by MV Kasi
"Sweety Reddy is psychotic for sure. How do you know...Srishti Shah is too?" Rahul asked. "Just because Srishti could beat you up during your childhood—"
"She only got in a few punches because she fights dirty. And also because I don't hit girls. I'm pretty sure she's quite psychotic. And dangerous. How she managed to fool my parents into thinking she is perfect for me, I have no damn clue."
Rana didn't stop at that, and got worked up recalling her antics at school.
"I still remember how she had repeatedly stabbed a small, stuffed baby doll with a pair of scissors during a health class at our school. And she had scribbled a note on the doll's forehead saying that she refused to take care of it unless the boys were given the same activity to do!"
Rahul started laughing.
"It's not funny. She was nuts!" Rana snapped.
"What were the boys given?"
There was a pause. "An adult male dummy."
"I see her point though."
"I did too. But she didn't have to be violent in that way."
"Heyyyy, wait a minute. Wasn't this also the same girl, a family friend you had a huge crush on for a long time? You couldn't deal with your feelings, so you picked on her to get her attention? I remember you talking my ear off about her during summers, much before we both went to boarding school. About this girl who was beautiful, but scary in an I-will-destroy-you-if-you-dare-to-cross-me kind of way?
Rana's scowl turned darker. "A very brief school boy crush which she effectively managed to kill." That damn cousin of his had a long and sharp memory of an elephant.
"Oh no, no. It wasn't brief. I think it started since you were eight, until..." Rahul's brows were scrunched in thought. "Oh yeah, until thirteen. That's five long years of a school boy crush and on the same girl," he grinned. "You spent hours alternately describing her breathtaking dimples and then her genius brain."
"Maybe she was a genius, but she was a horrible team player. She always snapped and got defensive with the boys," Rana said irritably while he got both embarrassed and pissed about being called out on his silly crush. And maybe he did go a little overboard by teasing her and taunting her along with her cousins and other boys.
Rahul smirked. "They say that there is a fine line between being genius and unhinged. Maybe she was threading it at that time."
"Yeah, whatever. Every single encounter with her didn't end well. She was always rude or physical, trying to prove she was better than me. Anyway, let's talk about the situation I'm currently in. I need your help in driving the thought of her as the possible daughter-in-law from my parents' mind." He refused to call the devil by her given name.
Rahul's smile died. "Rana, come on. You can't hold a thirteen year old girl's actions against her after fifteen years. You both must have changed a lot since then."
"Rahul, no way in hell I'm agreeing to marry someone my parents chose for me. Are you kidding me? I will never ever marry a stranger, however accomplished."
"How is Srishti a stranger?" Rahul interrupted. "You knew her...Well, I guess she has become a stranger now. But you can reacquaint yourselves and become friends first—"
"Stop. I agreed to join my parents to the Shah's place for my mother's sake. I can pick my own freaking woman, thank you very much."
"Rana, Sudharshan Reddy is quite dangerous. If his daughter thinks you are off the market as her prospective groom, then he'd leave you alone—"
"I've told you before, he and his daughter are not an issue. The issue right now is that I need to figure out a way to get out of this match making business without offending both the families."
Rahul stared at the stubborn expression on Rana's face and sighed. "Fine. Then why don't you just talk to Srishti and tell her you are not looking to marry any one right now."
Rana frowned. "If her behavior at thirteen was of any indication, then she would probably delight in announcing that I was the one who didn't want the match."
"What do you want to do then, Rana?"
"Fill her ears with some exaggerated tales of my reputation, so she'll be disgusted and will refuse me."
"Your father will flip out—"
"My father thinks you can walk over the water. He'll not blame you. Just do this favor, Rahul."
Rahul stared at his cousin, who was more like a brother to him. "Okay, fine. I'll try my best. But I really hope that poor Srishti Shah hadn't been weaving her dreams of having a popular movie star as her husband."
CHAPTER 2
"We found a husband for you. You'll get to meet him this evening."
Srishti's eyes snapped up from her phone screen to her grandmother's face. Until then she had been unsuccessfully trying to relieve the tense muscles in her shoulders and neck while reading through her emails.
She had just denied a request for a business meeting from a company owner who had been asking her to sell a huge stake of her company since a long time. She had denied him several times before. But he apparently didn't get it when he was told politely. He was much older than her, and also arrogant and condescending. He thought that he would be doing her a favor by gaining a controlling interest of the company she had spent the last three years of her life on.
Her blood boiled when she recalled his words from the last time.
"God knows you are old enough to get married. And when you do, your company would soon begin its downward spiral. You need someone stronger at the helm from much before to steer the company in the right direction."
At that time, she had other potential investors present during the confrontation and she didn't want to comment on that sexist remark. But if he brought up that insulting offer once again, she'd definitely give him a piece of her mind.
She knew owning a tech start-up caused a lot of pressure. And pressure definitely made some people snap and do the weirdest of things. And sometimes, dangerous things. But fortunately she wasn't the kind to wilt under the pressure. She was the kind who thrived under it. Pressure propelled her and drove her to achieve more.
"Did you hear what I just said?" her grandmother demanded.
Srishti watched the rigid expression on her grandmother's face that usually meant she had passed the mandate and didn't want to listen to any arguments about it.
