Chapter 5: 03

Chapter Three

"Soulmate? Lover? Dad of my kids?"

✧ P R E E T ✧

"Hello, wifey." I furrowed upon hearing this in my sleep. I looked at my phone's screen and it was an unknown number.

"Wrong number." I managed to mumble and hung the call, burring my head in the pillow I tried to sleep again.

The phone's ringtone buzzed in my ear again, I picked it up and said before I could hear anyone else's voice. "Wrong number."

"Preet." The person said.

"She died, yesterday." I cut the call again closing my eyes. My way to heaven was disturbed by a scream.

"Preet," This time it was a girl's voice.

"She died," I replied the same and the very next moment I felt the pillow hitting my face.

"What?" I looked at Neava who had a phone adjusted between her ear and shoulder.

"Your husband is calling." She said and I made a confused face.

"Which husband?" She hit me again with the pillow. I miss my mom. She was as cruel as her but at least she was my mom. This one hits me without any blood relation.

"Do you remember now?" I nodded.

"Deven. What's with him now?" I yawned halfway while saying that sentence. I just want to sleep. I was awake yesterday till two,

overthinking these lies and all.

What if he tells my mother? And our act wasn't even that convincing, these two fucked it up by saying anything stupid.

"He called you three times and each time you hung up saying something stupid. The last one was that you died. So wake up and talk to him, it's urgent." I nodded and she passed me the phone. I yawned again and closed my eyes waiting for him to speak.

"There's a problem." He said and I hummed waiting to hear more about this problem.

"Preet?" He called out my name and I hummed again.

"Yes. I'm there, continue." Neava went away indicating to me something which went above my head.

"Aniketh." He mumbled and paused for a while. "He's my neighbour."

"What does it have to do with me?" I questioned.

"Um, according to him We are married. And married couples do not live separately."

It took me a while to comprehend these words. I let out a scream and laid back on my bed with a thud.

I hate my life more.

I shouldn't have lied to him, this is all karma. I have invited a chain of problems and I fear they are not going to end anytime soon.

"Preet, are you there?" He asked and I wished to throw this phone somewhere. Out of all the places in Toronto, Deven only got the apartment beside Aniketh's.

"Unfortunately," I mumbled.

Way to start a day.

"I'll tell you what happened. I got to my new place and noticed that the house is very cosy and well furnished, it also has this small balcony, you know and there's a bird which comes there-" I interrupted, not wanting to know about his new place or the bird.

"Skip the details, please."

Sometimes I wonder how Abhinav Bhai handles him. It's been like seven years since their friendship, I haven't been much in contact with Deven because I used to stay in Punjab whereas he and Abhinav Bhai used to be in Mumbai.

The time we had maximum conversation was Abhinav Bhai's wedding which was five years ago. If it wasn't that, then I probably wouldn't even know him or be this comfortable with him.

"Okay, mean. Anyways, Deven got to his new apartment. He was adjusting everything there. His stomach started making some noises. He noticed that he ran out of salt. He went to ask his neighbour for some salt. His neighbour turned out to be his one-time wife's ex."

Deven read it out like some essay from third third-grader's book. This is not what I meant when I asked him to skip the details.

Was he always like this or am I starting to notice him now?

"Woah. My luck sunk deeper than the Titanic." I quoted and got a few seconds of silence as a response. "What did Aniketh ask?

"Deven would like to skip the details-" I should have known who I am dealing with.

"Deven should shut up automatically or else Preet will make him." After all this Scandal, there's some sense of comfort between us because I can only talk like this to the people I am close with.

I'm different for the outside world, quiet, humble, kind, and shy and all these adjectives are always used for me. But there's this different side for the people I am comfortable with.

"How will Preet make Deven shut up? What will she do?"

He's so unserious right now.

"You are telling me or should I cut the call?" I asked raising my voice a little.

"Don't scold me." He said in a low voice and a smile appeared on my face. "He asked if we were staying together."

"What did you reply?"

"Yes. I told him yes." I held my head from the other hand. It's going to blast now.

"Are you nuts? Why would you do that?" I yelled and within seconds Neava rushed into the room with a tense expression.

"What else was I supposed to say? He would have asked me why aren't staying together if we were married, what was I supposed to reply then? Raita tumhara fhailaya hua hai, samet raha hu usme bhi mujhpe hi badhakna hai." The frustration was clear in his voice.

[You have created this mess, I'm trying to help you and you're getting mad at me.]

"Sorry." I shook my head when Neava mouthed 'What happened?'

"Can you not shift somewhere else?" I asked him like an idiot.

"Not. My company is paying for this, I have to live at the place they provide me."

If only I could verbally say four to five question marks aggressively because that's my current state. I have no idea how to solve this.

