Chapter 1: Bella Sharma

A slim, smartly dressed girl entered her house and sat on the sofa with a sigh. Her handbag slipped from her tired fingers and fell to the floor with a soft thud. She took off her spectacles and rubbed her bloodshot eyes as she surveyed her surroundings and waited to see if her entering the house had woken anyone up. Hearing no sound, she sighed in relief. 

She willed herself to get up and go to her room but was too tired to even move. Finally, she gave up and sank back into the sofa with a soft groan. Her eyes fluttered shut and her spectacles, which were in her hands slipped to the floor. She drifted off to sleep with her head resting on the sofa’s back cushion and her hand dangling on one side. 

A few minutes later she was awakened by her mother, Janvi gently shaking her awake. She opened her eyes slowly. The first thing she noticed was that her neck was awfully stiff and her right hand was numb. She couldn’t even feel if it was still in place or no. Next, she saw the blurred face of her mother peering down at her. She blinked a few times but still couldn’t see clearly. That’s when she realised that she was not wearing her spectacles. Janvi moved to the side and she saw that it was daylight outside. Suddenly the previous night came flooding back to her. She had spent the entire night on the sofa itself. 

She groaned as she tried to move her stiff neck and numb hand. Her mother gently propped her on the sofa and proceeded to open the curtains. 

“Good morning, mom,” she greeted Janvi sleepily. 

“Good morning, Bella. Go brush your teeth and come to me. Let me apply something to your neck,” Janvi told her. 

Bella gave a huge yawn and Janvi laughed at her. 

“If you want, you can sleep some more,” she told Bella. 

“No, mom, I am good.” Bella stifled yet another yawn as she got up. 

She went and brushed her teeth and came back to the living room and plopped down on the sofa. Janvi brought a bottle of balm and massaged some onto her stiff neck. 

“Coffee?” she asked her as she gently massaged balm onto Bella’s neck.

Bella gave her a grateful smile. Once that was done, she got down to work while Janvi went to make coffee for her. When she came out with coffee, she was annoyed to see Bella still in her office clothes and working. 

“Bella,” Janvi thundered. “Go and change first. Wash your face, take a bath and take a break from work.”

Bella looked at her mother guiltily. Janvi was right. She should take a break, change out of her clothes. She pushed her laptop away and went and sat at the dining table. Janvi placed the coffee mug in front of her and sat with Bella. 

“For how long will your schedule remain this crazy Bella?” she asked her with concern. 

“Just a few more days, mom. Once this deal is signed, it will be all good,” Bella assured her. 

“I have been hearing this for the past six months,” Janvi snorted. 

Bella sighed. “It will really end in a few days now. The presentation is tomorrow.”

“All this work is not good for you Bella,” Janvi told her. 

“Mom, we have been through this. This is what I have been working for. If this collaboration goes through, I will get the promotion that I have been aiming for.”

“At what cost Bella? You have been working yourself to death these past few months,” Janvi argued. 

“I promise, mom. Once I get this promotion, you, me, pa and Pratham will go on a long holiday,” Bella promised. 

Janvi snorted at this. “Long holiday, my foot. Once you get your promotion, your responsibilities will increase even more. Then you will probably start living in your office and visiting us on weekends.”

“Nothing of this sort will happen. Vyankatesh uncle has threatened me that if I don’t take a two week holiday after all of this is over, he will send me on a forced holiday,” Bella informed Janvi. 

“Thank god! The only reason why you are allowed to work there is that...” Janvi began. 

“... Is that Vyankatesh uncle is the MD of that firm. Am I right?” Bella finished her sentence. 

Janvi laughed at that. Vyankatesh Iyer was Gayatri Iyer’s husband. Gayatri and Janvi had been friends since their college days. They were like an extended family for Bella and loved her like a daughter. She was very fond of Gayatri Maasi as she called Gayatri. Vyankatesh used to manage the company on behalf of his close friend and the owner, Andy Sehgal.

Bella quickly finished her coffee and went to take a bath. By the time she came out, her father, Omkar had woken up and was drinking his morning tea at the dining table. 

“Morning, dad!” Bella greeted him brightly as she sat at the dining table towel drying her hair. 

“Morning, Bella. Did you come home very late at night?” Omkar asked her noting that her eyes still looked a little puffed and tired. 

