Raghav's POV:

Our plan flopped as soon as it began. My parents, Trisha, Rishi; they all looked at me with tensed eyes. Their fidgety form looked at me for a solution, while I was constantly trying to make contact with Tanya's eyes. But that stubborn girl refused to look up. How was I supposed to get her consent on this marriage question when she refused to make a single eye contact?

"Sorry, we canno...", Mom started to refuse but I interjected in between, yelling out an 'Okay'.

"I will marry her today", I declared.

Tanya's head snapped up in shock. Now was the time that this idiotic girl found it appropriate to look up. Only if she had done it earlier.

"Okay, I will then go and inform Mr. Pratyush about the change in plans. You can use that time to get ready for the marriage", Tanya's father spoke happily and went off to the earlier groom, not before taking a cheque from Dad to pay him off.

Tanya's mother dragged away Tanya and Sia after shooting us a grateful smile.

"Raghav, I am so sorry. You got caught in this mess because of my stupid plan", Mom apologized, taking a hold of my hands as soon as Tanya's family disappeared from our eyes.

I squeezed her hand in comfort before assuring her, "It's not your fault. I was the one who made this decision with a sound mind".

"But...but...this fake marriage...", Mom trailed off, unable to complete her sentence admist her cries.

"Mom, mom, relax. Don't worry, nothing is ruined. Please treat this as an arranged marriage. We will try to make it work. Even though it would be an awkward marriage, I promise you that this won't be a fake marriage", I promised.

Dad took a hold of Mom's shoulders gently and she turned to cry in his arms, hiding her face on his chest.

"You know that out of all the children, Raghav is the most sensible one. Let's trust him on this, yeah?" Dad spoke, slowly letting Mom get accustomed to this situation.

Mom wiped her tears and returned back to her Mommy mode. "We don't have much time. Let's go home and find appropriate clothes for the wedding. We also need to make preparations to welcome the bride".

We all got into the cars we came in. My parents in one and youngsters in another.

Rishi took the drivers seat and Nikhil sat on the passenger seat. Trisha, Samar and I sat on the backseat with Samar in the middle.

"Raghav, I am not saying you made a wrong decision but are you sure about this? You both don't get along", Samar asked in a hesitant tone.

"We both may have contradicting personalities but none of us is a bad person. So I think it will be okay", I replied tentatively.

"True", Samar stated.

"But it will be a constant battle between you two. You will have to face a life long annoyance", Rishi remarked.

"Weren't you the one who gave him the logical reasoning behind marrying Tanya?" Trisha snapped.

"Gosh! Don't get so angry. I am just saying", Rishi muttered, raising his hands up in surrender.

"Hands on the wheel", Trisha, Nikhil and I shouted, startling Samar in process.

We all took a deep breathe as Rishi grabbed the steering wheel again.

"Living with annoyance is far better than living with pain and fear", I answered his previous remark.

"What?! Trisha pushed Samar to the seat a little, before facing me with dead eyes.

"I saw bruises on Tanya's hand", I informed in a quiet voice.

A disturbing silence fell over as everyone understood the harsh reality.

I had wanted to take Tanya's consent before agreeing to this marriage but I had already made a decision. And I don't regret it at all. Neither could I let her marry that oldie nor could I let her go back to her home, not knowing who was the one who hurt her so mercilessly.

This marriage was to protect her. Yes, I could protect her from her family but what about our marriage. I could provide her financially but emotionally, I wasn't ready.

Naina was still in my heart. Even after so much of efforts, I still wasn't able to move on from her. I wasn't ready to be someone else's husband. And now with Tanya in my life, I was going to commit a major sin.

I was already lying to my family about this being an arranged marriage and not a fake one. How was I supposed to make this marriage a real one when I had someone else in my heart?

The only good thing was that Tanya already knew all about Naina and would not have any false hopes.