Bhumi's POV!
I reached back at my apartment around midnight. Arohi and Bani were chewing their nails in anxiety, probably wondering whether I would make it back or not.
How could they even doubt that? Has Bhumi Basu ever failed on a mission?
"Hey girls," I waved at them and threw the shirt onto Arohi's face, who so badly wanted this particular shirt.
"Where the hell were you, Bhumi?" Bani asked anxiously.
"Oh, come on, Baniie. You people sent me over there for this dare, and now you are asking me where I was?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at them.
"It's midnight, Basu. You left around nine in the evening. What took you three damn hours?" Arohi asked, tossing the shirt onto the couch as if it were nothing.
How dare she? I glared at her, and she ignored it.
"How could you just toss that shirt away, Arohi? It is the result of my hard work. Do you have any idea what I went through to get my hands on it?" I glared at her, and Arohi shrugged casually.
"Okay, now tell me what took you so long? We were worried, Bhumi," Bani asked in a worried tone.
"Uh oh. I got caught by Mr. Mehrotra," I said as I plopped myself onto the couch. They both looked at me in horror.
"What? How?? How did you even escape from there?" Arohi asked as she sat next to me.
And I explained everything that happened there. Every single thing, without skipping anything out.
Well, it was quite dramatic, and now when I think about the whole drama, I feel like laughing.
"OMG!! He really introduced you as his girlfriend?" Bani said after a dramatic pause.
"Well, yes," I said, taking a gulp of water from the bottle on the tea table.
"Why the hell did you give him my phone number, Bhumi?" Arohi shrieked, and I rolled my eyes.
That's the only thing she heard out of all that I said.
"Of course, Arohi, you have a crush on him. You have, ever since Daksh Mehrotra got married. Remember? That's why I gave him your number. So that I could set you up with him. Now tell me, aren't I the smartest?" I said, acting all excited.
"What the hell, Bhumi?" She cried in terror.
"Oh, relax, girl. I gave him your old number, which you are not using anymore," I said, and she sighed in relief.
"His family liked you?" Arohi asked curiously.
"Of course, yes. Well, it's not really their fault, though. I am too good to be disliked, aren't I?" I asked with a cheeky smile, and they rolled their eyes.
"How humble you are, Bhumi," Arohi said sarcastically.
"I am born humble," I retorted with an innocent smile.
"What if he finds you, Bhumi?" Bani asked in worry.
"Oh, come on, Baniie. Take a chill pill. I gave him all the fake details. Fake name, fake number, fake address. So he won't find me. Relax. And guess what?? He has better things to do," I said, desperately hoping so.
"Let's hope so, Bhumi. If he finds you, then you are dead," Bani said.
By now, you people might have gotten an idea about the three of us.
Bani is the sensible one among us. The mature one.
Arohi is the dramatic one.
And, obviously, I am the crazy weirdo.
The three of us have not known each other for long. We met a year ago when I first came to Mumbai.
Arohi and Bani are also not native Mumbains. They had come here for their gap year, just like me.
Since the three of us have no one to call ours, we took to each other pretty quickly.
Arohi was more like me. She always has a smile on her face, no matter what. But that doesn't mean her life is perfect. It is far from that.
Bani is quite silent when compared to the two of us.
The two of them know everything about me. Okay! Not everything. I do have some secrets that no one in this world knows.
And Arohi was also pretty open with us from the beginning.
But Bani is a closed book. She rarely shares her worries. And we didn't want to pry. We know that she will open up to us when she is ready.
And we are okay to wait.
"I am hell tired after today's epic war, girls. So, let me go have my much-needed beauty sleep. Good night, darlings." I said, blowing a kiss to both of them and went straight to my bed, after petting a sleeping Milo, hoping for a better tomorrow.
Oh, I didn't introduce Milo to you people right?
Milo is my puppy.
A cute little puppy.
Milo is handicapped. I found him on the road one night. He was hit by a car and left to die on the road.
I just couldn't leave him there.
I took him to the nearest vet and got him treated. But one of his forelegs is permanently damaged. He walks with a limp.
But he has warmed up to us now. He prefers to stay inside the orchard though.
Oh! Did I mention the Orchard? That's the name of the apartment we are staying in.
Cute name, isn't it?
Anyway, as I was saying, that's how Milo came to live with us. And now he is a very important part of my life.
Enough talking for the day. I am very sleepy, and it is time for bed.
Aryamann's POV
I had been trying to contact Bhumi Gupta for about half an hour now.
I told her to be here by sharp ten in the morning. And it is already half past eleven.
I am pissed off now. Her phone is still switched off.
Couldn't she put her phone to charge? It has been dead since last night. How could this girl be so irresponsible?
"So, technically you are planning a fake wedding? Am I right?" Daksh asked.
Yeah! Daksh and Gaurav are here. As per their demand, I had phoned them last night, as soon as Bhumi left. As I don't hide anything from them.
And here they are, bright and bushy in the morning, all set to see how things are going to work out.
"Not fake. It's going to be real. But temporary. For, let's say, a year. Give or take," I said casually.
"As in a contract wedding?" Gaurav asked for more confirmation.
"Yes," I said, now irritated, both because these two keep questioning me, and I am tired of crossing all the i's and t's, and also because there is no news of that crazy girl.
I threw my phone away in fury.
"Why are you so angry, Aryamann?" Daksh asked in his usual calm tone.
"I told her very clearly that she should be here by sharp ten. It is already half past eleven, and she is not here yet. And to add to it, her f**king phone is switched off," I yelled at them, taking my frustration out on them.