Bhumi's POV!

"So, how do you want our wedding to be?" I heard Aryamann asking me.

Yesterday, after dropping the marriage bomb, he was asking me how I wanted the wedding to be.

I looked at him in disbelief. Last night, I laughed it off, thinking he was simply kidding. But it seems like he wasn't. He appears dead serious now.

Okay! That was part of the contract. To get married. The sooner we get married, the sooner one year will be over, and I can go my own way after that.

But, the word marriage brought the telltale jitters along with it.

"Court wedding will do," I just breathed out, and he was stunned hearing that.

He looked at me as if I grew a new pair of horns.

What is so shocking? This is not a real wedding, so I don't want to follow all the rituals. That would be like mocking the entire purity of marriage.

I am not ready for that. I would like to have a proper wedding at a temple when I finally find the one for me.

A far distant dream for now.

We reached Mumbai around evening. Aryamann said he would drop us at our apartment block. I was too tired after the journey and fell asleep in the car. Aryamann must have dropped us at the apartment and left for his place. But I don't even remember how I reached my bed. I remember getting into Aryamann's car from the airport, and when I opened my eyes, I was on my bed.

I woke up only because I was damn hungry, and Arohi and Bani are still asleep.

As I was rummaging through the kitchen cupboards looking for anything to eat, the doorbell went off.

I groaned, walking towards the door.

Opening the door, I was excited to see J standing there with a silly grin on his face.

"Hey J. Long time no see," I said cheekily, and he rolled his eyes.

"We met on the day before you left for Pune, remember Bhumi?" He asked, pinching my cheeks.

Yup, he may not be my bodyguard anymore, but he still visits me most of the days. He insisted on coming to Pune with me, but I refused.

"That's long, long back," I said, extending my arms on either side, showing how long it has been.

"It sure is. Will you let me in, Bhumi?" He asked, and that's when I noticed we were still at the door.

"Oops. I was so happy to see you after so many days, that I forgot my manners," I said, winking at him, and he shook his head, mumbling a 'drama queen' under his breath.

He kept a paper bag on the dining table, and I looked at him confused.

"It is just takeout from Burgeria. I thought you would like some food," he said, and I lunged at him, hugging the life out of him.

"You are my God, Jai. I was so damn hungry, you know. Seems like you have some telepathic connection with me. You always seem to know when I am hungry," I said excitedly.

"Can't breathe, Bhumi," he breathed out, and I let go immediately.

"So sorry, J. I was so happy that I couldn't stop myself," I said, grinning at him.

"Of course you would be. Only food can bring such a high-voltage smile to your face. You are crazy," he said, shaking his head in amusement.

I didn't wait anymore and just dug into the burger and fries.

Heaven! This is what you call heaven!

"So, I heard about your little adventure yesterday," he said as he took a fry from my paper plate.

"You knew? How did you know?" I asked as I took my plate out of his reach.

I simply don't like to share food. Even with the person who bought it for me.

"Yes, darling. It is all over the tabloids," he said with a light chuckle.

"Arghh. That is so embarrassing. Now I might be the damsel in distress in everyone's eyes. I hate to be seen like that," I said, groaning in irritation.

"Quite the opposite, really. Rumours are that the kidnappers were actually thanking the policemen for saving them from you. God! What all bullsh*t people keep writing," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Well, that might not be bullsh*t. Because I kind of annoyed the hell out of the kidnappers," I said and explained everything that happened, and he doubled over in laughter.

"It's not that funny, okay," I said, glaring at him for laughing at me.

"Gaurav said the same yesterday after he got the call from Aryamann. And I thought he was kidding. Knowing you, I should have believed it right away," he said, and I rolled my eyes.

"You people were making fun of me behind my back. Traitors," I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Of course not. Madhuri was like 'Oh My God! She's so awesome. I am a big fan of hers' and all. She was literally fangirling over you," he said, rolling his eyes with a fond smile on his face.

"Madhuri who?" I asked in confusion.

"Madhuri Kaur," he said.

"Oh, you are friends with her?" I asked, and he chuckled at that.

"She is my sister, Bhumi," he said, and I looked at him confused.

"She was Madhuri Kapoor until she got married to Siddharth Kaur and became Madhuri Kaur," he said with a shrug.

"Wait a second, that means you are that Kapoor," I asked, looking at him in utter disbelief.

"What do you mean by 'that Kapoor'?" He asked, frowning in confusion.

"Kapoors. One of the most powerful families in Mumbai," I said, looking at him in wonder.

"Hmm, you can say that," he said, shrugging casually.

"Then why the hell were you working as my bodyguard? You are filthy rich," I said, looking at him in disbelief.

He is as rich as the Mehrotras. Then why would he work as a bodyguard for me?

"I didn't want to join the family business, Bhumi. I wanted to do something on my own. To start from scratch. So I started a security agency. And Aryamann wanted the best security agent for you, so I took the role myself. I have served as a fighter pilot for a few years and have been trained to face any kind of attacks," he said.

Wow. He had everything on his fingertips, and he chose to be on his own. He chose to serve the nation first, and then he chose to make a living on his own without depending on his family fortune.

"That was great, J. I am so proud of you. I am so proud to call myself your friend," I said, looking at him in awe.

I heard the doorbell ringing and opened the door to see Aryamann standing outside my apartment.

"Aryamann? You here? Did you forget something?" I asked in confusion, because we just parted a few hours ago.

