by P. G. Van
It had been just a week since Dheeraj proposed to her in front of two hundred people at the bar and less than an hour from the church wedding she had requested followed by a reception.
“I can’t believe you opted for a church wedding just because you didn’t find an auspicious day on the religious calendar,” her friend teased, and Anjali smiled at her but felt the shudder at the memory she tries hard to wipe out.
“I think it’s cool that you guys are getting married without any religious beliefs tied to it. Marriage is all about the hearts and their connection,” one friend said, and all her friends agreed.
“You look so beautiful, Anjali. Glowing bride.”
Anjali smiled at her friend and gave herself a final perusal after the team who had spent the last hour getting her prepped for the ceremony stepped away satisfied with their work. She looked at the image of the bride clad in a baby pink dress, the wide boat neck accentuating her broad shoulders, and the cinch at the middle showing off her narrow waist. The veil added a dramatic effect to the whole attire. She touched the necklace Dheeraj had given her to wear and smiled.
“So perfect… I want a church wedding, too,” Riya pouted.
“Ready to go, Anjali?” the wedding the coordinator stuck her head into the room to ask.
“Yes, in a minute.” Anjali’s voice was a whisper.
“Okay… which one of you ladies is walking her down the aisle?”
“All of them… I want all of them to walk with me,” Anjali stated looking at the wedding planner and knew that would upset the plans slightly, but she didn’t care.
“Okay, just watch your step, ladies. The aisle is not wide enough for all of you to walk side by side,” the wedding planner warned.
“We’ll figure it out,” her friend called out.
“Ready, Anjali?” her friend asked sending a jolt of energy through her.
“Yes,” she whispered and walked out of the dressing room and down the aisle where she knew Dheeraj was waiting for her. She hadn’t seen or talked to him in over a day, and she felt a strange apprehension. A feeling of walking into an examination hall, completely unprepared.
Anjali and her friends stopped behind closed double doors waiting for the wedding coordinator to open them.
“Anjali, last chance to run away. Just say the words.” Her friend giggled, and she smiled, shaking her head. However weird it felt, Anjali was not worried. In the few weeks she had known Dheeraj, he had become a friend. After the initial conversations, they connected well as friends making it that much easier to put on the show.
“I am happy you are with me, girls.” She blew her friends air kisses.
“Don’t make us ruin our eye makeup,” Riya said, blinking away tears.
Anjali and her friends looked at the double doors when the music started to play, and the heavy doors started to open slowly. She held her breath clasping the bouquet in her hands.
“Okay, Anjali. Showtime!” the wedding planner announced and stepped out of the way.
Anjali took a deep breath and walked down the aisle through the double doors, her eyes slightly lowered looking at the guests who were watching her.
“Oh my God, look at your fiancé. He surely broke a lot of hearts the night he proposed to you,” Neeta whispered making her eyes wander higher and to the front of the large room.
Anjali’s eyes met with Dheeraj’s dark eyes across the large room, and she gasped softly. He looked stunning in a tuxedo and a bow tie that looked like it was stitched on him to perfection. She had no doubt he would make a good model when he had told her about his hobby out of college, but the sight in front of her was mind-blowing.
Dheeraj stood looking at her, a beautiful smile playing on his lips looking like he walked out of a men’s fashion magazine. He was much taller than his friends who stood next to him and looked dapper in his stylish outfit.
Anjali smiled coyly at Dheeraj as she walked toward him, her eyes locked with his through the sheer veil. Although this was all part of the contract, she was enjoying every moment of it, and she hadn’t felt so relaxed in a long time.
Anjali’s friends gave her a group hug before stepping away to stand to one side. She slowly turned to look at Dheeraj as he took looked down at her, a decipherable expression on his face. She smiled up at him when he reached for the hem of the veil and lifted it draping the soft fabric over her head.
“You are beautiful,” he whispered, and she bit her lip smiling at him.
