The Husband I Never Asked For

There are some moments in life when time seems to stop.

Not because something beautiful happens.

But because something breaks so suddenly...

that you know your life will never be the same again.

For Siya Sharma...

that moment arrived on a hot May afternoon.

Her room was a complete mess.

Three screwdrivers lay beside her pillow.

A dismantled keyboard occupied half her study table.

There were wires tangled like noodles.

A small soldering iron.

An old CPU she had bought from a scrap dealer.

And at the center of this chaos...

sat Siya.

Hair tied in a messy bun.

Wearing an oversized black t-shirt that said—

"Code. Eat. Sleep. Repeat."

Her fingers flew over the keyboard.

The screen displayed lines of code.

Suddenly—

ERROR

Siya groaned loudly.

"YOU STUPID BUG!"

She hit the table dramatically.

The screwdriver fell.

The keyboard shifted.

And her mother screamed from downstairs—

"SIYAAAA!"

"No!"

Siya shouted.

"I'm busy changing the world!"

Her mother sighed.

"First change your clothes and come downstairs."

"I'm not going anywhere!"

"Guests are here."

Siya froze.

Guests?

A chill ran down her spine.

Indian households had only two types of guests.

Normal guests.

And...

marriage proposal guests.

She slowly peeped outside.

"Mummy..."

Her mother avoided eye contact.

Bad sign.

Very bad sign.

"Mummy..."

"Come downstairs."

"MUMMY!"

Her mother whispered nervously,

"Your Bua is here."

Siya relaxed.

"Oh."

Then narrowed her eyes.

Wait.

Why would Bua come suddenly?

And why was Mummy sweating?

Why was Papa wearing his good kurta?

Why was the house smelling of cardamom tea?

OH.

MY.

GOD.

"No."

Her mother remained silent.

"Mummy."

Silence.

"MUMMY!"

Her mother looked ready to cry.

And Siya knew.

No.

No no no no no.

She ran downstairs.

And stopped.

The drawing room looked like a family meeting.

Her father sat proudly.

Mother sat quietly.

Her Bua—

Kavita Sharma—

was grinning.

Beside her sat her husband.

Dhruv's chacha.

A gentle man.

An old lady sat beside them.

Thin.

Fragile.

But smiling warmly.

And...

there he was.

The criminal.

Tall.

Broad shoulders.

White shirt.

Black trousers.

Neatly combed hair.

A simple watch.

Too handsome.

Annoyingly handsome.

And...

looking equally uncomfortable.

He wasn't even looking at her.

Instead...

he was staring at the cup of tea like it had personally offended him.

Siya frowned.

Strange.

Usually men who came to "see" girls behaved like kings.

This one looked like he wanted to escape.

Interesting.

"Come beta."

Bua smiled.

Siya sat.

Arms folded.

Face expressionless.

Nobody spoke.

The fan rotated.

Tea cups clinked.

And then...

Bua cheerfully announced—

"Siya.

Meet your future husband."

...

Siya blinked.

Then laughed.

Laughed so loudly that her father glared.

She wiped imaginary tears.

"Excellent joke."

Nobody laughed.

The smile slowly disappeared from her face.

"No."

Father nodded.

"Yes."

"No."

"The marriage is fixed."

"What?!"

"It is decided."

"WITHOUT ASKING ME?!"

"You are my daughter."

"So?"

"So I decide."

Siya stared.

This couldn't be happening.

She had boards next year.

She had dreams.

She had plans.

She wanted to study computer science.

Learn AI.

Build software.

Create her own startup.

Marriage wasn't even in her top hundred priorities.

And definitely not...

to THIS MAN.

She glared at him.

He finally looked up.

Dark eyes.

Calm expression.

And suddenly...

Siya got more annoyed.

Why was he calm?

Why wasn't he saying NO?

She pointed at him.

"You!"

Everyone jumped.

Dhruv blinked.

"Me?"

"YES YOU!"

Father shouted.

"Siya!"

"I DON'T CARE!"

She glared at Dhruv.

"Are you crazy?"

Dhruv looked confused.

"Possibly."

Bua coughed to hide laughter.

Siya ignored her.

"You're twenty-eight!"

"Yes."

"I'm eighteen!"

"Also yes."

"I'M IN SCHOOL!"

"I know."

"THEN WHY ARE YOU MARRYING ME?!"

The room fell silent.

Dhruv looked at her.

Really looked at her.

Messy hair.

Angry eyes.

Trembling hands.

A girl trying very hard not to cry.

He sighed.

"I'm not marrying you because I want to."

Everyone froze.

Even Siya.

Excuse me?!

Father frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Dhruv ignored him.

He looked only at Siya.

"I didn't want this marriage."

Siya blinked.

What?

"I refused."

Now everyone was shocked.

Bua rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for exposing me."

Dhruv continued.

"I thought..."

He smiled awkwardly.

"How can I marry someone who still has school assignments?"

Siya stared.

Then...

for some reason...

she felt offended.

"Excuse me?!"

Dhruv looked alarmed.

"No, I mean—"

"You think I'm a child?!"

"Technically—"

"I AM AN ADULT!"

"Legally."

"I HATE YOU!"

"Understandable."

Bua burst out laughing.

Father looked horrified.

Mother looked confused.

And Siya?

She was furious.

"Then why did you agree?!"

This time...

Dhruv didn't joke.

His expression softened.

"Because I heard about you."

Siya frowned.

"Heard what?"

"That you love technology."

Her eyes widened.

"That you repair phones secretly."

Bua smiled proudly.

"That you want to become a tech expert."

Siya looked at Bua.

"YOU TOLD HIM?!"

Bua shrugged.

"Obviously."

"TRAITOR!"

Dhruv chuckled.

"And..."

He paused.

"I heard your father wants to marry you off quickly."

The room became silent.

Siya looked away.

For the first time...

she didn't argue.

Because it was true.

Father had never hidden it.

He believed—

Girls are responsibilities.

Boys are blessings.

Dhruv continued softly.

"And I thought..."

His voice became quieter.

"If I marry you..."

"You'll at least get time."

Siya looked at him.

"You can study."

"You can build your career."

"I won't stop you."

Everyone stared.

Father frowned.

"What nonsense?"

Dhruv turned calmly.

"She'll continue her education."

Father laughed.

"After marriage girls handle homes."

"No."

Dhruv replied.

"My wife will study."

The room went silent.

Even Bua stared.

Siya looked at him.

Confused.

Why was he saying this?

Why was he fighting for her dreams...

when her own father never did?

No.

No no no.

She wouldn't melt.

Absolutely not.

She folded her arms.

"I still hate you."

Dhruv nodded.

"Okay."

"I won't marry you."

"Try convincing everyone."

"I will."

"I'll help."

Siya blinked.

"What?"

Dhruv smiled.

"If you genuinely don't want this marriage..."

"I won't force you."

For the first time that day...

Siya became speechless.

Nobody had asked what she wanted.

Nobody.

Not Papa.

Not relatives.

Not society.

And this stranger...

the man she was supposed to hate...

was the only one saying—

Your choice matters.

Why?

She hated that question.

Because for the first time...

she wasn't sure if Dhruv Malhotra was the villain of her story.

And Dhruv?

He looked at the furious girl standing before him.

And thought—

God help me.

Because she looked exactly like trouble.

And somehow...

he had a feeling

his quiet life

was about to be destroyed.

To be continued...

So , this was the first episode of the story .

Hope you all like it , do tell me your views about the story .