21

Late at night as I lay in bed, I couldn't help but dwell in an ocean of thoughts.

Wedding?

6 months?

Enough time?

Haha. Uncle must be doing some prank on me.

Right?

The white door of my bedroom creaked open, and Grandma's head peeked in. She smiled as she saw I was awake and walked towards me. She sat beside me, and I put my head on her lap as she caressed my head.

"It was just a prank. Wasn't it?" I mumbled, to which she shook her head.

I sighed and sat up straight.

"You knew everything from the very first day they came. Right? That day they came to see me and not for my deceased parents."

"No! They came to see how we all are doing. All this time, they were not aware we had settled here."

I shook my head at this and looked at the ceiling.

"Why do you want to send me away from you? Am I a burden?" I questioned, my voice shaking as I tried to control my emotions.

"Of course not. Why are you speaking like this? Nothing is fixed yet." She spoke putting her hands on my arms. I shook my head at her, feeling the tears gathering in my eyes.

"But you approved the proposal. It seems you want to send me away from you." I could not stop as a tear escaped my eyes and a gulp formed in my throat.

She released a deep breath and spoke, "Look, dear, we both know I don't have much time left. I want to see you and Aaron both happy and settled with life. Aaron is too young, but I know he will manage everything because he will always have you. But I am worried about you. You are too naive for this world. I want you to settle down and live a happy life."

"I'm not unhappy. And do you think marrying me off to someone I don't even know and has never met, will give me the happiness?" I shook my head and wiped the tears as I sat.

She took my hand in hers and squeezed, "Sweetheart, you don't need to know him that well. He comes from a good family, and he's such a nice young man."

"I don't care about that. I don't want to marry." I spoke in frustration and pulled away my hand.

A look of hurt spread on her face.

She sighed and stood up. I watched as she looked down and nodded slowly, speaking in a low voice, "I understand. I should have asked you before. But I only wanted the best for you."

I looked at her disappointed expression and felt a pang of sadness creeping inside my heart. Seeing her sad face was hard. I reached for her hand, but she pulled away, and spoke, "I didn't know you would stop respecting my opinions. You don't believe in me."

"Grandma...Please Don't do this." I whispered and held her wrist making her look up in my eyes, "I don't have anyone but you. I trust you more than myself. I know you want only the best but... I can't do this."

She wiped the tears from my face, and spoke, "If you trust me, then please give it a chance. As it was said earlier, no one is forcing you if you don't like him, then just reject him. We won't force. We will find someone else."

I made a face and looked away from her.

She squinted her eyes, "Or Perhaps someone is already in your heart? Do you like someone?"

At her question, ocean-blue eyes appeared in my mind. I shook my head at the horrible thought.

No. I don't like him.

"Grandma! You know me better." I said and tried to avoid her gaze.

She chuckled, "Of course, I do."

I looked at her and spoke in a low voice, "Grandma, I really don't know about this whole marriage thing." Then I looked away at the night sky, "What if it doesn't work out? What if I end up feeling trapped? Isn't it scary?"

She smiled, "I understand your hesitation. But life is all about taking the risk. If you never open the box, how will you know what's inside?" Then she put her hand on my cheeks, making me look at her, "Love is worth the risk. I know you are an independent woman, but we all need someone by our side in this journey of life. Someone with whom we can create a life filled with laughter and adventure. Someone who makes you feel safe, cherished and understood, who stands by your side in every ups and downs of your life."

I stared at her face.

Can it really happen?

And with someone like me?

Me -who is the most unluckiest person when it comes to love.

How can a stranger I have never met give me all the things she is telling me?

What if he turns out to be a completely different person? My life will be totally opposite to what she mentioned.

Life isn't a fairytale after all.

I swallowed hard, and muttered, "Okay, I will think about it."

A broad smile spread on her face, making me feel a little good, "If you meet him and your heart tells you he's the one, then don't let the fear hold you back from a beautiful possibility."

I passed her a weak smile.

"I am sure you will like him." she said, beaming with pride as she moved toward the door. Keeping her hand on the doorknob, she turned around.

"It was your parents, who wanted you to marry him when you grew up. He is a gem."

I nodded, closing my eyes, battling in my mind to accept this or not.

Won't you fulfill your parent's wish? My subconscious spoke.

"Do I know him?" I inquired, a puzzled expression crossing my face.

Is he something from my past?

"You will know."

------

The morning came with a new day. I opened my eyes as the sunrays irritated me. Sitting up, I put on my glasses and looked up at the clock, it showed 8:29 am.

The office starts at 9.

I am going to get late today.

Great.

I jumped from the bed, almost tripping on the floor, and ran towards the bathroom.

After getting ready, I came downstairs and without eating breakfast, exited the house receiving a scolding from Grandma in return.

Ignoring my grandma's scolding for skipping breakfast, I ran outside and groaned as I realized that my car was broken and wouldn't start. I hastily booked an Uber and looked at the time.

It was already 8:46 a.m.

I cursed under my breath as I saw my phone's battery was 9%, almost on the verge of dying.

Why did I forget to put my phone on charge last night?

I released a breath of relief as I saw the taxi coming.

I reached the office at 9:40 due to heavy traffic. I ran inside as fast as I could, almost tripping on the stairs of my cabin.

It was not my mistake.

When I was on my way, Kevin just told me that I should be careful to as certain someone was not in a good mood today.

Yeah, you guessed it right.

Entering my cabin, I put my things on the table and tried to catch my breath, as I had come all the way up from the finance department by the stairs because the lift had stopped working since my arrival, and was in maintenance work.

As I was going to sit on the chair, I heard a ringing sound, coming from a certain someone's office. I groaned and walked towards his cabin as fast as I could, not forgetting to take my notepad.

I knocked and entered after hearing a small come in.

I didn't look up, instead my focus was on the notepad in my hands.

Yesterday, I thought about the proposal a lot. It was my parent's wish. I have to fulfill it.

And if I am going to marry someone then I should stop crushing over my boss. I know there is nothing between us. But still...

I should stop the things and remove the littlest feeling I have for him before it's too late.

I heard him clear his throat but I didn't look up.

"Tell me, Ms. Mehra, what's the office timing?" I swallowed hard as he asked the question.

"I'm sorry sir. It won't happen again." I said in a monotonous tone without any hesitation or emotion hidden.

"Last time, you said the same words." His voice was usual. I tried not to look up into those ocean-blue eyes that were piercing my soul.

"I'm sorry," I spoke in a low voice. That's all I can say for now, I don't want to give any explanation. I was too exhausted with all the things happening in life.

"What is the meeting schedule?"

"At noon with Mr. Jay Sharma. And at 4 pm with the head of the advertising company." I spoke staring at the screen.

"Cancel all of that."

"Why?" This time I couldn't resist myself, I looked up and my eyes met with his ocean blue. I don't know if I see it right or not but, his eyes held curiosity and amazement.

"Do as I say." He spoke without breaking eye contact, his face unreadable as always.

I nodded my head and looked down at the screen, cutting the meetings scheduled.

"You can go."

I released a deep breath that I didn't know I was holding. And turned around to flee away. But on the midway, his voice stopped me.

"Bring two glasses of orange juice and a proper breakfast."

I turned around with furrowed eyebrows and watched his calm expression. Seeing me looking at him like that, he spoke,

"What? I didn't order you to bring drugs. Stop staring at me like that."