MY ORPHAN BRIDE

MEETING HIS GIRLFRIEND

ALICE

After my visit to the Fezong Mansion, things started to go smoothly.

I am so shocked to realize that it is already March, meaning college has reopened. And today is the last day of my 8 to 4 work at Chettri Book Shop.

From tomorrow I will have to wake up even earlier so that I can dispatch all the newspapers before going to college. And I will also have to do that every day, including Sunday.

It is good on one side and not so good on the other.

It is good in the point that I don’t need to be present in the shop except for my morning chore, but my monthly pay will be reduced to half of what I earn in the winter months.

‘Alice, deducting your one-day salary, your pay for the last month is Rs. 8100. You should be leaving the shop only after 8 A.M. and not before handing the keys to Amos.’

Handing a brown envelope, Mrs. Chettri told me with that cold glare. I nodded my head to prove to her that I understood everything that was being said.

Well, I am thankful to my boss for keeping me at work, paying 300 INR per day, counting every Sunday which happens to be my holiday, but even then they should understand that I was genuinely sick last Friday.

How could they even deduct my one-day pay? They are so ruthless sometimes.

They must know that I paid 500 just for visiting the doctor and there was more money flowing for my medical expenses.

'Ah! my life.'

Now I need to cut down on my expenses for the next whole month or I can also take in more home tuition.

I guess I need to talk to Mrs. Gupta once. Doing that can solve my problem, I am sure of that.

Mrs. Gupta is a neighbor of Mr. Singh, whose son I have been tutoring for almost a year now. If Mrs. Gupta agrees with my proposal, then I will be able to teach two more students with Mr. Singh’s son because she has 2 children.

I am always like this. I am so focused on earning and saving for the future that I don’t get time to think about anything else.

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I am so busy with myself that I even forgot everything about that issue with Mr. Fezong and his arrogant and uncultured and disrespecting grandson.

But this beautiful lady sitting across from me had to remind me about that damned person.

I can’t imagine that I am paying 250 for this cup of coffee just to learn that this lady and that cruel Managing Director are in a relationship with each other.

“Miss Nembang, I mean Miss Prerna Nembang, I am not interested in your boyfriend. You have to understand that he is a distant start, a mirage for me. I never saw him before that day and I don’t even dare to meet him in the future.” I said, as a matter of fact.

She smiled at me and I couldn’t help myself from thinking how can that fellow get such a pretty angel for himself.

He is the devil and she is so angelic. Maybe this is why it is said that opposite poles attract.

‘ It is such a relief to hear from you, Alice. You know he never denies whatever his grandfather asks him to do. I was so worried that he would leave me and when I heard from him that he had taken you to meet Fezong Senior, I felt my whole world crashing down on me.’

I was constantly looking at her every move, so I could even see moisture in her blue eyes. She was donning those blue contact lenses and I have to accept that those lenses were only adding to her elegance.

“Oh, Miss Nembang, that was just a formal meeting."

I suppose that must be a formal meeting only because I went there and returned immediately after an hour or so.

"There is no need to worry about me pestering your boyfriend. I will never come in between you two. It was so stupid of his grandfather to think that I would be willing to marry him."

'...'

"But more than anything, Mr. Fezong's choice would never be an orphan like me.” I smiled weakly, remembering the cold look that the Managing Director had that night.

‘Alice, you don’t have to pity yourself. I envy you because you are so young yet you are independently facing everything on your own. I wish I could be like you.’ she patted the back of my hand, and I cannot admire this lady more.

She is beautiful not only from her outlook, but she is beautiful from her heart and her thinking as well. I never had an image of rich people being polite and down-to-earth. She is a fairy; no, she is a goddess.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I made a new friend at the coffee shop today.

I never thought that Miss Prerna Nembang would be so loving and friendly that she would be lenient enough to share her contact number with me.

‘Alice, since you are alone, I want you to contact me whenever you need my help. I will be very happy to help you. You don’t have to think that you are alone, okay? From today onwards you are my younger sister.’

She said and told me to save her digits.

Even before I could reach home, she sent me friend requests on f*******: and overflowed my w******p with messages.

I replied to her texts and she took our conversation to another level because I was invited to her birthday party next Saturday. I will have to think about that though.

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I got all my winter assignments sorted in stick files.

Bhattacharya Madam gave us such an interesting assignment on ‘dualism and dichotomy in geographical thought’.

I enjoyed reading that topic and preparing that assignment so much. Almost every other professor has given us work on practical geography. I neatly placed the practical sheets in the geographer’s file and the stick files in my two-sided bag.

I have ironed my college uniform and polished my buckled shoe, which is shining black.

After arranging the necessary college items, I started counting the money that I had saved all those days.

I sorted my monthly rent, my travel fare, money for my lunch and practical sheets and that for my water and electricity bills for the next 3 months and still 15000 remained.

I have saved so much. I cannot be happier than this.

If I get Mrs. Gupta agreement, then I will be earning 8000 more per month.

[Wow congratulations Alice Nembang, you are going to be a rich girl]

I thought and laughed mentally.

Finally, all these savings and my plan to earn 8000 more per month is going to give me sweet dreams for another ten to fifteen days.