Chapter Three

AHAAN

I parked my car in the driveway of Zehaan’s place. His two-story house was all luxurious, beautifully white-cream painted with silhouette black roof and spacious. Yet at the same time it wasn’t extravagant and ostentatious unlike mine.

The girls and I walked down a broad grey lane that lead the patio furnished with an exquisite cream table and a matching rich leather couch.

My thumb pressed a white rectangular doorbell button and I impatiently waited, tapping my foot on a costly doormat repeatedly.

Zehaan—my 6 feet tall, six-packed, raven-haired, brown-eyed, hot and handsome, asshole, best friend—as usual opened the door. Such a desperate dope.

He suspiciously eyed the girls who entered his house along with me. “Asshole, who are these girls?” he whispered in my ear. “New girlfriends?”

“Give your desperate ass some patience. I’ll explain everything,” I whispered back in his ear as we walked down a dimly-lighted foyer.

He nodded.

Zeenat Aunt came to the living room from the kitchen. “Who are these pretty girls, Ahaan?” sheasked with a sweet smile.

“Erm… this is Aaliya Mansur… and this is her younger sister, Inaaya Mansur.” I pointed at the girls respectively who smiled shyly at Aunt.

“Who are they? Your new friends?” Aunt raised another question.

“Yeah, umm… we met a few minutes ago.”

Aunt was perplexed. “Few minutes? I don’t understand what you’re saying, son.”

Letting out a long sigh, I elaborated out everything that happened before I came here with the two strangers. I explained how I collided with the girls, how Aaliya wanted me to marry Inaayaand that there were some people behind them, and lastly, how the lives of both the sisters were in danger.

Zehaan arched an eyebrow. “So this is a new mess you have fallen into?”

“What else do you think?” I smacked his arm.

He shook his head. “You and your favorite habit of falling into mess.” He huffed.

I smacked his arm again. “Shut up, man.”

“Aaliya and Inaaya.” I glanced at the girls before pointing at my best friend and his mother respectively. “This is Zehaan Rehman, my only childhood friend. And this is Zeenat Aunt, his mother.”

"As-salāmu ʿalaykum, Khala” Aaliya-Inaaya spoke unitedly.

“Wa ʿalaykumu s-salām,” Aunt smiled sweetly and asked the strangers, “Who are behind youboth? Why are they behind you? What’s the matter?”

“Long story,” Aaliya answered the same she did to me. “We surely will tell you all once everything gets settled. As of now, I want Ahaan to agree to marry Inaaya.”

“Why only my best friend?” I appreciated Zehaan’s skepticism. “Why don’t you find someone else to marry your sister?”

Aaliya quickly responded, “My intuition told me Ahaan is the one sent by Allah for our help… for Inaaya.”

‘Sent by Allah’ line irked me. I mean I didn’t disrespect her belief in God. I just wasn’t a devotee.

“Let’s sit and talk, children.” Aunt gestured to the coffee brown couches and the rest of us nodded.

The mysterious sisters sat on either side of Aunt on a couch across to Zehaan and mine.

Aaliya Mansur. Height and body figure the same as Emica’s—perfect model kind. She had light skin tone, magnificent black eyes, cotton candy lips, and healthy chocolate brown flooded over her shoulders. Her voice wasn’t sugary, though it was pleasant to ears.

Overall, she had an elegant, bold, powerful, and cheerful character and possessed an actress’s charisma.

I already had signed her for my next film in my mind itself.

My eyes wandered from Aaliya to her younger sister, Inaaya. The girl I might get married to.

She was good ten inches shorter than me. I must say her 5’4 feet height suited her personality. It was adorable. She was as adorable as a doll.

Inaaya had milky white skin, luscious chestnut brown hair that cascaded down her petite shoulders, innocent hazel eyes, cherry plump lips and a soft, feminine and caramel glazed voice.

I wasn’t interested in her as much as I was in her sister. Aaliya was of my type whereas Inaaya wasn’t at all.

Inaaya was an introvert. Extremely shy, under-confident, and naive. Still, I found something special flickering in that timid girl who seemed younger than me. Something made me think that she was way more beautiful. Of course, she was beautiful by face but as I said, there was an unknown special force making me agree on the deal to marry her.

“Stop checking ‘em out and fucking listen to me!” Zehaan’s irritated voice grabbed me out of my thoughts.

My head turned to my best friend seated beside me. A smug smile danced on my lips. “You know I like checking girls out even though it makes me a pervert.”

“You are a pervert.”

“Oh, thank you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Are you planning to marry Inaaya?” he asked.

“Fucking piece of shit!” I smacked his head. “That’s why I have come to you.”

Rubbing where I hit him, he glanced at the stranger girls. “They don’t look like Con Girls.”

“Yeah, they don’t. Still, for once, I can say Aaliya is a con girl but Inaaya… man, that girl is way too innocent for looting a guy.”

“I know right. Inaaya seems to be very innocent.”

“I think they’re saying the truth, Zee. What do you think?”

“Me too. I think you should marry Inaaya. She’s perfect for you. Innocent, kind, and beautiful.”

