The Mysterious CEO's Domineering Devotion

CHAPTER 9 - Disappointing News

Soon, the trio reached their apartment, and Shreya unlocked the keys. Pranavi strode in with a lot of thoughts in her mind, and both Shreya and Aarushi were observing her for a while.

Seeing her all distracted, Shreya and Aarushi were eyeing curiously at her.

"What's up with her? Why was she sulking?" Shreya pondered, but nothing came to her except one thing that happened at Pranavi's house yesterday, which she wasn't aware of yet.

Aarushi sensed something was off with Pranavi but wasn't sure of what had happened either, because she wasn't present here for the past month.

When they strode to the living area, Pranavi collapsed onto the sofa because all her energy was drained from the events that took place yesterday and today.

She was still in shock and couldn't digest the facts!

Glancing at the silent woman sitting on the sofa in a daze, as if the whole world turned against her, Shreya was becoming irritated.

"Hey, Duffer, spit out what's bothering you!" Shreya demanded, but to her annoyance, there was no response from Pranavi. They waited for some time, but still, Pranavi remained the same.

"What the fu'k, girl? You're scaring me!" Shreya waved her hand in front of Pranavi, but Pranavi still didn't respond to her.

"Did anything happen, Duffer?" Aarushi asked, but Pranavi was still immersed in her thoughts.

By now, Shreya and Aarushi were damn sure that something big must have happened upon seeing the silent and distracted Pranavi.

Although Pranavi had a social phobia, she was never the quiet type with the people she was close to unless there must be any major unfortunate event happened to her.

Aarushi signaled Shreya to let her be for a while and Shreya shook her head helplessly with a nod.

In the meantime, they went into the kitchen and Shreya began preparing black coffee, while Aarushi kept a huge bowl of sliced dark chocolate in the oven just the way Pranavi liked to cheer her up.

According to them, there wasn't a bad mood that food could not cure!

With that, Shreya and Aarushi placed coffee and chocolate bowls in front of her hoping to see a reaction, but nope, they got none!

Usually, Pranavi would jump at melted dark chocolate. She would even smell coffee and chocolate in her sleep, but now she wasn't even aware of it!

Looking at Pranavi grimacing while resting her head on the sofa, even without touching her favorite food, Aarushi and Shreya wondered, "what was going on with her?"

"Duffer, wake up! It's your favorite food." Aarushi tugged at her gently and Pranavi mumbled with a scowl, "let me rest for a while."

"Uh-huh. You're behaving weirdly since yesterday. What happened at your uncle's house?" Shreya questioned with concern lacing in her tone.

"I'm not in the mood to recall all of that! It's already shitty as fu'k." Hearing Shreya mention yesterday's events, rage and disappointment churned in her veins.

When Pranavi found that Aarushi and Shreya were looking at her suspiciously, she asked, "why were you looking at me like that?"

"You tell us. Is everything alright with you?" they asked in unison, making her chuckle.

She sighed with a self-mocking chuckle and released the bomb that was suffocating her heart, "What could possibly be wrong except that I'm the fiance of Jwalin Oberoi, President of The Oberoi Entreprises."

Hearing the President of Oberoi Entreprises, Shreya and Aarushi jumped from their seats and yelled.

"Girl, are you out of your mind?" Shreya asked, glancing at Pranavi, who was dead serious.

"What kind of a sick joke was that?" Aarushi questioned in annoyance with the earnestness on Pranavi's face.

Pranavi scrunched her nose in disgust upon seeing her two close friends and shook her head disappointedly, making them baffled.

"Weren't you kidding with us?" They said in unison, making Pranavi's lips curl in irony.

"Do I look like I am?" Hearing Pranavi utter the question in a solemn voice while grabbing the chocolate bowl, made them understand the gravity of the issue, and immediately they became alarmed.

"You mean Jwalin Oberoi? The Jwalin Oberoi who rules the nation with just his word?" Shreya asked, dumbfounded by herself upon hearing her question.

While sipping the coffee, Aarushi gave her full attention and pondered, "how is that possible?"

Pranavi nodded when Shreya burst out, "You didn't even know him personally. Then how did he become your fiance suddenly?"

Aarushi couldn't help but become unconvinced with the turn of events and queried, "Pranavi, do you even know who Jwalin Oberoi was exactly?"

"Do you think I'm stupid? Of course, I know!" Pranavi screamed in annoyance at herself.

She knew no one would believe that Jwalin Oberoi was her fiance! How could they when she herself couldn't accept what had happened?

"But, until yesterday, there wasn't a single word about this. How did you become someone's fiance in a day? Shreya asked while eating the chocolate.

"Exactly! I do not understand either." Aarushi spoke with confusion in her voice.

