CHAPTER 4 - Delayed Appearance
1856 Words
Seeing that there was no presence of Pranavi, Ananya pulled Tushar to her side and asked, "what is this? Do I need to wait for her?"
Hearing that, Tushar gave Ananya a stern look and settled himself into his dignified yet relaxing posture.
With a sigh, she decided not to bother him anymore. Anyhow, she's enjoying the disgrace that's happening to Jwalin in front of her, which was a feast for her eyes!
Taking a glance at Jwalin, she very well knew how precious Jwalin's time was!
Yet here, his bride was wasting his valuable time, which was an insult to Jwalin because he never stayed this long for anyone's visit!
"It seemed the show was going to be exciting! This marriage seemed to be doomed from the start." Ananya pondered, and a sly smile spread across her fair cheeks.
Jwalin was tapping his feet impatiently, time was running out, but his to-be wife was not yet giving him any appearance.
Leela and Dheeraj tried to converse with him, but as if Do Not Approach was written on his face, his aura was as cold as ice.
His deep gaze was utterly chilly that their hairs stood up just by meeting his eyes once accidentally.
Yet, he’s simply too handsome and sexy, like a deity landed straight from heaven.
"How can that ugly adopted daughter end up in such a powerful family?" Leela muttered in her heart in annoyance.
"What’s so good about Pranavi that they specifically asked about her?" Leela couldn't understand it at all!
Leela thought in displeasure, "My daughter was more beautiful than Pranavi. How can that road-sided orphan become the daughter-in-law of Oberoi?"
Leela couldn’t help but become jealous for her daughter, Ishika. But there was nothing she could do, since she wouldn’t dare offend the Oberoi family in her lifetime, especially Jwalin Oberoi!
...
Jwalin's stoic appearance was gradually turning vicious, and he clenched his fists to control himself. It's showing 2.30 pm, but there's no presence of his damn bride!
It's insulting to him because he never waited for anyone. It's always the other way around. But now, he sat in a lowly house waiting for an unknown woman.
It was aggravating him, and his cold aura was terrifying the people in the house.
The annoyance from Jwalin wasn't unknown to them. Finally, Ananya asked Leela, "Where's your daughter Pranavi? How much time should we stay like this?"
"Oh, so her name is Pranavi Mehta." Jwalin contemplated for a second and he was back to his normal self.
"Um..." Leela was looking here and there without meeting Ananya's eyes, "she's ..."
"She went to take care of something. She'll be here soon." Dheeraj said immediately to reduce the awkwardness, and Ananya nodded. The displeased look on her face didn't go unnoticed by Dheeraj.
It was more than an hour and a half since they arrived, yet there was no glimpse of the woman he was going to be engaged to.
Jwalin despised her ill manners, "Didn't she know we were coming? Why the f**k was she not present here then?"
"How much time should I wait for her?" He was losing his cool, as he was not the one to wait for someone who held no importance to him.
"She didn't have any time sense." His veins are popping in and out with fury.
"I'll definitely show her how to be punctual after our marriage. To hell with all this shit." He thought, while his tightly clenched jaw was visible to her father, and there was nothing he could do.
When Jwalin decided to go away while his lips thinned into a straight line, his father stopped him by holding his hand and giving a stern look. He sighed and began checking his emails without giving his attention to anyone in the room.
At 3.30 PM
Pranavi quickly entered the hall, cursing herself that she was late and couldn't even inform her uncle about it as she lost the phone signal midway, which was very weird!
Quickly she strode in and was stunned to see some unfamiliar faces. Staring at the awkward scene, she remained rooted, not knowing what to do.
With her social phobia, she was never comfortable getting close to people whom she didn't know.
Pranavi held her sling bag in his hands tightly and fiddled her fingers in nervousness.
Jwalin glanced towards the shadow on the floor and raised his eyes. Instantly his breath hitched. "So, she's finally here!"
Involuntarily, Jwalin's gaze darted towards his watch, and rage churned in his veins, "She made me wait for two hours. Freaking two whole hours!"
Pressing his lips into a thin line, his fists tightly clutched, "She disgraced me!"
Eyeing at her nervous expression and fiddling with herself, he felt he had seen her before and it clicked in his head, "she's the one rubbing herself off of her sugar daddy!"
With the realization, he shook his head in disgust, "What a conniving b***h!"
He clenched his fists while his jaw ticked in rage when the question popped into his mind, "Am I going to marry her? Didn't she already have a sugar daddy?"
Instantly his inner voice mocked, "maybe she's a greedy b***h and when she got to know that she was going to get engaged to Jwalin Oberoi, she ditched that old man!"
"Damn!" His scrutinizing gaze landed on Pranavi from top to bottom, he couldn't help but mutter in disbelief, "How can I? Is she even worth it?"
