~bound by love , not by rules~

Hello cuties 👀👉🏻👈🏻🎀 so this is my first work I hope so that u all liked it ... English is not my first language so maybe u will find some mistakes but I tried my best not to do so many mistakes in it

Btw hey I am ian ....of course that's not my real name hehe 👉🏻👈🏻 that's my nickname , and i am a teenager...but wait wait wait!!

I know I am a teenager but my story is not childish type...this is a soft romantic story ...no dark romance or smuts so if you are a dark romance reader I am not sure you'll like my story or not ...but if you are a soft romance liker you'll definitely like it🎀.....ahmm so in my story there are three couples

So let me introduce my characters now

NAINA SAXENA

• 20 yrs

• Dancer by heart

• Fashion Designing student

• Dream → Dance Teacher

• Soft girl × Possessive in love

• Simple outside × Intense inside

SHIDDHARTH MALHOTRA

• 22 yrs

• Engineering graduate

• Loves cooking

• Now handling father’s jewellery design business

• Sweet nature × Professional outside

• Calm for the world × Chulbul for friends & family

VRINDA GUPTA

(Best friend of naina)

• 19 yrs

• Fashion Designing student

• DREAM :- create own Brand

• Yapper girl × Bold soul

• Toxic family background

• Loud outside × Strong survivor inside

RITIK SAXENA

(Younger Brother of naina)

• 16 yrs

• Class 12 student

• School topper × Head boy

• Soft-hearted boy

• Sings well × Writes shayari

• Guitar × Drawing

• Teenager in age — not in love

• Loves deeply, not casually

PREET KAUR

• 20 yrs

• Punjabi girl

• NGO Head × BA student

• Social worker by choice

• Spiritual outside × Fire inside

• Mature mind × Anger issues

KARTIK BANERJEE

(Best friend of shiddharth)

• 22 yrs (11 months older than Shiddharth)

• MBBS – 3rd year

• Extremely intelligent

• Barely attends × Still topper

• Hardcore extrovert

• Makes friends everywhere

• dream → Photographer

Other characters will exposed in story

So let's start my very first chapter of my first story

I hope you'll like it...🎀🌷

______________________________________

“Mummy, mummy!” a girl shouted as she hurried down the stairs.

She was wearing a simple off-white kurti, yet the open, thick, silky black hair falling down to her waist added an effortless charm to her otherwise plain look.

Glancing at the golden ladies’ watch on her wrist, she continued descending the stairs, while her deep black, beautiful eyes—matching the shade of her hair—began searching for someone.

“Yes, yes, I’m here. What is it?”

A woman in her forties stepped out of the kitchen, wiping her hands.

“Mom… I’m leaving for college. Okay, bye. Love you.”

The girl leaned in, kissed her mother on the cheek, and rushed toward the door.

“Hey, wait. At least have some breakfast before you go,” Jhanak ji said, trying to stop her.

“I’ll eat something in the canteen, Mom,” the girl replied, already halfway out.

And with that, she slipped out of the house.

~outside the college~

By the time she reached college, the gate was already crowded.

“idiot girl ,do you even know how long I’ve been waiting for you?”

A girl standing at the college gate said this. She was wearing a cute brown top paired with black jeans, a wristwatch on her hand, and a simple ring on her index finger. Her hair wasn’t long, yet its soft, curly texture in a brownish shade left no gap in completing her look.

" Come on, hurry up—the class is about to start...."she said

“Sorry, Vrinda… please forgive me,” Naina said quickly. “I was up all night finishing the assignment. That’s why I woke up late.”

“Oh really, madam?” Vrinda folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. “And where is this very important assignment?”

Naina froze.

“Oh no… I left it at home,” she whispered, panic sinking in.

“What am I supposed to do now, Vrinda? The professor will eat me alive.”

Vrinda rolled her eyes. “Call home and ask someone to bring it. Hurry up, you fool. It’s his second lecture—someone can make it before then.”

Naina quickly made a phone call and explained everything.

“Please, bhai… you’re not even going to school today,” she pleaded.

“Just bring my assignment for me.”

“Oh please, didi,” a boy replied from the other end.

