Weird Proposals

"I can't believe you did this to me.... How could you just tell me one thing and do something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT????????"

She was shouting at him because she felt so betrayed.

"RELAX!!! It's not a big deal."

He tried to defend himself.

"Maybe not to you.. But for me, IT IS.... What if someone saw you out there with her??? They'll gossip about you having an affair. Did you even think of me, or how I might feel....????? I'm your wife..!"

He stared right into her eyes and started talking.

"Let me just remind you.. Our marriage is NOT REAL.. We agreed not to interfere in each others' lives... You can live your life and I'm living mine.. Don't you dare tell me what to do or not..! If you have any problem, just file the divorce..."

He left kicking the chair next to him.

Meera Dhawaan was the only child of a rich family and her parents were forcing her to get married. They were bringing her dozens of proposals, but she agreed to none. In India, girls marrying after their late twenties is considered as some kind of a disaster. Meera was twenty five years old and she had no interest in getting married yet. She wanted to live her life to the fullest. She wanted freedom.

Meeting Rahul, her husband was unexpected. Their parents set them up. A restaurant was reserved for the two of them to meet. Rahul was already there when Meera arrived.

"Hey, I'm Meera.." She smiled, noticing that he is more handsome than she thought.

"Rahul.." He nodded and signaled towards the chair. He waited for her to settle down and started to talk.

"Listen.. um..... To be honest, I agreed to meet you because my dad forced me to.. I already have a girlfriend.. I really don't think this is gonna work..."

She listened to him with a smile, thinking that he was damn straight.

"Well, that makes the two of us... I mean I have no boyfriend, but I have no interest in getting married yet.."

"Cool.....!" He smiled observing her reactions.

"Lets just have dinner and leave.. Remember to tell your parents that meeting me was disgusting" He laughed.

They had a friendly little chat while having dinner and they both left relieved.

Around two weeks later, Meera got a call from an unknown number.

"Hello.."

"Hey, it's um... it's Rahul.. Guess you still remember me..?"

"Of course... Sooooo, what's up???"

"Can we meet??? I mean I kinda have to talk to you.. Please..???"

"Ummm... Yeah.. Sure.. When..???"

"Tonight's good for you? I'll pick you up around 7.."

"Sure.. Okay.. I guess.."

Wondering what he had to talk all of a sudden, she got ready to meet him. As promised, he picked her up at 7.00 p.m. They barely talked while driving and Rahul looked kind of embarrassed. So she did not try to talk to him. They stopped at a cozy restaurant near the beach. After settling in a table on the shore, they just looked at each other. Meera was looking at him questionably. He understood her look and started to talk.

"Sooooooo..... I don't really know how to begin, but let me just say.. Marry me..!"

Meera was shocked with what he said and got up.

"Wait, WHAT?????"

He smiled.

"I can explain... Can you please sit..?"

"Are you out of your mind??? We don't even know each other.. Um.. I can't believe this.."

Since he was begging her to sit, she decided to listen to him.

"Look, we both know that we're not interested in getting married... So why don't we get married and live our lives as we like???"

"EXPLAIN...!"

"You can live your life as you like and I won't mind... I can live mine without you interfering.. You can go anywhere you want, with anyone you like.. You can do whatever you like...You don't have to explain to me or ask permission..."

"I don't get this.. Did you hit your head somewhere..??? What about your girlfriend you told me about..???????"

"I... Um.. I lied.. I didn't have a girlfriend.. I just wanted you to understand that I didn't like this proposal.. Sorry... Look, i'm not forcing you or anything... Just take your time and think.. I'll be waiting for your answer.. At least we'll be able to ignore our parents' gnawing after the marriage..."

"I'll think about it.." She rose up and turned to leave.

"WAIT...! THE DINNER..!"

"No thanks.. You made me lose my appetite.."

Tears were dripping along her cheeks. That was the turning point of her life. She remembered the terms of the contract.