“I feel Aaliya…” I trailed off taking a glimpse of the hot bold chick that enticing my hormones.

He smacked my head. “Aaliya—Never!” Argh, he hit me hard. “Her face very well predicts her obnoxious personality. Trust me, you, shit in the head. That woman will make you go mental.”

I scratched the back of my neck. “I know. Aaliya is a fucking fireball.”

Aunt came to sit down next to Zehaan. “Aaliya and Inaaya are wonderful. I already love them,” she smiled and looked at me. “Ahaan, I think Inaaya is perfect for you. I always wanted a girl like her to be your wife. See, how Allah has fulfilled my wish.”

"Aunt, but… marrying her... she isn’t my type. I mean, she is an introvert whereas I’m an extrovert. We are so completely… different.”

“So what, son? Time will erase the differences. Arrange marriages aren’t that bad.”

Arrange marriage?

C'mon, who was I kidding. This wouldn’t be a typical arrange marriage. Rather a fucking accidental marriage.

And what would we tell our kids in future: Hey, champs. Mommy and Daddy had an accidental marriage.

Insanely ridiculous!

“I know,” Aunt began. “This is an odd surprise box dropped in your life. And I totally understand your hesitant behavior.” She sighed. “I think this is Allah’s plan for you… maybe Inaaya is written in your fate.”

Again, I wasn’t a believer in fate.

“What about Maa, Papa, and Ahaana? We have to hide this shit from them.” An anxious hand raked through my already messy hair. “Also Emica and the fucking paparazzi and social media.”

Zehaan placed his hand at my shoulder. “In this crucial situation, you can either marry Inaaya or let her and Aaliya protect their lives by some other method.”

“If you’re marrying her—of course, you have to hide it from the world. Because explaining this sort of mess to the world—especially to your parents, sister and girlfriend will be damn difficult. Hence, it’s better to keep your marriage a secret until we find a good explanation.”

“Does that mean three lives are in my hands?” My brows lifted up.

He exhaled. “You can say that.”

Aunt advised, “Think precisely. In the end, it’s your life and we can’t pressurize you. You have to make a decision for yourself.”

I bit down my nails. “What do you both think? Should I marry Inaaya?”

Aunt smiled. “From me, it’s a big yes. You should marry Inaaya.”

“Mr. Asshole Rehman?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “You should marry her. Perhaps, as Ammi said, Inaaya is written by Allah in your fate.”

I breathed out apprehension. “Got my answer. I’ll go by Aunt’s and your advice. It always hasbeen fruitful for me.”

“I’m very glad about your decision, son.” Aunt patted my back.

“You know what—Aaliya doesn’t know who I am!” I threw up my hands in the air.

“Of course, she knows you’re a man,” my best friend joked. Asshole!

“How could she not know I’m the Megastar Ahaan Agnihotri!” My lips curved down into a frown.

“Dammit, Ahaan! I don’t know who the hell you are!" Aaliya yelled. Guess, I was too loud for Fireball to hear.

Aunt chuckled, “Thank God! There’s at least someone who doesn’t know the MegastarAgnihotri. Our homeboy Ahaan is the best.”

Zehaan amused at Aaliya. “You seriously don’t know about him?”

Fireball was a raging bull by now. “No, we don’t know who the hell he is!”

“Insult… Biggest insult ever for Ahaan.” Zehaan threw his head back in sheer laughter.

“Whatever! Don’t care!” Aaliya did a sexy hair flip.

“Miss Aaliya and Inaaya Mansur.” I snapped my fingers at them and proudly described myself. “I’m the Megastar Ahaan Agnihotri. Women go crazy over my killer and smoking hot personality. My eight packs and ocean blue eyes are my prime charm.”

“Oh! I just noticed you’re blue-eyed,” Aaliya laughed, throwing her head back and clapped.

“Sue you, woman.” Zee was right. Fireball would make me go insane. It’s better to marry thetimid and adorable Inaaya. At least she would respect me instead of rebuking me.

“Please, continue.” Fireball gestured after controlling her ludicrous laughter.

“I’ve worked in thirty films so far. Out of them, only five were below average. My thirty-first film is on the way. I received the best actor award multiple times—"

Aaliya interrupts. “Wait… thirty? How old are you? Don’t tell me you’re fifty.”

“Not fifty. His megastar ass is going to be thirty soon” my best friend assured.

She put a hand over her heart as she let out a breath of relief.

I scowled at the Fireball. “Do I look like fucking fifty to you?”

“I just got scared.” She giggled.

“How old is your sister?” Inaaya wasn’t even watching us. Her eyes were fixated on her lap.

“Inaaya is younger than you. She’s soon going to be twenty.”

“What? Ten years, seriously!?” The girl I was going to marry was ten damn years younger than me—of course, it was astounding.

My best friend huffed. “C’mon, asshole! Stop acting like a drama queen.”

“I don’t mind, actually.” Putting hands behind my head, I leaned back on the couch. Age didn’tmatter in today’s world. I had seen a twenty-year-old girl marrying a fifty-year-old man—of course, for the money. Inaaya was no way close to looking like a gold digger.

