Brave and Beautiful

Chapter 1

Ria

          "Alright, Ms Malhotra, I am willing to seal the deal with you. I am looking forward to working with you."

          "Thank you, Mr Johnson. I am happy to be part of this project." With that, we shook hands as a sign of mutual agreement. As I left the meeting room as my PA, Adya followed me, I felt proud of myself to have been able to crack this deal. Adya was really happy as she had a huge smile on her face. She congratulated me. I am Ria Malhotra, CEO of RM Industries. I started this company about 5 years ago and due to mine and my employees' hard work, my company has developed to where it is today. I boarded my car and started to drive to my house. Starting a company from scratch had not been easy. Especially due to society as many people have different opinions and hope that everyone would share the same thoughts as them. Thus, when someone has different thoughts as compared to them, they tend to disapprove it. Many people are still stuck in the olden days where they think that men should be given more significance than women. That is definitely not how things work nowadays. People usually mistake that those who talk about and fight for the rights of women are feminists. However, to me, real feminism is fighting for equal rights for both men and women. 

         I pulled up my car at my parent's house. Exhaling loudly, I entered the house only to smell various aromas of my favourite foods. I saw my mumma placing the dishes she made on the dining table as my papa helped her. My parents noticed my arrival and smiled at me as they walked towards me. I bent down to get their blessings and stood up, only to see them looking at each other and conversing with their eyes.  "What's the matter?" I ask. 

  "Why don't you change and we can talk about it over dinner," my papa suggested. Nodding my head, I headed upstairs to freshen up and rushed back down.

"You tell her"

"No, you tell her"

"No, you!"

"You tell her this time" 

My parents were arguing about who was going to tell me the news. I went up to the dining table settled down and stared at them. "What did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Umm...beta, we have searched for an alliance for you...they are coming to see you tomorrow" my mumma breaks the news. I stared at them, thinking they were joking but upon looking at their facial expressions for long enough, I realised that they were serious. "You have got to be kidding me! How many times should I tell you guys that I don't want to get married?" 

"But beta, you are getting old! You are 23 already!"

"Exactly mumma, I am just 23!"

"We, as parents have to secure your future while we are still alive. Please, beta...give this alliance a chance" Looking at my parents' faces, I could tell that they just wanted to do good for me. Therefore, I agreed.

      That night, I thought about how my life would change once I get married. Hoping for the best, I fell asleep.

      The next day in office was hectic. All I wanted to do was to sleep. However, I aware that some dude was going to visit us with his parents. I went to my parents' house to see them getting everything ready for the visit. As soon as I entered the house, my mumma immediately ordered me to go change into a saree. She was already done with preparing jalebis and samosas. I stole a samosa and went up to my room to escape my mumma's glare as the samosas were meant to be for the dude and his family. I quickly ran up the stairs to get changed. When I came back down, I could hear noises from the living room. A burst of high pitched laughter and another which sounded like Santa's 'Ho Ho Ho'. My mumma came from the living room.

    "You look beautiful beta"

    "I know mumma"

    Playfully glaring at me, she handed me a tray containing the jalebis and samosas.

"Enter the living room after me"

   After seeing her disappear into the living room, I held the tray in my hands and went to the living room. There sat a woman wearing a hot pink saree which totally did not compliment her skin tone. Her hair was dressed in a weird manner. My immediate thought was that she resembled Bhagwanti Mami from the movie, Hum Apke Hain Koun.  I placed the tray I was holding on the table and bent down to receive her and her husband's blessings. Then, I handed the snacks over to them. The women's husband immediately dug in, crumbs of the samosa sticking all over his mouth. The women inspected me from head to toe.

     "You may take a seat," she said, making me arch my eyebrows. What does she think of herself? Am I her servant? I sat down, only to meet the eyes of the dude. His eyes ran all over my body, lingering around my chest. He looked back at me, giving me a smirk and then licking his lips. Nope. Rejected. The women started to talk, bringing me out of my thoughts.

     "So, Ria, I heard that you are a businesswoman and that you earn a lot of money. I believe that after marriage you would transfer all your money into your husband's account."

      "Why do I have to transfer?"

      "What do you mean by why? Whatever the wife earns, belongs to the husband. Don't worry. He would give you monthly allowances"

       I glared at her. She was speaking nonsense. My parents looked shocked themselves. If that was not enough, she continued to speak, saying,

      "You are so lucky to get my son as your husband. Look at him. So handsome. Your babies would look so cute. Speaking of which you should give birth to a healthy and handsome young boy within a year from your marriage. You should also be glad that you are getting the most understanding and coolest mother in law."

     "Are you done with your shit?" I ask. I could the gasps from my parents and the dude's father.

     "Oh my god! Is this how you talk to your elders? What did your parents teach you?" her eyes as wide as the samosas we served.

     " Auntyji, firstly, I would like to say that your son's behaviour is very cheap. Also, I work hard for my money so it only makes sense if I keep it. Next, you will definitely not be the most understanding and coolest MIL because of your crazy and stupid expectations of me. So, do me a favour by getting out of the house. I hope you find another girl for your precious son." 

    "Look at this girl! Earning so much money has made her arrogant and feel full of herself. So much disrespect is going to lead you to your doom." Looking at my parents, the women's husband said," Good luck in finding a suitable husband for your daughter. After all this, I don't think it's possible." With that, the dude and his family left, not before glaring at me.

     Once they left, my parents turned towards me, wanting to talk to me about my behaviour.

    "Not now. Don't try to justify that my behaviour was wrong. We will talk about this tomorrow." Saying that I went up to collect my things and left the house to go to my house. Such arseholes still exist!

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Word Count: 1283

AN: Hi everyone. That was Chapter 1. Do let me know what you think. Until next time, happy reading.

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~nutella's gf :)