Dheeraj took her hands in his and looked down at her during the ceremony. The pastor cleared his throat to ask loudly if anyone opposed their union, and they said their ‘I Dos.’ Anjali felt a sting of guilt when she made the promise to love and cherish forever knowing this was an arrangement and also a short-lived one.
“By the power vested in me by God, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.” The pastor smiled at them.
The guests cheered as Dheeraj placed his hands on her shoulders. Butterflies took off in her stomach, and her eyes rolled shut when Dheeraj gently brushed his lips over hers. She dug her fingertips into his arms in response to the tremors she felt under her feet. The powerful moment was consuming her, and that was the only explanation she could come up with for her reaction.
Anjali let out a giggle when she saw her lipstick stain on his lips, and as if it was the most natural thing to do, she reached out and ran the pad of her thumb over his lips. She heard hoots and catcalls from their friends but what registered was the shudder she felt under her finger.
She looked into his eyes as he smiled at her and pressed his finger to her lips. “Thank you!”
“You do look like one of those hot models, Mr. Varma.” She smiled up at him.
“Thank you, Mrs. Varma.” His words made her stomach twist up, but she ignored it as wedding-day jitters. No escape from them even if the wedding was fake.
“You look tense. Take a deep breath.” He ran his lips over her ears.
“Wedding-day jitters, Mr. Husband.”
“Nothing wine cannot fix. We have an hour before we need to get ready for the reception, and I have a good collection in the hotel.” He laughed pulling her close to him as they walked out of the wedding chapel, the guests cheering the newlyweds.
Later that day, Anjali was in the bathroom putting on the final touches of makeup for the reception when she heard the hotel room door open. Dheeraj was waiting for her to go to the ballroom downstairs for the reception. She froze and let the mascara applicator stick to her lashes when she heard the voice of a woman just outside the door.
The woman’s voice was loud, but the words were not clear. Anjali put away the mascara and gave herself one final look before inching open the bathroom door. Her eyes fell on Dheeraj first, and he had his back to her. He was looking at the person who was speaking, and the woman did not sound happy.
“You couldn’t wait for me?” the woman demanded, and Anjali opened the door slightly to look at her. The woman was a stranger and not anyone of Dheeraj’s friends she had met over the last few weeks. The woman was not dressed for a wedding or the reception but looked tired. Her eyes were puffy and red like she hadn’t slept in days.
Who was she and why was she so upset with Dheeraj?
“Richa, calm down.” Dheeraj placed his hands on her shoulders.
“How do you expect me to stay calm? You decide to get married when I am away. You are pathetic!”
“Richa, I—”
“Yes, you told me you didn’t believe in marriage and that it was too much work to maintain a relationship, but now, you get married within a matter of weeks? And you didn’t even tell me.” She flung one of the pillows on the couch at him missing him by inches.
“Richa, if you calm down, I will explain.” He laughed, and Anjali heard the door of the suite open.
“Raj, my man… Congratulations…I am so proud of you.” Anjali heard a man’s voice.
“Rohan, we are mad at him. Don’t you dare smile at him.” Richa s
ounded even more pissed.
Anjali peeked and saw a man, who seemed to be Dheeraj’s age, hug him. “So happy for you, brother!”
“Am I the only one pissed he didn’t tell us about the wedding?”
Both men ducked when the woman flung another pillow and started walking toward them, another pillow in her hand.
Dheeraj stepped in front of the woman holding her hands to stop her from flinging things at him and was laughing.
“Not funny, Dheeraj,” she growled, trying to wiggle out of Dheeraj’s hold.
Anjali watched with an odd feeling churning in her stomach, unable to put her finger on the reason for the uneasiness as she saw the affection in Dheeraj’s eyes for the woman.
Dheeraj held her hands together and led her back to the couch and forced her to sit down. “Rohan, can you come take care of your wife?”
“Dude, she was your friend first, you guys sort out your mess.” Rohan sat on the couch next to Dheeraj, laughing.
