Armaan's POV:

The media posted positive news in favor of Aadesh Mehra while some news channels were against it as they demanded more money from us. And if I would have bought every channel then people might doubt it so I let it be. Investigators studied the case and came to me explaining it, "Armaan Sir, it was a well-planned trap. Aadesh sir got to the party around eight-thirty, and some politicians were present at the party as well. A girl came around him and guards threw her out, the security was a little distracted and then got attentive. But in the meantime his drink was drugged, Aadesh sir got the idea that something was wrong so he decided to stay in his booked suite which was at that time getting cleaned by some maids. Security arranged the suite to take out the maids but one girl hid in the bathroom, she's Rakhi Dixit."

"Sir, when we dig deeper in this girl's history her mother is suffering from mouth cancer and her father is a gambler. She belongs to an underprivileged broke family and was offered 30 lakhs for this, we tracked her down to get the details about the bank accounts that transferred the money but they were smart enough to use a government scholarship account and transferred the same amount to five other girls as well. We can bribe the girl and suppress this case..." after hearing them I stayed silent for a while.

I'm not giving a shit to this girl, she used her women's card to get advantages and ruined my brother's image with false rape charges. These kinds of accusations are a shame for the real rape victims "Get this girl's father and make him drink close to his limit then get a video recorded of his confession because the girl mentioned him as a cook but he wasn't able to stand on his foot due to his alcohol consumption during a news interview. Make him spill everything then call the girl and we will have a friendly chit-chat with her about this issue." They nodded and left my office.

Yash came inside with an annoying grin on his face, "What!" I asked him carelessly arranging the files on my desk. "Sister-in-law sent this..." he waved the folder in the air, I subconsciously smiled opening the folder then cleared my throat seeing it was a document related to the campaign. Yash laughed and snorted like a pig and falls on the couch laughing, "Oh... God... I will die due to laughter..." he snorts one more time and I threw the file at him. "Give this file to the team not me and go die..." he cackled "I already did that two weeks ago you were the one who ordered it but I didn't mention it was from her, just brought it today to play with you mentioning her name..." he left the office chuckling.

Standing up from my chair I walked around and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass wall. With the glorious Pune's spectacular night view, this place has a different place in my heart. My father when first introduced me to this business world it was this sector of Pune later, we brought the consecutive buildings and expanded our business. I studied at the University of Delhi and did my master's at Stanford University. Life was all good till I met her she showed me the good side of the world away from money rats then she left pushing me in the dark.

"Sir... Mr. Mehra is here to meet you... when should I let him in..." why is he here? "Okay let him in... I have time for the second meeting..." she nodded and left. After a few minutes, Mr. Mehra came inside my office, "It's so good to meet you Armaan... how's your father doing..." he wants something from me, "Great" I replied and gestured for him to sit. He smiled and explained, "I won't take much of your time as you're a busy person... so I would directly come to the point..." that's good for me. I sat on the leather chair and nodded, "Sure".

Rajkund took adjusted his tie and expressed, "I came back after my little break and get along with my daughter. When I got to know about you, she surely loves you from the bottom of her heart. So, I being his father, is offering you her hand for marriage..." I sniffed to make sure he was not drunk or high. A girl like Ishita would never jump to the conclusion of marriage after a single kiss. I know her that much after getting along with her and as much as I know she hates her father.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Because I don't, we barely know each other and just signed a single deal together that doesn't make her feel anything for me." I tried to keep it less harsh. Rajkund trails his brow with his thumb, "I don't want to interrupt in your personal life neither of my daughters but... after that kiss, she has felt something for you... yes, she told me about it as well and I couldn't stop myself from coming here and having a talk with you." My blood chilled as it felt all like a dream. If she did then she's not the only one...

"Armaan, you have a lot of potential, and your family is respected in society as well which father wouldn't want his daughter to marry a handsome bachelor like you. I trust my daughter's choice and want her to be happy..." I looked down this is good but it didn't feel right Ishita should know me before taking the steps towards marriage isn't she rushing things. Rajkund went on "...everything that she owns is yours after you get married to her. As I want my son-in-law to take my business to the height. It would be better if we from competitors become alliance and be the superior in this industry."

I don't know what's cooking in his brain but he surely has some wrong intentions for Ishita, "Okay... I will give it a thought then talk with her on this topic then let you know..." he grinned and replied, "If you say yes, then contact her. If you say no, let me know since I don't want to wreck my relationship with my daughter." I nodded in response. Rajkund added, "My daughter can be a little snobbish but she loves you and your family is the most powerful in this country. So, I don't think it would be a problem to control her erratic behavior." He stood up to leave, "But I don't have her contact number..." he was startled, "Um... she could be shy with these... take this..." he wrote the number on a flash pad and forward it to me before leaving my office, I stayed silent to understand the situation. I could have easily got her number but I did it on purpose to make him rethink it if we don't have each other's numbers then how is it possible to think about marriage?

