Arranged to love

#5: More like a devil.

Chapter Five: "More like a devil."

"What are you doing here?" a voice startled Meera as she looked back to find the owner of the voice. Ajay. Oh boy.

"The observatory is open to public, anyone can be here" she replied coolly as she leaned against the railing, looking up the the night sky which was void of stars that day. A few seconds had passed when another figure joined her, his body pressed against the railing right next to her.

"What are you doing" she asked Ajay who for some reason was standing next to her. "It's open to public, anyone can be here remember?" he replied cheekily, repeating her words from before.

"You can't live without annoying me, can you?" she asked. He was only there for a few minutes but he was already getting on her nerves.

"Annoying you?" he asked, his face marring a fake expression of shock, "I'm only enjoying the starless night view" he said, dramatically sighing in pleasure while looking up.

Meera heaved a sigh, not saying anything in return. There wasn't anything to say anyway. She had come up after dinner instead of going to her room. It was late at night and no one else was at the observatory apart from her. Well, at least until Ajay showed up.

"You'd think anyone can tell by first glance that we don't get along" Meera mused. "Yea but somehow I'm stuck with you" Ajay huffed in reply.

"Lucky for you, you're future wife is an angel but my partner is baboon" she teased, a smirk playing on her lips as she spoke.

"Angel my ass. More like a devil" he murmured, earning himself a slap on the arm by the girl who he just called devil.

"See what I mean?" he teased, using her slap to prove his point which earned him a second one.

"Okay okay I'll stop! Jeez woman" he said, trying to get her to stop hitting his poor arm. "Think before saying something about me then" she smiled in victory to which Ajay rolled his eyes.

"Hi I'm sorry, do you think you can take a picture of us?" a voice asked them. Ajay and Meera turned towards the person to see an elderly woman in front of them while a man with silver hair, perceivably her husband stood a few feet away from them. In their bickering, Meera and Ajay had not realised the elderly couple entering the observatory.

"Oh sure sure" Meera said politely, taking the camera in her while the elderly lady joined her husband.

"Thank you dear, you guys make such a lovely couple" the man thanked them as the old but sweet couple made their way out.

"I'll never get used to us being a couple" Meera said, not knowing how to react to his comment. "But why would he think of us as a couple? It's not like we did anything to show we were one" she asked.

"Use your brain woman, you're alone in a hotel resort with a man about your age at literally one in the morning. We were staring at the sky as if we were on some romantic cliché date. What do you expect?" he chided.

"Right..." she replied as his words sunk in.

-

Engagement day

Meera was in her suite which was right now filled with various stylists for her hair, make up, outfit etc. In a couple of hours her engagement ceremony would start but she was already exhausted by the hours of preparing for it.

Meera always kept herself pretty and tidy but this was a whole new level. All her body hair was waxed, eyebrows and nails done. She even had to soak in three different baths containing various chemical concoctions for her skin to glow.