“Let me rest at home today.”

Before Naina could say anything else, Vrinda snatched the phone from her hand.

“Ritik,” she said softly, “please bring the assignment.”

The moment he heard Vrinda’s voice, Ritik sat up straight in bed.

“Okay… fine,” he said quickly. “I—I’m coming.”

He tried to steady his racing heartbeat as he spoke.

The call ended.

“He’s on his way,” Vrinda said, handing the phone back to Naina.

“Wow,” Naina said, half amused, half amazed.

“I begged him so much and he didn’t care—but one word from you and he agreed.”

Meanwhile, Ritik jumped out of bed, got dressed in a hurry, and rushed out of the house.

Ritik reached the college.

He asked the driver to park the car aside and walked in.

And there she was—Vrinda.

He had seen her countless times before, yet every time felt new. The moment his eyes found her, everything else seemed to stop. The noise, the people, the rush—nothing mattered.

She looked the same.

And still, his heart forgot how to stay calm.

“Hello?” Vrinda said, snapping him back.

“Where did you get lost? Give the assignment quickly—the second lecture is about to start.”

She took the papers from his hand.

Her fingers touched his.

Just for a second.

And his heartbeat went crazy—like it always did.

Before he could say anything, she held Naina’s hand and walked away.

Ritik stayed there, watching her go.

“I don’t know,” he thought, a small smile forming,

“if I’ll ever be able to tell her…”

He stopped, feeling shy even in his own thoughts.

“…that she means everything to me.”

He turned back, got into the car, and said softly,

“Let’s go home, uncle.”

And the car drove away—

with a boy whose love was quiet, simple, and only for her.

___________________

On the other side, in Kolkata—

A man who was neither too old nor too young paced the room, irritation written all over his face. He dialed a number angrily.

No answer.

With a frustrated sigh, he ran a hand through his hair and dialed another number.

The call connected.

“Namaste, uncle,” a cheerful voice greeted him.

“Namaste, beta… Siddharth?” Shravan ji asked.

“Is Kartik with you?”

Standing nearby, Kartik immediately started shaking his head dramatically, mouthing no no no.

Siddharth glanced at him with his brown deep eyes and hesitated.

“Ji… uncle,” he said carefully. “No, he’s not with me.”

“i hope u are not lying” Shravan ji pressed.

“Yes, yes, uncle,” Siddharth replied quickly. “He’s really not here.”

Shravan ji took a deep breath.

“Alright,” he said at last. “He’ll show up at your place sooner or later—you two are childhood friends after all. When he comes, make him talk to me.”

The call ended.

Siddharth turned toward Kartik with his hand folded. “So… what did you run away from home for this time?”

He said with his eyebrow lifted.

Kartik flopped onto the chair dramatically.

“Same old lecture, bro,” he said casually.

‘You have to take care of the hospital. You’re my only son. Photography is useless.’ Bla bla bla—daily soap stuff.”

“But uncle isn’t completely wrong,” Siddharth said, trying to be reasonable.

“If you don’t handle things, who will?”

Kartik laughed dryly. “Oh please. I’ve already done everything they wanted. Cleared NEET, killed my sleep, studied like a robot, and now I am doing MBBS.”

He leaned back, shaking his head.

“But did anyone ask me what I want? Even once?”

Then, with a grin that hid his frustration, he added,

“Bro, I don’t want to save lives. I want to capture them. Photography—that’s my thing.”

lekin tu unki ikloti aulad hai yaar" Siddharth said, resting a hand on his shoulder.

(But you’re their only child, man,”)

"To ek or paida kar lete , mane thodi roka tha" Kartik shot back with a shrug, brushing his hand away.

(Then they should’ve made a backup, I didn’t stop them)

Seeing Kartik’s mood flip, Siddharth wisely changed the topic.

“Alright, Mr. Rebel. What’s the plan now? Because I know you’re not going home anytime soon.”

Kartik’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Shimla.”

“What?” Siddharth blinked.

“Shimla, dude,” Kartik said, already excited.

“Four days. Mountains, cold weather, zero drama.”

“Now?” Siddharth asked.

