Chapter Two
1172 Words
The Double Date
The restaurant was elegant but intimate — soft golden lighting, live sitar in the background, city lights spilling through the glass walls.
This wasn’t a boardroom.
But it was still negotiation.
The four of them sat at a circular table.
Rudransh at the head instinctively.
Shreya noticed.
Sahil beside him — relaxed, easy smile.
Aadhya between Shreya and Rudransh, slightly nervous but trying to appear confident.
For a moment, silence hovered.
Then Sahil clapped his hands lightly. “Alright. Since this is apparently our pre-marital evaluation, let’s make it less awkward. Rapid fire?”
Shreya raised a brow. “This isn’t a game show.”
“It could be,” he grinned. “Question one — dream career, if family legacy didn’t exist?”
“Astrophysicist,” Aadhya blurted.
Three heads turned to her.
She blinked. “What? Architecture is practical. Space is fascinating.”
Rudransh’s lips twitched faintly. “Unexpected.”
Shreya smirked softly. “She wanted to build cities on Mars when she was ten.”
Sahil laughed. “I would’ve invested.”
“You invest in everything?” Shreya asked smoothly.
“Only profitable ventures.”
“Ah,” she replied coolly. “So marriage qualifies?”
The table stilled slightly.
Sahil leaned back. “Doesn’t it?”
Rudransh interjected calmly, “Marriage is stability. Stability builds empires.”
Aadhya frowned lightly. “Or cages people.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Shreya’s eyes flickered toward her — warning.
But Rudransh didn’t look offended.
He looked… intrigued.
“And you feel caged?” he asked her.
Aadhya hesitated.
“I feel… unconsulted.”
That landed harder than accusation.
Sahil’s playful expression dimmed slightly.
Shreya spoke before the silence deepened. “Transparency isn’t exactly our parents’ strongest trait.”
Sahil nodded slowly. “Agreed.”
Rudransh’s gaze moved between the sisters. “Would you have refused?”
Shreya held his eyes. “If given the option? I would’ve negotiated.”
“And you?” he asked Aadhya.
She thought for a second.
“I would’ve wanted to meet the person first.”
A small, honest answer.
Sahil smiled softly at her. “Fair enough.”
Halfway through dinner, the earlier interruption happened.
A woman approached the table.
Confident. Familiar.
“Sahil. You disappear without warning now?”
Shreya noticed Aadhya stiffen.
Sahil stood. “Naina, this isn’t—”
Shreya cut in smoothly, rising with controlled grace.
“Hi. I’m Shreya. His fiancée.”
The word was deliberate.
Naina’s gaze flickered between all four of them.
“Oh.”
Rudransh observed everything silently.
Naina left after a tight smile.
When Shreya sat back down, Sahil exhaled. “That wasn’t necessary.”
“It was,” she replied evenly. “Clarity prevents embarrassment.”
“For whom?” he asked.
“For my sister.”
The air shifted.
Aadhya looked confused. “Why would I be embarrassed?”
Shreya softened instantly. “You wouldn’t. That’s the point.”
Rudransh understood.
Sahil leaned forward slightly. “Relax. I’m not reckless.”
Rudransh finally spoke — voice calm but firm.
“She’s young.”
Aadhya’s brows furrowed. “I’m sitting right here.”
Rudransh met her gaze. “And you deserve someone who doesn’t treat marriage like a social calendar update.”
The table went quiet.
Sahil’s jaw tightened faintly. “I don’t.”
“Good,” Rudransh replied.
Aadhya looked between them, uneasy. “Why are you talking about me like I’m fragile?”
Shreya answered this time.
“Because you are trusting.”
“And that’s wrong?”
“In this world?” Rudransh said quietly. “It can be.”
Aadhya studied him carefully.
“And are you manipulative, Mr. Shekhawat?”
Sahil almost choked on his drink.
Rudransh didn’t smile.
“I’m realistic.”
“Same thing,” she replied softly.
For the first time, something unguarded flashed in his eyes.
Not offense.
Interest.
When dessert arrived, the tension had settled into something different.
Not hostility.
Awareness.
Sahil found himself watching Shreya — the way she handled situations without raising her voice.
Rudransh found himself noticing how easily Aadhya laughed once she relaxed.
Shreya noticed Rudransh watching her sister.
And she did not like it.
As they stood to leave, Rudransh spoke quietly to Sahil, but not quietly enough.
“Take care of her.”
Aadhya heard it.
Her steps faltered.
“I’m not a responsibility,” she said firmly.
Rudransh looked at her — truly looked at her.
“No,” he said. “You’re not.”
But his tone held something else.
Concern.
And something dangerously close to protectiveness.
Shreya saw it.
And for the first time, a thought crossed her mind—
This arrangement might not go the way anyone planned.
Next Day:
Shreya sat by the window, staring at the darkened city skyline. The faint glow of streetlights reflected off the glass, but nothing brightened the weight pressing down on her chest.
The engagement date had been fixed. Not discussed, not negotiated. Fixed. Her parents had already announced it internally — the media invitations, the seating arrangements, the florists. Every detail had been mapped out. And neither she nor Aadhya had a say.
Shreya’s fingers tightened around the mug in her hands. She felt the tremor she never let anyone see. Her mind raced, replaying the rooftop dinner, Aadhya’s innocent laughter, Rudransh’s watchful eyes, and Sahil’s charm.
Her younger sister. Only twenty-one. Bright, trusting, unaware.
Shreya swallowed hard, forcing herself to stand. She couldn’t wait. She couldn’t allow Aadhya to be caught in this world unprepared. Not yet.
Later that night, she found Aadhya in her room, sketching blueprints for a building she would probably never design. The soft golden light from the lamp fell across her delicate features, and Shreya felt a pang of fear tighten in her chest.
“Aadhya…” she began softly.
The younger girl looked up, innocent and unknowing. “What is it, Di?”
Shreya sat beside her and took a deep breath. “I need to make a promise to you.”
Aadhya tilted her head. “What kind of promise?”
Shreya’s voice was steady, firm. “No matter what happens… no matter what our parents decide… I will protect you. I promised myself that the moment I realized what they were planning. I won’t let anyone take advantage of you. Not in this marriage. Not in any arrangement.”
Aadhya’s eyes glistened, a mixture of gratitude and worry. “Even if we have to… defy them?”
Shreya’s jaw tightened. “Especially then.”
She reached out and held Aadhya’s hand, squeezing it gently. “You can trust me. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I swear it.”
The younger girl leaned against her, the weight of fear and hope mingling in the quiet room.
Shreya closed her eyes for a moment, letting herself absorb the promise she had made — a promise that might be the only thing standing between Aadhya and a life she hadn’t chosen.
- Writer
