The contract wife

chapter 1

Loud music blast through the gym of the penthouse as Avinash laid on the padded bench lifting the barbell. Sweat dripped from his forehead and from nape, his bare torso was covered in sweat beads by the time he completed his reps. He picked the towel and wiped the sweat off his body before he moved to the treadmill to continue his workout.

An hour later he was done with his complete workout and removed the head band and raked his fingers through his hair. He opened the door to the balcony and sat sipping the protein.

He returned to his room and walked straight into the washroom. Discarding his clothes he stood under the shower and the steam blinded the glasses of the shower cubicle. He wrapped a towel around his waist and dried the water from his hair with another towel as he entered the closet.

Picking up the charcoal black three piece suit he got ready and stood before the mirror. He set his hair and sprayed the cologne all ready for his business.

He reached the living and was greeted by his PA Sumanth holding ipad in his hand. Before his PA could read out his appointments his mobile started blaring and his lips curved upwards on seeing the call from his granny Radha. He answered the call and sat on the couch gesturing his PA to get his coffee.

Avinash: Good morning darling, you made my day with your call this morning. How are you granny ?

Radha: I m doing good my super star. Do you even have the idea of visiting me anytime or should I take an appointment to meet my grandson?

Avinash: I will leave a billion dollar deal behind just to run into your arms, granny. You are my darling and why will I not meet you? Be ready and lets have dinner today.

Radha: Your father wants to meet you Avi and he has been trying to reach you for the past 2 days.

Avinash: I know he has been trying to reach me and I did reject his calls because I have nothing to do with him and his family. Please convey the message cut and clear that I will be there this night only for you and I don't want to be disturbed.

Radha: Avi, hear him once atleast for my sake.

Avinash: I m sorry granny I will meet you someother day. I have the day packed with back to back meetings.

Radha: Fine, you don't have to meet him but please come meet me Avi. Its been a month I have seen you. You have been avoiding arrving at the mansion just because you hate your father, step mother and her daughter. Do you hate me too Avi ?

Avinash: Granny, you are all I have in this world and I would do anything for you so please don't hurt me with such questions. I will be there this evening to meet you. Now cheer up and have your breakfast. I will call up the caretaker and if I knew you cheated on your food or medicines then I will fire her.

Radha: Shut up, she takes good care of me and I feel relaxed around her. Wind up your work on time and arrive for dinner. I will let the chef to cook all your favourites.

With a smile he cut the call and received a message from his father. Without a second thought he deleted it without reading and sauntered to the dining.

Avinash: Sumanth, did you check out what is happening lately with that man and his family? Sure he must have some reason to meet me.

Sumanth: Sir, your step sister sorry.. I mean his daughter Krthika is in love with a guy Jitesh, the heir of MARS Groups. Our PI has confirmed that Jitesh and his family had arrived at mansion so probably his call should be related to the alliance they are planning.

Avinash: Let them f**k with their own business. Just keep a track and what are my schedules today?

Sumanth: Sir, you have back to back meetings and we got an hour for the first meeting.

Avinash picked his blazer and walked out of his penthouse with Sumanth tailing him. As soon as they reached the parking, Sumanth opened the back door for Avinash and he got in passenger seat all set for the day.

A few hours back, Sitara was sleeping in her room dressed up in a shorts and camisole. She was dreaming about her prince charming giving her a ride in a chariot but her beautiful dream and sleep was disturbed when the door slammed open and a maid entered panting for air.

Maid: Sitara, granny is not feeling well once again.

Sitara jumped out of the bed and ran out to her granny Sharadha's room and saw her granny close to losing her conscious. She opened the medicine box and quickly gave the tablet and water. Sitara wiped the tears from her eyes and caressed her granny's hair waiting for her to recover from the labored breathe. A few minutes later Sharadha smiled and Sitara helped her sit leaning on the head board.

Sitara: Granny, why didn't you press the buzzer to alert me when you fell short of breathe? What would have happened if the maid had not seen you on time? Thats it, I m not listening to you anmymore and I m moving in with you in this room. I can't leave you alone anymore.

Sharadha: Sitara, I m fine. Now stop

worrying about me and think for yourself. What will happen after I leave you alone?

Sitara: I m not letting you me alone so stop with those talks.

Sitara laid on the bed with her head on Sharadha's lap and the old lady caressed her hair.

Sharadha: If not for me you would have not signed the business, properties and everything to your father and his evil wife. You should have let me die instead of giving up everything to save me. I m of no use to you Sitara.

Sitara: I love you granny and I could give everything even a 100 times to save you and keep you with me.

Sharadha: What about your future?

Sitara: My prince charming will come and take me with him. You will come with us and we shall live together happily. You will see him love me like those men from your stories.

Sharadha: Ofcourse my Shining star will be loved by her prince charming. He will fall head over heels for you.

They heard the sound of throat clearing and saw the person she hated with every bone in her body, her step mother Mrs. Geetha, wife of her father Mr. Arun.

Geetha: Get your ass down to get ready and meet us in the dining. Your father has something important to discuss.

Sharadha: What is it Geetha? You have left nothing in hands of my Sitara so what else you are planning now ?

