Chapter 1
I was sitting on my bed when I overheard my parents talking about my marriage . My name is Bhavya. I'm 23 and had been working at one of the biggest MNCs. But for the Indian parents, this is exactly the age when they begin searching for the perfect partner for their daughter.
If you ask me, I wasn't ready to get married so soon. In fact, I had already made a plan in my mind---whatever the proposals came my way, I would reject every single one of them. It's not like I had a boyfriend either. The real reason was much simpler. I was a career- oriented girl. I wanted to earn well, build my own life, and travel the world before settling down someday with a handsome man in a quiet, scenic place .
Suddenly a voice inside me said, "I should talk to them". My parents had always been very supportive of my studies and career, but deep down they feared that if I got too old, it would become difficult to find a good partner and all the good ones would be already taken. In fact, I had managed to secure a wonderful job even during a time of recession and the rise of AI, largely because they had been quite strict about my education and career since childhood.
Gathering my courage, I walked into the living room. That's when I noticed a photograph lying on the tea table right in front of them. It felt unusual---who sends a hard copy of a photograph in this era? Curiosity got the better of me, so I leaned to take a quick look ... and there he was. The most handsome man my eyes had ever seen in my entire life. His looks were striking—sharp features, a confident posture, and a charm that made him undeniably attractive, even a little mesmerizing. It was hard to define his eyes; they carried the sharpness of an intelligent person who knew exactly how to handle things. Yet his smile told a different story—soft, humble, and kind. There was an air of mystery about him, and despite wearing simple clothes, he still stood out effortlessly . I casually asked them, "Who is this person?"
They replied, " His name is Dhruv. He's 25 and an orphan. His uncle seny this photograph along with his details, but we rejected the proposal."
For a moment, I was shocked. They had rejected him without even asking me---just because he didn't earn much and didn't have a well-paying job . I flipped his photograph over and found his entire educational background written there. To my shock, he was an engineering graduate from one of the most prestigious colleges in India. He had been a top scorer and had completed his education on government scholarships. This man was truly a mystery. How could someone so handsome and intelligent be working a simple job at a local call center, earning barely 15–20 thousand rupees a month? I considered myself intelligent too, yet I had never managed to get into one of those prestigious colleges.
"I want to meet him," I said suddenly, without even thinking .
“Papa, just because he doesn’t have a great job or a high salary right now doesn’t mean he isn’t good enough. Let me meet him first. Then I’ll decide whether I want to marry him or not.”
After a brief discussion, we all agreed on this.
My father contacted his uncle and fixed a meeting with him . It was on weekend and time flew by in a blink. Today I was finally going to meet him. Excitement and nervousness filled me at the same time. Somehow, I always get a little nervous when I have to talk to handsome boys.
I looked at myself in the mirror I was wearing a plain floral top and white pants with a little natural makeup. I looked stunning. I arrived at the café a little early and quietly took a seat at one of the tables. Just as I waited I saw a figure approaching ...
