Rahat became increasingly tense about the situation and couldn’t find anything to calm her down.

Seeing the faint wetness on his forehead and helpless look, Roshni let go of her anger. She came closer and gave him a slight hug with her shaky hands.

"I promised to become your spouse, remember. I won't take it back. Just make sure to treat your lovely better-half well."

Roshni whispered in a low voice while emphasizing the word 'better-half'. She quite liked this particular word. It feels as if they were one singular self rather than two different entities.

She didn't pull away her hug. The shy boy in her arms was everything she longed for, a responsible man who provides for himself even at such a young age, and yet such a cute boy who couldn't talk to a girl without flushing red like a maiden.

Even in that cheap T-shirt and trouser giving away foul smell, his handsome face won over the heart of the runaway girl.

"I've called my friends but didn't mention anything about our situation." - with a shaky voice, he continued, "I'm not feeling confident. My earnings are flexible. I don't think I've the capability to provide you."

"Didn't I tell you I'll get a j.."

"No, you won't." He cut her off with an unusual, harsh tone.

"You're the top student in the class. If you get into a job now, your grades will just drop. Besides, you can't imagine how scarce jobs are. For a girl of your age, it'd be highly insecure. Think about your future, dammit."

Rahat curled his fist while looking downward. He felt frustrated about himself and didn't dare to look into her eyes after shouting like that.

Roshni grabbed his collar while looking directly in his eyes-

"Think about yourself? Huh! But what about you? Your eyes look like a dead man's, and all you eat is junk food. And study, it'd be surprising if they let you attend the pre-test exam."

He shifted his gaze as he couldn't find anything to retort.

She sighed and left his collar-

"We'll handle things together. Don't worry too ."

He shifted his gaze outward and said hesitantly, and softly-

"Maybe you should talk things out with your parents. Maybe they won't force you."

Roshni shot a fierce glare, "Don't dare to mention them again."

She began to leave the room.

I thought she was gonna kill me for sure. Rahat left out a sigh. As a boy bullied by girls in childhood, he's quite afraid of girls.

Suddenly his phone rang,

"Hey! We're at the tea stall. Are you so invested in porn that you forgot about us? Asif is treating us today. Come quickly lest you might miss the free meal."

"I'm on the way," he lied and quickly hung up the phone. Flushing red with embarrassment, he tried to figure out if Roshni had heard them or not.

Noticing her gaze, he chickened out, "It's not like that, I swear."

"Yeah. Yeah. I get that. You boys watch those shits, don't you?" She gave a nonchalant reply, "I can't imagine you watching porn."

"It's just that they force me sometimes, I swe...." He laughed awkwardly.

Before he could finish, Roshni put her finger on his lips and devilishly whispered-

"Don't gimme excuses. You won't need them anymore after today."

Roshni gave him one last playful, yet pointed, look, her red cheeks contrasting with the devilish glint in her eyes.

"Hurry up! Put something nice. You wouldn't want to look dull today, right?"

She then turned and began to walk backward out of his room, a mischievous smile playing on her lips, before disappearing around the corner.

Rahat stood frozen in the middle of his messy room, the phone still warm in his hand. The scent of stale instant noodles and his own nervous sweat seemed to fill the air.

What just happened? His mind raced, replaying Roshni’s words, the sudden proposal, her firm resolve. He could still feel the phantom pressure of her finger on his lips. She was crazy. Absolutely, beautifully, terrifyingly crazy.

And he, somehow, was now supposed to marry her.

He glanced down at his cheap T-shirt. It did smell. He had been so focused on his work, and most of the time he doesn't leave the house, that he hadn't noticed. Or maybe he just hadn't cared.

But the affectionate eyes of Roshni came to his mind. Even in this attire, she looked at him as if he were some kind of supermodel. He shook his head. This can't be real. She was just pitying me, perhaps.

Yet, the adoration of her felt real, her friendly but flirty talks felt real. Even her desperation was real. And her offer, however absurd, felt like a lifeline for an orphan and lonely boy like him.

With a heavy sigh that was half disbelief and half resignation, Rahat moved towards his closet. It wasn't much, just a few worn shirts and trousers. He picked out the least wrinkled one, a deep blue button-down that made him look less like a teenage boy and more like... well, more like a school teacher. As he changed, he caught a glimpse of himself in the cracked mirror on his wall. His eyes still looked tired, but a faint, unfamiliar warmth flickered in their depths.

When he emerged, Roshni was already waiting by the door, impatiently tapping her foot. I thought girls took hours to get ready!

She had somehow managed to tame her usually neat hair into a slightly wilder, but still charming, style. She wore a simple dress she must have packed, but it seemed to glow on her.

"Took you long enough, Mr. Future Husband," she teased, though her voice still held a hint of nervous excitement.

Her hand, still slightly shaky, found his and squeezed it. It was a firm, reassuring grip. "Come on. Let's start this new life."

He didn't pull away. He couldn't. Her conviction was a force he had never encountered, and in that moment, it was exactly what he needed. His heart hammered, a mix of fear and something strangely akin to hope. He looked at the girl beside him, the girl who had just turned his world upside down. He didn't know what the future held, but for the first time in a long time, he wasn't facing it alone.

They stepped out of the apartment building, the afternoon sun feeling unusually bright. The noise of the city seemed louder, the air charged with an unspoken tension. He wasn't sure what would happen at the registry office, or what would happen tomorrow, but as Roshni pulled him along, a hesitant, tiny smile tugged at the corner of his lips.