My Beating Pulse

Chapter 3

Arya

I rushed home from the office because today is the family dinner where, apparently, I’ll be meeting my future brother-in-law. I’m a bit nervous but also concerned. Sure, my sister is a lot but if my father has arranged a marriage, it means the guy is in the mafia business. Killing people is not unheard of in our family. I saw my dad kill a guy who borrowed money from him and didn’t pay back when I was 7 years old. I had to deal with the nightmares for 2 years until I met Cherry, who came into my life with so much warmth and sunshine that I forgot all the horrors my family brought into my life.

Sometimes, I still struggle with my moral compass, but I don’t have a choice. If you are born in a family like mine, it’s either kill or be killed. But I thank god every day that my father never thought of teaching my sister and I how to use a gun or kill a person. He is a sexist, he thinks women is good for staying at home and cooking. And when time comes, pop kids left, right and center. He does hold a grudge against my mother for having 2 girls, which doesn’t make any sense, since if he had attended school instead of selling drugs, he would have understood that men carry “XY” chromosomes. He made sure my sister and I learned to cook since we were teenagers. Jokes on him, I like cooking. It takes away the ugly thoughts of the life I lead.

In retribution, I spent a ton of his money. I largely give it to charities, but I do put a dent in his bank account.

I know I’m late, work ran late. I’m sure my dad and mom are furious at me, but it’s not my fault dad is at home all day leaving me to wolves at the office. I just started working for our company 6 months ago. Ideally, I should get a fresher job, but since my dad is the owner, I got 6 months' training, and now I’m working as site supervisor. The pressure is off the roof, there are people who were aiming for this role are jealous of me. They are just waiting for me to mess up so that they can show everyone how unfit I am for this role. My father doesn’t care, he is letting me work in the office until I get married. He won’t let me work in any other place, and he thinks idle mind is the devil's workshop. That means I might fall for some guy and elope.

Our car stopped at the arch and the driver opened the door. As soon as I got out, another car stopped behind us. I stood there waiting to see who would visit us at this time. Mostly it would be my father’s associates from the criminal side. A man in a crisp black suit stepped out and fixed a button on his coat. His muscles fill his suit perfectly, not too bulky and not too lean, just the perfect buff. Damn sure this guy sports a six-pack inside. My eyes zeroed in on his face, only to see he was already staring at me.

Holy Guacamoly !

This guy is handsome. I mean not like a handsome movie star but more like a rugged, chiseled and with a hint of darkness lurking in his pitch black eyes. I don’t think in my 20 years, I have ever seen a man as beautiful as him. His smoldering gaze sent a shiver down my spine, bringing me back from my trance.

Shit! I’ve been staring at a guy shamelessly. That is so unlike me.

“YOU!” He gritted his teeth, his words were sharp enough to cut this tension.

“Me?” I tipped my head to the side in confusion.

“What are you doing here?” he asked with his eyebrows crunching, as if he just tasted a bad fruit, and he couldn’t wait to spit it out.

“You know, when you meet a stranger, the correct response would be 'Hello' or a ‘Who are you?’” I said, rolling my eyes. Who does he think he is? He comes to my house and asks me these questions as if he had met me already.

“You don’t remember?” he asked with the same aggression.

“Remember what? You know what? Who the hell are you? What are you doing at my home?” I asked, getting angry. I rarely lose my calm but this stranger is crossing a line. He doesn’t even smile, and his tone is grating on my nerves. It’s like he is talking to his servants.

He moved towards me at a lightening speed, and with two long strides he was in front of me. Because of the suddenness, I took a step back and my bum hit the car door. Jesus, this guy is too close to my comfort.

“Mind your words. You have no f*****g idea who you are talking to.” His eyes sparkled as his words laid out like a threat. I took a shaky deep breath and my nose was filled with his cologne. Damn, even his cologne is manly, just like him.

His closeness is doing things to my body that I can’t explain. My father made sure no guys came close enough to me to get a whiff of his scent till today and this beautiful stranger did just that. His warmth is filling my senses and it is really hard to articulate anything. It’s like my body is frozen, I can’t even move my eyes from his, which are dark and threatening. Like he could just end my life with a swift move, and it would be an easy death.

His eyes slowly moved from my face to my feet and back up, lazily eyeing my body in apprehension and smirks.

“Nothing snarky to say” His words made me slit my eyes in anger. He smiles at seeing my reaction.

He moves closer, how is that even possible?

His breath fanned my cheek and moved to my ears.

“It has not been a pleasure to meet you, my future sister-in-law,” he said in a husky voice which made my heart flutter before I registered his words.

SISTER-IN-LAW?

He moved back when we heard some footsteps in front of us and another car came in.

Wait! He is the guy who will marry my sister?

He smirked, looking at my stupefied expression.

Did I just lust over my future brother-in-law?

Huh! It’s final, I’m going to hell.

——————————————————————————————————

Vansh

I wanted to laugh out loud looking at her expression. She looked so — what is the word? Cute.

Yes, Cute.

Never in my life, have I used this word. Never had a chance.

Her father and the whole family came rushing out, and my family also got out of our car.