“Yes, now,” Kartik grinned.

“Come on, move fast. I’ll handle uncle before you even open your mouth.”

“Anyway, you’re going to drift away from me in a few days.”kartik said

"Okie fine.... let's go" shiddharth Finally gave in

*Few days later*

“Hey, my daughter is here,” Naina’s father said the moment he saw her walk in through the door.

“Papa… how did you come home so early today?” Naina asked as she sat down next to Rajat.

“Well, today all my meetings wrapped up early, so I thought I’d spend a little more time with the kids—and with their mother,” Rajat said casually, smiling.

“That’s enough… you only ever notice your children. Who am I to you anyway?” Jhanak said, placing the tea tray on the center table near the sofa, her tone light but pointed, before heading into the kitchen.

“Papa… what’s wrong with Mom?” Naina whispered as soon as Jhanak walked away.

“What can I tell you, madam… your mother seems a little upset with me,” Rajat said, lifting his teacup.

“Oh? And why?” Naina asked.

“That, only your mother knows. My job is just to make things right,” Rajat replied, glancing toward the kitchen where Jhanak was moving around, clearly teasing her.

“No one is upset. Stop trying to make me look bad in front of my kids, Mr. Sexena” Jhanak said, setting the snack plates on the table before turning back toward the kitchen.

“Hey, listen to me for a second…” Rajat placed his cup down and stood up.

As he did, he said to Naina, “Go freshen up. We’re going out to eat. And tell Ritik too,” before following Jhanak into the kitchen.

“Now tell me, what did I do wrong this time, hmm? So this useless man can fix himself quickly,” Rajat said, stepping inside.

“Oh, like you don’t already know. It’s always the kids, kids, kids. As if I don’t exist anymore. Fine—don’t talk to me either,” Jhanak said, wiping the kitchen counter.

Rajat hugged her from behind. “So this is what it is—my wife is jealous of her own children now?” he said softly near her ear.

“Will you move away, or should I slap you? I’ve been telling you for two days that we should go out, and you didn’t remember then. Today you suddenly had time because you wanted to talk to Naina,” Jhanak said, complaining like a child who had been waiting too long.

“Okay, okay—my mistake. Forgive me. Just listen now,” Rajat said gently.

“What?” Jhanak replied, still pretending to be annoyed.

“I brought something for you,” Rajat said, pulling out a chocolate from his pocket and handing it to her.

A smile appeared on Jhanak’s face, but she quickly hid it.

“I don’t want it,” she said.

“Come on,” Rajat said, turning her toward him and taking out another chocolate.

Jhanak took both chocolates and smiled. “You really know how to handle me.”

Rajat then pulled out a rose from his other pocket and said, “Well, that comes with 28 years of experience.”

“But Papa, you’ve only been married for 22 years,” Ritik said from the kitchen doorway. He had heard everything.

“Six years of dating plus twenty-two years of marriage. That makes twenty-eight,” Rajat replied without thinking.

“Ooooo....,” Naina and Ritik reacted together.

“Wait—both of you,” Rajat reacted , suddenly realizing whon he’d replied.

“Hehe, bye Papa. We’ll go get ready. You two carry on,” they said together before running off.

“Hey, stop right there,” Rajat called out, chasing after them.

And Jhanak stood there, laughing to herself.

Laughing and chatting like this, everyone finished dinner and came back home. It was around nine at night now. Everyone was sitting together in the living hall, casually talking, when somewhere in the middle of the conversation, Rajat comes with a question.

“By the way, Naina is growing up now, isn’t she?” Rajat said, looking at Naina and then glancing toward Jhanak.

“Should we get her married?” Rajat added.

“Papa?” Naina suddenly became serious and looked straight at Rajat.

“No, I mean—we can start looking for a boy. Whether you want to marry or not is completely your choice,” Rajat said quickly.

“Papa, I don’t want to look for a boy and I don’t want to get married either. Please, this topic should not be brought up again,” Naina said clearly, without softening her words.

