AUTHOR POV
"Leher..." he said in some what of a sad tone. "Leher, I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to say that. I'm so so sorry. I don't know what got into me. I'm really very sorry." He apologised, sincerely or not, he still apologised, Leher thought.
"Hmm...it's okay Abhi. It's my fault anyways, I shouldn't have cared for you. I'm sorry." She replied in a sarcastic way. "Leher come on yaar. Aisa mat kaho. I said that I'm sorry." "Okay, Abhi. Leave it. Baat khatm ho gayee. I'm fine, you're fine." Leher said with a smile, thinking that his apology is sincere.
Abhi nodded his head and went into their room. He came out with a file which made Leher's smile drop. 'So he came for the file and apologised out of pity?' She thought. She didn't want to overthink about it so she let it be. "Zyaada mat socho." Abhi said before leaving for his office. She nodded her head and chuckled while thinking 'He cares for me.'
JHARNA POV
"I can't do this, Rahul. Main yeh nahin kar sakti. Itna bada dhoka hum kaisen desakthe hein? It's not right, Rahul." I cried out loud while putting my head on his shoulder. I could feel his body stiffen. My tired body couldn't have cared less about our position. I just couldn't bare lying to everyone like this.
"Jharna I already told you this before. All of this was going to happen. I warned about this before. I told you before you signed it too." He said in a defensive manner. He's right. He told me about the situation. He told me about everything.
" I'm falling in love, Rahul. I'm in love with your family. I can't betray your family in the end. Let it be a matter of 1 year, I still can't do it. Please do something. Please." I sobbed loudly through my tears. Guilt was killing and eating me inside out. His family has been treating me like their own since day one and I'm sure their love for me will increase day by day. The thought of even betraying them after a year is not sitting right with me.
Rahul and I are in a contract marriage. It's only for a year. One year for me to succeed in my job and become independent and for him to convince his parents that we are not a good couple. He wanted a wife because of his family's pressure while I wanted to get out of my house. My parents were never my parents. They were more like the neighbourhood aunties who always taunt kids. They never treated me like their child so I never wanted to stay with them. And when Rahul, my nemesis and son of my boss, proposed this offer, I knew falling in love with him was impossible but his huge family was something I always envied. He warned me before that his family would me make fall in love with them in a week but it only took them two days.
"Don't behave like a child, Jharna. This was meant to happen." He said while trying to comfort me. My inner child was healing because of them and he's asking me not be childish. I scoffed."What has happened has happened, Rahul. What should I do now?" I asked him while still leaning on his shoulder and sobbing. "Fall in love...but with me." I stopped breathing because of his sentence. "Try it, Jharna. If you want to stay with my family then you either have to stay in our loveless arrangement or find love in me and stay here forever."
This can't be happening right now. It's not happening, right? Why is he asking me to fall in love? With him? I don't like him in that way. For a matter of fact, we're not even friends. He's my workplace nemesis. Always around me, gaslighting me and trying to get out my worst.
"Rahul, no. We can't sacrifice our whole life like that. We can't. We can't tolerate each other. We just can't. Let's not lie to each other, okay? I'll handle this, some or the other way." I said while trembling because of my tears. Without even looking at his face because I didn't have the guts, I left our room still trying to process what just happened.
AUTHOR POV
Rahul was frozen in his place, his eyes staring at the door that she left through. He wanted her in his life but he couldn't. He needed her but she didn't. She was his want but he was her option. He fell first but she didn't even care.
A single tear dropped in his palm. His tears came back for the first time since his maternal grandfather's death.
His hope didn't crash down but it did break. A little by little. But he was ready to wait for her. Convince her. Stay with her, forever.
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This chapter is a little too small but I hope you guys like it!
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The Mukherjee Family
Romance"All I wanted was your respect, Prem." "All I wanted was your love, Abhi." "All I wanted was an escape, Rahul." "But I got not even a bit of it." They said to their husbands. Do you think they can mend their relationship now? Do you think anything w...
