Samyra's POV:
It's been a week, since I met Arjun. I remember telling my parents that I will be in the garden since they were late, and I opened the gate mumbling under my breath how they do not value others time when I realized two men standing on the door. I was embarrassed when I got to know they were the ones who came to see me and if that wasn't enough, I further embarrassed myself while talking to him on the terrace. To be honest, I didn't find him to be rude or arrogant as people think of him to be. In fact, I thought he was very sweet. Well, since I didn't have any valid reason to reject the proposal, we are bound to get married. Even if I did, I don't think dad would have rejected Arjun as he seemed to have been smitten by him. That morning, I again tried my luck saying if the date for our marriage can be after sometime but he started getting hyper about how this is for my best and he needs to see me settled before he dies and other same old emotional stuff, making me worried about his health. Although, I don't know Arjun's reason for marrying me at such young age. Hmm... I should have asked him that day itself.
To say I am nervous about my marriage, would be an understatement of the year, but I need to just suck it up and deal with it. I am in the college at the moment, thankfully in this one week, I haven't seen Arjun or even talked to him, since we didn't exchange our phone numbers. Whenever he would come on campus, the buzz around would tell me, and I would usually escape the place. It's not that I don't wanna meet him, I am just too embarrassed to meet him and want to save myself from further embarrassment. I am in the canteen with Anmol like every other day and we are having coffee.
"Samyra, are you okay? You are looking lost."
"Of course I am alright. What will happen to me? I am just tensed about the test we have tomorrow."
"Do you wanna study for it together?"
"Hmmm... that's a good idea, how about we go to library and study, I mean we have free period next, so might as well use it."
"Sure, let's go." We get up, and throwing our cups in the bin nearby, we exit the canteen only for me to bump into something hard, rather someone's hard muscles.
"Ouch! Sorry!" I jerk back and almost fall but I feel someone tightening their hold on my waist to stable me.
"Samyra, are you alright?" I look beside me to see Anmol looking at me questioningly. giving him a quick nod, I turn to the culprit and gulp loudly seeing my fiancé standing there. Fiance, sounds weird and strange. His eyes tightening, looking somewhere down and following his gaze I realize he is looking at Anmol holding my waist.
"I am fine Anmol, you can let go of me now." Saying this I try and remove his hands from my waist. I don't want him to get any wrong ideas, not like it was a big deal as Anmol was just helping me but still.
"Sorry for bumping into you." Saying this, I try and move from there but the bulky man in front of me is literally blocking my way.
"Excuse me?" I say looking into his deep brown eyes. He still hasn't moved an inch.
"Dude, let's get going now. I am hungry." I see Arjun's teammates standing behind him and he too seems to realize the same as he moves from my way and I move towards the library with Anmol right behind me.
"Dude, that was the Arjun Kapoor! I was so scared there for a moment that he might kick us for even coming in his path." Anmol remarks.
"I don't think he is that bad." I bite my tongue realizing I just defended someone whom I don't even know as per Anmol.
"How do you know that?"
"How can you say that he would have kicked us? We are standing here in one piece now, aren't we?"
"Yes, but-"
"Let's go and study now."
We make our way to one of the empty aisles and start studying and clarifying any doubts that we might have. Before, we know it the day at college comes to an end and it's time for us to go back home.
Entering the doors of my home, I see Rajesh uncle sitting with dad and discussing something. I move forward and touch his feet, taking his blessings.
"Bless you, so how have you been?"
"I have been fine uncle, what about you? How is your health keeping?"
"Just fit and fine, waiting eagerly for my daughter-in-law to come to our house, so that we can both make Arjun go crazy."
"Isn't he already crazy?" I scrunch my nose and close my eyes realizing what I just said. I am surely gonna get an earful from mom and dad later on. I open my eyes hearing Rajesh uncle laugh.
"Well, that he already is. Hmmm...how about we make him crazier?" He winks at me lovingly.
"Deal." Saying this I turn around only to see the subject of the topic standing near the door. I hope he didn't hear what I said about him a minute ago.
"Oh, Arjun you are also here. Come, come. We were just talking about you."
"Yeah I heard how my fiancée thinks I am crazy."
"Thinks? I know he is crazy." I mumble under my breath.
"We will see how crazy I can get then. Didn't think you know how to talk back." I can see the smirk clearly on his face and I can feel. My face burning at this moment.
"So, since you both are here, we just want to inform you that you both will be getting married in two days as it's a weekend and since, you guys want a simple court marriage, no arrangements have to be made."
"What!" We both ask together.
"But why so soon?" I question. I am not ready to be married in two days. I was just starting to come around the idea of marriage.
"Yes dad, what's the hurry?" He looks at his father questioningly.
"We told you, we wanted to inform you guys, not ask for your permission and why delay the inevitable right?"
"We all have to die someday, doesn't mean we kill ourselves today, right?" I mumble under my breath angrily.
"Exactly!" He exclaims next to me in same lower tone.
"Why are you listening to what I am saying?" I ask him, still whispering.
"Don't be so loud then." He whispers back.
"I am not loud. You have vampire ears, okay?" I fold my hands in front of my chest and turn my face to the other side before going into the kitchen.
