15) Smile

*chuckles at readers staring in shock*

You weren't expecting me this soon, were you?

Hehe.

Don't die of a heart attack, you need to read the rest of the book too.

Hehehehehe.

Have fun reading! :)

Kiara's POV

They say that time flies by real quick. I really didn't believe it, until now. It seemed like it was just yesterday that I had met Arjun and today was our engagement. Yes! Engagement. Mr. Rajveer had organised a grand party in one of the hotels he owns. I got the news 3 days ago like a bomb being dropped on my head and almost fell off my chair on hearing it.

I was never the one to happily roam around and shop for hours. So imagine the pain I had to go through while shopping with 4 over enthusiastic friends of mine. I think all of them were on a sugar high. There is no other explanation as to why they were so bouncy and excited all the time. More excited than me.

They had their doubts about this whole arranged marriage thing in the start. Maybe cause they knew me well. But with my amazing acting skills, I had convinced them I was happy with this decision.

Only God and the devil know the truth.

We had gone through at least 20 different shops but still they didn't find anything that looked good enough on me. According to them, I had to look perfect at the party, they couldn't take any chances. They had made it their ultimate mission to get me a dress. Finally after 3 hours of torture and trying on 102 dresses, we finally, and I thank the gods for this, finally found the perfect dress we were looking for. An off-shoulder black blouse paired with a golden skirt till ankles. The lower part of the skirt was covered with embroidered flowers of different colours. As soon as I saw the dress, I knew it was perfect. Everyone else seemed to agree with me as they fell in love with it as soon as I came out of the changing room with that dress on.

I looked at myself in the mirror nervously. The dress was looking beautiful. Feeling a little bare around my neck, I had worn a heavy necklace to complete the look. My hair were pinned in a low bun while some strands were falling on each side of my face. My make up was perfect, neither too heavy so that I didn't look too desperate to attract attention nor too light to show I haven't even made any effort. A little bit of foundation and concealer to hide some dark circles that I had acquired over previous sleepless nights, a red lipstick along with smoky eyes that brought out the brown colour of my eyes. All thanks to Nandini.

"Girl! You look ravishing." Anushka squealed from behind me while I tried to calm down my nerves. Smiling hesitantly at her, I started fidgeting with my fingers. The day was finally here. Many people would say that he would just slide a ring on my finger but even that meant a lot to me. I had spent restless nights, tossing and turning in my bed, thinking about my future and what it held for me. What would happen after the engagement? Would I find a way out of this mess? If not, then would I have to get married? What would be my life after that? With these million thoughts swarming in my head, my eyes swept around the room.

Everyone was busy. Saumya was on her phone, talking to someone very animatedly, Nandini was clicking selfies after selfies to post on instagram. Maahi was hopping around the room in excitement while Anushka was getting ready and yelling at others to find her lost ear ring. A bittersweet smile made way to my face on watching my friends. I was envious of them. Don't get me wrong, I love them a lot but they all seemed very happy right now. They had their lives sorted out. Well, they deserved all the happiness in the world. If this marriage thing had happened a few years down the lane, I would have been as happy as them, if not more.

"Girls! The car's ready downstairs." Mom knocked on the door. Mr. Rajveer had sent his own car to pick us up. As soon as my friends heard that, they stopped abruptly and stared at the door wide-eyed for a second and then squealed and huddled together as if Chris Hemsworth would burst through the door shirtless. Though I would be the first one to pant and drool like a dog if that ever happened. I chortled lightly at their enthusiasm.

"I am feeling a little nauseous. I think I may vomit." I admitted out loud while 4 pairs of eyes snapped towards me, 2 looking more smug than the others. They all stared at me with smirks and giggles. I rolled my eyes lightly.

"I think we were past the 'make pregnant jokes on Kia' phase." I walked past them, shaking my head at their childishness and went downstairs while they shouted 'never' in unison.

"Honey, you look beautiful." Mom exclaimed happily as I climbed down the last step. "I can't believe my daughter's all grown up." She sniffled and pulled me into an affectionate hug. I patted her back, smiling fondly. Mom's always been a little emotional. Somewhere, I was holding a grudge against my parents too. Though I knew they were doing it for my good but I think I deserved some explanation.