I traveled directly from the office, finishing my meetings. Vihaan brought our remaining family that is Andy and Veronica. My father’s brother and his wife. He converted to Christianity when he married his wife. He fell in love with her and never looked back. He went against my father, who did not agree to the wedding and the conversion. He met his wife after my mother died and, unlike my father, he needed to be loved by someone. He’s crazy for his wife. My father cut him out after he eloped, but he kept in contact with me and my brother. My uncle had a soft spot for my mother, he always felt guilty for not saving her from my father. But he couldn’t do much. If he tried anything, my father would have accused both of them of cheating and killed my mother. So, he kept his distance. Now that my father is dead, he’s more involved in our lives. My brother and I like him, he is more like the father figure to us than our father ever was.

Veronica is the mother figure through and through. My uncle is her second husband. Her first husband passed away from a heart attack. Her first marriage was an arranged marriage, but she experienced true love when she met my uncle. She is not okay with the killing and mafia business, but she loves me and my brother like her own. She was never able to have kids, so automatically she took us in. She helped us take a sting out of our mother passing away.

“Vansh, Welcome!” Sumedh Raj welcomed me and our family. Once he invited us in, he turned to see his daughter standing there, still looking dazed.

“Arya! Why are you standing there, and why are you not ready yet?” He gritted out those words, yelling at her with his eyes. She lowered her head and shook it before moving towards the house, but he held her arm and turned towards us.

“This is Arya, my younger daughter.” He introduced her to us. She mumbled ‘Hi’ with a weak smile, looking at Veronica, who smiled back. She rushed inside the house and we followed.

Sumedh is known for his control. He has been in this business as long as my father, but he is a bit timid compared to him. Father is flashy and loves to show others how everything is under his control and how he can kill anyone with just a phone call. But Sumedh is more into his legal business and uses the mafia business to fund his legal one. He has a lot of money but the main thing he owns is the trade route.

My father was on the streets trying to make a name for himself whereas Sumedh was handed this business from his father. The trade route helped his family flourish and that’s exactly what I need.

The reason I agreed to this marriage arrangement was the trade route. My dad’s connection started looking around and they wanted his status. He foolishly believed he was untouchable, but he was found dead in his own office.

It’s funny how life works.

Once the news of his death hit the streets, everyone was hungry for more money and status. I spent the last 6 months making sure all our fortunes are in our hands, but it's not enough. I needed to show others that we are not the people they can hurt and get out unscathed. It meant cleaning the streets and keeping tabs on everyone. One thing I needed to gain more power was the trade route. Sumedh was searching for a groom for his elder daughter and when he got the news that I was interested in his business, the first thing he did was catch me off-guard with a marriage proposal.

I have no interest in marriage, but in our world, being married shows others that we have stability in our lives, and they believe that we can make better decisions. That was also one of the reasons why my father married my mother, and now I’m doing the same thing, but I’ll make sure this girl knows what to expect from this marriage. Will make sure she never falls for me so that she won’t get hurt. I know my plan is not fool-proof, but I don’t care. My eyes are set on the trade route and I won’t stop until I get access to it.

We all settle on the couches, Sumedh’s wife greets us. She looks like a typical socialite, she behaves like she is made of gold but I couldn’t care less about her. For some reason, instead of thinking of the girl I’m going to marry, my mind goes to that little spitfire who turned into a timid rabbit in front of her father.

There was mindless chatter going on between Andy and Sumedh. Veronica was talking to Sumedh’s wife while Vihaan kept checking his phone, always working. I sighed at him and turned to see a girl walking towards us wearing a tight dress which looked a size smaller than hers, her face was covered in a thick layer of make-up and with a thousand watts smile. Honestly, it looked a bit creepy. Since I already saw her photo, I know it’s Myra, the girl I’m going to marry.

“Hello everyone.” She greets everyone and plants herself beside me, giving me a sultry look which she can’t pull off at all.

I controlled myself from rolling my eyes. Whatever digging I did, told me that she’s exactly like her mother, interested in being a socialite, loves clothes, spends money, that’s all her brain is filled with. Nothing about her excites me or even interests me, but her sister, on the other hand.

No, not thinking about her.

Not thinking about how her breathing stopped when I got close earlier, how her doe eyes widened and her scent filled my senses.

Nope, definitely not thinking about her.

“Hi, I’m Myra. I know you are Vansh. I have heard so much about you.” She started and kept talking for 10 minutes straight without even giving me a window to wish her ‘hi’. I think that’s a good thing because I have no interest in talking to her.

She kept going on and on about some clubs she visited, but something caught my eye. I turned towards the staircase to see the drunk girl, whose name is Arya, walking down in a red dress, a size too big because I had seen her in her real size at the club. Her dress barely shows any skin, unlike her sister, but whatever skin is showing, it's smooth and glowing, and she looked like a goddess. She didn’t have any makeup on her face, she looked fresh. Her hair was pitch black and straight, it fell effortlessly on one side of her face. Her pink lips looked so smooth and okay, I need to stop describing my sister-in-law in that intricate detail.

She came near the couch where we were sitting and sat beside her mother, who looked at her in distaste, which made me frown. What is her problem?

As if sensing my gaze, she looks up and sees me, her doe eyes fluttering.

Shit! Did I make a mistake?

Am I marrying the wrong sister?