“But listen, beta… there’s a boy we know. He’s the son of a very old friend of ours. Just meet him once. We’re not forcing you, and we’re not talking about marriage right now. You meet, talk, see each other. If you both like each other, fine. If not, you can say no,” Jhanak said gently, placing her hand over Naina’s, trying to reason with her.

“Please, Mummy.… I don’t want to get married. End of discussion,” Naina said, getting angry as she stood up and walked straight to her room.

Jhanak and Rajat were left looking at each other.

Ritik watched their faces and then said, “Don’t talk to Di about this right now. When she wants to get married, she will. Her mood will be better by morning. Don’t worry.”

"Hmm..." Rajat and jhanak hmmed

And everyone went to their respective rooms and sleep

Now Naina was in her room, and she was extremely angry.

She called Vrinda and told her everything.

“Oh God… why are you getting so worked up over this? First of all, calm your mind a little. Go eat some ice cream and chill.

And second, they’re only asking you to meet a guy. They’re not making you sit directly in a wedding mandap,” Vrinda said, trying to calm Naina down.

“whose best friend are you—mine or theirs? Fine, I won’t talk to you either. Everyone is the same,” Naina snapped in anger.

“Okay, okay, sorry my love. Now tell me—will you eat ice cream?” Vrinda said, quickly changing the topic.

“Yes… but can we even go out right now?” Naina agreed, then hesitated.

“stupid girl!!... I already sent it for you. The order must be arriving any moment. Go receive it and fix your mood,” Vrinda said casually.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Without cutting the call, Naina went and received the order, then came back to her room.

“Vrindaa… thank you so much. You’re really too good,” Naina said after seeing the ice cream.

“But when did you order this?” Naina asked.

“The moment your call came. I could hear it in your voice—how messed up your mood was. Now eat your ice cream, sleep peacefully, and wake up in a better mood. Good night,” Vrinda said and cut the call.

Naina ate the ice cream. The anger slowly melted, the heaviness in her chest softened, and after her mood finally settled, she lay down and fell asleep quietly.

****************

After classes ended, the two of them sat on the college ground, the noise of students fading around them.

“Arey yaar, why are you still sitting here ruining your mood over the same thing?”

Vrinda snapped, shooting Naina an irritated look.

“Why aren’t you trying to understand, yaar?” Naina said sharply.

“Today it’s just a thought in their minds. Tomorrow they’ll actually get me married. I don’t want to get married.”

Frustration spilled out of her as she ran her fingers through her hair, tugging at the roots.

“I don’t know what to do… I seriously don’t understand anything anymore.”

Vrinda exhaled loudly.

“Bro, relax. When your family actually fixes your marriage, then take tension. Why do you start overthinking everything so early?”

She paused, then added,

“And tell me—what’s your problem with marriage anyway?”

“No matter what we say, everyone has to get married someday, right?”

Naina looked at her for a long moment before speaking.

“You’re not saying this because you believe it. You’re saying it because you’ve been influenced by Surya.”

Vrinda reacted instantly.

“Yaar, where did Surya come from now?”

“Why don’t you just leave him?”

Naina said, ignoring the question completely.

Vrinda stood up, anger flashing in her eyes.

“Have you lost your mind, Naina? You’re speaking without thinking. Don’t forget—I love him. He’s my boyfriend now.”

“I am thinking,” Naina said, standing up too.

“He’s not a good guy, Vrinda. Please understand. You’re so blinded by love that you can’t even see right from wrong anymore.”

“Naina, please—”

Vrinda raised her hand, stopping her.

“I’ve liked him since the beginning of college and—”

She cut herself off, steadying her voice.

“We were talking about your family and your marriage. We’ll talk about Surya later. Not now.”

She picked up her bag and swung it over her shoulder.

“I’m leaving. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Okay, okay—listen… I’m sorry,”

Naina hurried after her.

“Please forgive me. I won’t say anything about him again. Please.”

Vrinda stopped at the college gate.

“Fine,” she said, turning back with a small smile.

“I forgive you. Anyway, even if I get angry at you, where would I go? You’re my only friend.”

“Love you, babu,”

Naina said, hugging her tightly.

“Love you too, jaaneman,”

Vrinda hugged her back, holding on longer.

