Chapter 1 :- Collision of fates
Isha's POV
The fragrance of marigold was too strong today.
Almost suffocating, almost mocking… almost warning me.
Malhotra Mansion was glowing like it was hosting the biggest celebration of the year relatives gossiping in corners, kids running with ladoos, women adjusting their heavy sarees, priests chanting like everything is perfect in the world.
Perfect.
Except I had never felt more trapped.
The hawan-kund’s flames reflected in my swollen, red-rimmed eyes. Makeup couldn’t hide anything anymore. My breath stuttered, pulse raced, palms cold despite the heat.
I wasn’t supposed to be here.
Not like this.
Not for this reason.
Ishan bhai sent me to India for a break… for a trip… for freedom.
Not for a forced marriage.
The priest’s voice broke through my numbness:
“Abh vaar-badhu pheron ke liye khade ho jaye.”
My throat dried instantly.
I looked up.
Fifty faces.
Fifty expectations.
Fifty lies.
All staring at me.
I scanned the crowd desperately, Bhai…? Bhai please… but of course he wasn’t here yet. And granny made sure no one informed him.
My vision blurred.
My body moved before my mind could think.
I stood up so fast my lehenga’s heavy cancan almost pulled me back down.
The groom turned, confused, his shehra shaking lightly. His family stiffened. The room fell into a suffocating silence.
“Main…” My voice cracked.
I swallowed hard.
“Main tumse shaadi nahi kar sakti.”
The words echoed like a bomb blast.
An elderly woman stormed toward me granny.
Her eyes, sharp as needles, filled with fake disappointment.
“Yeh… yeh kya bol rahi hai tu, Isha? Kya tere bhai ne tujhe yahi sanskaar diye hain? Bado ki naak katana?”
The poison in her voice could put snakes to shame.
Something snapped inside me.
“Oh please, Amma.” My tone sharpened like a blade.
“You really think Ishan bhai sent me to you so you can marry me off to any random, unknown, questionable guy without even asking me?”
Gasps.
Whispers.
Judging eyes.
I didn’t care.
Not anymore.
Granny stepped back, swallowing her words for the first time in her life.
Good.
I grabbed the gatbandhan, untied it, and let it fall between us like a broken promise.
Behind me, aunties were already whispering, kids laughing cluelessly, elders shaking heads dramatically like I was committing a crime bigger than murder.
Let them.
I lifted my heavy lehenga, revealing the two things that were truly mine in this moment
Sneakers…
and freedom.
Before anyone could grab me, I ran.
Out of the mandap.
Out of the mansion.
Out of that suffocating decorated prison.
My breaths were sharp.
My heartbeat was loud.
The carpet shifted to marble.
Marble to gravel.
Gravel to road.
But I didn’t stop.
I couldn’t.
Behind me I heard a voice roar:
“Bring her back! This is about my honor!”
Honor?
I almost laughed while running.
What about my life?
My choice?
My honor?
The men started chasing me, I heard their footsteps, their shouts, their anger. But adrenaline pumped through my veins like fire.
I ran faster.
And faster.
And faster.
Until my lungs burned… but my soul felt alive after so long.
---
Satvik's POV
Ten days.
Ten damn days of hard work.
Meetings, presentations, negotiations, long nights, longer anger.
But the deal was sealed.
My team looked relieved. Some even smiled. I, of course, didn’t.
I never smiled at work.
Emotions were a luxury I stopped affording a long time ago.
I stood from my chair, and silence fell like always.
“Meeting is over,” I said, cold, crisp, straight.
“I hope you all keep your spirits high till we finish this project. I don’t want disappointments.”
They all nodded like school kids caught cheating.
Pathetic.
I walked out, and the corridor practically widened for me. People avoided my gaze like it was a curse.
Fine by me.
“Khanna,” I said as I stepped outside, “Bring the car.”
“Yes sir!” he almost yelped, running.
He parked the car but before he opened the door, I stood at his window.
“Out.”
He scrambled out instantly.
I got into the driver’s seat myself never a good sign for anyone who knew me.
Khanna whispered, trembling,
“Aaj kiski maut aayi hai…”
Not entirely wrong.
My phone buzzed.
“Feed that bastard dirt,” I growled the moment the call connected.
“How dare he harass my sister? I want him to scream today. I’m coming.”
I hung up.
My foot hit the accelerator and the car roared like an unleashed beast.
By the time I reached the deserted warehouse, twenty of my men stood ready, eyes emotionless.
“Sir, he’s inside,” one updated.
I walked in.
No hesitation.
No fear.
No mercy.
The man tied to the chair was half-conscious, blood staining the floor around him.
Good.
I took out my gun, aimed at his right hand, and fired.
He screamed awake.
I leaned down, jaw clenched:
“Painful, isn’t it?
Tumhare jaisi gandagi ko dard hi samajh aata hai.
You thought you could trouble a girl and walk away?
Meri behen ko?”
He whimpered. I didn’t care.
“Throw him in the sea.”
My men nodded.
His screams followed me outside, but they didn’t affect me. They never did.
Justice served.
I sat back in my car, chest rising and falling, the anger slowly cooling.
I drove through the silent road, finally breathing normally.
Until fate decided to play a joke.
Or maybe a beginning.
A girl suddenly appeared in front of my car.
I slammed the brakes so hard the tires screeched and the car spun in a half-circle.
The world shook.
She fell.
My heart jumped for the first time in years.
I got out instantly.
“Aap… theek toh hain?”
She looked up…
And time paused.
Her eyes were swollen, makeup ruined, hair messy but damn, she was beautiful.
Author's note
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