Kashinath’s pov

"Marry me, Arohi," I said out of the blue and I could see the horror on her face.

I had sprang it on her, immediately after kissing her.

And what a kiss it was…

Heavens! I have never had such an intense kiss before.

I have done much more than kissing in the past, but nothing has ever turned me on as much as Arohi's touch did.

I could still feel the thrumming in my veins. Her hardened nipples were protruding through her flimsy tee shirt and my mouth ached to take them in.

I could imagine myself sucking her in, while buried deep inside her, her lustrous dark hair sprawled across my pillow.

Damn! Stop fantasising about her Kashinath. It will simply complicate things.

The kiss now definitely did complicate things.

"What? Uh I think I misheard you. Could you please repeat what you just said?" Arohi asked with a confused frown on her face.

"You heard correctly. I said, marry me, Arohi," I repeated for her benefit and she gaped at me as if I had two heads.

"Are you crazy, Mr Agnivanshi? Marriage? Where is this coming from now?” She asked in total bewilderment.

She is confused! I can see that! What I don’t understand is, why isn’t she jumping in joy?

“Well, I don’t care whatever your reasons are. The answer is a big NO, Mr Agnivanshi.” She said with conviction.

I have never once in my life, imagined proposing someone for marriage, but I was always sure that if I ever come around to do so, the answer would always be a YES. Never ever, not even in my wildest imaginations did I think I would hear a resounding NO to my proposal.

“Listen carefully to my proposal before saying a No, Miss Sharma.” I said coldly.

“I can’t stand the sight of you for longer than two minutes, how do you figure me marrying you?” She asked with a scoff.

“Miss Sharma, your actions say something entirely different. You have been aroused by my touch. You enjoyed being kissed by me. You enjoyed everything that happened between us a few minutes ago.” I said, with a challenging look on her face.

She flushed embarrassedly, listening to me speaking about it so coolly.

How long has it been since I saw someone blush? Back in the teenage years probably!

I had thought that blushing women had become extinct now! Seems like they are just an endangered species now, not extinct yet!

“As I already said, I was a little too disoriented after my sleep. It would never have happened, had I been in my senses,” she said, avoiding my eyes.

“You and I both know that you are talking a whole load of bullsh*t, Arohi. Let’s not argue on that. Just listen to what I have on offer.” I said impatiently.

“Okay, shoot,” she said, folding her arms under her bust, unknowingly pushing them up. I willed myself to look away from the temptation and fix a solution to the problem I have got trapped in.

“I am not talking about a forever happily ever after, Arohi. I am not that kind of a man! I can never commit to one woman for the entire life. This is a temporary arrangement! Let’s say, just one year of your time. And you will be highly compensated for that.” I said and she gaped at me in horror.

TWO DAYS AGO

“Don’t lose your temper, Nath,” Alok warned me for the hundredth time, before entering Mr Brahma’s cabin.

“Agnivanshi, to what do I owe this pleasure?” The old man asked, as soon as his eyes met mine.

He gestured us to sit down and we did that.

“Mr Brahma, I heard that you backed out of the sale. I wanted to talk to you in person about it.” I said, straight to the point.

“How is your child and her mother, Agnivanshi?” Mr Brahma asked back, completely ignoring my words.

“Little Mia is doing good, Mr Brahma.” I said.

“And what about her mother?” He asked.

“I apologise, Mr Brahma, but Ms Maitra and I do not share any relationship now. So, I am unaware of her status now.” I said with as much politeness I could muster.

Mr Brahma shook his head in disapproval.

“A child needs both parents, Agnivanshi. I don’t think I can work with someone so ignorant about such things.” Mr Salavatore said.

“I agree, Mr Brahma. But having two unhappy parents will only be toxic for children.” I said, angry at myself for having to explain myself to an old man. I was desperate, else I would have walked out of here long back.

“Love would eventually grow, Agnivanshi.” Mr Brahma said.

“Not when I am in love with someone else.” I spoke impulsively.

When Alok mentioned marriage, I scoffed at the idea. But now it seems more and more correct.

This could be my one solution to all my problems.

All I have to do is find someone who could act as a temporary wife.

“You are in love?” He asked suspiciously.

“Yes. And I intend to marry her soon.” I lied without remorse.

“Mr Agnivanshi, don’t take me for a fool. I have known someone who did a temporary contract marriage to sign a deal with me. I will not let someone fool me again.” Mr Brahma said.

I have read about it in the news. Aryamann Mehrotra, a Mumbai based billionaire, married a waitress to bag a deal. It is totally another matter that they eventually fell in love and are happily married now.

Love! I scoffed! There is no such thing as love!

“I have no intentions of that, Mr Brahma.” I said, though I had every intention of finding a woman to do the temporary role.

“Really? Then tell me about her,” he said, shocking the hell out of me.