************

A few days later, after Siddharth returned to Kolkata from his Shimla trip , the house was buried in packing chaos.

“Sweetheart…”

Kartik said, hugging Sudha like a child.

“Why do you have to go? Why can’t you stay here?”

“Oh, my darling,”

Sudha hugged him back and kissed his forehead.

“I don’t want to leave you either. God knows what these people get by separating me from my boyfriend.”

“Maa,”

Rishabh, siddharth's father, laughed.

“No one is separating you from your boyfriend.”

“And you can talk to Kartik every day,” he added teasingly.

“No one’s stopping you. Also, just so you remember—the place you’re refusing to go back to is your sasural.”

“So what?”

Sudha held Kartik’s hand stubbornly.

“I’m not leaving my child behind.”

“Dadiii—”

Siddharth came out of his room, grabbed a pillow from the sofa ,and threw it at Kartik before sitting beside them.

“You have a grandson too. If you ever get free from this useless boyfriend, pay some attention to him.” siddharth said while looking at sudha and kartik

“Ouch! Sweetheart!”

Kartik clutched his shoulder dramatically and looked at Sudha for sympathy.

“Behave,”

Sudha said, lightly hitting Siddharth’s shoulder.

“And don’t say anything bad about my boyfriend. Go help your parents pack.”

“Yes, yes, I’m going,”

Siddharth muttered, standing up.

“I should leave too,”

Kartik said.

“I have a flight to catch today.”

“Where are you going? MR. Rebel??”

Siddharth asked.

“You just arrived—at least stay for tea,”

Kiran , shiddharth's mom, said warmly.

“No, aunty,”

Kartik replied.

“There are complications at the new hospital Dad started in Punjab. I need to go. I just came to say goodbye, and if I didn't go now I may can't catch my flight on time."

Siddharth pulled him aside.

“A few days ago you were fighting about not joining the family profession. And now suddenly Punjab? What’s the deal?”

Kartik smiled.

“the deal is that ....if I handle this properly, Dad promised me to buy my dream camera.”

“Ooooh...."

Siddharth laughed.

“Fair enough. Go.”

After saying goodbye, Kartik left, and the house slipped back into its noisy warmth.

It was eight at night now

And here in Mathura.

Naina stood in her room, selecting clothes for the pooja the next day, Vrinda’s voice echoing from the phone call on speaker.

“See? I knew it,”

Vrinda said.

“In a few days, your family forgot everything.”

“Yes,”

Naina smiled.

“Now I can finally move toward my dreams—without the tension of marriage.”

“Oh, by the way, Naina…”

Vrinda dragged her words playfully.

“What’s your type? What kind of guy do you like?”

“Vrinda, stop it,”

Naina avoided the question.

“I don’t want anyone.”

“Still,”

Vrinda insisted,

“if you had to date or marry, what kind of guy would it be?”

Naina thought for a moment.

“Someone who respects me. Who chooses me in every situation. Someone who is only mine.”

“Wow, madam ji,”

Vrinda laughed.

“I like age-gap guys—older, handsome, total villain type.”vrinda start explaining his type

“Yes, yes, I know,”

Naina said.

“That’s why you’re dating Surya.”

“Such a playboy,”

she muttered under her breath.

That’s when she noticed Ritik standing frozen at the door.

“Ritik? When did you come? Do you need something?”

He didn’t move.

It was as if time had stopped for him—

as if the last surviving flower in his garden had withered.

“Ritik? What happened? Where are you lost??”

Naina called again.

“N–no, di,...n..nothing”

he stammered.

“I needed your laptop for an assignment… but it’s okay. I’ll come later.”

He turned and walked away without waiting.

"Older. Handsome. Villain type."

"That’s why you’re dating Surya."

"Surya."

The words echoed endlessly in Ritik’s mind as he reached his room.

His tears was not in his control also

His heart slipped out of his control.

For him, the world had completely come to a standstill.

Sooo hellooooo.....my pyare pyare cutu cutu readers ✨😚 kesa laga aapko meri story ka first chapter plz tell me ....and like my chapter.... I'll come tomorrow with my new chapter thank you for reading 💖