Chapter 4

The next day Daya found Shreya working alone at her desk. He approached her a bit cautiously and said, 'Shreya aaj ghar janese pehle mujhe tumse kuch jaroori baat karni hai' he said.

'Kya baat hai sir? Aap kuch jyada hi pareshan lag rahe hai' said Shreya.

'Abhi yaha bolna thik nahi. Hum office ke baad mere ghar chalke baat karenge okay? Thoda personal hai' he said.

'Personal?' said Shreya trying hard to focus on some invisible spot on her desk.

'Haan. Aur kisise kuch mat kehna' said Daya with a grave face.

Shreya nodded not even bothering to hide the rising trepidation in her mind.

O-o-o-o

Daya turned the key in the lock and he walked inside his house followed by a timid looking Shreya.

'Baitho na' said Daya.

Shreya looked at him but didn't sit. She was positively terrified now. What could be the matter?

'Tum kuch jyada hi pareshan lag rahi ho' said Daya.

'Sir aap hi ki wajah se toh ho raha hai sab kuch. Jaldi batayiye na baat kya hai?' she said.

'Dekho... accha ye lo pehle tum thoda paani pi lo' said Daya handing her a glass of water.

Shreya took a gulp of water from the glass.

'Shreya mujhe tumhari ek help chahiye thi. Hum dono ko engagement karni hogi' said Daya avoiding eye contact with her.

Shreya almost choked. She quickly swallowed the gulp of water. After hearing his words, she was sure she would have spit out all the water.

'Excuse me? Kya kaha aapne?' she enquired.

'Sorry main thoda nervous ho gaya tha. Matlab asal me nahi. Hume sirf aisa natak karna hoga. Meri Finacée hone ki acting karni hogi' said Daya feeling slightly embarrassed.

'What the...? Did he just say what I thought he just said? He wanted her to be his fake Fiancée?' Shreya wondered.

She blinked several times and her heart seemed to speed up a hundred times faster and the room suddenly began spinning around her.

'Sir ye aap kya keh rahe hai?' she asked.

'Dekho main tumhe shuru se sab detail me batata hoon. Wo kya hai ki mere bachpan ke dost ke chote bhai ki shaadi hai do hafte baad. Unki family mujhe bohot acche se jaanti hai aur wo log bilkul meri family ki tarah hai. Tumhe mere aur Sonali ke baare me pata hoga na?' asked Daya.

'Haan' said Shreya looking at him.

'Wo kya hai na Ritu Aunty matlab mere dost ki maa unhe bhi Sonali ke baare me sab kuch pata hai. Aur Sonali se break up hone ke baad main bohot disturb ho gaya tha. Toh aunty ko lagta hai ki mujhe ab shaadi ke bare me sochna chahiye' said Daya.

'Haan sahi toh keh rahi hai wo' said Shreya dreamily.

'Kya?' asked Daya

'Nahi. Nahi kuch nahi' said Shreya quickly.

'Toh kal aunty ne mujhe shaadi me invite karne ke liye call kiya tha tab wo mujhe bol rahi thi ki unhone mere liye ek ladki dekhi hai. Aur wo chahte hai ki main usse mil lu' said Daya.

'Kya? Aur phir aapne haan kardi?' asked Shreya shocked.

'Are nahi. Maine unhe saaf saaf bata diya mi mujhe kisi bhi ladki se nahi milna' said Daya.

'Oh. Phir thik hai' said Shreya smiling widely.

'Tum kyu itni khush ho rahi ho?' asked Daya looking suspiciously at her.

'Nahi toh! Accha to boliye na aage kya hua?' asked Shreya diverting him from the topic.

'Maine kaha unse lekin aunty maane ke liye tayar hi nahi thi. Toh mere muh se nikal gaya ki meri yaha Mumbai ek girlfriend hai.' said Daya.

Shreya looked at him and said, 'Par aisa toh kuch bhi nahi hai na?'

'Nahi. Lekin aunty ne bohot saare sawal karna shuru kar diye. Ladki ka naam kya hai lya karti hai. Toh maine bahana bana diya ki main busy hoon. Waha aakar bataunga. Lekin phir aunty ne toh hadd kar hi. Unhone mujhse kaha ki tum uss ladki ko shaadi me lekar aao. Wo milna chahti hai uss ladki se. Maine unhe bohot samjhane ki koshish ki par wo nahi maani. Maine bohot soch liye phir mere dimag me ye khayal aaya ki main tumse puch sakta hoon ye natak karne ke liye. Sirf saat din ki baat hai Shreya. Main unhe bataunga ki hamari engagement hui hai. It will be a Contract Engagement' said Daya.

Shreya stared at him blankly. What the hell was happening with her? Should she accept his offer or no? For a brief moment she was tempted to accept it. A whole with with Daya and that too as his Fiancée! It sounded quite an advantageous prospect. But then the harsh reality struck her. It would only be a Contract Engagement. And after becoming used to having him around all the time, will she be able to cope with the reality that she is nothing more than a friend to him? No! I shouldn't do it! Main hi kyu? Aapko koi dusri ladki yaad kyu nahi aayi ye natak karne ke liye?

'Sir ye main kaise...' her voice trailed off.

'Shreya I know main tumse bohot jyada maang raha hu. Par uss waqt mere paas koi option nahi tha. Aur main nahi milna chahta kisi bhi ladki se.' said looking at her with expectant eyes.

'Aapko kisi aur se puch lete ye natak karne ke liye?' asked Shreya.

'Baat ye hai ki tum mere baare me bohot kuch jaanti ho. Agar waha pe tumse kisi ne ulte sidhe sawal kar liye toh tum acche se jawab de paogi' said Daya.

'Aap convince kitna accha kar lete hai' said Shreya.