The couple seemed to be his good friends, and Anjali wondered if Dheeraj was going to tell his friends about the contract. She knew she was eavesdropping but could not get herself to step away or join the conversation.
The woman moved closer to her husband, and she was out of Anjali’s sight, and Dheeraj stood up to face the couple with his back to Anjali.
“Richa, I don’t know how to explain it. I had not thought about marriage, and I hadn’t until I met Geetanjali.”
“Who the heck is this Geetanjali and how do we not know her? And why now? Is this how you are dealing with what happened recently?” Richa asked, her anger simmering down.
“She is my wife, Richa.” Dheeraj sounded angry.
“Yeah, does she have five boobs and ten hands? It’s my job to make sure you are not marrying some gold-digger because when this comes down, I’ll be the one to pull you out of that shit,” the woman spat, and Anjali had to bite her lips to stop herself from giggling.
“Richa, behave yourself,” the woman’s husband warned.
Dheeraj smiled and brushed the comment away. “I know I didn’t tell you guys sooner about my marriage, but everything happened so fast. There just wasn’t time.”
“Are you really happy?” Richa asked.
“Richa, I met Geetanjali and decided to get married. I didn’t decide to get married and go looking for a woman. I need you to accept this as it is. You are a good friend and will always be the person who I would blindly trust.”
“I just don’t get it.” The woman’s voice was muffled like she hid her face in her hands. “You didn’t have the decency to wait for our flight to land, so we could at least attend your wedding?”
“Richa, you know it’s not like that.” Dheeraj stepped closer to her, and she picked up another pillow and started hitting him.
“Go away, Dheeraj. I’m very angry with you for more than one reason.” She continued to attack him with the pillow, and Dheeraj laughed fighting her back. They pushed each other around laughing, and finally Richa stopped the pillow attack when Dheeraj twisted her arm over her back.
“Last time. I will let you go if you promise you won’t hit me again with a pillow.”
“I will hit you for sure. You made us miss your wedding. Rohan punch him for me.” She laughed.
“I will throw you out of the reception if you don’t stop,” Dheeraj ordered.
“Fine, fine… let me go, idiot.”
Anjali felt the pinch of jealousy from that conversation and how Dheeraj and Richa interacted. That kind of a relationship was foreign to her, and the way Richa was interacting with Dheeraj left a sour taste in Anjali’s mouth.
Was she feeling possessive about him?
She stood in the bathroom, her back to the wall next to the door, unsure of the right time to make herself visible.
“Geetanjali.” Dheeraj’s voice brought her back from her thoughts, and she looked at him, wiping the edge of her eyes.
“I’m ready to go, Dheeraj.” Her voice was wobbly.
“Good. Come with me.” Dheeraj took her hand and led her into the living area where the woman sat on the couch dabbing her eyes.
“Richa and Rohan, meet my new wife, Geetanjali.”
The couple looked up but did not move from their spot, and Anjali stood by him and gave her a small smile.
“Richa is my childhood friend and her husband, Rohan, and I went to college together. Rohan and I also work together on a few ventures. They feel awful about missing our wedding but will attend our reception.”
Anjali fought her initial dislike toward the woman’s behavior that aroused out of her jealousy and walked over to the couch and sat next to Richa. “Dheeraj has told me so many things about you guys. I have been eager to meet you.”
Richa’s eyes widened. “He did?”
Dheeraj chuckled, and Anjali continued with her storytelling. “Dheeraj wanted you to be here for the wedding, but I was the one insistent on the date of the wedding. While selecting the wedding dates, I realized we could get married on my mother’s birthday which is today. I wanted that to be part of my memory because my parents passed away in an accident when I was five.”
“I’m sorry,” Richa murmured.
“I know how much you help him out with the ventures, Rohan. He told me numerous times in the short time we’ve been together that you run a tight ship for him.” Anjali had no idea what she was saying and hoped they wouldn’t call her on her bullshit.
