16. Strike 3
You can't win someone's love with a bribe.

It was an impossible task to pretend to be in love with Ashar.

We were polar opposites.

I mean how could I, someone who's life began with Versace and ended with foie de gras, possibly be enamored by someone who munched on Domino's Pizza like a starving cow?

Fortunately, Cecily had been forced to make a salad and then take her leave. I checked up on Granny who was sleeping, so I decided against waking her up. Tomorrow, I'd talk to her and maybe inquire she really wanted to be here or not. I did drag her here into a family full of strangers.

Ashar's dorky sister, Aara, eyed me strangely as I ate my food.

"Do princesses not eat pizza?" she inquired.

I raised an eyebrow and swallowed the cherry tomato in my mouth before responding. "I don't trust food not made at home."

"It's not poisoned, trust me." Ashar informed, dramatically placing his hand on top of mine. I rolled my eyes and pulled my hand away. It didn't go unnoticed by Aara.

"I'm still shocked by the marriage," she said talking with her mouth full. God, this girl needed some etiquette. Not to say her other two siblings weren't the same. "You're basically a princess, and we're commoners. Isn't it a crime to marry outside blue blood?"

"This isn't the Middle Ages," Ashar said lightheartedly. "Shouldn't you be focused on your new school? How is it so far?" He altered the subject in a subtle manner.

"Great," Aara replied in the most unenthusiastic tone. "All the girls believe they're royalty and boys think they're Prince Charmings. They flaunt their parents' money as if they've earned it themselves." She huffed. "I think I'm going to stab this one girl at lunch if she doesn't stop talking about designers I don't even know exist."

I kept mum. Aara had to learn to adjust to rich kid society now that her brother had pushed her into this mess himself.

"Hey, just focus on studying and becoming the cardio surgeon you want to be," Ashar said coolly. "Forget all that materialistic drama."

"I know, Ash," Aara said as if she had heard this before. "Money's never been our best friend."

Her words brought a peculiar silence to the table. Aara and Ashar communicated through their eyes, and from what I could translate, Ashar was telling her to not dwell on whatever topic was haunting them. Maybe they'd struggled too much with money, but it seemed more than that from their expressions. Rosie and I had no idea what was going on.

"Can I eat another slice?" Rosie asked in a small voice.

"You already ate four, you monster!" Aara said and ended up laughing.

My widened at "four." How could a seven year old eat four slices of pizza?

"I didn't eat the sides!" Rosie whined.

"Fine, one more, but that's it," Ashar finalized. He himself had eaten a four or five. Not that I counted or anything.

* * *

After the dinner was over, all of us resigned to our rooms and I already knew what was coming.

"Ano, do you have a mouth?" Ashar asked as I plopped down on my bed.

He had taken a seat on the opposite end.

I pointed to my lips. "Does this look like a vacuum cleaner or something?"

He sighed. "Do you mind talking to my sisters? Or talking at all when they're around? Aara's pretty much convinced you don't socialize with us commoners—"

"Serfs," I corrected. Upon receiving a glare, I added, "Yeah same thing. Go on."

"Please act like you love me."

"How?" I asked in frustration. "How does someone act like they're in love? You have to genuinely love someone to showcase that feeling, Ashar. It's not as easy as you make it seem."

"It's not as hard as you're saying it is," he said in a resigned tone. "Baby steps. For starters, if you simply smiled more around me, that'd help." I forced out a fake smile in response, challenging him to say something awful about it. It actually loosened his expression. "You do realize the dimples make it hard to take you seriously." I scowled. "Keep smiling."

"Screw you."

"Right here? Right now?" he said innocently. I was speechless. "You know Ano, I usually like to go on at least one date before--"

"Stop," I said, shutting my eyes as if that'd shut my ears. "Shut up, shut up, shut up."

Getting off the bed, I shook my head all the way to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me to block out his laughter.

He was mad. Absolutely and completely crazy.

I proceeded to my night time skin care routine and once I had stepped out, I saw Ashar and Rosie having a tickle fest on my bed. When they saw me, they fell silent and stepped off the bed. I didn't say anything except offered a smile.

That's all Ashar wanted, right?

Rosie smiled back at me and ran up to me. "Teddy bear."

"Huh?" I wondered confused.

"You promised me a teddy bear, remember?" she said. "You said to get Ashar so you could dump water on him. It was a secret."

I bit my lip as Ashar raised an eyebrow.

"I remember now." I nodded.

I went to my closet and searched around until I found a place full of my old toys that I had barely touched as a kid. Grabbing a giant brown teddy bear with a pink bowtie, I proceeded to step back inside the bedroom.