"What are we supposed to do now? I told him that you'll be coming here in a day or two. And that is the only time for you to fix this mess."

"I have absolutely no idea of what I'm going to do but I'll try not to drag you in this mess. I'm so sorry." Neava kept looking at me from the corner of her eye.

"No worries. I'm ready to get dragged into any mess created by you. It's not like you get a fake wife every day, so I'm excited about what happens next."

Wow. Utterly unbelievably Wow.

"I am speechless." The shock I've got early morning makes me wonder what trouble I have invited for myself.

"Yeah, that happens. I make girls speechless you know."

This narcissist.

"Sure thing. Now bye."

"Bye, wifey." I rolled my eyes at this word. He won't stop using it, will he?

"How did he get your number?" I asked Neava after I realised that he called her when I didn't pick up. We had exchanged numbers for an emergency like this but since when did he get her number?

"I stalked you, got his Instagram handle and messaged him." She replied and I scowled.

Stop putting your eyes on my husband.

I wished to tell her this for fun sake but she'll take it the other way.

"Woah. I sense some chemistry." I passed her a teasing look.

"There's no chemistry, physics or biology between us. It's between you both. A perfect storyline to go from fake to real husband. Bonus points is that he's hot." She said dreamily while sitting beside me.

"Go marry him."

"I don't break the girl code. Plus I don't like becoming someone's second wife. And you've already sister-zoned me from his side so I'm not the obstacle in your path if you think of me as a threat."

"You need to eat something. My brain is not a nice snack." I replied to which she shook her head.

"Come on, Preet. I don't like him in that sense. I just do it to tease you if you know." Why is she so hell-bent on being the matchmaker?

"I know. But I don't see him that way. He's like a brother." I stood on my feet but she pulled my wrist and made me sit again. Bringing her both legs in the bed and sitting cross-legged, she turned towards me.

"Because you are adamant on seeing him as your brother. Why would you even call him that some moments after telling Aniketh that he's your husband? Although there is a high probability of him not believing that bullshit. But you need to stop considering Deven as your brother first. It's irritating now." I scratched my forehead.

"What else should I see him as? Soulmate? Lover? Dad of my kids?" I asked her sarcastically. "I don't like him that way so you, telling me all this wouldn't make me like him either."

"All I'm telling you is that consider him a friend and not a brother. I have a feeling that he has a crush on you, I've seen the way he looks at you-" I cut her off rolling my eyes again.

"Not that crap. Please."

Neava thinks every guy out there likes me. Madhuri Dixit samajhti hai mujhe ye. So I'm never giving her words a second thought too, at least on this topic.

"Okay. Just stop treating him like your brother. That's it. You'll know the rest sooner or later." She shrugged and I yawned again.

"Okay, ma'am. Let me sleep now." I said and lay on my bed again, closing my eyes.

I think I'm forgetting...

"Why did Deven call you anyway?"

Something.

I raised myself again and whined creating a noise. Because of her 'don't treat him like your brother' shit I forgot about the main problem.

"Aniketh is Deven's neighbour." She gasped audibly and jumped in her place after standing up.

What is she so happy about?

"OMG!" She exclaimed in a South Delhi accent. I disown her. She's not my friend anymore. "That's fantabulous."

"That is not something to be happy about. What am I going to do next? It's not like we can continue this act which wasn't even convincing. I think I should tell them the truth."  I kept my hands on my chin.

"So that he comes and troubles you again? Absolutely not. And if it was not convincing then fucking convince them. They are here for you, we both know that, you messed up the first time now be so good at your work and make them leave as well." She suggested and I pouted lightly. I have this habit of pouting when I'm confused or tense.

And right now I'm both.

"The way we acted was the worst. Any sensible person would realise that we just met each other for the first time. There's no way they will believe us. And even if they did then, what will we answer them? Why am I not staying with him?"

Telling the truth and politely asking him to leave my back is a far better option.

But he does not understand, that is another problem.

"It's not like I can go and stay with him." I muttered and tried to think of something else which can help me get out of the situation.

"Why not?" I glanced at Neava after hearing her say this.

"Why can't you stay with him and pretend that you're actually married?" She said and I opened my mouth to say something but she stopped me. "That will cover up for your third grade acting skills. If you stay there, it will make him believe the fact that you guys are actually married."

I licked my dry lips and gulped.

It would have been risky if Deven was a stranger but I know him well. He's not any random guy so there's no risk in that. And if this makes Aniketh leave Canada then maybe, this works.

We can act like husband wife in front of them. But at the end, we'll be just roommates.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Neava asked me with happiness all over her face. I nodded and hugged her excitedly.

"Mission Married for all, Roomates for us begin."

✧

A little duh chapter??!!