The alternative bride

Chapter 4- From his point of view

Siddarth's POV

Today my wedding was supposed to take place with Neha Shekhawat. There is no chance that I have fallen head over heels for her but from the options, my mom gave me this was the only way to escape. My mother threatened me to choose between her sister's brother-in-law's daughter and Neha Shekhawat as she was fed up with me rejecting every other prospective marriage proposal. Moreover, in a single meeting with that chatterbox (sister's brother-in-law's daughter), I got irritated like hell. She speaks a lot and it's not that I mind girls speaking but the problem was she spoke only about two things. The first was her so-called achievement of helping the poor by offering her leftovers to them and the second was my fan following. She just crammed whatever is written on the net about me and dictated to me line by line. If this wasn't enough, she tried to impress me by boasting about my qualities (instead of her qualities) and after every two minutes, she checked her phone to tell me that a new follower just liked my profile. This made me crazy and I chose to meet Neha instead.

When I met Neha, I thought how can somebody be so arrogant but it was still better than the second option. Neha and I spent time together and had been on several dates. However, her attitude and the way she is so possessive about her stuff made me rethink my decision. She threatened waiters and shop owners with her power on several dates, and I had to intervene to resolve the situation. Even though I tried to convince mom, she was very happy and I had to give in. My mom had the impression that she came from a wealthy business family and that she was successful in her career. She also was able to flatter my mom with her sugar-coated talk. The fact that my family was happy with my decision and Neha was not a malicious person made me feel okay.

I was sitting on the Mandap (Dias) thinking about all of this while waiting for the bride to descend the stairs when another chaos ensued. Mr. Veer Shekhawat came down to the hall sweating looking at me and my family, and I feared the outcome. Then, Neha strode in with a tall figure and pronounced herself his wife in a proud, arrogant tone. I went and stood with my family and we all were equally shocked. As opposed to explaining, the Queen of the Seven Seas (notice the sarcasm) started the media circus by claiming she married the guy, what was his name, ya, Jayant, because she loved him. I became blind with anger as she spoke those words and a battle started in my mind. I was just thinking about how my mom would get hurt and our reputation would be affected due to her silly things. Everybody in my family was there at the wedding except Diya and Jiya. Because they had departed to submit their important submissions and were about to reach here after some time, Chachi stopped them and ordered them to return home immediately. I just knew one thing: this day was going to be difficult and something unexpected was going to happen.

"Dad, I am back just in time to attend the wedding"

A sweet voice drew our attention to it. As I turned around to look for the owner of the voice I found a pretty girl with long black hair, striking black eyes, and a stunning personality. She stood at the door. It instantly clicked in my mind that I had seen her before but I don't remember where. Additionally, since she calls Mr. Shekhawat her dad, then she must be the hidden sister. Don't wonder why I call her hidden. This is because whenever my family asked about her presence Mr. Shekhawat tried to keep us away from this topic. He told us that we could meet her at the wedding as she had departed on a business trip. Dad asked him whether she helped him in business. The answer was always, 'No she helps me with nothing and you can ask her the rest.' We ignored this topic.

Everybody looked at that poor soul as if they had seen something extremely weird like a horn on the head of a monkey or a dragon breathing fire. I thought she must be nervous but her eyes didn't match my thoughts. When she entered, she walked to her father and comforted him, but she also looked equally puzzled as her eyes seemed to scan the situation. After a minute of whispering with her father, she made a suggestion that was the need of the hour and took him to a nearby study room. We all followed them as this conversation or the much-awaited confrontation was our right. As we entered Neha and her so-called husband entered behind us.