“Hmm... It was about one-thirty or quarter to two. I was so tired that I crashed on the sofa itself,” Bella confessed. 

“I have told you so many times if you are going to wait till late then no need to come home. Why can’t you stay at your office sleeping facility? It’s not safe to travel around so late at night, “ Omkar scolded her. 

“But Dad, I travel by car and you know I can’t sleep anywhere that’s not home,” Bella argued. 

“Yeah, Dad, who the hell will mess with a sleep-deprived Bella? Sleep-deprived Bella is like a watching the Walking Dead, live,” came a snide comment from the kitchen. That was her younger brother Pratham who was standing at the stove making breakfast for everyone. He was an excellent chef and owned a cafe. He loved cooking. 

Bella whipped around and scowled at him. 

“Don’t make such ugly faces otherwise your face will get set like that permanently and then no one will marry you,” Pratham teased her. 

“Stop it Pratham!” Omkar scolded him before Bella could spring at him. “That is not the only kind of danger I am talking about. She can crash if she is sleepy.”

“Dad, don’t worry I am super careful,” Bella assured him. 

“But still, we will feel so relieved if you started taking a driver with you,” Janvi chipped in. 

Bella rolled her eyes. “Mom, I don’t need a driver. I can manage just fine. What’s for breakfast?” she called ou to Pratham as delicious smell wafted out to her. 

“Theple,” Pratham shouted back. 

Pratham soon brought out a stack of piping hot theplas to the dining table. Bella helped him in making a simple garlic dip and they all sat for breakfast. 

Post breakfast, Bella opened her laptop and began giving finishing touches to the presentation which she was preparing for the next day. Janvi gave up scolding her after a bit and began her weekly cleaning of the house. Since Bella was busy that day, only Pratham helped out Janvi while Omkar did what he knew best, cheering them on. Both the kids and their mother were of the firm opinion that Omkar was hopeless when it came to household chores. 

Bella continued to work all through the morning, correcting this, tweaking that, fine-tuning the words and generally making sure that presentation did not have any flaws. Finally, late in the afternoon, Pratham managed to drag her away from the work long enough for her to grab a bite. As they all sat around the table eating a simple meal of kadhi and rice, the doorbell rang. 

Since Janvi was done with her lunch, she went to open the door. Two beautiful girls were standing at the door. One was Suhani and the other one was Vishakha. Both were Bella’s colleagues and closest friends. As soon as she saw them, Bella tried to get up from the table. 

“Bella, finish your meal first,” Omkar scolded her. 

“But, dad,” she began but he cut her off. 

“No arguments. Just finish your meal,” he warned her. 

Reluctantly she finished her meal and joined the girls in her room. Just as they were beginning their work, someone knocked on the door to her room. Suhani went to open the door and blushed furiously when she saw a shirtless Pratham standing outside. Pratham on his part was also flustered. Since he had finished his meal before, he had slipped away from the table to take a bath as he was feeling sticky. So he was not aware of Vish and Suhani’s arrival. 

Bella glanced up from her laptop and saw Suhani and Pratham staring at each other. It was a well-known fact that they both were madly in love with each other. In fact, they had been dating each other for a few months now but they were not official yet. Seeing them give lovey-dovey looks to each other, Vish gave a loud whistle. That seemed to bring them to their senses. 

“Mom is asking, do you guys want some dessert?” he asked looking at Suhani. 

“Is the offer valid for us poor souls as well or is it only for a special someone?” Vish asked him mischievously. 

“It’s open to all,” Prabtham replied, his eyes never once leaving Suhani’s. 

“In that case, we will gladly accept it,” Vish giggled. “What kind of dessert, may I know?”

“I made a special kind of mousse,” Pratham told her. 

“Okay, if you both are quite done with your eye locks and eye-romance, can we get some work done? Suhani?” Bella called out impatiently. 

Suhani gave a jerk and returned to her seat beside Bella. Pratham left to room get their desserts. 

“Ugh! You are so unromantic, Bella,” Vish complained as they settled once again. 

“Normally, I would encourage romantic eye locks and stares but today, we are on a mission. So, no fooling around,” Bella declared. 

Soon they were working smoothly with each other. Suhani and Vish knew that the promotion was very important for Bella. So they both worked hard to ensure that everything was perfect for her. Pratham quietly came in and placed their dessert bowls beside them. Even he knew that now was not the time to mess around with Bella. Suhani blew him a kiss and he smiled. 

