair.

"Umm. So you are Ayushi. I've heard a lot about you from my mother," Aryan spoke with a confident tone.

Ayushi just nodded her head.

"You are really so shy," he commented with a chuckle.

"I wanted to ask a question. Can I?" Ayushi gathered all her courage to say this. She spoke this while maintaining an eye-contact with Aryan.

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead," Aryan encouraged her to ask him.

"Why are you making a deal out of this marriage? I mean why are you paying my parents in exchange for me?" Ayushi asked him with a constant eye-contact.

Aryan's eyes darkened at that. His jaw was clenched.

"Aren't you aware of your parents' greed?" he asked her mockingly.

Ayushi felt really embarrassed. Why didn't her mind work at that time! She was well aware of the fact that how much greedy her parents were, even after having enough money.

"I'm sorry," she apologized embarrassingly.

"No need for that," he spoke a little harshly.

"You should not marry me. My parents' hunger for money can never be satisfied. They will ask for more and more. So, I think you should just..," before she could complete her sentence, Aryan was down on the ground near her chair on his knees.

"Sshh. Not a word now. I love you and you're going to be my wife, not your parents. So for you, I can give a hell lot of money to them, not a big problem at all. You're very precious to me not my money," Aryan whispered with so much love in his eyes. Ayushi just stared at him. It felt so surreal. It was the first time a boy was so near to her.

"Uhh," she blushed badly and Aryan chuckled at that.

"So, now let's play the Questionnaire game. Ladies first," he got up from the ground and settled on the chair which was nearest to Ayushi.

Their question-answer session began. One questioned, and the other answered.

Ayushi liked him. He was a funny & jovial person. And he was really so much confident about his answers. She liked his company. Now she had to really rethink her idea of rejecting him. He was a nice person, he loved her too, he was a well-settled guy in the United Arab Emirates, he had a great personality, so with what reason could she reject him?

She decided that she'd give this relationship a chance, a chance to blossom the love between them.

She smiled looking at him after the questionnaire was done.

Suddenly, Aryan got on his knees in a proposing manner and spoke out the three magical words, "I love you, Ayushi. Will you be my bride?."

Ayushi was overwhelmed. This handsome man was proposing her, asking her so lovingly. Maybe he really loved her. But she needed some time. Some time to think about all these things.

"So my soon-to-be bride, is it a "yes" from your side?".

"Umm, I need some time," Ayushi hesitated a little. All these things were so new to her.

"Ohh! No worry. I can wait, love," he spoke a little sadly.

"Let's go. They all must be waiting for us," Aryan spoke while getting up from the ground.

"I like you, but I just want some more time to know you better," Ayushi couldn't stop herself to say all this after seeing the disappointed face of Aryan.

"That's a great achievement for me, Ayushi. I'm happy that at least you like me. Don't worry, there's no such hurry for the marriage," Aryan spoke happily.

"Let's go," he said and then they entered inside the house.

"See, they came," his mother announced happily after she saw them coming from the main door.

"So, what did you two decide?" they all were waiting for their answer.

"We've decided that we will first get to know each other and then we can proceed with the marriage," Aryan spoke in a confident tone.

"Well done, my son. You both have all the rights to get to know each other better," Aryan's father spoke proudly.

"So it means it is a "yes", right?" Ayushi's father asked a little sceptically. Come on, he was not concerned for her but for the money.

"Yes uncle, it's yes. But we just want some time to get to know each other," Aryan spoke a little harshly as he could see the greed in Ayushi's father's eyes.

"Okay okay, time for some celebration. Bring the sweets," his mother voiced happily.

After they all were done with formalities, Aryan went near Ayushi who was standing a little away from all of them and asked for her number in front of all.

Everyone was shocked, except for his parents and his sister. They knew how much he actually loved her.

Ayushi gave him her number while blushing like a tomato. These all feelings, jitters were so new for her. And she was honestly enjoying that.

"Bye, sweetheart. Take care," Aryan whispered to her with a sweet smile adorning his face. And they drove away from their house.

Ayushi smiled lightly, a genuinely beautiful smile.

****

Dhruv and his family entered the prospective bride's house. Dhruv was told that her name was Manisha. But he didn't care much because, in the end, he was going to say "no" for this marriage. Her parents welcomed them warmly. An ambient aura was around them.

After they were settled comfortably on the sofa, some refreshments were served to them along with some Indian snacks.

They all started talking in general about their son's and daughter's life. Dhruv was also being questioned by the girl's family. Even his family was inquiring about their daughter.

After some more questions and answers, finally, the girl was asked to come.

Dhruv was shocked to see that girl whom he had never even thought to meet.

That Manisha was none other than the girlfriend of Dhruv's one of the best friends. And the whole of the college was well aware of the fact that how much greedy and obnoxious she was, although she always had an extra-sugary facade on, that's how she allured Dhruv's best friend.

"Wow, Bhai(Brother). She's so beautiful," Payal whispered in Dhruv's ears at which he just glared at her because he was seriously so angry now that how could he meet this girl for his own marriage.

"You're really a certified fool," Payal whisper-huffed near his ears which had turned red due to the anger building up inside him.

