yours sincerely Mrs. Bajaj

The letter

Niharika was waiting for Hedhran at his office. It was almost quarter to eight, still there was no sign of him. He was not the type to be late.
He treasured each second of his life .

She was sweating  and her heart was going thousands miles per second. It was beating so fast that she could hardly control her breathing. She got off the chair and started moving around..

"Relax... Relax" She tried to calm herself.

She wanted to talk with him about the offer. She finally decided to accept the offer. It would save her whole family. She was ready to do anything for  her family, Even if it meant forging a deal with the devil himself. Moreover it was just for two years.  She tried to relax herself, but it was not working. She was  at the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"It would be so hard to have a face to face talk  with him", she thought. She needed time to prepare herself.  she debated the possibilities for a long time and  finally came up with a brilliant idea. She decided to write a letter and leave it at his desk for him to see. That would be better than any embarrassing confrontations.
Hence she wrote.

Mr. Hedhran Bajaj,
        
             I accept your offer. You were indeed right about my financial situation.. I am in dire need of  money.  I am definitely not in a position to turn down such an enticing offer. The most appealing part of the offer is the possibility of getting into a partnership with you, the kindest man in the whole world.

Yours sincerely
Niharika Menon.

                  ****
While Niharika busied herself with the letter, Hedhran was going through another kind of torture. He had just returned from his morning run, when his mother  along with his aunt confronted him.

"Come to my room. I want to show you something".his mother demanded.

" What is it? "

"I don't think I should answer that. Meet me in my room in 10 minutes. You better not pull anything. I will kill you, if you tried anything"

Jeez. This woman.. He thought.

"I will not escape"

"You know  I don't trust you"

"Whatever".

As per her order, he went to his mother's room, only to find  the entire Bajaj family gathered in it.
 
Hell no. It was going to be that marriage bullshit again. They were definitely planning to give him another lecture. He thought.

Only if they did. Rather it was something even more torturous.
They  practically shoved photos of  all the unmarried women in their circle at his face .

"See this girl, she is Riya Mathur, a doctor. Isn't she beautiful?? his grandmother asked.

" She has a boyfriend."  hiya said.

"What about this girl?. This is bhavya. "

"Definitely no. She barely speaks. He needs someone who would keep him in his toes"  said Nandhini Bajaj aka his mother.

"He needs  a bride who  can kick his ass" Harsh declared

"No.he needs someone who will love him, just the way he is" Siya, his cousin said.

"Nandhini! , Hema! . Let's organise a party. A party would be a very good excuse for meeting all the desirable girls. " his dadi said.

The torture continued for hours. He tried to excuse himself, but his mother just ignored his pleas. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop it. I like someone. I was going to confess today."

The entire room fell silent. Nobody spoke. Everyone gaped at him. Some looked shocked,  while majority looked surprised, his mother looked doubtful.

"Who is it" Nandhini asked.

"Niharika.Niharika Menon". 

Good God!!!! What was wrong with me ?? She didn't even agree for it. Hedhran internally argued with himself.

" Your Assistant ? " Rahul Bajaj asked.

"Yes. Dad."

" Does  she like you? "Nandhini asked

" We are in a relationship ".

" That's why you  always come late at night. " Harsh said

"Harsh!!! " Nandhini glared at him.

" How long has it been? " Dadi asked.

" A year".

" Are you  guys serious ? " His uncle, Rishi asked.

"Yes. We are. "

"Do you wish to marry her? " asked Hema.

" Yes. I have already asked her"
He said.

At least  that was not completely  a lie. He did asked her to marry him.

"Just yesterday. You were completely against the idea of marriage" Nandhini said.

"I was confused. It was a bit complicated. "

"What exactly was the complication? "

"Nandhini. Stop interrogating him. Let him breathe".said Rahul

" I was worried that you might not accept her."

"Why would we do that? The Bajajs never estimate someone based on their background. Nevertheless,
we would like to meet her. We want to see things with our own eyes." Said his dadu.

"Yes. Bring her tomorrow itself" Nandhini said. He knew his mother very well. She was a hard nut to crack. Obviously, she didn't believe him.

"Tomorrow? "

"Is there a problem? "

"No. I will bring her. "

                         ****
By the time he reached the office, it was almost ten. He was already irritated but his irritation tripled when he didn't see his  assistant at her desk. Furiously he settled himself on his chair, which creaked under his weight. It took him a minute to notice the letter Niharika wrote. He read it quickly and was quite satisfied with the content except for the sarcastic dig she took at him towards the end of the letter. He pulled out her phone and called her.

"Come to my office. We have many things to do".

With that he ended the call without even waiting for her reply.

.

𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 . 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚜.
𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝?.