"Samyra take this outside for Rajesh ji and Arjun."
"Send the maid, mom."
"You have to do these things from now on."
"But why me and not Arjun?" I question before continuing.
"He can also serve me, I don't see anything wrong in that."
"Don't talk like that Samyra and take this out. Also, Arjun is going to be your husband, what was all that you were saying in front of your father-in-law! Behave yourself." My mother literally pushes me out with the train. What if I fell face first in front of them? My mother doesn't even think before pushing her own daughter, well more like a nudge push but a push is a push. I place the tray on the table and before I can execute my plan to take leave on account of being tired, my father asks me to take Arjun to the terrace. I ask him the only question eating me up before we make our way downstairs.
I move to my room and lie on my bed. I am gonna be married in two days. I will share my life with someone whom I dont even know. How am I gonna get through this?
_____
Arjun's POV:
I don't know what Samyra has done to me, but my every thought revolves around her these days. What must she be doing? Where must she be?
We haven't talked since that day on the terrace and the stupid person I am, I didn't even take her number. I can ask my dad for it, but I want to save myself from any embarrassment and teasing. I haven't seen her in college either and just when I saw her, I see her in arms of some other guy. I don't know why but I felt so furious and if not for my teammates bringing me out of my daze, I would have banged his head.
Once Samyra and that Anmol guy leaves, I look back to see where they are going but couldn't see them anywhere. I move inside the cafeteria only to see women gawking at me, but now I am used to it and so as always choosing to ignore it, I take my usual place. We talk about the upcoming matches and before I know it, I get a call from dad, asking me to come to Samyra's place.
I reach there and am shocked to see my fiancées sarcastic side but nonetheless amused. I can see sense her embarrassment on being heard while her sarcasm was dripping.
I moved towards the kitchen when I overhear her conversation with her mother, and I agree men and women are equals and so one shouldn't assign chores based on gender. I honestly don't mind serving Samyra after our marriage but to not embarrass her further, I leave before getting caught.
I can sense a hesitation in her when she was serving us and the talk for our marriage was happening and decided to sort it out. I ask dad to allow me to talk to Samyra alone which he gladly allowed now that I said yes for the marriage. Samyra leads me to the same terrace where we met for the first time.
"Samyra, are you sure about this marriage?" I ask directly coming to the point.
"Look Arjun, my father is a heart patient and he wants to see me settled and there's nothing I can do about it but why do you want to get married to me at such a young age?" She fires back.
I take a long breath while trying to formulate my answer. "Samyra, my mom left us three years back. Even before that she was ill for a long time and she wanted the same for me. I was just nineteen and for a guy that's not even a legal age for marriage in India, not like I couldn't have gotten married but still. No parents, well educated parents would have wanted to give their daughter to a nineteen year old and looking at all this she had no option but to hope that she'll be there when I get married but unfortunately she isn't here. I understand your father's perspective and my father being his close friend wants to fulfill your father's wish. From what I can tell, we both are people who will not go against our parents' wishes and so I think it's bound that we get married at this point. My reason is just my parents even if I am not thrilled about getting married this young. Please don't take this is a wrong sense, my reluctance for marriage is just due to my age." I clarify and see her trying to make sense of it all.
"I am so sorry for your mother. I think you are right, we are never gonna go against our parents and so I guess we are doomed."
The next two days pass in a jiffy and here we are in the family court with our parents as witnesses, to sign the official documents and be tied down to one another officially.
Samyra is looking very pretty in her dark red saree, with minimal jewelry while I stick to my black suit. We exchange garlands and weddings rings and sign the register. I make her wear the nuptial chain and fill her partition with vermillion and whoosh!
We are married.
We proceed towards my car and can see Samyra getting emotional. I give her hand a little squeeze, but her tears show no sign of stopping. We sit in the car and proceed towards our home.
"Samyra, please don't cry. If you want, we can go to your house, and I can live there with you and not the other way around. What do you think? I mean we can take dad also and we can all live together." She looks up at me and chuckles through her tears.
"Please don't cry, I will take you to your parent's place every day."
"Promise?" She asks cutely looking at me through her clumped eyelashes.
"I mean, I might not be able to take you there every day, so I can't promise but I will try."
Deal?"
"Deal." I stare at our intertwined hands and I am just thinking about how her hand perfectly fits in mine and how they are so warm.
The car stops in the driveway, in front of the house and we step down. My dad is already here waiting for us to come. We didn't do any rituals per say but dad gifted Samyra some of my mom's jewelry as her muh dikhai (where people look at the bride's face removing her veil for the first time, just a fun ceremony). Samyra is introduced to the servants before I lead her to our room.
***
H
ey guys!
Here's another update. I might do daily updates for two to three more chapters before doing a weekly update since my classes will restart from Monday.
I hope you understand that in India when it comes to marriage, children don't really have a say, especially if it's an arrange marriage in situations such as that of Arjun's or Samyra's. They have been brought up in a way where going against parents' wishes isn't really an option and it's not just theoretical bit something I have seen in real life.
I hope you all enjoy the update! Please vote and comment.
Thank you!
Love you all;)