He is right.. Why would I care? I don't even know if someone saw them.. But who is she??? He doesn't have a girlfriend as far as I know.. I shouldn't have overreacted.. Maybe she is a friend.. Okay... None of your business you moron..! Just forget it..

She wiped the tears and took a deep breath. But deep down she knew, she had feelings for him now.

She went to bed, but she felt empty and could not sleep. She started remembering the touching moments.

One evening Meera was watering the plants with a hose and she accidentally sprinkled water on Rahul. With an unexpected sprinkle of water, he got excited and started chasing her all over the garden while she was screaming and running. He caught her suddenly from her waist and lifted her up. He circled her and pushed her against the wall, laughing. They both looked into their eyes and they could feel a tension being built. Both of them were wet with water droplets and their faces were inches away from each other. He was looking at her wet lips with the urge to kiss them. She was waiting for him to make a move. Biting her lip, she kept digging into his eyes making him shake with sudden desire. But he smiled and let go of her.

I'm quite sure we had a connection there by the way he was looking at me.. But why didn't he make a move..?

She could not believe after all these things they have been through, he had no feelings for her. She heard him arriving after midnight.

Waking up late next morning, she noticed that Rahul wasn't up either. She prepared breakfast and went to the garden swing with a coffee. She might have stayed there for like half an hour, when Rahul sat beside her. She didn't look at him.

"Listen... Meera, I'm sorry I was rude... It's just that, I don't know what happened to me.. I shouldn't have talked to you like that..."

Meera looked at him surprised. She did not expect an apology from him.

"No.. It's... um... It's ok.. I kinda overreacted too.." She sighed. "I wasn't expecting you to be there in the cafe with another girl who you haven't told me about.. And... uhhhh... I was just embarrassed when I saw you two having coffee, I mean you two looked close.."

"She's just a friend Meera.. I just met her in a very long time and we just had some catching up.. And I gotta say I appreciate you not making a scene there.. Thank you.."

She smiled.

"You're welcome... Lets just...ummmm......forget about it Rahul.."

"So I guess that you're not filing the divorce......!"

She laughed looking at him and shook her head.

Time went flying and it was almost a year since they got married. Except that one fight they had, they seemed to be bonding. They went to parties together, weddings together, and they had so much fun together. Meera started loving him eventually for who he is. He was a caring and decent guy who never even looked at her with a wrong eye. He respected her needs and he also took care of her in every way. She knew it was never going to work, but still she kept loving him without showing. He used to be normal and fun as always. There was not a single clue if he was in love with her or not. So Meera decided to keep her feelings hidden.

One evening Rahul came home hurrying.

"Meera... Get ready.. We're going for a night out.."

"Where?"

"A hotel.. I got the chance to reserve a room tonight.. We can go sightseeing and do a lot of stuff tomorrow morning.."

"All of a sudden..???"

"Ohhhhh... Come on! It'll be fun.."

"Fine..."

She went to pack her bags and got ready. They arrived at the hotel around 7.30 and they decided to have dinner first without going to the room. After dinner they were led towards their room by a hotel worker. He gave the key to Meera and showed her the room.

She opened the door and looked inside.

She could not believe her eyes!

The whole room was decorated with perfumed candles. The bed was covered with rose petals. A calm music was playing. She was surprised and could not believe what was right in front of her eyes. She looked at Rahul. Making her more surprised, Rahul kneeled down holding her hand.

"I... I know this is a stupid question... But will you marry me...??? Again..????"

He showed her the ring in his hand and he saw tears fighting to fall from Meera's eyes. She was so shocked.

"This must be the weirdest proposal ever... But.. You know what I mean.. right...??? I've fallen for you Meera.. I'm in love with you.. You made me realize what life really is.. So.. Forget that I already am your husband and tell me.. Will you marry me baby??? For real.. Not for some stupid contract or agreement.. I just wanna spend my life with you.. I love you baby.."

She could not hold it together anymore and she burst into tears. She kneeled down and hugged Rahul tightly.

"Yessss...!!! I will marry you again and again and again as many times as you ask me to..!"

She was sobbing and Rahul kissed her on the lips hard.