"Ishani" Kaira gently tapped on the door of the bridal suite booked by the groom's family for them, eagerly awaiting a response from the bride inside. After waiting in silence for a response that never came, she made the decision to enter without further delay.

"Ishani" As she lifted the weighty deep green lehenga studded with sparkles, she gently pushed the door open to check the bathroom and balcony searching for her younger sister. It was then that her gaze landed on a piece of white paper on the dressing table. Her intuition immediately told her what had transpired and without even reading the letter, she hurried to find her mother, attempting to keep her composure normal and happy as a sister of the bride should be.

She guided her mother away from the guests holding a wide smile.

"Kya hua Kaira?" (What happened Kaira?) Her mum asked smiling.

"Padhye" (Read) She unfolded the letter intended for her mother and requested her to go through it. Her mother fainted as soon as she finished reading the letter. The guests who were close by observed the unfolding drama with interest. The groom's family noticed the change of air and immediately took control of the situation and guided her mother to the nearest room.

"Uncle aunty..." Kaira approached the groom's parents with her hands folded and head bowed.

"Ishani ran away" She anticipated the shame that would come to both the families, but believed it was best to inform them sooner than later. Kaira felt a tear trickle down her face as she braced herself to listen to the accusations that would be directed towards her family by the groom's relatives.

"This is what happens when you get your son married to a middle-class girl" Although the comment ripped her apart, she remained silent and kept her head lowered. The offensive comment had come from the groom's aunt. Kaira's mother, Manisha also chose not to respond and stood by her daughter enduring more such remarks from many relatives.

"Ma" The commanding voice of the groom echoed in the room, causing Kaira to shiver in fear. She was too afraid to meet the angry gaze of the groom whose bride had fled a few moments before she was summoned. He had left the mandap and walked into the room noticing a crowd building up infront of the room.

"What is happening?" He inquired with a stern look.

"Bas beta(Son, just...) their daughter ran away. Of course, she had since she grew up without a father. Who would have taught her some manners" Once again the same aunt made a sarcastic remark, prompting Kaira to clench her fists in anger. She chose to remain silent as the aunt criticized Ishani's actions and judging her family on the basis of her father's actions. The groom noticed Kaira's clenched fists and gave a stern look to his aunt before taking hold of Manisha's hands and gently pushing them down.

"The baraat (procession) can't leave without a bride" He announced. For the first time since he entered, Kaira looked up at him in shock. He closed his eyes for a few seconds thinking of a way to clean up the already spilt mess.

"If you don't have a problem, I'd like to make you my bride" He announced surprising everyone in the room including her. She gestured for him to follow as she walked into another room.

"Hum apse pyaar nahi karte" (I don't love you)

"Hum bhi"(Me too) He said maintaining a distance between them. She glanced back at him.

"I don't know how to love anyone" She looked at him with a plea to help her out of the situation.

"Now that's not true" He sat down in a chair taking deep breaths.

"I don't want to give you false hopes" She pulledup a chair opposite to him and sat down.

"I can't leave from here without a bride. My subjects will look down on me and the royal family if I leave without a wife" He removed the turban he was wearing and placed it on his laps.

"I'm sorry on behalf of my sister" Kaira said with her head hung low in humiliation.

"Marry me to correct her mistake" He said firmly making her look at him.

"Do you know what happened with my father?" She asked gulping down her saliva. He nodded his head unsurely of how his answer was related to the situation. Many years back when he was in his late teens the Sharma family affairs had been on all news like fire. The world had seen how her father had mocked his marriage and the challenges the family had faced due to it.

"He cheated on ma. I fell in love with a boy, he betrayed me when I needed him. I forgot all that and again fell in love with a man. He promised me that we would run away together and start a new life but I was the one who sat at the railway station for a whole day waiting for him. He never came" Kaira said as a tear slid down her left eye.

"I won't cheat on you if that's what you are worried about. There's already a woman who resides in my heart, unfortunately she isn't my destiny. I was marrying your sister to fulfill the royal responsibilities but beyond that there wasn't going to be any relation. Ishani had agreed to my conditions. We both signed a contract" Adhiraj quickly cleared out his perspective so that she can think with a clear mind.