Well, tonight wasn't to think about all this. I needed to concentrate. I couldn't end up killing Arjun. Come on, 'A ridiculously hot groom murdered by his ridiculously beautiful fianće for being an A-grade a$$hole' wouldn't make a good headline, would it?

As we broke the hug, I saw Tina leaning on the mirror, applying eye liner, her face a centimeter away from it. I had asked her to get ready with us but she declared that she needed to get ready in solace as she couldn't handle the madness of five hormonal, recently turned adults. Okay.

"If you lean any closer, you'll smash your face in the mirror." I sniggered. She didn't reply, just showed me her middle finger which earned her a 2 minute 19 seconds lecture from mom on how to behave. By then, all of my friends had gotten over their giggling fit and had joined us too.

"Are you ready?" Dad asked, emerging from his room.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Maahi beamed as she spoke.

"Okay, so here's the thing. Mr. Singhania has asked Kia to come alone in the car sent by him while we'll be in other cars." Dad said, fixing his tie.

"What!? Oh no, no, no! I won't be going alone. I need at least one of you to be with me."

"Honey, that's not the plan. We'll have to stick with what Rajveer has told us."

"No mom, what if..... what if the driver kidnaps me and then asks you for ransom.... Or... or a tree falls on us while we're coming and the driver dies. I don't even know how to drive. How will I reach the hotel?"

"You have a phone with you. You can call us if anything happens." Maahi interrupted.

I glared at her with narrowed eyes and was going to retort when Anushka grabbed my arm forcefully and started walking outside.

"What if we meet an accident?" I asked, horrified when we reached our doorstep. The black, shiny car was standing in front of me.

"The driver's very skilled. Won't happen." Saumya smiled sweetly and pushed me inside.

Oh god.

*

The car halted to a stop and so did my heart, almost.

"We're here, ma'am. Mr. Singhania will escort you inside himself." The driver said.

"Oh, okay." I replied, fidgeting with my fingers.

"Calm down, Kia. Everything will be fine." Anushka said with a non-chalant tone from the other side of the phone. I had called her a few minutes ago.

"What if I trip in those monster heels? You know I can't even walk properly on a plain surface without making a fool of myself. I don't want to be the subject of laughing today." I rambled, horrified. I am extremely clumsy, always tripping here or there. I had practiced to walk in those heels for a whole 2 days. Believe me, I would have rather preferred flip flops but dying a painful death by my enraged friends who already question my ridiculous fashion sense wasn't really worth it.

"Well, Mr. Handsome hunk will already be there to catch you if you fall." She ended with a dreamy sigh. It wasn't hard to notice the amount of smugness laced in her voice.

She needs to stop reading romance novels right now.

"Ha Ha Ha. Very funny." I deadpanned.

"Kia, all of us will be there. Nothing will happen. You worry too much. Just take a deep breath and relax. Now, I've to go. I can't miss your grand entry." With a giggle in the end, she cut the call.

Great.

I was just about to open the door of my side when all of a sudden, a mass of people huddled around the car, shouting and pushing each other while I gasped in shock.

Oh my god! Has Arjun sent some goons to kill me? Does he already know about my plan? I had only thought about murdering him, not actually committed it.

Or am I being kidnapped?

How am I supposed to run in this heavy outfit and the killer heels?

I knew wearing flip flops was a better idea.

A few seconds later, my senses started working and I realized they were the paparazzi.

Now, how the hell would I get out of here?

Soon, some huge bodyguards came towards the car (and by huge, I mean very huge), backing the paparazzi and making way for me to walk through the crowd. I was about to open the door handle when my eyes caught the sight of Arjun near the entrance. A black Armani suit proudly hugged his body, with one hand into his pant pocket and the other holding the phone near his ear.

And here comes the drool. Someone pass me a bucket please.

I watched him while he barked orders at the phone. His jaw was set in a taut line, his brows creased with a permanent scowl on his face. He looked angry. Wait. He always looks angry. Mr. Grumpy.