And usually, during her childhood, when that expression was directed towards her, Srishti would have a retort ready to fire back. But since she wasn't used to listening to orders from other people for a very long time, it caught her off guard. And more than that, she didn't quite make sense of what her grandmother had just said.
Her grandmother eyed her clothes in disgust. "Make sure you look presentable. Don't wear your usual clothes that make you look like a man instead of an eligible woman."
Srishti didn't have time to change from her three piece business pant-suit before visiting her grandparents' house for her nephew's birthday party. She had intended to shop for a dress, but she wanted to spend some time with her nephew. She had been playing with the little tyke until he had to be taken away for a nap before the party. And as usual whenever she found a few spare minutes, she checked her emails.
"What are you talking about, grandma?" Srishti began impatiently, wanting the older woman to explain herself soon so she could get back to her work.
"I said there is a mat—"
"Srishti, here you are," her mother's voice interrupted her grandmother.
"Ma. Grandma was saying something—"
"I know. She just heard about something your papa and I were just discussing."
"About what?"
"About meeting someone who might possibly interest you."
Srishti was too shocked to feel outraged at first.
"Ma, are you saying you are arranging a match for me? And that too without even talking to me first?" she demanded.
"We did try to talk to you before, Srishti. We told you about Mr. Bugati and his family wanting to visit us for a casual meet," her mother reminded helpfully.
Mr. Bugati was her grandfather's do
ctor and a family friend since a very long time. When she and her parents lived in a joint family at her grandparents' place, they had met and socialized with the Bugatis frequently
"Yes, you did mention it, Ma. But what I don't distinctly recall is anyone mentioning the fact that the causal social gathering was supposed to be a farce to cover up an arranged match!"
"It's still a casual social meeting Srishti," her mother replied coolly.
"It might be a casual meeting, but it also happens to be between two eager families with eligible children," stated Srishti, equally coolly.
"You are hardly eligible!" Srishti's grandmother interrupted. "Abhinav and Abhijeet are the same age as you. And they have both been married happily for over five years with children. Being a girl, you should be ashamed at that fact."
Srishti's mother immediately came to her daughter's defense. "There is nothing for her to be ashamed of. Today's meet is not because Sidhu or I think that Srishti has to be married right away. It's totally up to her when it comes to picking her life partner. It's just that we think she might be compatible with the Bugati's son Rana."
Srishti frowned. She was more than capable of defending herself, but her mother was more diplomatic when it came to dealing with her old-fashioned grandmother.
"Well, your precious daughter is twenty eight years old and has a broken engagement from before. No decent family will find her eligible. We are lucky that someone like the Bugatis chose to ignore that fact."
"The Bugatis didn't ignore the fact," a man's stern voice replied. Srishti's father, Sidhu glared at his mother. "They chose to accept it because there was nothing wrong with having been in a prior relationship before."
"How can it not be wrong? She was with that Bhatia boy for more than seven years. No man wants a woman has been with another —"
"That's enough, Ma—" Srishti's father began coldly.
"Sidhu..." Ananya placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him.
Taking a deep breath, "Ma, we would like to speak with our daughter alone. So please give us some privacy," he told her firmly.
Sniffing in disdain, the older woman left the room, muttering, "Still spoiling her rotten."
Closing the door shut, behind his mother, Sidhu sat next to his daughter.
"Srishti, I'm sorry about your grandmother's behavior," he said softly, ruffling her hair like he did since she was little.
"I'm fine, Papa. It's grandma. I'm used to it by now, and I don't let any of her observations affect me in anyway," she said.
"I know," he said, sighing.
Srishti's grandmother's constant criticism of her and preaching about a woman's role in a society was why Sidhu had moved away to live separately rather than in a joint family.
"Papa, are you seriously contemplating an arranged match for me with the Bugati's son?"
"There is no pressure Srishti. We just thought you and Rana might have a lot in common since you are both of the same age, come from similar family backgrounds and you were good friends before."
"Yes. Until Rana changed schools, you both spent a lot of time playing with each other in school and during our social gatherings," her mother chimed in.
"We weren't playing, Ma. He was always bugging me along with Abhijeet and Abhinav so I beat him up a few times."
Her father snorted out a laugh and quickly changed it to a cough at his wife's glare.
"That was almost fifteen years ago, Srishti. Both of you have grown up since then. We already told you that there is absolutely no pressure on you. Just meet Rana casually, and let us know what do you think of him. That's all," said her mother.
Srishti sighed heavily. "Well, since I'm here for the day, already, I guess there is no harm in meeting an old...friend," she said, even though the word she was thinking of in her mind was...nemesis.
Her mother smiled. "That's great!"
Her parents stayed for a while catching up on what their only daughter was doing. Although she visited them often and spoke to them a few times a week.
Just when they were about to leave, her mother paused.
"Should I ask Sapna and Priya to help you find a dress if you don't have one already?"
"Ma, I'm at least half a foot taller than them. I'll just order something online and have it delivered here, in a few hours."
"Good. Let me know if you need anything," her mother offered, smiling.
"I will Ma. I will," she promised, looking at the excitement in her mother's face.
When Srishti shut the door close again and resumed working on her laptop, there was one thought that ran through her mind.
If he was as obnoxious as he was when they were children, Rana was going to get his ass kicked once again that evening.
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/theholidayaffair
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33543288-the-holiday-affair
