Chapter 5

Major testing going on in my life right now! It’s driving me crazy. I have to study SO much that I can’t write regularly. I decided to write this chapter over the course of several days whenever I have free time from studying, so forgive me if it’s a bit choppy. Here it is!

Aman’s gaze burned through Priya. She immediately felt embarrassed and looked away.  He continued to watch her.  He sensed that someone was behind him, but couldn’t break his gaze away from Priya.  Even though she was traditional, there was something mesmerizing about her.

A hand crept from behind Aman into his view.  “Hi Jija-ji! I’m Payal, your future sister-in-law.” Said a petite and very confident girl.  She looked a few years younger than Priya and held her hand out, waiting for him to shake it.

“Hi. I’m Aman.” Aman replied coolly.  The girl beamed with happiness as she eagerly shook his hand.  Aman couldn’t help but smile at her.  Optimism simply radiated from her.

Aman noticed Priya stiffen in front of him. Her eyes grew slightly wider and she mumbled something to her sister.  Aman smirked at Priya’s disapproval.  At least Payal was polite enough to actually shake his hand.

Aman continued to watch Priya.  She was pretty in her own way. She had beautiful caramel skin and captivating eyes.  He especially admired her long, black hair that reached all the way down to her waist.

“Priya,” said, interrupting the banter between the two sisters, “I need to speak with you.” He continued.

Priya turned her attention away from Payal and towards Aman.  Aman glanced at Payal.

“Alone.” He said.

Payal smiled, understanding that this was her cue to leave.  She eyed the crowd and spotted her father.  She instantly walked off in his direction.

A slight frown appeared on Priya’s face.  If Aman wanted to talk to her alone, it must be about something serious.

“Follow me.” Aman said, abruptly turning around and walking off.

Priya hesitated for a moment before silently following him.  He maneuvered them through the thick crowd into a hallway.  He stalked through the lengthy hallway and stopped in front a closed door at the very end of the hallway.  He opened it and stood aside, waiting for Priya to enter.  Priya again hesitated before stepping into the room. Aman followed and closed the door.

He turned to Priya, “Priya, I need your help.” He said.

“Of course, what kind of help?” asked Priya.

Aman turned and walked towards the door.  He locked it.  Priya froze.  He slowly walked back to her, this standing much closer.  Priya took a step back trying to put some distance between them, but Aman took a step forward as she moved back.

“Do you want to marry me?” asked Aman suddenly.  His eyes pierced through her.  Priya couldn’t bring herself to look away though.  She was unsure whether to tell him how excited she was to marry him.

“Priya, please, I need you to reject me.” Aman almost pleaded. “We can’t get married.”

Priya was shocked.  She felt tear forming in her eyes.  She tried to blink away, but she couldn’t.  Even though she had just met Aman, she felt like he just broke her heart.  She stepped back and turned away from him so that he couldn’t see her tears.

“Why?” she managed to say despite her tears.

“I’m not ready to get married.  I can’t get out this marriage unless you reject me.” Explained Aman.

He walked closer to Priya, her back still turned towards him.  He grabbed her hand and turned her around.  He was surprised to see her in tears.  He cupped her cheek and gently wiped away her tears.

“Priya,” he whispered, “It’s not you.  I’m just not ready to get married.”

Priya looked up at Aman.  How could someone so caring be so heartless?  He should’ve known that breaking an alliance would bring shame to both of their families.  She couldn’t bear to disappoint her father.  However, it wouldn’t be fair to her or Aman to agree to a marriage that they weren’t ready for.

“Priya,” Aman said, breaking her train of thought, “Will you help me?”

Priya bit her lip and looked back up at Aman.  She nodded slightly before walking towards the door.  Aman smiled before following her out.  The two walked silently through the hallways back to the party.  Priya could hear Aman’s footsteps behind her but didn’t dare look back at him.  She heard his footsteps dissipate as they walked closer to the room where the party was.  She entered and immediately spotted her father.  She glanced behind her, noticing that Aman was no long there.