After working for about three hours straight, Bella finally relented to take a fifteen-minute break. Both Suhani and Vish sighed in relief. They all shifted to the living room and Bella prepared tea for everyone. Even Pratham joined them. Their parents were in their room, enjoying a cup of coffee. 

“Where’s Yuvi?” Bella asked suddenly. 

“Yeah, where is he?” Suhani asked. The question was directed at Vish. 

Yuvi was supposed to reach Bella’s place an hour ago but still had not shown up. Bella was beginning to feel annoyed. Yuvi was her boss’s younger son and a brat. He was Bella’s responsibility for the past two years. She had managed to turn him into a halfway decent, dedicated employee in those two years. So Bella was, in a way, his mentor. Although he was almost her age, he was extremely childish and immature. So, big boss as everyone addressed the company’s owner, Andy Sehgal, as had given Bella the responsibility to whip Yuvi into shape. She had done a decent job of it and was quite proud of her mentee. 

That presentation was not just a test of her competence but also a test of her mentorship skills. Yuvi was supposed to present a part of it in front of his elder brother and their new boss as the Andy was retiring. Rumour was that while their Andy was easy going and forgiving, his elder son, Mahir was nothing like him. He was a taskmaster and expected nothing less than perfection from his employees. Bella was not about to let Yuvi screw her reputation in front of the new boss. 

Suhani repeated her question to Vish. 

“How am I supposed to know?” Vish countered defensively. 

Bella sat back with a groan. “Don’t tell me that you guys fought with each other, again.”

“No,” Vish replied, blushing delicately. 

“Then,” Pratham asked eagerly. 

“He proposed me last night,” Vish told them. 

“WHAT?” Suhani shouted. 

Hearing her shout, even Omkar and Janvi came to the living room. 

“What happened?” Omkar asked worried that something was wrong. 

Suhani looked at him sheepishly. “Sorry, uncle. That was me.”

“Yuvi proposed Vish,” Pratham informed them. 

“Really?” Janvi squealed. 

Vish nodded her head. “And I said yes.”

“Wow! Congratulations...” Suhani shouted in excitement. 

“Ann then I fought with him,” Vish continued. 

“What?” Bella asked her unsure whether she heard her right. 

“Yes, I fought with him because the proposal was impromptu and no special gestures were involved,” Vish told them. 

“Come on Vish, the poor guy proposed you and you fought with him?” Pratham asked her perplexed. 

“Yes, I wanted the proposal to be something special,” she said stubbornly. 

“I am with Vish on this one,” Janvi declared. “Men think that just words are enough. But gestures matter too.” She shot a smug look at Omkar. 

“So, I think, Yuvi is planning something special for me. I am not sure though,” Vish told them.

Bella looked annoyed at this. “You mean to say that Yuvi missed this last very important meeting to plan a date?”

“Come on, Bella, that’s not fair. Your best friend’s boyfriend proposed her and you are worried about a meeting?” Janvi chided her. 

“Of course I am worried about the meeting. Because the same boyfriend is also my mentee. His performance tomorrow will reflect upon me and my mentorship skills. I needed him here to give some last-minute instructions. What if he screws up tomorrow?” Bella defended herself. 

“He won’t,” Vish assured her. “I will make sure that he is well prepared for tomorrow. I am also your best friend, Bella. I know how much this promotion matters to you.”

Bella smiled gratefully at Vish. 

“But I think it’s really unfair that you fought with him Vish,” Pratham told her. 

“Come on, Pratham. I know the proposal itself is special but a little bit atmosphere building, a little romance doesn’t hurt,” Suhani defended her friend. 

“I hope you are noting things down Pratham,” Omkar teased him. “We don’t want you to face the same fate as Yuvi when you finally propose Suhani.”

Suhani blushed at this and Pratham looked awkward. “Dad!”

“What? I think it’s high time you both made things official,” Janvi told him. “ I am tired of Suhani coming here like a guest. If you don’t move quickly, I will go to her home and kidnap her and bring her here. You can go wherever you want.’

Bella laughed at Pratham’s indignant face. 

“Yes, after all, we want a daughter around once Bella gets married,” Omkar said slyly. 

That shut her up. “Hang on! When did I become the target?”

“Come on, Bella, you will have to get married at some point,” Janvi told her. 

