Fatal Attraction

Part 10

"Shuklaji, please! Try to understand! It is for someone's wedding. Please rethink the interest rates. 18% is too high!" argued Asmita exasperatedly as she paced outside the shopping complex where the bride and the groom were shopping for their engagement attires.

Asmita was aware of her friend's idea about paying for her wedding from her own hard-earned money, but she could see that plan failing from afar. The only way out seemed to gift few of the necessities of the wedding to reduce Sunita's burden, as Asmita was sure that Sunita would not refuse her gifts.

The hitch was arranging the money for the same. Being younger and less experienced than Sunita, her pay scale was lower than hers, and it was tougher than she had expected for her to sponsor the wedding trousseau.

"I have heard thousands of such excuses in the past, dear! If you want the money, the interest is 18%, there is no scope for negotiation! Call me if you want to take up on the offer!" said Shukla before disconnecting the call without listening to any of Asmita's desperate cries.

Asmita stared at the home screen of her phone, trying to figure out if there was any other moneylender or any other person who she could try calling.

"Should I call him? No. He will readily help, but, will it be right? I can take some help from him, after all this time. Anyway, he would want to buy a gift for Sunita, I will ask him to gift her a dress," she mused, and felt satisfied with the idea. Unbeknownst to her, someone had heard her words, and many questions ran through his mind.

"Call whom? Anyway, if you were short on money, why are you putting yourself through so many hassles? Amit's money is her money," stated Daksh, walking up to her and making his presence known to her.

Hearing his voice suddenly jostled her and caused her to stumble backwards when she felt his muscular arms wrap themselves around her and stop her definite fall. The sense of relief, which washed over her upon realizing that she was safe, faded away when she recognized her savior.

She hastily pulled herself from his embrace and straightened herself up, much to Daksh's annoyance. His hand hung in mid-air, burning with the sense of loss as he lost contact with her warmth and softness against himself.

She walked away from him when he stood in her path, unable to let her go away so easily and quickly, without even a brief exchange of words, even if they were mere arguments. He found himself addicted to her sharp words, her heartwarming fragrance, her beautiful and naïve eyes, and essentially the whole of her, and there was nothing he desired to do to fight against the addiction.

"You did not answer my question," he stated, latching into that question as an excuse to converse with her.

"Because that is her choice and supporting her is my choice. You don't need to worry about anything," she replied, trying to step away from him but it was of no avail. Her determination to stay away from him was weaker than his fatal attraction towards her.

"Have you tried applying for a personal loan?" he asked in a gentle voice which she could never expect from him. In fact, she had not expected him to understand the situation at all.

"I have, but they have rejected my application as they don't feel that I have a stable source of income because I left my previous job in a haste," she answered, bitter tone towards the end of her answer making him wince.

"Well, since I am the reason for that, I think I should compensate for that," he replied, hoping that she would accept the help despite his inner voice telling him otherwise.

"No thanks, Mr. Malhotra. I don't need your help," she spat, walking away only for his grip on her wrist to stop her. She turned towards him with a glare that could kill if looks could indeed kill, and he instantly dropped his hand from hers.

"Amit is my brother, and he loves your friend. I understand she has her reasons and I genuinely want to help you in helping her. I heard your idea to tell one of your friends to gift an ensemble to her, it is good. I, or rather my sister and I, will gift her something to wear for one ritual and insist that she would wear that. Besides, it is our right as she is our to-be sister-in-law," he explained in a pleading tone, hoping that he was sounding convincing enough.

It pleasantly surprised her to see the gentler side of his, but she could not afford to show the brief sense of admiration to the otherwise cocky man in front of her.

"When you have already decided, why are you asking me? It is not as if you had given me a lot of choice in the past," rebuked Asmita, crossing her arms against her chest, trying to hide her relief for the help he had offered behind her complaints.

"I know. That's why I am trying to compensate for the same by considering your choice in everything henceforth. So, do I have your permission? I will make sure that no one ever knows about this conversation between us. Your secret will be safe," he assured, wondering if the brief ghost of a smile which danced on her lips before she morphed them into a frown, was the glimmer of hope that he had been waiting for.

"Well, you were right when you said that she was going to be your sister-in-law, and hence you had the right to look out for her. Who am I to stop you? Go ahead!" she said, staging a walkout without hearing his reply to her words.

"The one whose eyes can compel me to do anything and everything, and whose words can make me forget every sense. Who are you to me? I wish I knew the right answer."

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I understand the dream and need for some of us to have the big fat Indian Weddings. They are so much fun but I don't think it should weigh down on someone like Sunita who places her self-respect above everything else and cannot afford those things. If she is being forced to match up to the expenses of a wealthy family like the Malhotras, I think back channeling is required to ensure that everyone's wishes are fulfilled and it hurt no one.