Arjun cut the call and shifted his gaze to me. Our eyes met and I held my breath in anticipation. I had grown into a confident person learning from my past mistakes. But whenever I am with him, I become flustered and that so- called confidence vanishes into thin air.

My insides churned in a funny way as he kept staring at me with a penetrating gaze. My heart leapt in my mouth when he advanced towards the car, his mouth set in a permanent line as if displeased.

This guy has some serious anger issues.

He reached near the car and with a swift motion, opened my door and offered his hand to me. A sense of Deja Vu washed over me as I recalled the day when he came to my college. Breathing deeply and repeating the mantra 'I can do this' in my head, I put my trembling cold hand into his warm one and stepped out of the car. It might have been my hallucination but I think I registered a shocked expression on his face for a fleeting moment. But it had gone as soon as it came. The mask of indifference was back on his face. I had just stood properly when all of a sudden, Arjun pulled me flushed against him, causing me to choke on air.

What was he doing?

He positioned his mouth near my earlobe so that it looked like we were greeting each other by kissing on cheek. His raspy breath fanned my earlobe as he whispered, "Smile when you look at the camera."

Oh god!

He could have normally said that. Like at a normal distance of 5 feet away from me. My poor heart couldn't handle all this.

He, then, stepped away from me and turned towards the photographers, not before putting a hand on my bare back. A shiver travelled across my spine at the feel of his hands on my skin and I could feel the hair on my neck standing. He pulled me a little close and faced the cameras with a stone expression while I was still stunned. Breaking out of my trance, I looked at the cameras and gave a small smile, the photographers yelling at us to look in their direction and the flashes nearly blinding my eyesight. And then, to make the lie believable, I turned towards Arjun and smiled while he gave a tiny, microscopic smile for a millisecond. If I had blinked, then I would have completely missed it.

After we were done, Arjun commanded to the photographers, "That's enough." And then he led me inside, keeping me close while I tried not to run away from here.

If he keep doing things like this, I'll probably die of heart attack before the evening.

It's okay, Kia. You can do this.

Remember once you fought with a spider and a cockroach all alone.

If you can do that then you can certainly go through this.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Brea-

Damn it!

We entered the hall and soon my nervousness and anxiety were replaced by the feeling of awe. The hall was beautifully decorated giving the place a grand look. Huge chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling, the long pillars were decorated with flowers, white lilies, blue orchids and what not. Round tables and chairs surrounding them were set up for the guests. Music was being played in a corner and waiters walked around carrying drinks.

As soon as we entered, Arjun removed his hand from my back faster than lightning.

Ignoring his attitude, I looked around and immediately felt out of place. The men walked in branded suits while the women talked in expensive gowns and jewelleries. I did not belong here, I was a simple person, not made for a life like this. The people around me were of high class with proper etiquettes while I still fought with Maahi for the last bite of the pizza.

Speaking of Maahi, where was she? I searched around and found my friends sitting on a corner table, chatting and giggling. And guess what was Maahi doing there? Checking out guys.

Surprise, surprise.

I was about to walk to them when a voice stopped me.

"Arjun!" Someone called and I turned to see Mr. Rajveer standing behind us with a smile.

"Kiara." He greeted me with a smile.

"Hello, sir."

"Ah, no need for formality. You can call me dad." He chided me in a light tone.

I just smiled in response. I don't think I'll ever be comfortable calling him anything but sir. He has a very intimidating personality.

"You guys look good together. Well, I have to meet other guests. Enjoy the party. And remember..." He finished in a warning tone, giving us a knowing look as he left.

"I don't fucking believe this." Arjun muttered, frustrated.

"Um.. Why don't we sit?" I spoke politely, trying to start the conversation.

"Why, does little princess's feet hurt from standing too long?" He mocked, looking extremely bored except from a tiny spark of amusement in his eyes.

My anger flared up at his words.

"No, but I think that the devil might be tired after a long day of torturing so many people." I retorted, shrugging.

Take that, Mr. Singhania.

His jaw clenched as he fisted his hand while I internally smirked.

He opened his mouth to insult me further but a new voice stopped us from our bickering.

"So, this is the beautiful girl who has managed to charm the pants out of the great Arjun Singhania."