Bella shook her head exasperated. Her parents had been behind her blood to get married for the past year now. She had lost count of the number of proposals she had rejected. The doorbell rang and Bella thankfully escaped to open the door. Gayatri Iyer stood at the door. 

“Maasi!” Bella greeted her and gave her a tight hug. 

“Hi, dear!” Gayatri hugged her back. “Hey girls!” she greeted Suhani and Vish. 

“Hello, ma’am!” 

“You guys having a party?” Gayatri asked in mock surprise. “ I would have expected Bella to be working since the presentation is tomorrow.”

“Don’t remind her, Gayatri. She has been working on that presentation since moring. She even called these girls here for that. And now she is upset because Yuvi is not here.” Janvi told her friend exasperated. 

“Where is he?” Gayatri asked. 

“Poor thing is replanning to propose Vish since the first proposal didn’t match up to Her Highness’s standards,” Pratham commented. 

Vish scowled at Pratham while Gayatri looked elated. 

“Yuvi proposed? Wow! Congratulations you two,” she wished Vish. 

Vish smiled and thanked her. Gayatri joined them on the sofa. After chatting with for a few minutes, Bella began to feel restless. 

“Ummm,” she interrupted the conversation. “ We had decided on a fifteen-minute break. It’s been almost half an hour. I think we should get back to work.”

“Don’t you think. Maasi, that Bella is being unnecessarily paranoid about this whole presentation thing?” Pratham asked Gayatri. “I mean it’s not like Uncle is going to hand out the promotion based on just tomorrow’s performance. Bella has been working with the company for the past five years now. Will that performance not count?”

“Of course,” Gayatri agreed. “And Vyankatesh was saying that the presentation is also looking good. I don’t know why you are stressing so much, Bella.”

“Yes, Maasi uncle told me that the presentation is good but that does not mean that I should slack, right?” Bella argued. “I can’t get overconfident...” she added. 

“Do you know that overstressing also ruins performances?” Janvi asked her softly. 

Bella hung her head. “What’s wrong dear?” Omkar asked her. 

“Nothing, it’s just that I don’t want Anu to create a scene once again,” Bella said in a small voice. 

“Since when did you start caring about what Anu thinks and does?” Vish asked her in surprise. 

“I don’t give a f...” Bella stopped herself from completing the sentence. “I mean I don’t care what she says about me. But I don’t want uncle to get embroiled in a controversy because of me once again.”

Anu was Bella’s rival at work. She was an extremely shallow girl who thought that whatever Bella achieved was because of her connection with Vyankatesh. Vyankatesh didn’t exactly hide his affection for Bella and so, everyone knew that she was close to his family and was like a daughter to him.  A few months ago, Anu had created a huge scene at their annual party and accused Vyankatesh of favouritism. No one had bought her crap and Vyankatesh had warned her against any more drunken tantrums. Bella had taken it quite personally as she couldn’t see her father figure get humiliated because of her. 

“Bella, that is all in the past now. And you know Vyankatesh doesn’t mind defending you,” Gayatri comforted her. 

“But that does not mean that I take his support for granted...” Bella was cut off by an exasperated sigh. 

“You are taking nothing for granted. And no more work for you either,” Gayatri warned her. “We are going to have a cup of coffee and you, my dear girl are going to chill with the rest of us” she declared. 

“But I just had tea,” Bella protested.

“Have a glass of jaljeera before you sleep then,” Gayatri told her.

Pratham guffawed at that and Bella scowled at him and threw a pillow at him which he dodged. Pratham rushed to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee for Gayatri and spared Bella a restless night due to acidity by not making one for her. He brought out the mug of coffee to see that conversation had turned towards Bella’s wedding. 

Bella had rejected guy in the previous week and Gayatri wanted to know the reason for rejection. 

“Coffee...” Pratham trailed off seeing Bella’s sour face. 

“Maasi, he didn’t click...” Bella was saying. 

“Are you guys talking about Mayur?” Pratham asked. 

Janvi nodded and Pratham set the coffee in front of Gayatri. 

“I think we will leave you two at it,” Janvi said while slowly backing out of the room. 

“Yeah, even I have to go and meet Yuvi,” Vish told everyone hastily. 

“Ummm Pratham, you had promised me ice cream...” Suhani looked meaningfully at Pratham. He took the hint quickly. 

Soon the entire room was empty and Bella and Gayatri were left staring at each other. 

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