"I'm engaged!" Pranavi blurted out with heaviness in her tone.

"What the fu'k?" Aarushi cussed.

"Holy crap!" Shreya roared.

They gazed at Pranavi, hoping she'd turn them down, but she nodded, and they gasped.

"Duffer, you just went home yesterday, and now you're saying you're engaged? Freaking engaged!!!" Shreya grabbed Pranavi's shoulder and turned her furiously.

"That's what driving me insane." Pranavi roared in frustration.

"What actually happened?" Aarushi questioned, shifting the topic to a more meaningful conversation.

"My Uncle and Aunt called me yesterday saying they needed me," Pranavi said while grabbing a pillow and settling it on her lap.

"And?" Aarushi queried with a raised brow while Shreya focused on what Pranavi was saying.

"When I went home, there were guests in our living room whom I didn't know," Pranavi added when they nodded in encouragement.

Pranavi's grip on the pillow tightened, "Later, my Uncle suddenly announced while showing a man to me that we're going to be engaged, and he's none other than Jwalin Oberoi!"

Hearing that, Shreya and Aarushi spewed the chocolate in their mouths and cursed, "what the hell?"

"Um. I actually wanted to confront my Uncle right then and there. But after thinking it through, I remained silent." Pranavi bit her lips with a sigh.

"Within a few minutes, Jwalin put a ring on my finger, and I did the same without uttering a single word to each other!" Pranavi said while showing them the ring on her finger, and their eyes went wide in realization.

"Holy fu'k! This really happened! I'm not dreaming, right?" Shreya exclaimed, feeling it unbelievable!

"So, you're engaged with Jwalin Oberoi, but you two didn't speak!" Aarushi summed up in a huff, "This was bad!"

Pranavi nodded in disappointment, reminiscing about the events.

"Later, I encountered my Uncle, and he just didn't give in no matter what I said. He's so damn adamant that he even broke my heart by bringing up my past nonchalantly." Pranavi said while fiddling with her fingers, drifting into those disturbing memories.

"They forced you into this?" Aarushi questioned while disgust rose in her chest, hearing what the Mehta's did to Pranavi.

"Why did you give in? How many more times are you going to tolerate them?" Shreya asked when her face turned red in anger with clenched fists while Pranavi remained silent.

"Duffer, you know how exactly they are! They always tried to mooch you off but never treated you fairly." Shreya said in dissatisfaction.

"We've seen how much you suffered in Mehta's house. Was it not enough for you? Why are you doing this to yourself?" Aarushi asked in dismay.

"I knew all of that. But what can I do? I'm grateful to my Uncle. If not for him, God knows whether I'd even be alive today or not." Pranavi mumbled, keeping her head down.

"Hey, that's all in the past," Shreya said while coming closer to Pranavi and sitting beside her.

"You're grateful to them? He took you in because you saved his life. But you've been paying them back all these years! They should be grateful to you, not in the other way!" Aarushi yelled, hoping it'd sink some sense into Pranavi's brain.

"Aarushi is correct, Pranavi. You're the one who helped them and saved them a lot of times. If not for you, they would probably be on roads long back." Shreya added, stroking her shoulder while glancing at Aarushi.

Listening to them, Pranavi asked in despair, “Yes, but was it required to adopt me for saving his life? He can show his gratitude to me in many other ways know?”

They gawked at her without moving their lips with a sigh, "you never listen, will you?"

“Anyhow, I’m living a comfortable life, it’s all thanks to my Uncle. Though I struggled hard and worked tirelessly to reach the heights, he’s the one who held a torch for me in my darkest time.” Pranavi stated firmly with conviction in her eyes.

"Duffer, they never considered you as one of them. We all know that, and you accepted it long ago." Aarushi said slowly so that her words wouldn't poke at Pranavi's scars.

"Then why are you willing to sacrifice yourself for them? Is it worth it?" Shreya questioned, concern lacing in her voice.

"You've always dreamed of marrying someone who treasures you and gives you a family full of love," Aarushi added, her voice becoming lower.

"Do you think you'll get them from Jwalin Oberoi? Heck, we couldn't even stand in front of him without panic!" Shreya concluded, "we all know the power he has. He can destroy you without batting an eye!" Shreya's eyes turned watery.

"We ordinary people couldn't match up to them, Duffer. Think about your decision carefully." Aarushi held Pranavi's hands and stroked them carefully.

"I already thought about everything you just said," Pranavi muttered, "but I'm helpless! I gave my word to Uncle, and this will be the last time I'm giving in to them."

"Girl, are you even hearing yourself? You said Jwalin didn't even talk to you, yet you're going to marry him?" Shreya screamed.

"Why did he even agree to marry you?" Aarushi spoke while her brows furrowed.

