C8 8

"Marry my son, Chaahat," Madan said, and Chaahat was shocked out of her wits hearing that.

She stared at him in horror.

"Uncle, what are you saying?" Chaahat asked, quickly composing herself back.

"I don't have much time left, dear. I need to see you two settled," Madan said.

"Appa, stop scaring her. I will talk to her," Chaahat heard Mithran say.

"Uncle, you know everything. How can you ask that of me after knowing everything?" Chaahat asked, staring at the older man in disbelief.

"I know everything, Chaahat. That's why I am asking you this. If I hadn't known anything, I would have died happily knowing that you will get settled one day," Madan said, and Chaahat let out a sigh.

What Uncle Madan said is right. There is no way she will let herself get attached to anybody again.

Not ever!

Mithran frowned while listening to the conversation.

What are they talking about?

"Uncle, you should take a rest now. We will talk about this later," Chaahat said.

"She is right. And she has been traveling for more than two hours. Let her also take rest," Mithran said, and Madan reluctantly agreed.

Mithran led Chaahat out of the hospital room and towards the cafe.

"Please take a seat. Tea or coffee?" Mithran asked.

"Coffee. Black. No sugar," Chaahat said.

No wonder she looks so bitter, Mithran thought.

"Sure," Mithran said and ordered the same for her and a cappuccino for him.

"So?" Chaahat prompted.

"Ependymoma!" Mithran said, making Chaahat frown.

"What is that?" she asked.

"A tumor affecting the brain and spinal cord," Mithran said, and he saw her eyes widening slightly, which was the only indication that there was some kind of reaction in her after hearing the news of cancer.

Great!

"What's the prognosis?" she asked straight to the point.

"50-50. Surgery is the only option," Mithran said.

"Then let's go for the surgery. Why is Uncle Madan talking about dying?" Chaahat asked.

"Maybe because he is scared. You know, scared? It is a kind of emotion where you feel fear," Mithran said sarcastically, making a slight frown appear on Chaahat's face.

"Was that sarcasm, Mr. Yadav? Of course, I know what scare is. And yes, I am sorry, I was a little insensitive about it. I understand he is scared. But we can talk about it to him. We can give him the strength to go in for the surgery," Chaahat said.

"You think I didn't try? He is adamant about not going in for the surgery without seeing us getting married," Mithran said in exasperation.

"I can't marry you," Chaahat said.

"I am not dying to marry you either," Mithran said with a scoff.

Who would want to marry an emotionless woman? He wouldn't even touch her with a ten-foot pole.

She might be smoking hot, he thought, taking in her form for a moment.

But she is as cold as ice.

Not his dream woman.

"What do we do now? If he is adamant about not going in for surgery, we might not have any other choice," her matter-of-fact tone was simply irritating him.

How could she talk as if all these are happening to someone else?

God!! He had been worrying about how to discourage the woman from marrying him.

Seems like there was nothing to worry about in the first place. He let out a laugh, thinking how opposite this woman is to what he actually thought of her.

"Did I say something funny?" Chaahat asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, not at all. I was planning to scare you with a contract marriage to discourage you," Mithran said.

"Contract marriage? That sounds good," Chaahat said, and Mithran looked at her in horror.

"What?"

"If Uncle refuses surgery, we could do a temporary marriage. Let's say three months. We get married, Uncle goes for surgery, we give him three months to recuperate. Then we go our separate ways," again that matter-of-fact tone.

"You gotta be kidding me," Mithran said angrily.

"I am not. What other options do we have?" Chaahat asked with a casual shrug.

"You want us to cheat my father?" Mithran asked.

"Our intention is good, so I think Uncle Madan will understand. Right now, his mental state is not good. So he is making rash decisions. Once he gets better, he will be able to think with a cool mind and understand that what we did was right. What's the point of spoiling two lives in an unwanted marriage?" Chaahat asked.

Mithran stared at her in disbelief.

He didn't know whether to be angry at how cool she is or to be impressed by how cool she is.

"And what if we fall in love during these three months?" Mithran asked.

"If you do fall in love, you can tell me. We will get separated immediately. Uncle Madan will understand that his son is in love," Chaahat said.

"What? Why would we go our separate ways if we fall in love?" Mithran asked in confusion.

"Obviously, to marry the woman you fell in love with," Chaahat said.

"Damn woman. I was asking about us falling in love with each other," Mithran said in exasperation.

There was no risk of him falling in love with a woman with no emotions. But he just wanted to cover all the grounds before taking the plunge.

"There will be no love, Mr. Yadav," Mithran frowned, hearing the edge in her voice.

"Fine. Let's not rush into this. Let's first talk with Appa and try to change his mind. If he is adamant, we can give this a try," Mithran said sulkily.

He didn't want to do this.

He is going to do something that he hates.

Sacrifice.