"Can I come inside?" He asked, and I nodded and stepped aside so that he could come in.

He walked in and stopped dead in his tracks on seeing J.

Not again. What is their problem actually? I thought they were friends. Then why are they always at loggerheads.

"Hey, Aryamann," J greeted him with a wave.

"What are you doing here, Jai?" Aryamann asked in a not so pleasant tone.

"Visiting my bestie," J said, shrugging, and I smiled at that.

"Well, if you could please excuse us, we have a wedding to discuss," Aryamann said, pointing at the door.

"Aryamann, don't be rude," I chided, and he sighed.

"We need to discuss things, Bhumi. We need privacy," he said, and I looked at J apologetically.

"J," I trailed off.

"Hey, it's okay, baby doll. I am leaving anyways," He said and walked towards me and gave me a brief hug.

"Hey, remember what I said last week? If he is being overbearing, we can elope. The offer is still standing," he said, winking at me and walking out leaving a laughing me and furious Aryamann behind.

"He was just kidding, Aryamann," I said, rolling my eyes.

He walked towards the couch and made himself comfortable.

"I didn't know Jai belonged to one of the richest and most powerful families in Mumbai," I said, still trying to come to terms with that new piece of information.

"And how come you know now?" Aryamann asked.

"He was talking about his sister, and the topic came up. He is really great, isn't he? He gave up the family fortune, served the nation, and started from scratch," I said in awe.

"What is so great about it?" He asked coldly.

"Of course it is great," I said, looking at him in disbelief.

"It is not as easy to work in the family business as you think. I too have a business separate from the family business," He said furiously.

Now why the hell is he being furious?

"Easier than starting from zero, right?" I asked.

"Look who's talking. You don't even have a degree, and you are talking about how easy it is to work in the family business. If you know nothing, do some research. Mehrotra Industries never faced a downfall after I joined the business. I worked hard for that. And you, who doesn't even have a degree, who knows nothing but to serve coffee and dessert, are talking about easy," he said in a really pissed off tone and walked out of my apartment.

Why the hell is he pissed off?

And did he just call me illiterate?

How dare he?

*****

I was fuming by now.

How dare he say that to me...

Mehrotra Industries didn't face any downfall after he joined, right?

I just want to vent my anger.

What to do? What to do? What to do?

Bingo!

I walked towards my room and took my laptop and my coding diary.

I connected my WiFi and logged onto the Mehrotra website first.

I am going to corrupt the website. Even if it is for an hour, it would satisfy my anger for now.

As soon as I opened my coding diary, memories rushed into my mind

'What are you doing Ansh?'

'This is called coding, Bhumi bear. You won't understand, darling.'

'Then teach me Ansh. I want to learn.'

'Okay. I will teach you. But you have to promise me never to misuse it.'

'Don't you trust me, Ansh.'

'Of course I do. You are my heart, Bhumi bear.'

'And you are my heartbeat, Ansh.' I said giggling at our usual dialogues.

"You are still my heartbeat, Ansh. But I am sorry. I have to do this. I am breaking my promise to you. Please forgive me, Ansh."

I went on with my coding and created a bug that could shut down the website for maybe an hour. The IT team would definitely figure it out and fix it soon.

As soon as the bug was made and transferred to the website I shut down my laptop.

Sorry, Ansh.

Aryamann is too much overbearing. He just needs to be taught a lesson.

""""''

Aryamann's pov!

I walked out of her apartment, too furious for some unknown reason.

I didn't know what came over me. I just couldn't stand her praising Jai like that.

There was an awe in her voice, wonder in her eyes when she talked about Jai. And I simply couldn't bear it.

Why was I feeling like that??

It shouldn't matter to me.

As long as she plays her part of our deal, I should be happy and leave her to her devices. Then why am I getting bothered with anything and everything related to her.

My phone rang, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Aryamann Mehrotra," I said as I picked up the call without even looking at the caller ID.

"Hey. Where are you? Daksh bhaiyya said you were back from Pune." I heard Gaurav say.

"I am going back to the office." I said coldly.

"Oh. But where are you now?" Gaurav asked again.

"I was at Bhumi's place. Came here to discuss something important." I said, wanting to put an end to Gaurav's questions.

"Ah Bhumi." Gaurav said in a teasing tone.

"Shut up, Gaurav." I chided, knowing where he was going with his teasing.

"You have been with her the whole of yesterday. And you dropped her off mere hours ago at her apartment. You are again there to meet her. Can't stay away brother?" He asked, and I could literally imagine the teasing smirk on his face.

"I don't have time for this loose talk, Gaurav. And just for the record, I feel nothing for Bhumi. She is my hired bride. Whatever is between us, is pure business. So don't build up hopes of me getting settled with her. That is not going to happen." I said harshly, much for my benefit, rather than Gaurav's.

"Aryamann.."

"See you in the office." I said and hung up the call, without waiting for him to respond. 

A/N

Sorry for the delay guys...

The last few chapters, I had scheduled in wattpad a week before itself. I thought today's chapter was also scheduled. I didn't realise until I saw the comments asking for updates...

A fair reminder, I wrote this book a few years ago. I was too immature while writing this that now reading all this doesn't make any sense to me. How a twelfth pass girl could do coding and create a bug enough to mess up with an MNC website is beyond me...lol🤪  Please bear with the stupidities🙈 

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Love,

SF❤️