The Contract Marriage

3.

An intense pounding on the door of Akshara's apartment roused her from her sleep. Her gaze was drawn to the digital clock that was sitting on her nightstand. It had been seven o'clock. With her return from work at four in the morning, she had hardly slept at all. Over the course of her sleep, she moaned and prayed that the banging would stop. It's probably just the children of the neighbors who are making a racket before they go to school.

On the other hand, the banging continued. On the contrary, it became increasingly louder. Without any success, Akshara attempted to stifle the noise by covering her face and ears with her pillow. However, she was unsuccessful.

She was jolted awake by her jolt, and she walked over with a sour expression on her face to find out who among them detested sleep as much as she did. People who are sleep deprived, on the other hand, are more likely to make mistakes, as the old saying goes. To put it another way, she did exactly that. She did not check her peephole to determine the identity of the person who was standing on the side of the door before she flung it open.

While standing in front of her, her landlord, a grotesque-looking and lewd man of forty years of age, held out a number of envelopes that were filled with notices of eviction and rent that was past due. She had been ignoring these notices for the past few weeks.

"Ronak." "Akshara."

"What brings you here at 7am in the morning?"

"You and your overdue rent payments."

"I didn't get any notice saying the rent was overdue." In my response, I pretended to be innocent.

"Don't try to be clever around me. Two months' worth of rent is what you owe me. It is not going to solve your problems if you send the notices that I leave at your doorstep back to me through the mail.

I have known you for a period of three years now. Although it may take some time, I will bring the rent to you in some fashion or another. It's just that I need some time. I beg you."

"The reason I haven't kicked you out there yet is because I have known you for three years," she said. And I'm already charging you less than you should for the rent."

"I know."

"You have till tomorrow to give me all the money you owe me."

"But..." A protest was started by her.

Alternatively, I will be changing the locks. You must have the money in my possession by seven o'clock tomorrow morning, or you will be finished. We were kicked out. Sufficiently, I have been lenient. This is it." Following that, his demeanor shifted. He gave Akshara a quick glance, his eyes moving in an eerie manner over her bare legs and continuing all the way up to her chest and arms that were bare. In order to conceal the fact that she was not wearing a bra, she wrapped her arms around her chest. "Not unless you are interested in negotiating a deal of some kind. My mind is open to that."

"I'll have the rent by tomorrow." During the moment that she slammed the door in his face, her voice was forceful and limited. To calm her nerves, she leaned her head against the door and leaned her head against it.

She wanted nothing more than to smash the head of the creep into a nearby wall, but she also couldn't afford to be homeless or have the money to bail herself out of jail. She wanted very much to do both of those things.

Akshara dragged her feet to her bed, and all of a sudden, she had the desire to do nothing but lie down in her bed and consume nothing but ice cream, chips, and brownies. She was completely clueless about how she was going to pay the rent for two months in a single day.

As Akshara flopped onto the bed, she displayed a butterfly-like posture by spreading her legs and hands out in front of her. Her back landed with a thud on the mattress. There was a message waiting for her on w******p from Zia, a colleague who she had known for some time. Her phone rang. There was a link to a video online.

Akshara threw her phone away in an attempt to ignore the text message, but she then found herself tapping on the video link by accident. During the course of a video that went viral, a man was seen lying naked on a balcony and covering his p***s with a pillow. At the same time, a woman who was wrapped in a blanket was seen throwing his clothes at him and locking him out of the apartment. Akshara's cheeks turned pink as she attempted to stifle her laughter at the unfortunate circumstances that he was experiencing. In spite of this, it was going to be the case.

The individual then proceeded to put on his pants and shirt before climbing down the balcony. He then proceeded to descend the balcony. Following that, he ran into the individual who was directing his camera toward him. Akshara's attention was drawn to the large brown eyes and the subtle curve of his jawline before her. Certainly, he was a specimen that was very attractive to look at. He appeared to be very attractive due to the fact that his nostrils flared and his brows furrowed as he approached the person who was filming him. Extremely hot and humid.

The cliche energy of the pompous rich jerk playboy with an anger problem oozed out of him like cheese from a pizza that had just been baked in the oven and been heated to a high temperature. The camera was smacked away from the poor guy who was filming the Greek God reincarnate in human flesh, and sounds of commotion could be heard coming from behind the scenes.

