Dash Stern has become a billionaire and listed as the rising businessman in our country. His company, Stern Defense Securities, raised him to the big leagues once he signed a contract with the government. The fact that he did it in just the span of four years has made his success noteworthy. Upon his accomplishments, I wasn’t surprised when the top magazines named him the most eligible bachelor in their lists.
I found all this last night when I couldn’t sleep—like he taunted—and spent hours searching everything I could about him. Meanwhile, screaming at myself the whole time for failing to resist and lowering myself to cyberstalking him.
If only the media saw the asshole that lies underneath.
They obviously don’t know about his deviant sexcapades.
It will leave women drooling if it ever got out but will also tarnish his reputation. The government certainly wouldn’t ignore it. As long as it’s private, they’ll look the other way.
A small part of me isn’t surprised because the ambition was always apparent in his eyes. I remember his father having served in the army, which must have helped in his career path.
The only thing boggling my mind is him being in my city when his headquarters is in Mumbai. I hate when my stomach dips at the thought of him leaving.
No. I don’t care.
In fact, I’ll throw a party if he’s gone.
“You lost your virginity to that man?” judges Rosa, yanking me out of my thoughts.
“Who are we talking about?” asks a confused Iris. “Wasn’t Niall your first?”
Iris, who finally took a break from studying for her upcoming finals, is hanging out with us tonight. The girls and I decided to have an impromptu lunch at our favorite restaurant. I knew the second I stepped inside that an interrogation was waiting for me. It was in the narrowed and inquisitive gaze of Rosa the moment I sat down.
Iris looks between the two of us with her brows drawn together. Rosa’s question throws her for a loop. She didn’t spill the beans about last night.
“Yes,” I reply to them. “Dash was my first and it was a mistake.”
Both speak at the same time.
“What else aren’t you telling us?”
“Wait… why does that name sound familiar?”
The second question comes from Iris and I’m taken aback as I ask, “You know Dash Stern?”
Recognition lights up her face, which slowly turns into appreciation like she approves. I’m about to probe her when Rosa tsks, “Uh-uh, Bee.” She quirks an eyebrow. “Spill it.”
They both lean forward when my cheeks heat as I confess, “He’s Niall’s stepbrother.”
“Damn!” curses Iris while Rosa settles back, smug and staring proudly.
She knows how everything fell apart between Niall and me, and how devastated I was afterward. I confessed everything that happened to her when I broke down in my apartment a few nights later. She was fuming and ready to kill but I told her I already got my revenge.
Not that it made me feel better.
Iris doesn’t know the whole truth except the fact that Niall cheated on me because it was only years later when Rosa and I met her. Unlike us, Iris comes from a middle-class family and became our best friend after we ran into her at a party. She was with her boyfriend, Nathan, and looked like a fish out of water.
We ended up talking to her and the rest is history.
“How do you know him, Iris?” I probe curiously.
“Not as well as you do obviously,” she teases, and I roll my eyes. “His company is discussing a merger with Kian’s to set up a manufacturing plant here.”
It explains why Dash is here.
Fuck! There goes my plan of never running into him again.
Kian, Nathan’s older brother, was in the army before he left after his first tour to focus on building his own empire. The rumor is his father forced him to leave and join the family business. In true Kian fashion, he met his father’s demand but only to start his own company. He’s always been the black sheep of the Singhania family and is the oldest amongst us.
“How did you find out? It’s not made public, otherwise I would’ve known.”
“I might have overheard Kian discussing it over a call.” A sheepish look crosses Iris’s face before she waves her hand, saying, “Don’t change the subject. Why are we talking about Dash?”
“Bee ran into him last night,” says a grinning Rosa. “While he was fucking two girls.”
“What?” gasps Iris.
“Oh, and she watched from the shadows.”
“Rosa!” I shush her. I knew it was a mistake sharing that with her while we were driving home. “Which, by the way, wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t dragged me with you to ruin Nova’s night.”
The mischievous look vanishes from her eyes and I smirk in satisfaction.
“Now I wish I had seen your text earlier, Ro,” Iris laments with a pout. “Why am I always left out of the fun?”
“Only if your idea of fun is assholes and bossy men,” I scoff. “Don’t you have exams coming anyways?”
Iris is twenty and younger than us, still in college finishing her bachelor’s in journalism. I was surprised to learn that because her shy and kind personality clashes with the path she has chosen.