A promise was a promise.

I handed the bear to Rosie who jumped in glee and embraced me. She caught me by surprise.

"Thank you!" She blurted out before hugging the bear which was her own height.

After she ran off to show Aara her new toy, I turned to Ashar. He had been standing there like an arrogant statue.

"See, your sister loves me," I said in triumph.

"You can't win someone's love with a bribe," he said unamused.

I plopped down on my bed and said, "I just did."

He shook his head and went over to his bed: the sofa.

I don't know what it was, but money, bribes, and love presented to be a touchy topic for Ashar.

———————

The temperature in St. Cloud was normally in the single digits and today was no exception.

I left for work early morning when the temperature was at 1 degree. By the time we finished shooting our scenes, snow had begun spreading over the ground.

Roshan, my dear friend and fellow Assistant Director, joined me as I flipped through the schedule.

"The director said we can all leave early. The roads are in poor conditions already and it's only going to get worse," he said excitedly.

"Why are you so happy?" I asked bemused.

"We can finally leave early!" He beamed his white teeth at me in pure thrill. "I'm gonna call up my sister, Tara, and Carter. Let's all hit a club or a bar!"

I frowned. "I'd much rather go home."

I had missed Grandma again this morning because I left early. I wanted to know if she could adjust to Ashar's sisters. Rosie was a child so I had no problem with her. Aara, however, was the skeptic and the hormonal teenager with opinions.

"Oh is it because you're a married woman, now, Anmol?" Roshan teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up. You know I always prefer home over everything."

"Oh c'mon, we have been working like dogs the last few weeks," he insisted. He wasn't lying. "Let's all chill. We don't even have to get drunk. Just party."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh yeah? You and not drunk? Remember my birthday? You sold us all out, and we sat in a jail cell."

"The past is history."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Okay fine. But not too late, okay?"

He nodded and helped me wrap up quickly. We were out of the sets after an hour, which meant the snow was still accumulating. Myra, Tara, and Carter promised to meet us at the club and so they did but later than I had hoped.

We ended up dancing in our own group until our heels gave out.

"I'm getting something to drink," I said completely dehydrated. It had been a long day. My friends were already holding vodka in their hands, waiting for me to join them.

As I went to grab a soda, someone ran into me. Hard. I stumbled back a few steps and stared at the culprit in utter abhorrence.

"Sorry! I didn't see you."

"Sunny?" My mood worsened in shock at who it was. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Stalking you, of course," he said staring into my eyes with confidence. I almost bolted out of there until he retreated, "I'm kidding. I was just having a bad day and thought to stop by this bar to grab me a drink. Is that a crime?"

Knowing Sunny, I wondered if he came here to pick up a girl or two than a drink. Nevertheless, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"I didn't mean to pry," I answered back. "Enjoy your time. Hope your day gets better."

Not that I really care.

I despised people who sought attention with negativity. My dad always told me to surround myself with people who, even when having a bad day, never mentioned it so bluntly.

Strike one.

I turned to leave when he blocked my way. Folding my arms, I stared at him with utmost dismay.

Strike two.

"I know you hate me for what happened with Jhanvi, but it was for the best," he explained unnecessarily. "I'll always love her, but we've grown apart. She was so busy with her life that she barely gave me ten minutes of her day."

He was edging close to strike three.

I wanted to slice his brown leather jacket with a blade. This negative nelly was wasting my time and testing my patience. I had no regret dumping water on him.

"Your relationship is really not my concern," I said brusquely. "Please excuse me."

"Anmol, wait," he said blocking my way as I attempted to leave. "I'm sorry. I'm awful at making a decent conversation. Maybe because you're daunting—no, I mean it like—your beauty is so daunting. I was always so starstruck by your personality." I blinked at him. He was speaking gibberish. On top of that, he had the audacity to come closer to me and take my hand in his. I let him. "I don't know if it was my delusions, but I always thought we had a spark. I've seen something in your eyes for me. A feeling I now understand and want to reciprocate to."

"Why don't you reciprocate to this, you whore?!" I grabbed a glass of something a waiter was carrying and splashed it across his face.

Strike three!

Absolutely repulsed by his words, I had had it. How dare he think he could approach me in such a disrespectful manner. He had always treated me like his sister and now that his wife was lost he was trying to make a move on me?

"Daunting beauty? Say that again and I'll show you the true meaning of that," I warned.

Sunny wiped his face with his bare hands, murmuring incoherent thoughts.

The bar was quiet. People were enjoying the drama they rarely saw in real life. As for my friends, they didn't know if they were allowed to come to my aid or not.

Huffing, I left the bar in indignation.

* * *