Priya walked through the crowd to her father.  She grabbed his arm and leaned in close to his ear.

“Baba. I need to talk to you. It’s important.” Priya nearly yelled so her father could hear her over the noise from the party.

“Yes! Of course.” He excused himself from the small crowd he was talking with and turned to Priya, waiting her to continue.

Priya glanced around at all the people near them.  “I need to talk to you privately.” She said, pulling her father’s arm away from the crowd.  She made her way towards the door, when her father stopped her.

“We can’t leave the party, dear. Come this way.” He led her to a nearly empty corner in the room, where the crowd thinned out.  It was much quieter and much more private.

“What is it my dear?  Did you like Aman?” he father asked with a huge grin.

“No.” Priya said in almost a whisper.

Her father’s smile faded.  Priya looked down.  “I don’t wish to marry him, Baba.” She said quietly.

“Why not?” He father asked incredulously.  She noticed a hint of anger in his voice.

Priya mustered up enough courage to look up at her father.  His eyes were angry, though he was trying to keep calm.  He did not want to make a scene in front of so many people.  Her gaze traveled past her father and met Aman’s.  He was standing far enough away so that he wouldn’t be noticed, but close enough to remain within earshot.  He was talking to some businessmen, but every few seconds, he would glance in Priya’s direction.

“He…he was rude and arrogant.  I do not wish to have a husband who doesn’t respect me.” Priya lied.  Aman was sweet and caring in her opinion, but she needed an excuse to not marry him.

Priya glanced at Aman, who had a hurt expression on his face.  He had heard what she said about him.  He quickly plastered a fake smile on his face as soon as one of the businessmen started speaking to him.  He turned his attention back to whatever conversation he was having.

“Priya, you must compromise.  Aman is a nice boy from a great family. He will keep you happy.” Her father tried to reason with her.

Priya knew she would have to make a scene if she wanted to get Aman out of this marriage.

“No!” she yelled. “I will NOT marry him!” she exclaimed.

A few people stopped their conversations and eyed Priya.  She looked straight at Aman, who was staring at her with apparent shock on his face.  Priya looked back at her father, who was absolutely furious.

“Priya, you will not make a scene here.” He said sternly.

Priya said nothing.  She merely looked at her father with a blank expression. Many of the people who had turned their attention to the father-daughter duo lost interested once they realized that no more drama was to follow Priya’s little outburst.

Aman stepped forward.  Priya caught his eye and shook her head, warning him not to get involved.  He ignored her and stepped beside her.

“Is everything alright?” he asked her father.

“Yes! Everything is great!” Priya’s father lied.

“I heard what she said.  If she’s not happy with this alliance, we don’t have to…” Aman trailed off.

“No! No no. She’s very happy.  She will marry you. There’s no need to worry.” Priya’s father assured Aman.

Aman and Priya looked at each other.  Priya’s father suddenly grabbed her arm and dragged her aside.

“You will get married to Aman or you will be dead to me. If you even think about refusing this marriage again, I will assume that I only have one daughter instead of two.”  Priya’s father hissed at her.

Priya froze.  She was completely in shock.  Tears began to fall.  She couldn’t do a thing to stop them. Her father had never spoken to her like that.  He was going to disown her if she didn’t marry Aman.  How could he?

“Baba, I can’t ma-” Priya started to whisper.

“Priya,” Aman suddenly interrupted her.

Even though Priya’s father dragged her aside, Aman heard every word.  He himself was shocked at the ultimatum Priya’s father presented to her.  He eyes were glued to Priya’s father.  He looked incredulously at the demon before him, a demon that could rival even someone as malicious as his own father.

“We’ll get married,” said Aman firmly.

Priya’s father smiled.  His anger disappeared almost instantly.