He still got shivers of the thought of what she did with his best friend. In the name of love, she had blackmailed his best friend at every point of their relationship and his best friend was so blind to not see that, even after he was being lectured about this girl by his friends. She had literally looted him, he used to spend all his money on her, be it for her dress shopping or trips to different cities.

"I'll f*cking not marry this girl," he spoke in his mind.

"Namaste Dadima, Namaste Uncle, Namaste Aunt," she greeted them all by folding her hands in front of her chest.

"Oh! What a good actor she is!" he thought in his mind.

"Hey," she smiled sweetly at Payal at which she grinned back at her.

"Don't smile much, she's just going to be a bad memory of your life because I'm not gonna marry this girl ever," Dhruv whispered in Payal's ears and she looked at him in shock. Why was her brother speaking like that? Was it something related to their past?

Manisha smiled wickedly at Dhruv and he just glared at her. Only he knew how much evil she was!

"She is that Manisha who was Ekyansh's girlfriend," now Payal got that why Dhruv was behaving like this.

Yes, Ekyansh was Dhruv's classmate as well as his best friend who loved this Manisha girl. After finishing up their college when Ekyansh proposed her for marriage, she started all her drama that it wasn't allowed in her family, her family would disown her and all such craps, and then she broke up. But the story didn't end here. She was seen with a rich guy a month later whom she was dating from the past one year. Well, that was the thing Dhruv hated the most. First gold diggers and then the one who cheats. That incident broke Ekyansh and till now, he's single because he had lost faith in the word "love" and "marriage". Even Payal was angry now.

"Please have a seat, my child," Dhruv's mom spoke sweetly and made Manisha settle beside her.

"We all were really so delighted to meet you. And finally, we got the chance. Vasudev Ji (Manisha's Dad), would you mind if Dhruv & Manisha talk for a while?" Dhruv's Dad asked him in a polite way at which Manisha's Dad nodded his head with a smile on his face.

Dhruv's blood just boiled more and more.

"Manisha, take Dhruv to the garden," Manisha's mother asked her to do so. Manisha gestured Dhruv to follow her to the garden. He was boiling from inside, but he controlled his anger and followed her to the garden.

"So how does it feel to marry the gal who was the ex of your best friend?" She smiled slyly, with a wicked grin surfacing her lips.

"Don't play with me, you B*tch! I'm not Ekyansh, I'm Dhruv. For all I can do is to disclose about how many relationships you had in your college life, and with how many boys you've slept with, I can disclose it all in front of your parents. But that will not gain me anything..," before he could complete his sentence, she came near him & shushed him, keeping her finger on his lips.

"They know all of this, babes. In fact, it was their idea to come in contact with your naive Grandmother. So that I can woo her with my oh-so-sweet & cultural drama. Such an innocent soul she is," she started laughing crazily, making Dhruv angrier.

"You s*ut!" he marched towards her, to slap her across her face but controlled his hand because his values stopped him to do so.

"Just listen up you bitch! Life is a boomerang. What you will do now, you'll receive that later. I hope you rot in hell. I wish you all the sadness & failures. I reject you, Miss. Slut of the University," he spat at her face and went away in arrogance. He was fuming in anger. How could she fool his grandmother with her drama! And even her hell of a family supported her! How ridiculous!

Manisha just stood there with her eyes wide like saucers. She couldn't believe what really happened! And like a clever cheetah, she ran behind him to cover up for anything he'd say. This marriage needs to happen, as she knew how much big of a lottery was Dhruv Singh Rajput.

"Dhruv, I'm sorry. I'll change it. I'll change it for you. I've literally liked you since college, I...," before she could lie more, Dhruv pushed her away.

"You're a gold digger, you sl*t! You've slept with so many rich boys so as to meet your expenses. I pity you. You're so low, lower than a beggar. You're a true sl*t! Never show your dirty face to me again," Dhruv vent out all his anger with his eyes blazing fire.

He reached inside the house and looked at his parents and then his grandmother.

"She's a slut," he spoke out loudly, which received the gasps from the people present there.

"How can you talk like that about my daughter?" Manisha's father was the first one to react, his eyes showing sheer anger. Both the families looked shocked after such a revelation.

"I was her batch-mate, sir. I know her better than you all. I cannot marry her. Dadi, Ma, Papa please let's go from here. I cannot stay here for one more minute," Dhruv spoke stubbornly and moved out of the house immediately, his family following him behind. They all were sceptical now that what really happened that led Dhruv to say all these words about a girl. But they chose to remain quiet. When they'll reach home, they'll talk about this.

****

After reaching their home, Dhruv told them about Manisha and her deeds and of course her not so clean character.

"I'm sorry Dhruv beta. I should've met her few times but instead, I was in a hurry to marry you off to her as I really thought that she was a nice gal," Grandma was guilty about her behaviour.

"Even we're sorry," the trio- Dhruv's Dad, mother & sister spoke together.

"It's okay," he smiled weakly at them and went towards his favourite sports car. Time for some adventure!

"We've to find such a girl who's truthful, well-mannered & cultured. This time, I'll not disappoint Dhruv," Dhiraj said in a determined way.

"We will for sure," his mother nodded her head, deliberately.

~**•**~

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