Bhumi's POV:

"What did you do??" Bani shrieked in horror.

"I signed a legal contract with Aryamann Mehrotra stating that I will stay married to him for a year," I said tentatively.

"Are you insane, Bhumi? What were you even thinking?" Arohi asked me in disbelief.

"Listen, I know you two are concerned about me. But I had no other option. We lost our jobs. We need to save up every single dime if we have to join the university. So what was I supposed to do?" I asked softly.

"We could have found another job, Bhumi. You didn't have to do this," Bani said as though it was obvious.

"And what? He would find me again and make sure that I get fired from there too. And he will fire you two, to get at me," I said, knowing very well now that it would be how he would have reacted. He is wealthy and powerful enough to do that.

"But Bhumi—"

"It's not a big deal, girls. Just a year. Then it will be over. We will be free from Mehrotra forever," I said, trying to convince them.

"It is not that easy, Bhumi. And I don't want you to get hurt when all this gets over," Bani, the ever-sensible girl said.

"Why would I get hurt?" I asked in confusion.

"I don't want you to be heartbroken, Bhumi. He is a heartbreaker. You have lost too much in life already. You won't be able to handle another loss. Think again, sweetie," Bani said, trying to get sense into my head, and Arohi nodded in agreement.

"I know. I know I won't be able to handle another loss. But I don't have any feelings for him. So why do we have to worry about that?" I asked in confusion.

"We can't predict what will happen in the future, Bhumi. All we want to say is that he won't be there to catch you when you fall," Arohi said warningly.

I didn't say anything.

I didn't know what to say.

Why does everyone think that I am going to fall in love with him?

I am getting into this with a clear mind. I know what to expect and what not to expect.

Then why waste your energy worrying over nothing.

"Just be careful, okay?" Bani said, and I nodded just for her relief.

"OMG!!! I can't believe you are getting married to one of the hottest bachelors in the world!" Arohi squealed, lightening the situation.

That's Arohi for you.

She could be dead serious one moment and rolling on the floor laughing the next.

"You will never change, Roohi," I said, rolling my eyes.

The next morning, I was rudely awakened by Arohi's screaming.

I groaned and opened my eyes, only to see her standing in front of me with her hands on her hips.

"What?? Why are you screaming?? I was having a very nice sleep, Roohi," I said, rubbing my eyes and sitting up on the bed.

"Your fiancé is crazy!!" She said huffing in annoyance.

Fiancé? What the hell is she talking about?

"Fiancé?? What are you talking about??" I asked in absolute confusion.

"Aryamann Mehrotra," she said, staring at me as if I am a dimwit.

Everything that happened yesterday came rushing to my brain.

I can't believe I almost forgot about such an important thing.

"What did he do now??" I asked. I was already fed up with him.

"Why don't you get out of that bed and see for yourself?" She said.

I got up and quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face and went out of the apartment to see a well-built man around six feet in height standing there. He is almost as tall as Aryamann.

"Good morning, Ma'am," he said stiffly.

"Good morning? May I know who you are?" I asked politely.

"Jai Kapoor, Ma'am. I am your personal protection officer from today," he said in a monotonous voice.

"Personal Protection Officer? You mean a bodyguard??" I asked with a slight frown on my face.

"Uh. Well, yes, Ma'am," he said, sounding unsure.

"I don't need a bodyguard. You can go back to wherever you came from," I said.

"Sorry, Ma'am. But I have strict instructions to be with you wherever and whenever you go," he said again in that monotonous voice.

"Give me a moment. Let me talk to that ass*ole of a fiancé of mine," I said gritting my teeth in annoyance.

I went inside and dialled his number.

"Aryamann Mehrotra," he said as soon as he answered the call.

"Mr. Mehrotra. What do you think of yourself? I don't want a bodyguard. So tell him to leave my place at once," I yelled at him through the phone.

"Keep your voice down, kitten. And there will be no arguments on this matter. I am a successful man, and I have many opponents in both professional and personal life. And I don't want to take any risk," he said.

"Why do you even care for my safety?" I asked daringly.

"Well, sorry to break the bubble, kitten. I don't care much about your safety. I want you to be safe because, for the next one year, you will be my wife. Now I can't go around and find someone new to do your role, can I?" He asked.

I knew that he didn't care. Then why does it hurt?

Come on, Bhumi. Don't be ridiculous. He means nothing to you.

"You are an a*shole," I yelled at him.

"Thank you for the compliment, Ms. Basu," he said.

"Go to hell, Mr. Mehrotra," I said and hung up the call.

Relax, Bhumi. Stay calm.

Temper is not going to get you anywhere.

I went outside to see my bodyguard, Oops, personal protection officer.

"You had breakfast?" I asked.

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"What did you have for breakfast?" I asked.

"Coffee," he said, and I rolled my eyes.

"That doesn't count as breakfast, Mr Kapoor," I said.

"Uh..."

"Please come inside," I motioned him to get inside my apartment.

Arohi and Bani already left for their shift.

