"What???" Shravan gaped at his grandfather in horror
Had he lost it finally
Is old age catching up with him at this most unfortunate time
"You heard me"
"You must be crazy if you think I'm going to go through with this" Shravan muttered in disbelief
"Bauji. You are not thinking this through clearly. Marriage is not a decision to be taken hastily. It's their life" Pratap Maheswari said trying to appeal to his father
But Tej Maheswari was having none of it
"Kiara is a very nice girl" Tej said
"Who is Kiara??" Shravan asked
"The girl you are going to marry" Tej said
confidently
"The girl you want me to marry?? I'm not marrying anyone dadu" Shravan said in exasperation
"So you will stand by and watch your dadu bow down his head in shame?? You wouldn't do anything to safeguard his honor??" Tej asked looking straight into his eyes
"That's emotional blackmailing dadu. You know it very well"
"Are you willing to protect and safeguard the Maheswari honor Shravan??" Tej asked and Shravan knew when he is facing a fate accompli
"Do I have a choice??" Shravan asked coldly
"You do. You could always turn your back on your family values and honor. Its upto you" Tej said knowing very well that his grandson wouldn't back down
If one more time his grandfather uttered the word honor ,he might explode
"Don't expect me to be happy and make her happy dadu" he said in a tone of finality
"You will like her boy. I have known Kiara for a long time. She is a sweet natured girl. Always calm and matured. She would make a perfect wife and an even perfect daughter in law" Tej said
"Then why didn't you fix her marriage with me earlier??" Shravan shot back and that shut his grandfather up
Tej Maheswari and his son left to talk to the orphanage authorities and his mother turned to him
"Are you sure about this Shravu. You don't have to ,you know. Your life is more important than any honor for me" Anuradha said not wanting her son to sacrifice his life
"You always wanted me to get married Mom. Guess your prayers have been finally answered. If Kiara is written in my destiny, can anyone change that"
"I just want you to be happy"
"I will be mom. Didn't dadu say that she is a calm, sweet and matured girl. Life would be easy with her ,I hope" Shravan said forcing a smile for his mother's benefit
"You told your dadu to not expect you to be happy and make her happy" Anuradha said unhappily
"Well, I couldn't simply agree to his manoeuvring without retailing. I will give this a chance Mom. What do they say..when life gives you lemon ,you make lemonades" Shravan said
Marriage is an important turning point in one's life. He had so far dodged it but destiny has it's own ways
The girl might have had so many dreams about marriage and future and one man had destroyed it by running away at the last moment
And he won't do that to her
It might take time for them to work things out and adjust with each other
But he will give his cent percent into this
Who knows ,he might even grow to love this Kiara someday in the future
****
Drishti was playing farmville in her phone while she waited for the people to come and make their necessary apologies, so that she could get the hell out of here.
She just hope the Agnihotri jet would be up in the air by the time people realise that the bride was swapped in the early hours of the morning
Whoever introduced the custom of covering the face of the bride with a veil might have seen these dramas happening in the future
She kept her phone aside when she heard the giggle of a few girls and looked up to see two young girls coming to her room
"He is so handsome. You are so lucky" one girl said making Drishti frown
"Who is handsome??" Drishti asked bewildered
"Your groom"
He came back?? OMG
And from which angle did he look handsome to these girls
Drishti shot up from where she was seated and was about to ask the same when few other people entered the room
She recognized one person as the head of this
orphanage. Along with him were two other men. One an elderly man ,probably in his seventies and the other in his fifties
"Kiara beta" the older man called and Drishti braced herself
She so didn't want this grandfather to apologise to her.
It's all Abhi bhaiyya's fault. If he had tried harder before ,they wouldn't have had to kidnap Kiara bhabhi and face all these problems
"Er.."
"We need to tell you something. I want you to listen calmly " and then he started telling things which she didn't even imagine would happen as a consequence to her stupid idea of kidnapping Kiara bhabhi
Why would they stop the other marriages for this reason??
