Title : The billionaire trap

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Prologue.

Mani took another long sip from the bottle, like oxygen had suddenly been replaced with alcohol and this was the only way she could breathe.

“So basically,” she began, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “there was this girl who caught the hero’s eye because she looked so innocent.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Kurti pehenti thi, no makeup… yeah but that’s different that she wore a bindi, big earrings sorry, very big earrings and kajal. But obviously that’s not makeup, right?” She scoffed, shaking her head.

“And the hero?” she laughed bitterly. “He fell for her because she was ‘not like other girls.’”

Mani took another gulp, almost choking on the burn.

“Or villain kaun hai tumhe pata hai? Kaun? Poocho!!! (And do you know who the villain is? Who? Ask me!!!)” she suddenly shouted into the empty road.

A group of stray dogs barked loudly in response.

“Bhau! Bhauuu!”

Mani blinked at them for a second… then nodded like they had just politely asked their question.

“Me,” she declared, pointing at herself. “The girl he dated for two years. Two years! But he cheated on me, dude. He cheated.” Her voice cracked slightly. “He was into that girl…”

Her friend somewhere far away was still trying to find her, while Mani sat right in the middle of the road, having a full emotional breakdown with stray dogs as her audience.

“But you know what’s funny?” she continued, looking around at the dogs like they were part of a jury. “No one took my side. Poocho kyu? (Ask why?)”

“Bhau bhauuu!” the dogs barked again.

Mani slowly sat down on the road, hugging the bottle to her chest like it was the only thing that hadn’t betrayed her.

“Because…” Her voice broke as tears finally spilled down her cheeks. “Because I was not like her.”

For a moment, she just cried quietly, shoulders trembling.

Then she wiped her face roughly with the back of her hand, inhaled a shaky breath, and straightened a little.

“But I hate him,” she muttered stubbornly. “I don’t care if he likes her… and likes you…” She lazily pointed at every dog sitting around her like they were contestants in some tragic competition.

“I don’t care…”

Her words slurred slightly as she clutched the bottle tighter, trying to look strong while the night, the alcohol, and her broken heart said otherwise.

As soon as the dogs heard a loud horn, they scattered to the sides of the road, tails tucked as they ran off, leaving Mani sitting alone in the middle of the empty street. She was still drowning in her sorrow, loosely holding the now–empty bottle in her hand. The road was silent except for the distant hum of the car engine.

But nothing reached her ears.

Nothing except Harsh’s harsh words echoing inside her head.

Not the horn.

Not the engine.

Not even the man calling out to her.

“Hello!!!”

“Excuse me, miss!!!”

The voice blurred somewhere in the background, like a faint noise she couldn’t quite process. Mani slowly pushed herself up to stand, swaying a little as she turned toward the car.

The headlights were too bright for her drunk eyes.

All she could see was a dark silhouette of a man leaning out of the window, trying to signal her to move aside.

But Mani’s mind… was somewhere else entirely.

Through her blurry vision, the light behind him made it look like he was glowing. For a moment, her alcohol-soaked brain decided that the man wasn’t real at all. To her, he looked like someone dressed in complete white almost heavenly.

Like a soul that had come to take hers.

Her lips curved into a strange, broken smile.

Accepting her fate with dramatic determination, she suddenly spread her arms wide like the iconic Titanic pose, the empty bottle still dangling from one hand.

Her hair blew slightly in the night breeze as she faced the car head-on.

“Kill me,” she said quietly.

“Maniiii!”

“Maniiii!”

“MANIKARNIKA!!!”

The shout cut through the quiet road like a slap.

Her friend came running toward her, slightly out of breath. As she reached the car, the blinding headlights forced her to raise her hand, shielding her eyes.

“I am really sorry!” Vidhi shouted toward the driver, her voice rushed and embarrassed.

Before Mani could protest or continue her tragic Titanic performance Vidhi grabbed her arm firmly and pulled her away from the middle of the road.

“Chal!!! (Come on!!!)” she hissed, dragging her along.

