"Will you marry me today ? "

Naina's POV

Next day I woke up and it was almost ten in the morning.

I freshened up and went in the hall to see Mr. Brown eyes.

"Naina, meet Mr. Ranveer Singhania," Dad officially introduced me to him.

"He is saying that I dont have to pay him money," Dad exclaimed excitedly and I looked at Ranveer shockingly to find that he was already staring at me.

"What?"

"But you have to marry him," Dad said casually as if it was the most common statement.

"What?" I shouted.

How lucky I was to get shocks after shocks in a minute.

"If you marry him we does not have to pay the money."

I went towards Ranveer and stood in front of him.

"Why do you want to marry me?" I asked him.

"I don't need to tell you the reason," he said.

"That means there is a reason," I said and he did not meet my eyes and then I looked at Dad.

"I also don't know the reason Naina," Dad said.

"Either you marry me or you have to return me the money," he said.

"What about my life?" I shouted.

"Either you marry me or you have to return me the money," he said, again.

"I hate you," I said and went to my room.

Sameer!

I can't marry him.

I have to go and meet Sameer.

Yesterday when he said he loves me I planned my whole future with him.

I got ready and went in the hall to see that Ranveer had already gone.

I went towards the bus stop and took a bus to Sameer's house.

My stop came and I got down from the bus.

After some minutes of walking I reached his house.

I rang the bell and waited for some time as I knew his Mom and Dad were at work and maybe he was still sleeping.

"Naina?" he was shocked to see me but then asked me to come inside.

"Sameer I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" he asked.

"Will you marry me today?" I asked and he was shocked after hearing me.

"What… I mean… Is everything fine?" he stuttered.

"Nothing is fine. Please, tell me, can you marry me today?" I asked again.

"Naina yesterday we finished our exam and I confessed my feelings for you and you didn't even say that you love me. You said you liked me and all of a sudden you want me to marry you? I want to get a job and I think I want minimum three to four years to get a stable job and then I will think of marrying you but for now marriage is the least in my priority list."

"Three to four years?" I asked.

"Naina is everything okay?" he asked.

Three to four years !

"You think I want to marry now? I also want to get a job, work and save money for few years and then get married but everything is messed up," I said.

"What happened Naina?" he asked.

I told him everything.

"Get married to him," he said after few minutes of silence.

What?

"Are you out of your mind? You confessed your love to me and now you are asking me to marry him?" I shouted.

"Get married to him and after some years divorce him," he said casually and I widened my eyes in shock.

"Are you out of your mind?" I asked him.

"Do you really love me?" I asked.

"Naina I really love you, not from few months but from a long time but we have no other option," he said and I was confused.

"If you will not get married to him then you will have to give him five lakhs and you don't have that much amount with you. I also don't have that much money otherwise I would have helped you so get married and after some years divorce him."

"But if he will not divorce me?" I asked.

"He had to divorce you if you lie that he physically abuses you and we will show some marks on your body so that police can believe he abuses you," he said.

No.

This is not right.

"But this will be wrong with him," I said.

"He didn't even think before asking you to get married to him and he put conditions in front of your Dad so that you had to get married to him and you are thinking about him? I love you and I want to spend rest of my life with you so you have to do this. Okay?" he asked and after thinking for some time I nodded my head in a yes.

"But if he... I mean after marriage he will be my husband and if he... you know… force me?" I asked hesitantly.

"Tell him that you are not comfortable and you need some time," he said.

"Will this excuse work for so many years?" I asked.

"Go with this excuse for few months and then make up some another excuse," he said.

I felt that this is not right.

"Look Naina, we have no other option as he can also harm your Dad," he said.

"Really?" I asked.

I have never thought about this.

"You said he is the boss of the company and he is rich and maybe has strong connection so he can harm your Dad," he explained.

He took my mobile and deleted his number.

"Till that time we should not talk as he should not know about us," he said.

"So are you okay with this plan?" he asked and I nodded in a yes and hugged him and started crying.

"Stop crying and we will get out of this situation together. Now be a strong girl and do as I said," he said breaking our hug.

"I am so angry at Dad for taking money from him," I said.

"I can understand but he is your Dad and even if he is wrong, but he has only taken care of you from the day you were born," he said and I nodded in a yes.

Before I could say anything further my mobile started ringing and I saw that Dad was calling me.

"I have to leave," I said and he hugged me.

"Be strong Naina," he said and broke our hug.

As soon as I reached home I told Dad to call Ranveer and inform him that I was ready to marry him.

Dad called my name but I went inside my room, locked it and cried my heart out.

I looked at Mom's picture.

"I am sorry Mom, I know I am doing wrong by betraying Ranveer but he had not left me with any other option. He had pulled me into the mess Dad made and I don't know why he is marrying me, but I know he has some reason behind it."

"Mom I know you will be upset with me for doing this with Ranveer but he ruined all my plans and my future with Sameer and as he said if I do not agree to marry him I don't know how will Dad repay the money and he can hurt Dad and even though I am upset at Dad but I can't see him hurt so I will go with the plan we both made."

After few minutes I wiped my tears and went out of the room and saw that Dad was sitting on the sofa.

How can Dad bring me into the middle of his mess?

"I know Naina you hate me right now, but trust me Ranveer sir is best for you and the years I worked with him I realized he was the best boss but I took advantage of his nice behaviour."

"If I had not agreed to marry him, what were you going to do?" I asked.

"That's not important," he said.

He was also hiding something from me.

Everyone is hiding things from me.

"Please forgive me. I realized how wrong I was and please don't hate me because I can't stay with your hate for the rest of my life," he said.

"Our relation can never be the same Dad but you are my Dad and I will always care for you," I said and he pulled me in his arms and hugged me.

"I am sorry Naina, I am extremely sorry. The pain I caused you will always haunt me."

"Promise me you will not go to club and you will not drink," I said.

"I promise I will try Naina," he said after we broke our hug.

"Your drinking has cost me my whole life Dad," I told him as I remembered the day Sameer proposed me.

"I know Naina and that's why I will try to stop drinking," he said.

"I will go and see if Kamla aunty is there," I said and went out.

I went to meet our neighbour Kamla aunty and rang the doorbell.

After Dad she was the one close to me but we didn't talk much since last few years as she started taking tuitions at evening and in the morning I was busy with school and college.

"Naina," she greeted me as soon as she opened the door.

"Aunty," I said and hugged her and started crying out aloud.

"What happened Naina?" she asked and she was caressing my back.

"I am getting married aunty," I said and I could seee the surprise on her face.

"Come and sit down and tell me everything," she said and we sat on sofa and I told her everything.

"Marriage is not a joke Naina," she said.

"I know aunty but I have no other option," I told her.

"Even though I love you like my own daughter, still I can't interfere in your family matters so if you are getting married and if Ranveer is a nice human being then give Ranveer a chance," she said.

Aunty, I can't give him a chance.

He ruined my plans of living happily ever after with Sameer.

I am doing this only for Dad as I can't see him on his knees begging and I don't want Ranveer to harm my Dad as Sameer said.

How can he be a good human being if he is marrying me forcefully?

"Give him a chance as marriage is a very big step," aunty's voice broke me out of my thoughts as she told me the same thing once again.

Sorry, aunty, I can't give him a chance as he ruined all my plans with Sameer.

"Whenever I will get married I want you there," I told her.

"Of course I will be there at my daughter's wedding," she said as she kissed my cheeks and once again I hugged her.

*****

I came to my house and went in my room.

After lunch Dad called Ranveer and said that I agreed to the proposal.

"He wants to meet you today at his office by 4 p.m," Dad said after cutting the call.

Why does he want to meet me?

*****