The Wedding Contract

After an hour long discussion with her father, Riya Ravichandran stormed into her office. It was a modest square shaped room, black and white themed, very similar to her life. A white desk with grey laptop sat in the middle with a fluffy white couch parallelly opposite to it.

She furiously kicked at her desk, cursing and dragging her hand through long silky brown hair, but nothing seemed to ease the anger she felt. The old man had always been a pain in her ass but every time he threw a problem at her, she aced it without complaints. It was not the same this time as this was a problem, she never thought she'd want to solve.

The problem of marriage!

"Argh!", she grunted and kicked her desk again fruitlessly.

Her P.A who was a respectable man in his 40s entered her office with face as pale as sheet. He had the documents of an acquisition project which needed her approval. But soon after coming in, he regretted his decision, noticing the condition of his boss.

"Excuse me, Mam. The Sri Lanka docs which you requested are here and these others over here needs your signature, please", he stepped aside placing it on her desk.

She held her head in hands and fumed at her phone through gritted teeth. He gulped visibly daring to disturb her again.

"Mam?"

"What?"

She was now glaring at him making him fret. Breathing to herself, "I'm tired, Kamu… I need some rest. Postpone all the meetings for an hour. And don't let anyone in", she said and got up from her seat to stand near the window.

Whenever she was irritated, the serene and warm view of the beach calmed her nerves. After serving this young CEO for 5 years, Kamu was well aware of her temper. It was written all over her face – "I'm dangerous. Don't dare" She was called the Ice Queen for a reason.

She drove everyone crazy and pushed them on edge but always made sure that the work was done extravagantly. Only the best would do with her. Although everyone feared her, nobody could raise a finger against her. She got things done in her own way.

"Sure Mam" he left without saying another word letting her brawl with her own thoughts. She distractedly played with a strand of hair noticing her own reflection on the glass. Dark brown eyes which was always curious and filled with energy was dull and clouded with doubts today. Although she wanted to hide it, the worry of morning's events reflected clearly on her beautiful face.

Her small plump lip was taking on the frustration, as she furiously bit it off. A bad mannerism since childhood which never changed until today. Whenever she got angry, nervous, or too much involved in anything, she bit her lips.

She sighed and started pacing through her room. Nothing seemed to work.

The door opened with a bang startling her. "Riya…." A slender woman in her early 30s was grappling with Kamu on the doorway. "Let her in, Kamu".

"Sure Mam", he released his hold on the young woman and made an apologetic nod. She elegantly adjusted her shawl and crossed over to drop on the sofa. "What brings you here at this hour?" asked Riya to the woman fanning her face dramatically. She was in a pink and white salwar wearing matching ornaments to go with it. A white bindi adored her broad forehead with a small silver nose ring which she'd been wearing since she was 14.

"I came for shopping and thought I'd meet you for lunch. Why is your expression weird? Something happened?" Sam was the only one who always guessed her mood correctly.

Sam (Samantha) was her neighbor and close friend, the one person she could trust after her dad.

She wanted to meet her later that day to discuss about the day's events, maybe it was good that she came first.

"Dad dropped a bomb on me today morning and I'm still pissed… I have no idea what to do" Riya bit her lip again.

"It is not anything unusual, right? I mean, isn't this your thing? He gives you a challenge with a timeline and you'll push yourself to the brink of death to make it happen… But…. What kind of bomb did he drop for you to worry this much? You don't look good, Riya"

"He gave me a month's time.. To find someone and get married… He's been telling me this for the past 3 years, but I ignored every time. Now, he's really pissed off. If I don't get married by this month end, he'll give the CEO role to my sweet brother Sharan. He wants me to be Sharan's assistant.", Riya sneered sarcastically.

"That's so cruel…. You worked so hard for this company. How can he do that to you? Does Sharan even know how to run this business?"

"He does…. But not very good at it… He's not a management material, Sam. He's a hard core sales guy… Uff….. My dad knows that too... I really don't know what to do"

"Your dad knows your condition, right?", Sam tilted her head and moved closer worried that someone might overhear their conversation.

"He knows…. But he is also pissed that I'm not taking treatment. He wants me to get it treated after marriage…. That's another pain in the ass conversation, Sam. Don't even get me started on that", Riya rubbed her face as if that will wash away everything.

"Hm….. So now, you need a guy who will marry you and is okay to live forever without touching you?" Sam giggled after saying that. Riya rose her eyebrows at her friend who was enjoying the ordeal.

"I'm sorry" Sam opened her hands apologetically. "But this situation is really ridiculous… I mean who will marry like that? The best part of marriage is sex. Nobody would give up on it. You'll have to marry a saint. You're doomed this time!"