"That's what bothers me. There's nothing in me that would add up to his level. He'd gain nothing from me. But still, he willingly put this ring on me." Pranavi said, dejected, while striding to the window and opening it.

The cool breeze turned the tense atmosphere to be lively, "Ugh. We can't go against Oberoi's. They had everything in their control. Think it through before you're stuck!" Shreya added.

"Hm. I had Aarushi! She'd take up my divorce case if things weren't working out. What do you say?" Pranavi glanced at Aarushi with a wink, trying to be playful though she was worried sick!

Aarushi walked towards Pranavi and stood on the other side of the window, "Of course. You don't need to ask for that."

"But you know what bothers me even more?" Pranavi asked, thinking about the day's event.

"What?" They asked in unison.

"I went to meet Jwalin today."

"Holy crap. Is that why you're near Oberoi Entreprises?" Shreya questioned, jumped from the sofa, and ran to them.

Pranavi nodded. "What for?" Aarushi asked.

"To convince him to cancel this marriage fiasco."

Their eyes bulged, "Did he agree?" Pranavi remained mum hearing their question and they understood the meaning in her silence.

"what did he say?" They queried out of curiosity.

"He said he didn't know me," Pranavi said in a dejected tone.

"What a jerk! That asshole!" Shreya muttered under her breath.

"See, that's what I'm fearing. Jwalin would only play by his rules!" Aarushi said, biting her lip in worry for Pranavi.

"I know. In fact, I noticed raw hatred in his eyes when he saw me." Pranavi added while glancing at the bright moon in the night sky.

"Where was my life headed to? Is it for good?" Pranavi pondered when their questions dragged her back.

"Then why is he getting married to you?" Shreya asked. She's even more furious hearing this.

"I've no answer."

"Can't we do anything in this matter?" Aarushi asked when Pranavi shook her head in denial, "I can't from my side, and Jwalin doesn't even care!"

Shreya handed them beer bottles and asked, "When is your marriage?"

Pranavi gulped the beer to relieve her tension and mumbled, "This Sunday."

"In freaking four days?" They shouted, bewildered hearing that.

"Yep."

"What the hell? Why were they in a hurry?" Aarushi asked, wiping her mouth from traces of beer drops.

"How would I know?" Pranavi shrugged in annoyance.

"You're so screwed," Shreya concluded with a thud, by keeping the bottle on the table.

"I know." Pranavi turned to the moon and drank her beer, glancing at the peaceful sky, but her life wasn't going to be peaceful anymore!

Pranavi became alarmed about how her future would be.

She very well knew what kind of sacrifice she was going to make and once she did, then nothing remained the same!

Her gaze turned gloomy, "can I ever be happy with Jwalin Oberoi?" The question kept on bothering her.

Though she knew the answer was a no, she didn't want to lose hope. Trying to calm herself, she decided to let destiny play the role.

Pranavi drifted back to the conversation when she heard Aarushi saying, "Anyhow, just relax! If something was really wrong, I'm sure we can sort it out."

With that, Aarushi gave a side hug to Pranavi to give some support to her.

Hearing that, Shreya became worried, "Are you sure?" Shreya turned to Aarushi, "According to what I know, Jwalin was a devil in disguise. We couldn't win against him!"

"Isn't it obvious that we couldn't retaliate against him? But we definitely wouldn't give in to him if that situation arises." Aarushi stated with dedication in her eyes.

"Hm. Who doesn't know the power of Oberoi's?" Shreya added when Aarushi joined, "We couldn't even imagine his power!" Aarushi concluded, her eyes downcast.

Pranavi chuckled, "Guys, he hates me for heaven's sake. Why would he even try to keep me with him when I proposed a divorce?"

"You're right, Duffer. But we're speaking of Jwalin Oberoi. Remember, he would never play by your rules." Shreya exclaimed in a firm tone.

"Okay! But if I'm no use to him, then did it really matter to him if I stayed or left?" Pranavi asked, gazing at her two best friends when they shook their heads.

"Guys, we're already talking about divorce when the marriage itself hasn't happened yet! Let's see how it goes first," Aarushi added.

Pranavi nodded, and they joined in a group hug, hoping everything would be for the best!

"To new beginnings." Shreya raised her beer and clinked it with Pranavi, and Aarushi shouted, "cheers to Pranavi!"

"We always have your back. Just chill!" Shreya patted Pranavi's back and she almost got tears in her eyes.

"What can I do without you guys?" Pranavi said when they chuckled.

"That's why we're irreplaceable!" Aarushi winked at them to make them more cheerful and they laughed heartily.

But with Jwalin detesting Pranaviso much, how would their new future was going to be?

Can they ever accept each other despite their differences?

Can the almighty Jwalin Oberoi see the depths of Pranavi Mehta?

...