2| Dilkash

✨ Ankhon mein teri...

Ajab si, ajab si, adaayein hain ✨

"Good morning, beta." Mrs. Malhotra greeted Aashi as she entered the kitchen.

Child

"Morning Mama." She greeted her too. She looked back at the aloo paratha that she was making. As soon as it got cooked, she took it off the heat and replaced it with a new one.

"Are those aloo parathas I smell?" Mr. Malhotra said as he entered the kitchen.

"Yes those are." Aashi said with a broad smile. He loves everything Aashi cooks but aloo parathas are his absolute favourite.

"Oh my God, I love you." He said as he happily hugged his daughter with a big smile. She hugged him back and he kissed her forehead.

"Umm... Aashi, there's something I, no, we need to talk to you about." Mrs. Malhotra said in a serious voice.

"Can we talk while eating please?" She politely asked.

"Sure beta." Her Mom said.

She served the parathas along with two cups of hot masala chai which she had just prepared. She placed the cup which had sugarless chai for Mrs. Malhotra since she is diabetic and regular chai cup for Mr. Malhotra.

Tea

"Where is Vedika?" She asked referring to her younger sister.

"Sleeping." Her father replied.

"Bring me some pickle and curd, Sharda." Mrs. Malhotra asked the Head of the House-Helps.

"In a minute." Sharda Aunty replied. She had been working here ever since Mr. Malhotra was in his early twenties, so around 30 years now, give or take.

"Aashi, do you remember my old friend, Mrs. Priya Oberoi?" Mrs. Malhotra asked as they begin eating.

"Yeah. What about her?" Aashi asked.

"When we last met, she expressed her concerns about finding an appropriate wife for his elder son, Armaan Oberoi..." Mrs. Malhotra begin but she cut her off.

"The next CEO of Oberoi Group of Companies and the son of Dad's old business acquaintance, Mr. Adarsh Oberoi. I know of him. What's he to do with our conversation?" She completed.

"Adarsh called me the other day and I need to tell both something." Mr. Malhotra said.

"A significant shareholder and investor of Oberoi Group of Companies Mr. Singhania, recently tricked them and pulled back his huge investment from the company. Adarsh talked to me about how their company will go bankrupt in the span of less than a year. I had a thought about investing in his company but he had a counter offer." Mr. Malhotra completed.

"What offer?" Aashi asked.

"We think, you should meet Armaan." Mr. Malhotra said.

"A contract marriage?" Aashi asked in astonishment.

"Rajansh." Mrs. Malhotra looked at her husband with wide eyes.

"I'm not forcing her. It's just a thought. Look at it this way, we've been friends for a long time with the Oberois. They're looking for a bride and we, for a groom. Their company needs investment and I can make one." Mr. Malhotra explained his side.

"Rajansh, still. It will be like dowry." Mrs. Malhotra said.

"God, Deepti, No! It's not a dowry. What's wrong with you? I'm anyways gonna invest in their company. Think of it as two separate offers. The investment has nothing to do with marriage. It'll just be a business deal between me, Adarsh and Armaan." Mr. Malhotra said.

"Armaan's a good boy. Serious, hardworking and honest. Isn't that what you're looking for in a husband, Aashi?" He questioned Aashi.

"Yes it is but..." Aashi left the sentence hanging.

"Aashi, beta, you met Bhaskar the other day. Why'd you reject him?" Mrs. Malhotra asked her.

"He was nothing I want my partner to be." Aashi concluded.

"So, what's the harm in meeting Armaan?" Mrs. Malhotra asked.

"Forget about the investment, company, contract etc. for a minute. Just think of it as an ordinary proposal." Mr. Malhotra said.

"Please meet him?" Her mother asked as she kept her hand on hers.

"Okay. I'll meet him." Aashi assured them.

.

.

.

"He looks handsome, you cannot deny. I'm glad you wore this." Aashi's best friend, Khushi said, commenting on Aashi's dress.

They're on FaceTime right now. Mr. Malhotra forwarded her the location of the restaurant she's suppose to meet Armaan at. When Aashi narrated everything that happened at the breakfast table to Khushi, she said the same thing, 'What's the harm in meeting him once?'

She's currently in the car. The driver's driving her to the restaurant which is Armaan's favourite apparently.

"Yeah so?" Aashi said trying to sound nonchalantly.

He really is handsome though.

"Don't act as if that doesn't matter." Khushi said and Aashi chuckled.

"Ms. Malhotra, we're here." The driver said to her, pulling in front of the restaurant. She'd rather him call her that then 'Aashi Ma'am'.

"I'll have to leave now. Bye." She said to Khushi.

"Bye babe. All the best." Khushi said and Aashi cut the call.

"Thank you uncle. I'll call you when I'm done." She informed her driver and got out of the car.