"So you are saying that you and Ishani were going to do a contractual marriage?" Kaira gasped in shock, placing a hand over her mouth. He nodded holding her gaze.

"Why would she do something like that?" Kaira murmured to herself standing up and walking towards a window, thinking about why her sister would agree to such conditions and what the repercussions of breaking the contract could be.

"As a good businessman I would ask for repayment for what she's done by breaking the contract but seeing you and your mom I am taking a step back" He said standing up. She quickly turned around to look at him.

"What is the repayment?" Kaira asked crossing her fingers behind her back hoping it would be something she could pay.

"1 crore upfront or a year in jail in case she broke the contract and if I broke the contract, I would have to write down all the properties and businesses in my name as hers and a year in jail. That is what we had decided" Adhiraj said wearing the turban. Kaira slipped down on to the ground unable to process the new information that just came from him.

"Wait" She halted him from going seeing that he was all set to leave.

"I think we are done with the conversation. How many minutes will you need to make a decision?" He asked straightening his heavy sherwani.

"If you want me to agree to sit beside in the mandap you need to sit here and converse with me because it is necessary" She said looking at him hoping he would sit down again.

"What do you want to talk about?" He shook his head with a small smile and walked to her.

"What if I can actually pay you?" Feeling overwhelmed with embarrassment and shame, Kaira took off her jewelry as the heat of humiliation flushed over her skin.

"Who are you going to loan from?" He asked interested by her courage and quick thinking.

"I.. I have a friend who can lend me that much" She said stammering looking away from him.

"Who?" He asked crossing his arms at his chest.

"Doesn't matter but what if I can get you the money?" Kaira asked sitting down on the bed, bouncing her knee in anticipation of his reply.

"Well then you'd be free of the contract, and this would be our final meet" She nodded her head at his words waiting for the 'but' to come and ruin all the hope that was forming in her heart.

"But... both the families will lose their face in front of the world" Kaira looked down at her hands and closed her eyes at the harsh reality of his words.

"Is there really no way out?" She asked frustrated and tired with the way the evening turned out to be. Adhiraj breathed out heavily telling her he felt equally trapped in the situation as much as she was.

"Kaira... I'm in the same boat as you" He said removing his turban again and walking to the other side of the bed.

"Ek baat puchu?" (Can I ask you something?) She asked with her back still facing him. He hummed waiting for her to ask her question.

"Why did you send a proposal to us despite knowing our family history? No one would want to form an alliance with a family who's so dysfunctional" She pulled her knees closer to her chest hoping to find comfort by her actions.

"You were once a royal too" He said pinching the skin in the middle of his eyebrows.

"Exactly, once upon a time. We left that life a long time back" She moved close to the headboard and laid back.

"Its my way of 'fuck you' to the officials who are forcing my hand into getting married" Adhiraj said with a chuckle which caused her to chuckle too.

"Now can I ask you a question?" Adhiraj said leaning his back on the headboard.

"Sure" She turned her head towards him.

"I sent out my proposal initially for you. Why did you reject it?" He asked turning to look at her curious about her reasons.

"Told you earlier, I can't do love. I have my insecurities running too deep within me. There wasn't anything wrong in you, I wasn't ready for commitment" She said truthfully.

"Hmm" He nodded and looked away.

"We've met each other for less than 5 times, and you didn't strike me as a man who'd talk for so long" She said changing the topic.

"Desperate times, desperate solutions" He said with a smile making her giggle.

"You can be anything but a desperate man. I'm more surprised by why you are entertaining my questions and not dragging me to the mandap" She sat upright and asked him.

"I'm a ruthless and dangerous man but I'm also a gentleman when in the crowds of women" He too sat upright and answered her.

"So you are like Elijah Mikaelson?" She asked eyeing him up and down and checking the boxes of similarity between them. He looked at her confused asking for further explanation. She shook her head with a smile asking him to let go of the topic. Both sat there for a minute pondering on their decision, checking the pros and cons.

"I... Let's get married" Kaira said standing up confidently.

"If you can hold the crowd for a few more minutes I'd like to invite my best friend to my wedding" She adjusted her lehenga and opened the door to tell everyone her decision. Adhiraj nodded and followed her out while Kaira made a call to her best friend explaining her the situation and asking her to come at the earliest.