Geetha: We are not throwing her out so don't worry. I will have a servant to get you too. We want your presence during the discussion.

She walked out flipping her hair and Sitara grit her teeth in anger but composed herself on seeing her granny.

Sitara: Granny, don't you worry about anything. Either way we don't have anything to lose so should be something else about their family. Lets not worry about what happens in their family. Aren't we happy in our family of two?

Sharadha kissed Sitara's forehead and sent her to get ready. 30 minutes later Sitara walked out of her room and saw a servant pushing the wheel chair of her granny. Together they reached the dining and saw her father, Geetha, their daughter Damini and son Jitesh waiting for them.

Sitara: We don't have all day so hurry up and spill the beans.

Arun: How are you Sitara ?

Sitara: Ohh, I m doing great after you snatched all the inheritance from me by blackmailing to save my Granny and also I m now on job hunt and.

Arun: Sitara, you are getting me wrong. I just wanted you to be free from all the burden of running business.

Sharadha: So your daughter Damini can take the burden but not my Sitara is it?

Geetha: Arun, can we get this done. I m hungry and wish to have breakfast in peace. Your daughter doesn't know any ettiquite but I can't behave like her.

Sitara: Etiquitte to have an affair with a married man and kill his wife ?

Damini: Shut up you b***h, don't you dare to talk about my mother.

Sitara: Is that all? I don't give a s**t to what you have to discuss.

Arun: Sitara calm down. We have a proposal for Jitesh and she is the daughter of a billionaire. Their family will be here tomorrow to fix the dates for marriage and we have sent proposal to get Mini married to their son.

Sitara: What does that have to do with me? Should I fix an appointment with a doctor to check if your daughter doesn't have STD?

Mini: Dad, you better put her in place or I will kill her.

Geetha: Calm down Mini, she is just jealous. Listen to me Sitara, the family will be here tomorrow evening and I don't want you out of your room until they are gone or its better you stay at your friend's place until we are done planning both the marriages.

Sitara smirked and sat crossed legged serving breakfast for her granny.

Sitara: Did you hear granny ? Its basically

an arrangement to trap someone to get his money. Who cares about what you do? By the way thank you Mrs. Geetha, for confirming that I look way better than your chipmunk daughter. I can understand your fear, only dogs will prefer bones and a man especially a businessman and billionaire will sure want a woman in his life not a chipmunk.

Mini threw a glass of water on Sitara who was now ready to pull the hair out of Mini's scalp but Sharadha held her back.

Sharadha: Arun, congrats that you are being a responsible father and trying to get both your son and daughter married to a billionaire's family but have you ever realized that Sitara is your daughter too and first born in this home?

Geetha: Who will marry a fat pig? You better tell your grand daughter to look after what she eats and later we shall think of her marriage.

Arun: Geetha, why do you talk so ill about Sitara? She is my daughter.

Sitara: Wow and the best actor award goes to Mr. Arun.

Arun: Sitara, you can talk whatever you want but I do care for you. I have talked to my business partner and he is willing to get you married with his son.

Geetha: Are you talking about Manas ?

Arun: Yes, he is the only heir to his father's business and I m sure he will take good care of Sitara.

Sitara: Oh yes, the same Manas who was on headlines last year when he was found having threesome in a hotel.

Sharadha gasped hearing the information and made a disgusting face while Sitara kicked the chair and strode out ordering the servant to take her granny back to the room.

She got into the car seething in anger and drove at high speed. She felt disgusted from all the bottled up anger on no one else but herself for being a coward and staying under the same roof. She pressed the horn with tears streaming down her cheeks just with the thought of her ill fate.

She hit the steering and wiped the tears building herself back. Getting back the control on both the car and her mind she reduced the speed and turned on to a narrow road but dashed on to the car which drove opposite to her.

The anger which abated in her surged back and she got from the car and knocked onto the driver's window and he rolled it down.

Sitara: Are you out of mind? Blame the i***t who issued you a license.

Driver: Madam, It was fault on both of us so its not fair to blame on me alone. Our sir is in a hurry for a meeting so please let go of this matter.

Sitara knocked on the window to the back seat. Avinash rolled down the window and clenched his jaw looking at Sitara.

Sitara: Be sensible in choosing whom you employ. Now you better pay for the damage done to the car or I m calling the police and file charges against you.

Avinash: You better stop screaming at our ears woman. If money is what you wanted then you should have just asked for it rather than the cheap stunt you just pulled out.

Sitara: How dare you blame me you f*****g i***t?

Avinash got out of the car clenching his fist on hearing her call him i***t.

Avinash: I could make you vanish with just a snap of my finger so better watch your words on whom you are speaking with.

Sitara took a step close challenging him and folded her arms across her chest.

Sitara: Ohh yeah I m scared.. Please someone save me. My foot... I have got better things to do so I will spare you boogeyman.

Sitara smirked and picked a stone from the ground only to break the side mirror.

Avinash: What the f**k did you do woman? Crazy bitch..

He screamed at Sitara but she walked away to her car and drove past him showing her middle finger to him.

Avinash kicked the ground and got into the car. Sumanth gulped looking at Avinash who was seething in anger and he knew the day is screwed.