“Indeed,” Dheeraj added, and that seemed to pacify Richa who seemed upset about not attending the wedding.
“Fine, I forgive you for picking a time when we couldn’t attend the wedding.” Richa laughed.
“Rohan, I timed it so that you will be back, and I can go on my honeymoon. I will still be available to take phone calls, but you run the show from here.” He laughed, and Rohan ran his fist into Dheeraj’s shoulder.
“Okay, I need to go get dressed. We’ll see you guys on the dance floor.” Richa laughed as she left pulling Rohan with her.
Dheeraj locked the door and came back looking at Anjali.
“What are you smiling about?” Anjali asked when he continued to smile at her in silence, standing a foot away from her.
“I’m impressed. Richa was pissed, and I’m glad you talked to her.”
Anjali smiled. “Do they know about us?”
Dheeraj shook his head. “Rules are rules. No one knows, but it’s not because I don’t trust people to keep it a secret. I just don’t want people to know, for many reasons.”
Anjali nodded. “Understood.”
“Ready to rock ‘n’ roll?” he teased as if to lighten the mood.
Anjali smiled at him. “I’m excited to see you dance.”
“I’m excited to dance with you.”
“Stop flirting with me, Dheeraj. We are not in public.”
“That’s right, I was still in character.” He winked.
“You can go back to being in character as soon as we step out of this room.” She laughed.
“I am glad Richa and Rohan are back. I’m really looking forward to the trip to Bali.”
“Our honeymoon… me, too. I have my Kindle loaded with books I can read by the pool, by the beach… exciting.”
“What do you read?” He raised a curious eyebrow.
“Fiction… romance.”
He chuckled.
“What?”
“I’m sure there are a lot of books with such marriage contracts.” He smiled.
“Yes, but every one of them is different, and I’m sure ours is different in its own way.”
Dheeraj smiled.
Yes, it was different. The contract was just getting started, and he was worried what would happen when he told her the real reason for the marriage contract.
Chapter 7
Anjali and Dheeraj were on day four of their week-long honeymoon, and just like the previous few days, they had spent that morning visiting the tourist spots and returned to the resort late afternoon to relax b
y the beach. The resort had a private beach that was open only to their guests.
Dheeraj grumbled out of his short nap when his phone started to ring. “I’m on my fucking honeymoon.”
Anjali laughed looking up at him and showed him her cheek as he bent down to kiss her like it was the most natural thing to do, before answering the phone and walking down the small slope to the private beach.
She felt awkward when they stepped into their honeymoon suite that was decked up for a special night. Dheeraj had lightened the setting, and she was thankful for the way he was which made it less weird. They pretended to be a loving couple the moment they stepped into the public eye, but at other times, they pretty much kept to themselves or sat on the couch next to each other doing their own thing. The standard was him playing video games on the console and her reading her book on the Kindle.
The most embarrassing moment was when she woke up sprawled over his bare chest, and her hand very close to his crotch area. She was thankful Dheeraj was fast asleep, and she had made it a point to hug a pillow in her sleep.
Anjali smiled to herself at the memory and looked up from her Kindle, and her eyes wandered to the open sea. She took a deep breath and looked around, and her eyes stopped wandering when she noticed a man standing behind one of the trees taking pictures of Dheeraj. She lifted her sunglasses and confirmed it was the same man who Dheeraj had suspected to be stalking them for unknown reasons.
Dheeraj didn’t think the man was harmful and that someone was out there to prove that their marriage was fake. She dropped her sunglasses back on her nose and put her Kindle away. She adjusted her sarong and walked down the sandy path to where Dheeraj stood talking on the phone. He had his back to her, and she didn’t want to bother him while he attended to the phone call but wanted to give the creepy man the proof he wanted.
Anjali walked up to Dheeraj and ran her hand up his chest from behind. He stilled for a second, and his words faltered but steadied himself as she flattened her chest and cheek on his back. He took her hand to his mouth kissing her fingers one by one as he continued the conversation.