Shaadi Ka Contract: Terms and Conditions of the Heart

A few days later

Her POV

The past few days were going blissful, no talks about potential husbands, no biodatas on her bed, no meetings with "the one." Life felt...calm? But the calmness didn't stay for long in my life as again I was sent to the market to get the needed stuff for the "special guests" coming tonight. I just hoped it wasn't another dulha candidate. 

The market as usual was buzzing with people yelling to sell stuff, bargaining with the value, or just moms yelling at their kids. As I finished getting everything I turned my attention back to my bag double checking all the stuff had been bought. Before I knew it someone bumped into my shoulder- "Hey!" The man that had bumped into me just glanced at me uninterested and walked away. Oh no bachu you don't mess with me like that. I ran up to him and stopped him before taking a good glance at him. 

He was tall, sharp featured, dressed in a simple white shirt but the sleeves were rolled up. His eyes tho they held this aura that was both inchanting and scary. 

"What do you want?" He asked in an uninterested voice staring straight into my soul. 

You

"You just pushed me!" 

"So?"

"Apologize" I said with my hands crossed at this point.

"I dont apologize to anyone" saying he just walked off. 

That stupid handsome...mendak! Realizing if I am late Mumma will kill me, I left the mendak behind me and went straight home. 

His POV

Viransh hated crowed places but it had been his Ma's order to get some sweets and gifts as its not good to go to someone's house with empty hands. 

Normally he would have just trusted his Ma's choices and let her get everything but according to her "Personal touch is important, she will appreciate it." When he doesn't even know who this she is. 

His thoughts were interrupted when a girl bumped into him. She muttered something under her breath as she glared at him. But instead of apologizing he glanced back and continued walking away. 

Clearly she didn't get the hint as she followed him and demanded a sorry. Excuse me Viransh Raghuvanshi has never apologized and never will especially to a clumsy girl. He didn't give her time for a further chat and walked away. 

Soon he reached a suitable shop and started looking around. He wasn't the type to take forever at places. If he liked it he took it and if not then he never thought about it again. Simple. But today his brain was foggy with that market girls face. The way she looked back at him in his eyes and proceeded to yell at him was...refreshing. He could still hear her yells in his ears.

"Phata speaker" 

Shaking of the thought he picked a few pieces he thought the family would enjoy and hurried back home. 

~~~

Soon the Rajvansh family reached the Desai household where inside Savitri was lecturing Aarohi on how to act and talk with the family. 

"Aarohi please remember to be polite, don't sit with your legs spread out, and please don't start talking about how much you hate marriage." Savitri whispered sternley straigthening Aarohi's dupatta. 

"Mumma calm down, they are just here for dinner." Aarohi replied trying to get away from her mother's grip. 

Soon the doorbell rang and Aarohi muttered a quick "here we go" under her breath. 

While her parents opened the door and greeted everyone in Aarohi left to get water for everyone. When she came back she saw everyone sitted in the living room. She saw a couple her age look at her with a small smile on their face, next to them was a girl around her age, and a boy maybe a bit older than her. There was one empty seat next to him tho, was someone else coming. Not thinking about it too much she served everyone water and sat next her Mom. 

"Viransh should be here soon," Akhil explained. "He got an urgent call last minute."

So that's who the empty seat is for, Aarohi thought.

"It's okay, we completely understand," Mukesh replied with a smile.

"Apka beta nahi dikh raha," Arti asked Savitri.

(Your son isn't here?)

"Ji, voh ghar pe nahi hai. Business trip pe gaya hai," Savitri replied.

(Yes, he's out on a business trip.)

Arti smiled warmly and began introducing her family. "Beta, I'm Arti. This is my husband Akhil, and these are our kids, Vikram and Nidhi. I have one more son, Viransh, who should be here any moment now."

Aarohi greeted everyone and soon got chatting with Nidhi, bonding over their shared obsession with the latest K-drama.

"Can you believe that plot twist in the last episode?" Aarohi whispered excitedly.

"I know! When the second lead said he'd walk away for her happiness, I actually screamed!" Nidhi replied, swinging her hands for dramatic effect.

"You too? I threw a pillow at my screen. Like, seriously, who asks for heartbreak on purpose?" Aarohi said, rolling her eyes.

Their animated discussion earned them a couple of amused glances from the adults in the room, but they paid no attention, too caught up in debating which character deserved more sympathy.

Meanwhile, Vikram leaned closer to Akhil and whispered, "Nidhi toh apni puri dosti banake hi jayegi lagta hai."

(Nidhi's definitely going to make besties before we leave.)

Akhil chuckled quietly, shaking his head. "Let them bond. It's a good thing."

Just then, the doorbell rang again, and Arti's face lit up. "Viransh agaya hoga."

(Viransh must be here.)

The room fell silent as everyone turned toward the entrance. Aarohi, mid-discussion with Nidhi, glanced at the door casually, not expecting much. But when the man from the market stepped inside, her jaw nearly dropped.

"Mendak!" Aarohi blurted out under her breath, eyes widening in disbelief.

"Excuse me?" Nidhi asked, confused.

"Nothing," Aarohi muttered, trying to recover as she quickly looked away. But soon turned back around to take another peak at him.

His sharp black suit tailored to perfection, contrasting against his dark, piercing eyes that seemed to see through everyone. His presence carried a weight that demanded respect, even fear, though he hadn't said a word. He gave everyone a quick nod acknowledging everyone's presence but when his eyes met Aarohi's he froze for a bit, and then shook his head a bit and went to sit next to his brother. 

"This is my eldest son" Arti said proudly gesturing towards him. 

Knowing if Aarohi didn't greet him, her mom would cook her alive she said in an extra sweet voice, "Ji Namaste."

For a second Viransh couldn't believe this was the same phata speaker he had met in the market. But he didn't let his thoughts show on his face and replied back in an neutral tone. 

"Namate"

"Have you guys met before?" asked Arti sensing a tension between both. 

"No" both answered in a too quick of a union. Viransh took a sip of water to mask the awkwardness while Aarohi looked around. The change in the atmosphere was clear to everyone, both wished no one would push the matter any further. 

Luckily, right on cue Nidhi resumed her conversation with Aarohi about k-dramas, "Aarohi what were you saying about the second lead?"

Even though Aarohi was grateful for the distraction and was trying her best to engage in the conversation with a matching enthusiasm, her mind couldn't help but think about the mendak that was sitting across the room.