God!! The girls here are Kiara bhabhi's friends. If they came to know Kiara bhabhi ran off with someone without thinking about them ,they would hate her
No one would believe she was kidnapped when they see her happy with Abhi bhaiyya
And who in their right mind would ask their own grandson to be a sacrifice
Is she dreaming??
A horrible nightmare
Anytime now she would wake up to her annoying sister annoying the hell out of her
She would be cuddled against her mother and Damini would be jealous of it and would be trying to push her off her mother
Yes ,that's going to happen
The old man kept talking
"Its a matter of my family's honor too Kiara. If this marriage doesn't happen , you can imagine" the old man said and Drishti blinked rapidly behind her veil
One of the young girls tried to lift her veil but Drishti held on to it like her life depended on it
"I hope you would agree to this for everyone's sake" the oldman continued
What option does she have now??
Maybe she could run away??
As soon as these people get out of here ,she would make her escape
"You two girls ,be with Kiara. She might be upset. Don't leave her alone" the old man instructed the young girls throwing water on her escape plan
What now??
Maybe she could get married now to save
everyone's face and later get an annulment
Sounds like a w*****d story ...but who cares
She is not going to spoil her life staying in a marriage of convenience
Ever since she was thirteen ,she had been waiting for her one great love
A love and need that would span time and distance. A call from soul to soul
Like her parents
Drishti stared at the haveli through her veil in aweIt felt as if she had stepped back into eighteenth centuryThe place looks like royalty Oh yes!! She is married now to a man she didn't know from the AdamShe didn't even ask for his name??How could she?? Everything happened in a blurAnd yet that one moment when their eyes met. When he had lifted the veil to apply sindoor on her God!! She could still feel the sizzle of that moment"Kiara beta. Come sit here. We will do the mooh dikhaayi ceremony first as we all still haven't seen your face. Sorry beta ,the function is small and there are only family here. It happened all of a sudden. I promise we will arrange a grand reception for you guys in a day or two" Anuradha Maheswari said to her new daughter in lawDrishti held back a hysterical giggle from coming outReception??She would be lucky if they didn't throw her into a dungeon in this haveli when they realise they have been duped.She was pretty darn sure there is a dungeon s
Anuradha took Drishti to the guest bedroom"Aunty. I'm sorry for all the inconvenience I caused. Not even in my wildest imaginations did I see this happening aunty" Drishti said as soon as Anuradha made her sit on the bed"Relax Drishti. It will take time for everyone to accept what happened. I don't know anything about you Drishti, but I know people. I have seen all kinds of people and I can say that you are a good person" Anuradha saidOnly if she knows.... Drishti thought to herself"Listen to me beta. Marriage is a sacred bond. Our ancestors used to say marriages happen in heaven. It's true to an extend. The one up there na?? He might have decided who is for who even before we are born. And Shravan is the one who is written in your destiny" "Aunty. You can't really expect us to go through with this wedding. We don't know each other" Drishti said"I'm not forcing you Drishti. Just give it a try. And still you find it difficult to adjust, I will help you in a separation.""I don't
Shravan walked out of his bedroom, with his bag, after Isha, to get ready to leave. As he came to the living room his mother glared at him."I am leaving Mom.""What about your wife??" Anuradha asked in disbelief."What about her?? She can stay here as long as she wants and then can apply for annulment when she is ready." Shravan said coolly."You told me you would give your cent percent into this marriage, Shravan. You promised." Anuradha reminded her son of the promise he made before tying the knot.Damn!! His mother is furious. She just called him Shravan."I said that believing that I would be marrying Kiara. Kiara, who was supposedly left at the altar. Not trying to work out a marriage with her would be sin when I thought she was deeply hurt by her ex fiance." Shravan said."Oh my!! I can see you picturing yourself as a Prince charming riding a white horse and coming to rescue the princess from a miserable future," he turned around when he heard his brand new wife's voice and