She walked into the restaurant and stood in front of the reception desk.

"Aashi Malhotra." She gave the woman her name.

"I've been waiting for you, Aashi." She heard a person call her name and she turned around to meet eyes with dark brown ones.

Armaan Oberoi.

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.

.

"Hello." Aashi softly said with a formal smile as she looked at Armaan from head-to-toe. The photo did no justice to his handsomeness. He looked way more gorgeous in real life.

They were unintentionally matching. He couldn't help but notice how good the colour looks on her fair skin.

"Shall we?" Armaan asked breaking the silence.

"Sure." She said and the manager guided both of them to their reserved table.

"What would you like to order?" Armaan asked Aashi after the waiter handed them the menu.

"It's your favourite restaurant. You tell me. What shall I order?" Aashi said after looking at the menu and not being able to decide what to eat.

"Shall I order for the both of us?" Armaan asked and Aashi nodded her head in approval.

"Two of my regular and two glasses of lemonade please. One slaty and..." Armaan was talking to the waiter but waited a moment for Aashi's preference.

"Salty for me as well." Aashi replied.

"Okay Sir, Ma'am." The waiter said and left the couple alone.

"So, Aashi, tell me about yourself." Armaan said, beginning a conversation.

"Well, I'm 23. I have a younger sister and I've completed my studies..." Aashi's was cut off by him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I know all that. Your information is easily available on the internet. Tell me about yourself apart from the basics." Armaan said.

"Okay, umm... Painting is my hobby and I can sing a little too. I love to cook and I sometimes help Dad at the office too. I can speak with a handful of accents." Aashi completed.

"Wow. Impressive." Armaan remarked really impressed by her interest. Especially the fact that she can speak in different accents, that's rare.

"Thank you. What about you?" Aashi questioned him.

"Truth be told, I'm plain, boring some would say. I'm good at archery but that's it. I'm good at just two things, business and taking care of my dear ones. People say that I'm uninteresting and tedious even but I don't know any other lifestyle." Armaan said.

"Does your work makes you happy? Or is it just a source of income to you?" Aashi questioned him.

"It's my passion. It truly makes me happy." Armaan honestly answered.

"If I were to comment anything, I think that is all that matters. You're passionate about what you do and the thing which occupies most of your time genuinely makes you happy. Also, you care about people who you're close to and who honestly want you to be happy. I would say it's the perfect balance." Aashi said leaving Armaan stunned.

He was speechless after what she just said. People always say that he needs to work less, go out, make friends and live his life but Aashi probably is the first person who actually bothered to know what he wants. People around him never accepted the fact that him working is what gives him happiness. They always assumed that he's greedy for more money, that all he cares about is money. Sure he's a billionaire and an heir to a multimillion dollars' worth empire but he heartily cares about it and wants to run it.

Armaan was never the one to care about what others say about him but he cannot deny that everyone calls him a workaholic in a bad way. They always gave him the title in the hopes that he'd change his ways but everyone failed to understand that his ways are not wrong.

Aashi's word worked as a bandage over the small scratch everyone's word had left on his mind. She unknowingly started making him feel good about his ways, his passion for work and just his character in whole.

Amidst this small conversation, Armaan successfully read Aashi. Being a businessman teaches you many things and reading people and figuring out their characters is one of them.

Armaan found Aashi to be a genuine and true girl. She was way different than others and she's beautiful inside out.

"Armaan, the food." Aashi's voice broke his chain of thoughts.

"Yeah. Sorry." He said as he noticed the waiter had already served the food.

"What happened? Anything wrong?" Aashi asked as she noticed the frown etched on Armaan's eyebrows.

"The marriage. I know your parents haven't informed you but your Dad offered to invest in our company. I'm sorry you had no idea..." Aashi stopped listening after that.

He thought she wasn't aware of the investment. For him, it's a normal proposal to Aashi. He could easily trick her and get the investment but he didn't. He could've opt for not revealing this, there was no need of bringing up the investment but he did. He wanted to be completely honest with her. He could've but didn't double-cross her.

"...so, if you're ready, I'd like to marry you." Armaan's last sentence didn't go unheard by her.

"I'd very much like to marry you too Armaan." Aashi said and smiled genuinely.

It just felt right to them both.

Armaan felt like his heart stopped when she smiled.

"Congratulations Ms. Malhotra, we're getting married on the 26th of next month, 26th May." Armaan said and Aashi looked at him with wide eyes.

"Today is 3rd April. That's soon." Aashi said.

"I'll take care of everything, darling. Don't worry." Armaan said with a wink.

Aashi blushed because of the endearment he just called her with.

~ Aashi's Dress ~

~ Armaan's Suit ~

- x -

What are your thoughts on their conversation about Armaan being a workaholic?