She had almost reached the table when he finally looked up.And for a moment , just one, treacherous moment , Radhika's carefully rehearsed indifference wobbled. Because the photos genuinely hadn't done him justice. And Up close, she could feel his presence, and he had this air about him that made it hard for people to ignore him.
She could understand a little bit why her mom was so fixed on having him as her son in law.
She reached the table, smiled , not her practiced smile, a real genuine one, and opened her mouth to introduce herself only for him to interrupt her.
"Radhika Menon?" His eyes moved over her once, slowly ,the way you'd glance at a menu item you'd already decided against.
"You're early." He checked his watch. "I guess it's natural when you're this desperate to be an Oberoi."
Her smile was still on her face, and that was the worst part , the delay. The moment where her expression hadn't caught up yet to what her brain was slowly processing. She was still smiling while the words arranged themselves into their actual meaning.
'Desperate...Did this bastard just call me desperate?...'
She gazed at the man sitting there looking at her like she was some cheap desperate woman impresed by his fancy title and status, and gesturing to the chair across from him like he was doing her some enormous charitable favor by allowing her to sit in it.
It wasn't anger she felt, not yet. It was that specific, skin-crawling embarrassment of someone who had waved back enthusiastically at a stranger who was waving at someone else entirely. The embarrassment of wishing the ground would just swallow her up.
She sat down, her fingers found her clutch and clicked it open and shut once, her fingers brushing against the vial of liquid that might help her get through this very torturous date because she was feeling it in her bones to just smack this guy across the face.
His face that had appeared handsome to her a few moments ago now appeared smug and punchable.
Radhika felt she made a good decision by listening to Shreya...
.....
Kundan set his tablet down while turning his deep gaze over to Radhika as he evaluated her for a few seconds as his mind seemingly came to a decision.
"I'll keep this brief," he said, and his tone was exactly the same one he used while dealing with his subordinates, not unkind, just completely absent of any acknowledgement that she was a person rather than a chore or agenda. "My parents have decided you're suitable and I haven't formed an opinion either way. So I have found a solution that benefits all parties involved and listen carefully because I won't repeat myself." Radhika watched him the way you'd watch rain slide down a window, with mild curiousity and interest.
To Kundan it was the wrong response as he gazed at her expression being a bit confused by not seeing the reaction he expected, but he still pressed on not giving it too much thought.
"I don't intend to marry. That hasn't changed now and it won't in the future. But my parents have decided to make it their life's mission, and I've run out of patience for that particular battle." He reached into his jacket. "So. Five years. Married, in name only. You carry the Oberoi name, I get my parents off my back and everyone moves on" Radhika just continued gazing at him her expression not giving away anything about how she was feeling.
"No public appearances expected of you as my wife. No events, no performances. You live your life, I live mine. Your expenses are covered entirely , you won't want for anything. The conditions are basic. No infidelity, nothing that publicly embarrasses the family. After five years you leave. Quietly, and well-compensated." An arrogant smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Most women would find that a very reasonable offer." He said while sliding a folded document across the table toward her.
Throughout all of this, Radhika had not said a single word.
Not because she was overwhelmed, or even because she didn't have anything to say. It was more that she'd been watching him talk and talk and talk and there was something almost fascinating about it, the sheer confidence of a man who had walked into this café with a contract already printed, who had decided the shape of her next five years sometime between his last board meeting and his morning coffee, and had not once thought to wonder whether she might have thoughts of her own about it.
Radhika was very calm... But it was not the normal kind of calm you achieve while you are at peace , this was the kind of calm you have when you are so pissed that you just can't feel stressed anymore.
Multiple thoughts of murder ran through her pretty head ... But she reigned them all in. She wasn't going to waste her youth just because she killed some rich loser who still hasn't learned to wear his chaddi ( underwear ) without his mommy's help...
....