The private jet landed in the Bangalore International Airport."You don't even have any luggage with you?? What's your plan?? A shopping spree with Shravan's credit card??" Isha asked and Shravan groaned mentally.What had happened to the sweet natured Isha?? Where did this bitchy avatar come from?? "Of course yes. I am a newly wed bride. New brides are entitled to their shopping spree with their husband's credit card." Drishti said, batting her eyelashes innocently at them."Of course I know girls like you." Isha said with derision."You ought to. You must be looking at the mirror at least twice a day." Drishti said sarcastically."For the love of God!! Will you two please shut up?" Shravan was finally losing it.What did he do to deserve this?? "Isha, I will drop you at your place. Will see you first thing in the morning. We have to get this deal somehow." Shravan said and Isha nodded her head.Business!! Drishti rolled her eyes!Shravan is reminding her of her father. Her fath
Damn it!! She is Drishti Singhania!The boys in her college are crazy over her and begging her for a single glance and this guy here, who was lucky enough to marry her, wants to keep their marriage a secret.Fine!! It's not as if she cares. "Fine. I am not dying to advertise it either." Drishti said with a casual shrug."And where is the bedroom??" Drishti asked and Shravan cursed himself for not thinking about it before.Where would she stay?? This is a two bedroom apartment and he had turned the guest room into a study for his office work."Actually there's only one bedroom." Shravan said and Drishti again shrugged as if sharing a bedroom isn’t a big deal for her."The kitchen is over there. The fridge is fully stocked. Rajesh kaka's wife comes thrice a week to clean and cook. She might have kept some food in the freezer too." Shravan said and guided her towards his roomLuckily his bedroom has a recliner in addition to a bed and he mentally thanked his interior designer for that.
Shravan woke up to find the girl all over himHer legs were thrown over his and hands were around his neck and her head in the crook of his shoulderHer hair is spread all over her face, some spilled over his chestGod!! What a torture to wake up with He pulled out from her hold not so gently, but her highness didn't wake up. She simply cuddled into the pillow instead of him and continued sleepingThere was drool near her mouth and she looked utterly adorable like a babyAdorable?? Have you gone crazy early in the morning Shravan?? He shook his head to clear his thoughts and walked into the en suite to get ready for the dayEven after he got ready for office Drishti was still asleepHe thought of leaving a note for her but then decided against itWhy make new habits?? ****Drishti woke up to the continuous vibration of her phoneLast night her phone had been battery dead and she had plugged it in near the bedside tableDoes the phone gets switched-on on it's own once charged??
Two days laterShravan was going through some files when the door opened and one of his best friends and business partner came in"Mithran!! How is the construction going on??" Shravan asked. Mithran had been out of the city for a surprise inspection on one of their new resort construction siteMithran manages the construction wing of SM while Shravan manages the business wingMithran Yadav is the M in SM Industries"Good evening to you too. I'm good and the journey was comfortable. Thank-you for asking" Mithran said sarcastically and Shravan sighed"Sorry man!! This Malhotra deal has been giving me a headache for a while""As I said before, I think it's better to look for some other site for the new resort" Isha said coming into his cabin"Good evening sweetheart" Mithran wished Isha with a flirtatious smile only to get a stink eye in return"Isha!! You know I don't back down when I want something" Shravan said"I know. But D Love is very special for the Malhotras. I don't think the
"So?? What's the plan for tomorrow??" Drishti asked and Siddu looked up from the phone"I won't be coming to the college tomorrow. Have to help mom with the preparations" Siddu said"You won't be coming?? What about me?? You think I will attend the college when you enjoy with the dinner preparations at home??" Drishti asked glaring at him"What do you expect?? You want me to ask you to join me??" Siddu asked sarcastically "Why not?? I'm your bestfriend. Abhi bhai is like a brother to me. So obviously I should also be helping you there" Drishti said"Exactly. You practically live in my house rather than the hostel. Then why do you suddenly need an invitation. If you want, just come" Siddu said with a shrug and Drishti scratched his arms with her long nailsSiddu hissed in pain "You are not a human. You are wild cat" Siddu said examining the scratch marks on his arms"Invite me properly or you will get more of that" Drishti said stubbornly "What the bloody hell is this. Since when di