6 months later
If a man spends months planning the perfect proposal, complete with amazing chefs, live music, and a sunset skyline — the universe will almost certainly cue rain.
And Shivaay Singh Oberoi? He’d planned everything.
Well. Almost everything.
“We’re in Mumbai for just two days,” he told her casually as they landed. “I need to check on a Ahuja project.”
Anika replied. “I am glad you let me tag along. Bohut yaad aarahi thi iss sheher ki ”
He had smiled, the practiced, disarming kind. “I am thrilled you agreed to come.”
He’d distracted her with a box of her favorite jalebis during the flight hours.
What she didn’t know was that for the last few weeks, he’d secretly orchestrated the redesign of the very café where they first sat across from each other — awkward, stubborn, and about to enter a ridiculous fake-girlfriend agreement that would flip their worlds.
He’d bought the café. He’d flown in three of her favorite chefs, the ones she had sighed about during late-night food shows and usual rants. He’d hired a live band to play soft music that matched the exact playlist she listens to on a daily basis.
And now, the place looked like a page out of a fairytale. An open-air space. Terracotta pots climbing the walls. Her favorite flowers — lilies tucked in every nook.
It was going to be perfect.
He was going to take her hand, walk her through that memory, and say, “You came into my life as a deal, but I stayed because you undid me.”
That was the line. He had practiced it at least fifty times.
But Mumbai?
Mumbai had other plans.
___________________________
He had been playing it cool since the morning.
“Hey, I was thinking,” he said casually over breakfast. “Want to go out tonight? We are leaving tomorrow”
Anika, sleepy-eyed and curled in his oversized hoodie, looked up. “A date?”
“Ji nahi, jagrata rakha hai. Of course it is a date,” he said with a shrug. “We’re in Mumbai. Thought it might be fun.”
She smiled, warm and easy. “Thats a yes”
She agreed, kissed his cheek, and went back to her tea. She had no idea that he already had the entire evening planned down to the second.
The dress — custom, midnight blue, picked out weeks ago — arrived at their hotel room around 4:00 p.m. with a simple note:
“Wear this tonight. Driver will pick you up. I might be running late — pretend to be surprised.”
–S
She laughed when she read it, completely unaware that somewhere across the city, Shivaay was pacing around the renovated café, checking audio, yelling at decorators, and making sure every damn frangipani petal was placed exactly the way she liked it.
____________________________
At 6:08 p.m., right as the chefs began plating her favorite dishes, the sky cracked.
It was one of those rare April showers — uninvited, moody, and absolutely merciless.
“No, no, no, no, no—” Shivaay muttered watching chaos unfold. The violinist slipped. One of the flower carts overturned with a crash due to the wind.
YOU ARE READING
The GIRLFRIEND Deal
Romance"The best relationships usually begin unexpectedly" Shivaay Singh Oberoi, a heartbroken lover whose ex betrayed him after a successful relationship of 5 years. His faith on love ceases to zero. Anika, an aspiring Interior designer does local plays...
