Chapter 6: chapter 6

CHAPTER-3SHIVA“FINALLY, YOU ARE GOING TO GET MARRIED!” Aravind shouts so loudly that I am sure the whole street would have heard him.I sigh and plop down on his couch. He is giving me a huge grin. Seriously, the only other person who is so delighted about this marriage other than my immediate family is him.“Why are you shouting?” asks Dharshana, his wife coming out from the kitchen with a cup of coffee for me.“Thank you,” I tell taking the cup of coffee. If there is one thing that motivates me to still live this life then it is a cup of coffee. No, I am not exactly a caffeine addict because I limit myself to only one cup daily and on any occasion like this where I am visiting a friend I take another but man, I love coffee.“Shiva is getting married,” my friend sings in a sweet tone but given his base voice, it sounds like a frog croaking.Dharshana who is in the act of going to the kitchen freeze at his words. She turns around with a big smile on her face.Really? What is with my friends?“Tell me he is right,” she says her eyes twinkling with excitement.I blow a dejected breath before confirming, “Yes, I am.”“OH MY GOD! THAT IS AWESOME,” declares Dharshana. No, strike that, she shrieks breaking my eardrums. They both are dancing on the floor. Not an ordered dance but doing some random moves that it is hard not to smile and feel a little relaxed. “So, where did you meet this girl?” Dharshana asks with heavy breaths. I frown at her.“Are you fine? Why do you dance when you are pregnant?” I ask frowning at her baby bump. She is five months pregnant. “Yeah, I am fine,” she tells but is still gasping for air. I look at Aravind for confirmation. He gives me a this-is-usual look and sits down next to his wife. He puts an arm around her shoulder. She relaxes into his touch. I shake my head in amazement at them. These two are the college sweethearts that turned into a married couple. Originally, Aravind was my best friend but as their relationship grew, my bond with Dharshana developed. She is like a little sister to me. My teammate when it comes to playing pranks or jokes on Aravind and a good coffee maker. If there is one reason I still believe in love then this couple is the reason. I am damn sure I will never find love in my life and looking at them being all lovely makes me a bit uncomfortable.“You haven’t answered my question,” says Dharshana when her breathing becomes normal.“He has not yet met the girl,” chimes in Aravind.“What? Wait, you are going to have an arranged marriage?” she says like it is the most unbelievable thing she had ever heard in her life.I don’t blame her for her incredulity since I was totally against and ridiculous about the idea of arranged marriage during my college days. Everyone–including me–believed that I will have a love marriage with the girl I was madly in love with but then life hit me with an unexpected twist that changed me into what I am now.I shrug at her question like it is no big deal but inside I could feel immersed in an embarrassment of my past self that loathed the very thing I am going to do now.“Come on,” Dharshana says still trying to wrap her mind around this information. “You are not possibly going to marry a stranger just to make your mother happy.”Yes, that is exactly what I am doing. My mother wants me to get married and settle down. No, don’t assume my mother is a cold-hearted woman with no regard for her son’s feelings. On the contrary, she is a kind soul who gives priority to my happiness. After my father died when I was ten, she was the one who took care of everything. She worked herself to exhaustion so that I and my two sisters will be able to have food. She has never asked me favours. But this is the first time she wants me to do something.As much as I hate the idea of this marriage because let us be honest, I don’t think I will love this woman whom I am going to marry. I am damn sure the one who is going to marry me is doing that for my money. Oh yeah, by the by I am the head of a blooming company with a huge yearly turnover. “Will you love her?” Dharshana asks bringing me to reality.“I don’t think I will fall in love ever again,” I reply. The couple stares at me in shock.“You are still not over your ex?” Dharshana asks bringing a punch to my senses. Aravind takes a sharp breath.It has been five years since that fateful day and she has moved on with her life but I simply couldn’t. I don’t reply to her question because I don’t know the answer to it. “You are going to meet the girl tomorrow?” asks Aravind diverting the topic. I nod my head as a plan forms in my head. Though I am not sure if the girl I am going to marry would agree to it.“Want any advice from me to impress her?” asks Aravind flashing me a grin. “If you want to impress her then don’t listen to him,” says Dharshana.“Hey,” Aravind tells in a fake hurt tone. “Don’t underestimate your husband's powers. Remember you were impressed by me at our first meeting.”Dharshana shakes her head and moves to the kitchen giving me a don't-listen-to-the-crap-he-says look.“Shiva, since this is arranged marriage don't think that the girl would be like Dharshana,” he starts. I don’t want anything to do with the girl I am going to meet tomorrow but by asking about my ex, Dharshana had reopened old wounds that haven’t ached me for some time. My thoughts stray to my ex and our happy days. No, I don’t want to think about her.I force myself to listen to Aravind.“……the girl will blush the moment your eyes meet because she knows you are going to be the rest of her life. She will never address you using your name. She will give you respect.  Don’t ever ask her about her past relationship or mention your past love. Be gentle and act like a gentleman….” He drones on but my mind couldn’t focus anymore on his words as I get a notification from Instagram. I know opening it would put me in more depression but I do out of curiosity. Yeah,  I follow my ex on Instagram using a fake ID. I know it is creepy but I swear I have never messaged her or let her know that I am following her. I just like to know what is happening in her life.I open the app and instantly regret doing it. Because on the phone screen there is a picture of her standing with another man who looks way better than me (yes, I am jealous). With a caption that reads, “My Soulmate.”🍀🍀🍀🍀