"Why the hell are you filming me?" He spoke with a commanding and deep voice. As soon as the camera went dark, that was the very last thing that was heard.

You cretin. Who could be so egocentric and impolite to other people for such a long time? Suddenly, Akshara discovered that she did not feel any remorse for the individual who had been locked out of the balcony by the girl, whoever she might have been. He certainly did something or the other to deserve her wrath, and that was Dr. Abhimanyu Birla, the best cardiac surgeon in this city. If that was his attitude, then he certainly did something. Observe how he punched me, would you not? Is that what modern-day medical professionals do?

The man seemed to be filled with dread as he looked up, but his expression quickly changed to one of relief as a card was introduced to him.

At the Birla Hospital. Without charging you a fee, they will perform your treatment. Once more, it was his voice that was heard behind the camera, and then he passed away.

It piqued Akshara's interest. Who would be the kind of physician who would first beat up a patient and then offer to stitch him up? Perhaps a brilliant medical practitioner. Due to the fact that it was obvious that Dr. Abhimanyu Birla appeared to be a little bit insane, she sincerely hopes that all of his patients were in good health.

On the other hand, why did she care? It is highly unlikely that she would ever be able to afford treatment at a highly regarded hospital like Birla Hospital. After she had finished her phone conversation, she returned her attention to the situation she was in at the moment. In order to pay the rent, she needed to earn enough money. Right at this moment, that was her primary concern.

As Akshara searched the room for a clue or any kind of solution to her issues, her eyes eventually landed on the card that was sitting on her nightstand. Avantika had given the card to her the day before. It was then that she took the card in her hand and ran her fingers across the name Matchrimoney.

Is it wise for her to give it a call? It was obvious that Avantika was succeeding in whatever endeavors she was undertaking. On the other hand, Akshara was well aware that she would never allow a stranger to touch her, much less give him money to sleep with her. There was one principle that she would not budge from, and that was that. Avantika, however, did mention that you had the ability to select the client of your choice, as the decision was contingent upon the terms of the contract. Perhaps she could find a relationship in which s****l activity and other forms of physical intimacy were not involved.

As Akshara considered her choices, she reflected. This was a time-sensitive matter. Additionally, she was aware that Ananjay would not give it to her out of the goodness of his heart out of generosity. It was not the kind of man she wanted to owe favors to, and Ananjay was not the kind of person who would want something in return. In a moment of hesitation, Akshara bit her lip. She was obviously in a position where she had no other choice, and among the alternatives that she could think of, Matchrimoney appeared to be the most reliable option.

Oh, screw it off! Which of the worst possible outcomes was possible? She jumped out of bed and dialed the number that was printed on the card before she had the opportunity to talk herself out of accepting the offer. During the time that she waited for someone to answer on the other end of the line, her stomach did summersaults.

"Hello?"

At this point, it is too late to return, Akshara. A deep breath was taken by her. "Glad to meet you, my name is Akshara. Avantika handed me this card and instructed me to have a conversation with Richa.

"Alright, just give me a second."

In an effort to calm her nerves, Akshara closed her eyes and alternated between rocking back and forth.

"Richa speaking."

Hello, my name is Akshara, and Avantika provided me with your phone number. Hi, Richa! I am in need of..." Exactly what was it that she said? If so, how? What was she doing, she had no idea what she was doing?!

It's a mark. "We refer to them as marks."

"Yes. I guess."

"Akshara is it?"

"Yes."

"In most cases, individuals are not permitted to get in touch with us, particularly with me, directly. We get in touch with them. On the other hand, if Avantika provided you with my phone number, it indicates that she is in favor of you. I will send you an address via text message. In exactly one hour, you will arrive.

"1 hour?" I looked at the clock that was sitting on Akshara's side table. In the span of one hour, there was no way that she would be able to accomplish anything at all.

"For one hour. Simply picking up a phone and dialing a number is a very simple process. Demonstrate to us that you are truly committed to seeing it through to completion. We only hire the most qualified candidates. You should therefore consider it to be a test. It is one hour. I'm sending you a text message with the address right now.

As soon as the line was cut off. Her phone rang, and it was a message from an unknown number that gave her the address of a location on the opposite side of town. Taking a deep breath, Akshara hurriedly made her way to the restroom as quickly as she could. One hour has passed, and she has begun her countdown.