Aaliya chuckled, “Please continue, Mr. Megastar. You were speaking about yourself,” crossing her long salwar-clad legs.

“Well, every actress has dated me. In fact, the whole woman populace is head over heels for me.” I always had been proud of myself and was highly unapologetic about that. “Emica Lemos is my current.”

“Ahaan isn’t bad though. He has a good heart—the best one. Believe me.” My appreciation was all for Zee for being on my quarter rather than being an utterly disloyal best friend. I would’ve punched his nose if he wasn’t on my side.

“Zehaan’s correct. Marrying Inaaya to Ahaan will be the right decision.” Aunt was also in my quarter. I knew she would be. After all, she loved me more than her asshole son.

I realized I needed to have the consent of the girl I was about to marry. Although she’d told me she wanted me to marry her, I wanted to know if she actually wished to marry me or not. I didn’t want her to marry me just because of her big sister’s protectiveness toward her.

I walked to the couch across and called her. “Inaaya.” She hastily stood. “Look at me,” I saidsoftly.

Hazels met Blues.

She looked at me in the eyes for the very first time.

“Do you want to marry me, Inaaya?”

She swallowed quietly, knotting her fingers, and maintained our eye contact. I predicted she was too shy to talk to a guy. How will this timid teen girl and I make our marriage work?

“Inaaya.” I shook her due to which she gasped a little. How much shy a girl can be?

“I’m ready to marry you, and need to know your decision. Do you want to marry me, Inaaya Mansur? Your consent is important to me. I don’t want you to marry me just because of your big sister. Tell me truly what do you actually feel.”

"Y-yes,” she mumbled without breaking our eye-contact. “I-I’m ready. It’s not just because of my big sister. I want to marry you.”

“Thank you very much, Ahaan.” Fireball unexpectedly pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

“You really have a big heart. I’ll always be grateful to you for agreeing to marry my sister.”

“Actually, it’s better I marry Inaaya than you,” I laughed. She slapped my back hard as she parted off.

I clapped. “So what’s the plan? How are we going to manage everything?”

Zee rose from the couch. “Firstly and importantly, the marriage should be done in an extremely private way. Nobody should get a hint that you’re marrying Inaaya.”

My eyes rolled at him. “That's obvious.”

“Why?” Aaliya knitted her brows.

“There are certain people and the world to whom I have to give a proper explanation of my accidental marriage with your baby sister. I just can’t go tell in the way I told Zehaan and Aunt. I need a sensible reason, okay. That’s why it would be a Hidden Accidental Marriage.”

“I see, a Megastar thing, huh?” Fireball nudged my arm.

“Zehaan’s uncle, my brother, is a priest. I’ll tell him to tie Inaaya and you by the sacred knot of marriage,” Aunt spoke. “He is a trustworthy man. He won’t let the truth out at any cost.” She then looked at me. “I hope you don’t mind the marriage being performed in our cultural way as Inaaya is a Muslim.”

“Not a problem, Aunt. I anyway think your cultural way is better than our culture’s never-ending marriage processions.”

“Okay, okay, it’s finalized.” Zehaan held up his hands. “Ahaan-Inaaya will have a Muslim style marriage and the priest will be my uncle.”

“Erm… we don’t have clothes,” Aaliya muttered, looking at Aunt. “Someone stole our luggage.”

“Worry not, I have clothes for Inaaya and you.” Aunt pressed Aaliya’s hand giving her a smile of assurance. “Ahaana, who is Ahaan’s twin, is a fashion designer. She has given lots of clothes for Zehaan’s future wife. Now, I don’t know when my son will marry. Hence, it’s best if you bothmake use of them rather than they piling up in a closet and eventually getting ruined.”

Zehaan groaned. “Ammi, why’re you always behind my marriage?” he rested his hands at the sides of his torso.

A laughter ran out my throat. Asshole totally deserved that taunt.

“Aaliya, why don’t you marry Zehaan?” Aunt asked out of blue.

Aaliya flushed. “Marriage and me? No, no, I’m not at all interested.”

“I’d be happy if we marry on the same day.” I winked at my best friend who glared at me.

“Well, I do think Zehaan and you should marry,” Aunt grinned at Fireball and Mr. Rehman.

“You guys don’t even have to hide it from the world. Besides, I’d be delighted to have two daughter-in-laws.”

“Ammi!” Zehaan whined tugging at his hair like a toddler. “I’m not interested in marriage. How many times have I told you that!”

“So, are you planning to die without getting married?” his mother taunted and I laughed.

“Give me a company, asshole.” My arm snaked behind his neck.

“I’m not interested in marriage, okay. There’s no way I’m going to marry Aaliya,” he declared.

“As if I’m dying to marry you.” Fireball squinted at him. “This marriage—sucks!”

“Children, I’m kidding!” Aunt laughed, glancing at the frowning Zehaan-Aaliya. “You don’t have to marry each other.”

“Ahaan, stay here tonight. You have a big day tomorrow. Your Nikah,” Aunt said.

I nodded with zero ideas where my ‘Hidden Accidental Marriage’ was going to take me. I hoped it didn’t turn out to be the biggest disaster film in my life