I asked him to make himself comfortable on the couch and went to get ready for work.

After getting ready, I went to the kitchen to make some toast.

I made toast for myself and my bodyguard, Jai Kapoor.

"Hey Mr Kapoor, come have breakfast," I called out loudly.

"Uh, thank you, but no thank you, ma'am," he said.

"First thing, stop calling me ma'am. I feel old," I said, making a face.

"Sure, Ms. Basu," he said.

"That makes me feel better," I said sarcastically.

"Uh..."

"It is Bhumi," I said, flicking my hair in my usual style.

"But ma'am," he said, and I gave him my best puppy dog face.

"Fine. Bhumi it is," he said, and I grinned victoriously.

"Now come have breakfast with me, Mr Kapoor," I said again, giving him my best puppy dog face.

I know no one can resist my puppy dog face.

I have been told many times.

"Fine," he said, raising his hands in defeat.

I placed a bread sandwich on his plate with a cup of coffee, and I settled myself for my Nutella sandwich.

I saw him looking at my Nutella bottle.

"Don't even think about it," I said and snatched my Nutella bottle away from him, and he looked at me amused.

"I wasn't," he defended himself.

"Good for you. Keep one thing in mind, Kapoor. I will share anything and everything but my chocolate. If we are stuck on another planet and you ask me to share my oxygen cylinder with you, I will happily do that. But I will never ever share my chocolate," I said in a warning tone.

I am just warning him. He is going to spend most of his time with me. So he better learn not to get on my bad side.

"Noted, ma'am," he said, and I glared at him.

"I mean Bhumi," he corrected himself quickly.

We finished our breakfast, and I told him to wait for me in the lobby.

I went and searched for the spare helmet I got once. I hope it fits him.

I went down to the lobby and saw him standing near the car in attention.

Seriously? Is someone playing the national anthem somewhere? Because he is always standing in attention.

I walked towards my scooty, and he saw me walking away from the car and rushed towards me.

"Bhumi. Where are you going?" He asked me, and I tossed the helmet towards him, and he caught it in time.

"For work," I said.

"But the car is over there," he said, pointing at the car.

"We are going in my scooty. Now be a good boy and hop on. I don't want to get late for work. So come on. Chop chop," I said hurrying him.

I got into the scooty, and he followed suit.

I can sense that he is not comfortable sitting behind me. Well, he is a bit too tall for my scooty.

"Seriously dude? What kind of a bodyguard are you? You can't even sit still in a two-wheeler. Will you please stop squirming? Or else we are going to crash somewhere. I don't want to die. I am too young for that," I yelled at him.

"You are rambling," he said.

"No. I am just talking," I argued.

"Then you talk too much," he said.

"I am talking less today as you are still a stranger to me," I said.

"Then I would like to stay as a stranger itself," he mumbled.

"I heard that."

Aryamann's POV:

I appointed a personal protection officer for her.

I know she would freak out. And that is one of the reasons why I did that.

The other being protecting an investment.

And guess what? She freaked out.

Mission accomplished.

And she had the nerve to hang up on me. I am the one who hangs up the call. Not the other way around. This girl definitely needs to learn who the boss is.

Well, I have enough time to teach her.

First things first. We need to make our first public appearance.

For that, I am going to take her out on a date at some popular restaurant.

I dialled her number to inform her about the date, but she didn't pick up her phone.

So I dialled Jai's number instead.

And he picked it up on the third ring.

"Jai Kapoor," he greeted.

"Jai, where is Bhumi?" I asked, and I could hear a lot of commotion from the other side.

"Mr. Mehrotra, we are travelling," he said.

"What? And you picked up the call while driving?" I yelled at him. How can he be so careless?

"Definitely no, Mr. Mehrotra. Bhumi is the one who is driving," he said.

"What the hell. That's my new car. Does she even know how to drive?" I asked in disbelief.

"Mr. Mehrotra, we are riding on Bhumi's two-wheeler," I heard him say.

They are already on a first-name basis?

"Two-wheeler? Fine. Whatever. Why are you calling her Bhumi? Aren't you so strict on keeping things professional?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well, she told me to call her Bhumi and not Ms. Basu," he said.

"And you started calling her Bhumi. I have been telling you to call me Aryamann for god knows how long. And you call me Mr. Mehrotra," I said accusingly.

"Uh, she was giving me this puppy dog face, and I couldn't resist," he said.

"Unbelievable! And why are you late?" I asked.

"Uh. We had breakfast, and that got us late," he said awkwardly.

"You had breakfast together?" I asked, frowning.

"Uh, Mr. Mehrotra. As I told you already, her puppy dog face," he said.

"You are a bodyguard, Jai. You are not supposed to melt at some silly puppy dog faces," I said rudely.

"I apologise, Mr. Mehrotra," he said.

"Whatever, tell her to call me once you reach there," I said and hung up the call.

Bhumi Basu. You will be the death of me.

A/n

Please do vote and comment...

Love,

SF❤️