DILEMMA
Arjun ~
" She is a college going student Arjun. What has gotten into you, beta?" Mom asked the question I had been asking to myself for a while now.
" She is Vineet's daughter Arjun. That man has already given everything to this family and now you want his daughter too?" Dad sat opposite to me, raising his voice.
" It is either her or nobody. You should know this by now that I am extremely content with having the life that I am leading right now." I told them as I reviewed the documents of the Amrapali takeover. This deal had to go through this week.
" What is the problem with the other hundred girls who actually want to spend their life with you? Say the word and your mother will line up the most perfect candidates suitable first thing in the morning." He spoke up again, commanding my attention.
I decided not to answer them and continued reading the files.
" You are behaving like that five year old Arjun who would throw a tantrum until he got what he wants." Mom said, snatching the files out of my hands.
" Fine mother. Let's all just forget this ever happened but in turn, you will never pester me to get married further. Is that a deal?" I asked her. In either case, I'd be coming out a winner because now this seemed like a damn game to me, the one I didn't intend on losing.
Neither of them didn't say anything and went silent but dad continued to glare. Taking this as an opportunity, I slipped out of the office, leaving them alone. I couldn't deal with anyone right now with my own brain blowing the fuck out.
" Bhai where has this all come from? You want to marry Dhar's daughter?" Samarth had found me before I could disappear in my room for the night.
" Not now." I gritted out to him and the fucker had the audacity to laugh.
" Be honest with me bhai. Is there something genuinely interesting about this girl or is this some twisted game that you want to play with her because I have never seen you chase after a woman after Vani." This was the first time in years someone had uttered her name in front of me and it had the same fucking effect after all these years and I felt a bile of unprecedented anger rise from within me.
" Samarth I think I had made it abundantly clear that no one is allowed to take her name in this Palace and the rule stands." I told him after which he decided to stay silent and let me go without further comments.
The woman along with my own brother destroyed this family and everything a family stands for. That woman, my ex-wife did what even the enemies of the family couldn't do with the help of my elder brother who I actually looked up to at one point in life.
The woman I had voluntarily given my heart to for the first time in my life hadn't just ruined it, she made sure that it never fits with another woman in this lifetime and. At a point, she was everything I could have asked for but now, she was everything I detested from every single fiber of my being.
" Ranaji, Vineet bhaijisa is here and requests your company." One of the servants made his presence known.
" Ask him to have a seat in the living hall of this wing. I'll be right with him." I commanded and he walked out in compliance.
What could a father want from a man who had just declared that he had every intention to marry his daughter?
I made my way to the living room to find my parents in their company.
" Ranaji, I am sorry for this trouble so late at night but it couldn't wait." Mr. Dhar walked near me with his hands folded.
" Arjun we have to talk to Vineet and bhabhi alone. Please step out of this room and I am not asking you this as a former King. I am asking you as a father. Wait for us out." Dad asked me and as much as I wanted to talk to them, I couldn't disobey him twice in a day. All I could do was give a nod and step out.
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Swati Singh Rajvanshi ~
" Ritesh you know how stubborn our son can be and after Vani, he hasn't as much as looked at a woman twice let alone declare his intention for her. That woman and my abomination of a son has ruined my most sensitive child's heart. I will beg to Vineet bhaisa and Nupur if I have to but my son will not be alone now. If it is Siya he wants, I will do everything in my power to make that sure. You may call this a former queen's arrogance or a heartbroken mother's resolve but this time, my son will not suffer." I told my husband after Arjun had walked out.
" We cannot ruin a girl's life for our son Swati. That is not fair. Arjun is eleven years elder to her and on the top of it all, she does not want to get married judging by how she ran out earlier tonight." He said but no matter what he says, it nothing matters more than Arjun's happiness and as for Siya, I will make sure that she's treated well and loved here.
" Our son has been suffering for the past seven years without saying anything Ritesh. Day in and day out I see his eyes and see that hollowness dig in deeper with every minute that passes. Today, when he so openly said that he wanted to marry her, just for a split second, I saw the very same mischievous glint of that old Arjun in his eyes, the one who was adored by everyone and there is only so much I won't do to get that back. You can either be with me or against me but if you try to stand in my way to my son's happiness, I will not hold myself back." I announced but before he could say anything else, we were informed of Vineet bhaisa and Nupur's arrival.
As Ritesh asked Arjun to leave us alone for a while, I walked up to them and folded my hands in front of them.
" Bhaisa, here we stand, begging the two of you for our son's happiness. If Siya is who he wants to spend his life with, she is the one who can get my son back, please......" I didn't even know how to finish that selfish sentence.
" Thakurani sa, please don't embarrass us. Whatever we have today is because of you and this family. I have seen Ranaji and how much he cares about his people even when he does not show it. Siya will be a lucky girl to marry him but you should also know that she is her own person. Even if she somehow agrees for this marriage, there is no way anyone of us will be able to suppress her into the Royal lifestyle. My girl has always been free spirited and has hardly seen any struggles of life. She has her own thoughts and she is unafraid to vocalise them without thinking of the consequences of her words." Vineet bhaisa said.
" And that is absolutely okay Vineet. At this point, Arjun needs a wife who can show him a mirror as and when required more than the Kingdom requires a queen. If Siya is all those things which you say she is, this may be even more beneficial to both of them than we can think of right now." My husband finally had joined in. I knew he loves Arjun and cares about him more than any of us, to be honest.
" I will talk to Siya but naturally, she will have her own terms and conditions if we somehow talk her into this marriage. I know for a fact that Ranaji will be perfect for my girl. Even if she sometimes act childish, she is a lot more mature than people her age. She will need a man like him to come home after a long day who can talk to her without being petty and selfish." Nupur said.
" All her terms and conditions are accepted Nupur. Every single one of them." I didn't care if the girl wants everything I own, if she makes my son happy, I will be more than happy to give her everything and more.
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Siya ~
I was going to go back to Jaipur. That was going to hide here somewhere in Jodhpur. This is the one place no one would care to search for me if I leave a note stating that I am running away. It makes perfect sense.
Papa and Mumma, according to them owe everything to Arjun Singh Rajvanshi and his family and even if they love me to no end, their sense of duty will always have an upper hand when it comes to them that is why there was no need to even try talking to them.
Dear Mumma and Papa,
I love you so much that it physically hurts to write what I am going to but I know this is the only option that is left with me. I am running away.
Ughhh this is too direct! I crumbled the paper and threw it on the floor. I started to write another and then another after that but I just couldn't figure out what to write in there!
As I was starting with perhaps the fifteenth letter, the door to my room flung open and in walked my parents as my eyes widened and I tried to hide the paper in my hands but it was too late. Papa had already picked up the papers on the floor to inspect and I almost screamed in irritation.
Why was I such an indecisive person! If only I hadn't wasted my time in writing and throwing letters, I would have been out of this house soon!
But now, I'll have to explain it to them and judging by their looks, they were not happy.
Well, guess what, neither was I!
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