“MANIKARNIKA!!!” she shouted again, loud enough for the entire empty street and unfortunately the man in the car to hear her full name.

Mani stumbled as Vidhi pulled her toward the side of the road, the empty bottle still hanging loosely from her fingers while she blinked lazily, clearly confused about why her grand dramatic ending had been interrupted.

After 2 weeks......

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing… just trying to find a way to get rich,” Mani replied casually, her eyes glued to the laptop as she continued her very serious research.

Vidhi frowned and leaned closer. Her gaze shifted from Mani… to the laptop screen… where Mani was scrolling through pictures of extremely handsome men.

“…By this?” Vidhi asked slowly, utterly confused.

“Yeah,” Mani said matter-of-factly. “These guys proposed to me when I was in a relationship. But since I’m not a slut, I didn’t give them any attention.”

Vidhi blinked, still trying to understand the logic here.

“But… isme rich kaise honge? I mean, how will you get rich from this?” she asked.

Mani sighed dramatically, like she had to explain basic economics to a toddler. She clicked open the Instagram profile of one of the guys and turned the screen toward Vidhi.

“Look. He’s rich,” she said simply. “If he becomes my boyfriend… and then basically my husband… then I’m rich too.”

Vidhi stared at her.

“Really?” her expression said without words.

“What?” Mani scoffed, leaning back in her chair. “You want me to go find a job, become an employee, and work 24 hours for them just to earn thirty or fifty thousand salary?”

She shook her head in disbelief.

“And honestly,” she added bluntly, “even with that payment I’ll still be middle class… not rich.”

“Damn!!! Mani, you love money, right?” Vidhi asked, staring at her friend like she had just discovered the secret operating system of her brain.

“Who doesn’t?” Mani replied without even looking up, already scrolling again like a detective on a very questionable mission.

“I don’t give a shit about anything right now,” she muttered. “That neighbour aunty taunted Mumma today. She asked why I’m not married yet. Earlier I used to answer back, but today…” She paused, clicking on another profile. “Today I finally got the answer, dude.”

Vidhi folded her arms, listening.

“Her daughter married a rich man,” Mani continued with irritation. “And now that aunty keeps blabbering about it all the time. ‘My son-in-law this, my son-in-law that…’”

She rolled her eyes dramatically.

“I want the same. I want to marry some rich guy… someone even richer than my ex, and -”

“And go mad, right?” Vidhi cut her off, smacking her lightly on the head.

“Idiot!!”

“You need therapy…”

“No, I guess I don’t. I only need money right now.” Mani replied without even looking up from the laptop, scrolling like her life depended on it.

“Well, it’s not new, Vidhi. I always loved money. That’s why I chose Harsh,” she said bluntly. “He had looks, money… and he chose me because except money, I had everything. Simple.”

Vidhi stared at her, half shocked at how casually she said it.

“And seriously,” Mani continued, leaning back in her chair with an exhausted sigh, “I tried everything to get rich. Cleared JEE, was a topper… got a job… and then got thrown out because of that idiot old man.”

She waved her hand dismissively.

“Then ran around again looking for another job… interviews, rejections… blah blah blah.”

Mani shut the laptop halfway and rubbed her face in frustration.

“I’m done with all this drama.”

She slowly placed the laptop on the table, her eyes still fixed on the screen for a moment. Then a small, calculating smirk appeared on her face.

Vidhi noticed that expression immediately the dangerous one.

Mani tapped the screen lightly, as if marking her target.

“Aur ek baat hai… (And one more thing… )”

Vidhi’s eyebrows shot up.

Mani leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms confidently before delivering her grand philosophy.

“Raja banne ke liye jang jeetni padti hai…” she said with a sly smile,

“par rani banne ke liye raja ka dil.”

(To become a king you have to win a war… but to become a queen, you only need the king’s heart.)

Vidhi stared at her for a few seconds… then slowly leaned forward to look at the laptop screen again, suddenly very curious and slightly concerned about who exactly Mani had just declared as her “king.”