“Great! I’ll see that the announcement is made at the end of the night.” Said Priya’s father.  He looked back at Priya, who was still crying.  His expression softened, but he did not attempt to comfort her.  He stalked away back into the crowd towards Aman’s father.

Aman saw Priya’s father whisper something to his father.  His father looked up at him and smiled.  He patted Sanjeev, Priya’s father, on the back and they toasted excitedly.  Aman’s jaw clenched.  What kind of fathers celebrated their children’s unhappiness?

Aman turned back to Priya. She continued to cry.  Some people around them began to stare at her, curious at what was the matter.  Aman grabbed Priya’s arm and led her out of the room where the party was being held.  Once they were in the hallway, Priya stopped.

“How could he say that to me?” she asked in barely a whisper, “Why is he being so adamant about this marriage?”

“Priya, you don’t know, do you?” Aman asked unsurely.

Priya gave him a questioning look, and then shook her head.  Tears continued to stream down her face, but she was calmer now.  Aman stepped closer to hear, lifting a hand to wipe away her tears.  Priya stepped back and lifted the end of her sari to wipe her tears.

“Come with me.” Aman said, seizing her hand and pulling her towards the exit.

Once outside, Aman took Priya around the back to where the cars were parked.  He spotted his limousine.  His driver was not present.  Aman reached into his pocket and took out a spare set of keys.  He unlocked the limo and opened the back seat door.  He took out a file that was lying on the seat and handed it to Priya.

“What is this?” asked Priya, opening the file and looking through the papers.  Inside were business projections and figures that made no sense to her.  She could decipher, however, that the projections showed quite a large profit in the near future.

“This alliance, our marriage is to strengthen our father’s mergers.” Said Aman resolutely.

“What? Our marriage…a business deal?” asked Priya incredulously.

Tears formed in Priya’s eyes again.  She began to cry.  Aman felt guilty.  She had been crying nearly all night.  First, his plan had made her cry.  Then, her father made her cry.  Now, he had made her cry once again.

“Priya,” he whispered.  He desperately wanted to calm her down.

“This…This can’t be happening.  How can he do this?” Priya questioned.  She was crying harder now.

Aman walked up to Priya.  He wanted to envelope her in a hug, but something inside of him told him it wouldn’t be appropriate.  He had never made a girl cry before.  Even though this wasn’t entirely his fault, he felt that some of the blame belonged to him.

“I’m sorry, Priya.” Said Aman quietly.  What was going on? Aman Verma was apologizing?! He was apologizing for something that wasn’t even his fault.

“It’s not your f-fault.” Priya said through her tears.  She began to wipe away those tears.

“We should go back inside.” Suggested Aman.

Priya nodded and followed him back inside.

“Didi! Where have you been? Baba has been calling you? He wants you on stage now.” Payal called as soon as Priya stepped foot into party.

Payal glanced at Aman, who entered right behind Priya.

“Jija-ji, you too.  Uncle wants you on stage.” Payal said.  She took Priya’s hand and pulled her towards to front.  Aman followed.

The two climbed onto the stage and stood next to their fathers.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Please, may I have your attention?” Aman’s father was speaking into a microphone.  He waited for the crowd to quiet down.

“Today, we have gathered to celebrate my friend, Sanjeev’s, new international business ventures. “ he patted Priya’s father’s back as the crowd erupted in applause.

“However, today we have decided to make this business partnership even stronger.”  Continued Aman’s father.

“Yes, we will soon be family.” Added Priya’s father.

Priya’s eyes widened in disbelief.  She knew what was about to happen.  Aman looked just as surprised.  He looked down at Priya, giving her a knowing look.

“We are proud to announce the marriage of my son, Aman, to Sanjeev’s daughter, Priya!”

So what did you guys think? I felt so bad for Priya :(   Anyways, do comment and tell me what you think.  Also, do you guys want a chapter about their wedding or should I just fast forward to them in NYC after they get married? Comment below and tell me.

Don’t forget to vote as well! Thanks!