'Iska matlab tum ye natak karne ke liye tayar ho?' asked Daya happily.

'Jee nahi. Maine aise kab kaha? Mujhe sochne ke liye waqt chahiye' said Shreya.

'Isme sochna kya hai? Sach me thodi na engagement karni hai hame?' asked Daya.

'Sach me nahi karni isiliye to problem hai na' Shreya wanted to shout but she decided to stay silent.

'Shreya please mere liye ek baar itna kar lo. Please mana mat karna. Tum ye kar sakti ho main jaanta hoon. Tumhari chutti ke liye main baat karunga ACP sir se. Aur kisi ko kuch batane ki jaroorat nahi hai. Mera dost Goa me rehta hai. Tum bhi ek hafta chutti enjoy kar paogi. Waise bhi hame kaha time milta hai chutti par jane ka?' asked Daya.

'Sir please aap mujhe aaj raat ka waqt dijiye sochne ke liye' said Shreya.

'Okay. Okay. Tum ghar jaakar aaram se soch lo. Aur kal main tumahre jawab ka intejar karunga' said Daya.

'Main chalti hu sir' said Shreya and moved towards the door to leave.

'Shreya ek minute' Daya called.

'Jee sir?' she asked.

'Agar tum kuch aisa waisa soch rahi ho toh you can trust me... samajh rahi ho na tum main kya kehna chahta hoon? Mere saath akele aane me tumhe koi problem to nahi?' he asked.

Shreya felt herself going red in face. 'Sir mujhe aap par bharosa hai. Aapko nahi pata ki main apne aap ko kitna safe mehsus karti hu jab aap mere saath hote hai' she said.

Daya stared at her for an entire minute hearing her words. Finally Shreya broke the eye contact and left wishing him 'Good night'

O-o-o-o

When Shreya told Tarika and Purvi about Daya's proposal they were absolutely thrilled.

'Mujhe laga tum dono ko ye news shocking lagegi' said Shreya.

'Awesome news hai! Itna accha mauka hum haath se kaise jaane ee sakte hai? Hum kitne dino se aisa mauka taalaash rahe the. Dekh tu waha uske saath akeli jayegi. Aur baki log samajh rahe honge ki tum dono ek dusre ke pyar karte ho. Toh obviously tum dono bohot time saath me spend karoge. Aur phir Daya samajh jayega ki wo ladki tum hi ho jise wo dhoond raha hai' said Tarika.

'Isse accha mauka ho hi nahi sakta Shreya. Tarika sach keh rahi hai. Aur dekh waha Shaadi hai. Toh bohot saare guests bhi aaye honge. Wahi pe koi ek ladka pakad le aur friendship lar le usse. Bas dekhna phir Daya sir kaise jealous hote hai.' said Purvi.

'Tum dono samajh nahi rahi ho. Ye sirf saat din ke liye hai. Aur agar Daya sir ne aise kuch bhi nahi kiya toh main kya karu? Don't you realise that I'll start loving him even more and it will be very difficult for me once those seven days will get over' said Shreya.

'Shreya dekh aisa kuch nahi hoga. Tu jaa uske saath. Dekh jab ti wapas aayegi toh sab kuch badal gaya hoga' said Tarika earnestly.

O-o-o-o

The next day Shreya called Daya and told him that she was ready to come with him. The previous night she had thought about it. She felt excited and nervous at the same time. An entire week with Daya! It was like a dream come true. She was ready to face the consequences whatever they might be but she just couldn't refuse him.

Daya was extremely happy with her decision. He spoke to ACP sir about their leave and he got permission too.

'Kya bataya aapne ACP sir ko?' Shreya asked him.

'Tum fikr mat karo. Sach nahi bataya hai. You know Shreya aaj main kitna khush hoon. Sirf tumhare decision ki wajah se! I just love you for this!' he exclaimed.

O-o-o-o

The days seemed to pass in a blur. This was the first time they would be together without anybody to disturb them and without the burden of work hanging on them. Shreya wanted to make the most of it. She didn't want it to go wrong in any way.

The previous night before they were going to leave, Shreya was packing her bag when the bell rang. She was surprised to find Daya at her door.

'Sir aap yaha iss waqt?' she asked.

'Haan wo packing ho gayi?' he asked.

'Jee. Bas abhi ho gayi' she said.

'Uh okay main ek jaroori kaam se aaya tha actually' said Daya awkardly.

'Kya hua?' she asked.

It was a necessary part of their muse. How much weird and uncomfortable he felt, he would have to do it.

'Hum unhe ye batane wale hai ki hamari engagement hui hai. Toh engagement ring lekar aaya tha main' said Daya looking at her to see her reaction.

Shreya looked away. She felt very strange. It was impossible to describe her feelings. She saw Daya extracting a velvet blue box from his jeans pocket. He opened the box and Shreya gasped. There sat a beautiful ring with a single huge diamond. It was sparkling innocently.

'Yeh sab...' said Shreya looking at him.

'Karna padega. I know tumhe kaisa feel ho raha hai. I am sorry' he said.

Shreya's POV: Kya pata hai aapko? Kaash aap sach me mere dil ke baat jaan pate. Aap ko toh kuch bhi pata nahi Daya.

Shreya was surprised when he gently took her hand in his and slipped the ring onto her finger.

She stared breathlessly at her own hand. She saw that Daya had already worn his.

'Kaisi lagi?' he asked.

It was indeed very beautiful. Shreya marvelled its beauty for a moment watching as the yellow light in her room refracted from the shiny diamond.

'It's perfect sir' she said.

'Great! Ab bas mujhe 'Sir' na bulane ki aadat dal lo' he said.

Shreya stared at him for a moment and then said, 'It's perfect Daya'