Getting back home I took a long shower thinking about her, then changed into a polo t-shirt and sweatpants. Mom knocked on the door before entering, "I went to the temple today and wished for your good health, long and happy life..." she brought a red thread called Kalava. And wrapped it around my wrist, "Thanks Maa..." she kissed my cheeks. "Get married and find a wife to do these... how long am I going to do these? My bones are started shredding calcium..." she started her drama again. "Oh, really, I thought you were my darling..." pulling her cheeks I commented which made her chuckle.

"Seriously Armaan, get married now it is a perfect age. I even wished today in the temple for a daughter-in-law..." she said caressing my cheek, I mumbled under my breath "He heard it pretty soon... make me richer than Elon Musk... grow wings on my back like Lucifer... now he won't listen... damn" Mom nudged me, "Hey are you even listening what I'm saying... okay tell me the last word I said..." I glimpsed at her, "Um... girl... wife..." she slaps her forehead, "God..." before she can ask anything from God I closed her mouth, "It's late... God might be sleeping..." she slapped my hand away. "I was talking about visiting your grandparents in Udaipur..." we chatted for a while and finally she got tired from speaking and advised me to sleep early. I was going to until she walked in here and chatted for two freaking hours. Hitting the bed, I closed my eyes and her beautiful face flashed in front of me, I can't marry Ishita.

I choose a plain white shirt, blue pants suit and black loafers for today as I'm going to meet her. To politely decline her I thought to take flowers with me so that later she can burn them. Parking my black car in the parking lot of her building I walked up to the receptionist who directly showed me the elevator. Opening her office door I heard her yelling, "I don't care okay... I don't care... they were here uninvited and I saw the opportunity so I took it... now if they wanna back off I don't care but Rajkund is going to face the consequences for disrespecting me in that meeting... don't let these touch the media as I don't want any problem in my sister's wedding..." wow she looks hot in that slim fit and surely, she isn't in a good mood.

Knocking the door, I tried to get her attention she turned and battled her lashes, "Yeah, that's it... thank you for any help you can offer..." she ended the call and motioned me to come and sit but I walked to her and kissed her cheeks. She blushed I don't want her to open my head after hearing about the rejection. "Good morning..." I mumbled and handed her the flowers she looked at me in confusion. "It just became good... and thank you for these but today isn't my birthday." She placed it on her desk with her alluring smile.

"Well, your father came to meet me..." her jaw dropped to the floor as I explained everything to her. She mumbled senselessly, "He did what? but I didn't tell him any of this... what the... is this some kind of his sick jokes. He can't just drag someone in my life like this... and please don't knit dreams because I don't even know you how can I like you or get ready to marry you..." she massaged her forehead sitting back. I don't know why but I felt bad for her as her father was the one ruining her life and giving her unnecessary headaches.

"Hey... don't worry I won't be forcing you to fall in love with me and marry me. It is up to you as you mentioned we don't know each other. But don't just say no to it directly think about it maybe you will get to know what your father is trying to do by offering me a marriage proposal without your consent... hang with it for a few days..." She looked up at me and nodded understanding what I meant. Then I asked something I wanted to know for a very long time, "Why your father is so against you and wants you to fall flat on your face?".

She battled in her mind and then replied, "He has introduced Vikram Malhotra and wants him to take over half of the business and undeniably I'm against it. When I'm his daughter and the one who worked investing herself in this business then how can he just picks a crazy nutjob from the slums and make him sit on the CEO chair. It's like a child sitting on a stack of chairs certainly high from his reach and undoubtedly non-deserving..." her last example made me chuckle it draws her attention and she smiled slightly rolling her eyes.

I stood up and caressed her cheek with my right hand, "Don't worry, I will kick his ass if he came to me again and will surely give him the example of a child sitting on the stack of chairs..." she passed me a smile then noted what I was doing. Pulling my hand back I smiled at her awkwardly, my body just works in her control wanting to touch her and feel her evidently in a good way. Saving me from the awkward silence between us someone knocked on her door, "come in" she answered and her assistant came inside. I had a meeting then I would be leaving for a business trip so I stood up and took my leave she thanked me for confronting her. Pressing the elevator button, it closed and opened to the ground floor. 

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