I know from experience with the media that one must have thick skin and be ruthless to succeed in the field. I’m not saying I doubt her skills, but I can’t help but worry sometimes.
“I do, and I could’ve used a night to relax.”
“It’s Nathan’s job and not your best friends’, Iris,” Rosa mutters. “Did his dick stop working or something?”
I watch amusedly as Iris steals a fry out of Rosa’s plate for the taunt. She stuffs it in her mouth while Rosa fumes. It’s an unspoken rule to never touch her food because she doesn’t like to share.
“Bitch.”
Iris simply shrugs and my belly shakes with laughter at their antics. Rosa stares at me from across the booth we’re sitting in and points with her fork. “Tell Iris about Arya.”
My shoulders deflate and so does the cheerful mood. I had completely forgotten that I had another problem to tackle. My morning peace was stolen by vivid memories of Dash from the previous night. I shiver when his harsh yet seductive eyes flicker inside my head.
His warning, reverberating in my mind.
Don’t let me catch you again, Bianca.
I shake it off and meet Iris’s concerned and quizzical gaze. “Arya came to my apartment last night and said I should say yes to marriage so she can marry Aryan. My dad would never agree unless I do it first. So, I’m torn about what to do.”
“You tell her to go fuck herself.”
“She’s my little sister, Rosa.” I sigh. “I’d hate to be the person for her unhappiness.”
“So the alternative is you sacrificing yours?”
“You can’t say yes if you’re not ready, Bee,” advises Iris softly. “Talk to your dad. Surely, he can’t be that stringent.”
“He lives and breathes his values, Iris,” I rant. “Besides, I’m sure he and my mom will try to use this to their advantage.”
“I’ll never understand parents pressuring their kids.” Her voice rises slightly with anger. “It’s the only reason I’m dreading turning twenty-five just to avoid this whole mess.”
“You, at least, have a loving boyfriend.”
“Doesn’t mean I want to settle down so early.” She snorts.
“I’m conflicted because even if I miraculously stall them for a year or two, it won’t change the fact that I have to marry first. My sister’s resentment will grow into hate and my parents will still be holding on to their precious old traditions.”
The sadness in my heart matches the expression on my best friend’s face. Life would be so much easier if I wasn’t the elder sister. I wouldn’t be sitting here in pity while contemplating my dicey future.
The thought of marrying a stranger for real gives me hives.
“God! What am I going to do, guys?” I hiss in frustration.
“If I had an inkling of a clue on how to get out of marriage, I wouldn’t be stuck with Nova,” Rosa mumbles, while still chewing on her fries.
The three of us fall silent, thinking about the fucked-up situation we’re stuck in and by the people who should love us unconditionally.
“What would you two do if you were in my place?” I break the silence.
“Find a fake husband.”
The insane suggestion spills from Iris’s lips, leaving Rosa and I stunned. She’s supposed to be the innocent and practical one. I look for signs of joking but find none.
Does she really expect me to consider that?
“That actually sounds good,” hums Rosa. “Just don’t be a fool and fall in love with the man like those girls in books and movies.”
“So in order to get out of marriage, I should have one,” I repeat slowly to iterate how insane that sounds. When they stare expectantly, I throw up my hands. “Have you both lost it?”
“It’s your only option,” replies Rosa.
“How will it work, exactly? And where am I supposed to look for this man, hmm?” I point out. “It’s not like there’s an app for a fake boyfriend or a husband.”
Iris sits up straight, steeples her hands, and she leans forward. As if she’s about to impart great wisdom like a Yoda. “It’s a foolproof plan to give Arya what she wants without you becoming the sacrificial lamb. Have a fake wedding and tell your parents it was a secret whirlwind romance. Stay married for at least a year or until Arya has hers and then divorce.”
“As for the man, I know someone who’d be perfect,” adds Rosa.
The piercing glint in her eyes raises my hackles and awareness settles because I know the name she’s about to suggest. I hate the racing of my heart when she does.
“Dash Stern.”
“Hell no!” I deadpan and shake my head vehemently.
“Yes,” nods Iris. “It will be easier to convince your dad if he thinks you two knew each other in the past. You can say you reconnected and sparks flew.”
“Think about it, Bee. It’s this or being stuck forever with a husband you despise,” Rosa remarks. “With Dash, you walk away unscathed and happy.”
It’s what I’m afraid of.
I don’t think I’ll be as lucky as last time.
The Dash I knew had boundaries, and this one has none.