“What?” I asked in surprise.

“Since I called off the deal just a few hours ago, you wouldn’t have had time to come up with a temporary fiance. If what you are saying is true, tell me about her now,” he demanded.

“Her name is Arohi Sharma.”

Kashinath’s pov!

I felt Alok stiffening beside me, probably wondering what the hell I am upto.

"Arohi? Never heard of that name in any tabloids so far,” the old man said sarcastically. Seems like he has been doing some detailed research on my character.

“Because she is special. And she doesn’t enjoy the media attention much. She isn’t an actress or a supermodel, Mr Brahma. She is a simple girl.” I said, building up an image of Arohi in his head.

Why the hell did I even mention Arohi’s name?

I should have taken Diya Bhalla’s name. She has been sending me messages and calling me non stop for the last couple of weeks. In fact, from the night I ended our affair. 

Or I should have taken any names from my contact. Every single one of them would be too eager to play the role.

Then why the hell did I take Arohi Sharma’s name out of all the people?

“It sounds too convenient to my ears, Agnivanshi,” the old man said, narrowing his suspicious eyes at me.

“Well, I don’t think I have to prove it to you, Mr Brahma. It is true that I want to buy that property, my family property, back from you. But I will not drag Arohi into it.” I said, playing an overprotective fiance card for the old man’s benefit.

“You will give up the deal to protect this woman?” The old man asked, surprised at my words.

“Definitely. Nothing is more important than Arohi and my daughter. As it is, I already spent quite a lot of time away from them. I have to get back to them. They will be waiting for me in Kasauli. We were on a vacation when I got a call from Alok regarding the deal. Now it's time I got back home.” I said and stood up from the chair.

With a nod, I turned on my heels and walked towards the door. I counted down from ten in my head, waiting for him to stop me, because I am hundred percent sure that he will stop me.

Ten

Nine

Eight

Seven

Six…

“Wait,” the old man called out loudly and I smirked, victorious at having him take my bait.

“Yes, Mr Brahma?” I turned around, composing my features to neutral, and raised an eyebrow at him in query

“Maybe we can re think about the deal,” the old man said,

“We could, but it’s already late and I promised Arohi that I would be back before nightfall. And I hate to break my promises, Mr Brahma.” I said and he looked positively impressed at what I just said.

I mentally pumped a fist high in the air. 

“I understand, Mr Agnivanshi. I will get in touch with your legal team tomorrow. And I also want to invite you to my eightieth birthday party, which is being held in a couple of weeks.” The old man said.

“Ah! I will definitely try to come, Mr Brahma.”

“Please do bring your Arohi too,” he said. 

Damn! 

I didn’t expect that!

Well, I should have known that he would definitely want to meet the woman.

“Uh, as I said, she isn’t very fond of high profile events and media attention.” I said, trying to come up with an excuse.

“No worries. There will be no media. And it is a small event, with only the immediate family and a few friends. She will not feel uncomfortable,” the old man said and I had to grudgingly nod my head.

Once we walked out of his cabin and got into my car, I opened a can of soda. As I downed a  couple of mouthfuls of the coke, I could feel Alok' sharp eyes on me.

“What?” I snapped at him.

“Arohi Sharma? The new part time housekeeper?” Alok asked.

“Yes,” I bit out angrily.

“Why didn’t you tell me about your plan?” He asked.

“I didn’t know I had a plan until that name came out of my mouth.” I snapped at him, furious at myself for having to resort to such means for this deal.

Only if it weren’t that important…

“Right! Now it is time for damage control. How do we get her on board? What if she disagrees?” He asked and I let out a humourless chuckle.

“Everybody has a price, Alok. Even Arohi Sharma has one.” I said coldly.

“You are too cynical,” Alok muttered under his breath, but it was quite audible for me.

“I have seen the world, Alok. And I am too smart to look at it through rose tinted glasses.” I said dryly.

“Right! If you are sure she will agree…”

“When I quadrupled her salary, she agreed to be a companion for my daughter, without second thoughts. What if I offer her a straight one million US dollars? She will definitely latch on.” I said cynically.

PRESENT DAY

“I am not talking about a forever happily ever after, Arohi. I am not that kind of a man! I can never commit to one woman for the entire life. This is a temporary arrangement! Let’s say, just one year of your time. And you will be highly compensated for that” I said and she gaped at me in horror.

“What the hell are you talking about?” She asked in horror.

“A contract marriage. Just for one year. You give me one year of your time, act as my wife for the world, and in return you get one million dollars in cash.”

“You gotta be kidding me,” she said, her eyes wide in shock.

“No jokes. I am serious. One million US dollars. It means around eight crores Indian rupees. You will get twenty five percent of it once you sign the contract. Forty percent after the first six months and the remaining thirty percent when you sign the divorce papers.”