Adjusting himself on the sofa, he folded his hands across his chest and peeped at her petite body, his sharp gaze focused on her short frame, "She'd maybe reach my chest?" With that realization, his brows scrunched, "Holy crap! She's too short for me!"
Gazing at her mediocre appearance, he was not satisfied because he was used to the beauty of supermodels and mumbled, "She's not up to my standards!"
With a sigh, he shook his head in denial, "She's nowhere near attractive to my eyes."
While he was looking for reasons to reject her, his gaze focused on the youthfulness in her face, and he was shocked, "She looks young. What would be her age?"
When, coincidentally, he met with her amber eyes, he froze.
"Beautiful eyes!" That's the only thought that occurred in his mind. But instantly he denied the idea. "Who knows how many men she lured with those eyes?"
A malicious smirk danced on his face, "I must admire her for being able to grab the title of soon-to-be Mrs. Oberoi, even being like this!"
"It's insulting to me to be even associated with such a woman." His mind throbbed just imagining this!
Meanwhile, a smiling Leela came to her and held her hand with a firm grip, which caused immense pain to Pranavi, but she didn't make a sound and bit her lips.
Gazing at Leela blankly, Pranavi was trying to figure out what was happening there.
Her mind was racing, "why did they call me when there would be guests at home?"
Her eyes roamed across the hall filled with people, and panic kicked in, "What am I supposed to do now?"
Eyeing at their piercing gazes, Pranavi muttered under her breath, "Who were they?"
Observing their personalities who were dwelled in best of the best brands, her mind mused, "They looked really rich!"
Peeping at their strong auras which had undeniable power, she couldn't help but wonder, "How would Uncle and Aunt know such high-class people?"
As she was busy in her thoughts, her Aunt's annoyingly honey-coated voice shone in her ears.
"My dear daughter, Pranavi, meet the Oberoi family," Leela said in her sickly sweet voice.
"What did she say, dear daughter? Am I hearing things?" In the next second, it stuck in her mind, "What the f**k, daughter? When did I become her daughter?" Pranavi froze hearing it and just didn't understand how to respond.
With a little push, Pranavi went to them with a slight smile and greeted them with a polite namaste.
"Let it be. Since there are guests, it won't be polite to go against Aunt." With that thought in mind, she kept a small smile plastered on her face though her insides were frowning in deep worry.
Ananya glared at Pranavi from top to bottom and glanced at Pranavi's clothes and appearance, which were screaming only one thing, Ordinary! Very Ordinary!.
Finally, Ananya couldn't take it and taunted her, " Now you remember that we were waiting for you."
Being eyed by unknown people made her frown. But after hearing her taunt, Pranavi gave a bewildered look and blinked continuously to remember if she had forgotten anything about their visit. But to hell with that, she didn't even know about it.
"I'm sorry Aunty. But I had no id...," Pranavi was cut off by Leela, "Pranavi, it's already delayed. Change your dress and come down."
"But, why should I?" Pranavi raised her eyebrows and added while pointing to her dress, "This is fine, right?"
Ananya glanced at her as if she had grown two heads. She was becoming uncomfortable with the attention she was giving to her.
The Oberoi's first impression ended up very badly on Pranavi with all the messed-up things. Moreover, they actually wanted an elegant daughter-in-law to match Jwalin in the Oberoi house.
Oh no!! Such a pity. She's totally the opposite!
Although Pranavi wasn’t from a great family, they hoped she could behave like one of them, carrying the grace and charms of Oberai's daughter-in-law.
Since they were powerful, renowned, and an orthodox family, that's the least they could expect from her! But glancing at her, there was nothing that could match up with them.
To be precise, nobody dares to go against the Oberoi family in the entire country. They had their connections rooted deeply in almost all industries, including politics. They had everything in their hands, including power, fame, and money.
What would happen to the Oberoi family when news leaked out about their daughter-in-law as such a modest woman born in an almost slum!
Actually, it's not a slum, but in the world of the higher upper class, the lower-middle-class lives are equal to a slum. The annual income of the Mehta's would be even less than the money the Oberoi's would spend in a day!
"Come on, Pranavi. This is really bad." Her subconscious reminded her, but what could she possibly do when there were guests at home? She had enough manners not to spoil her Uncle's image in front of outsiders!
As if on cue, Leela sighed, "Huh, this girl." Shook her head and apologized to them, "though she's 22 now, she still doesn't know about all these traditions. Don't mind her words."
With that, Leela shoved her away. “I've placed a saree and the jewelry in your room. Get ready and be presentable.” Before leaving, she warned sternly, “Don’t make me angry with your stupidity.”
By then, Pranavi understood that something was super fishy here. But never in her wildest dreams would she think that would be her engagement day!
...
- Writer
