Sayantika walked out of the university after back-to-back classes. She wasn't feeling good today as her pre-period cramps had started irritating her, and now she has to go to her workplace as well.

There was a still time, so she chose to sit down on the bench and took out the water; gulping it down, she took a deep breath. Just then, she heard another voice, kind of familiar yet unfamiliar: "Hello, Sayantika." She turned and then got up with a jerk, seeing the lady standing in front of the bench, and she was sitting on it.

Avni Anubhav Raichand

"Uh, hello, Mrs. Raichand." She smiled, wishing her back, "Oh, come on, call me Aunty." Avni corrected her.

"Um, I am sorry. We don't share any relationship, and I am not comfortable enough," Sayantika cleared politely.

"It's alright, sweetheart." Sayantika could feel the uneasiness of the lady, the way Avni was wiping sweat from her face then and now; all she could do was to chuckle mentally.

"Mrs. Raichand, are you alright?" She questioned.

"Yeah, actually it's too hot outside today," Avni answered.

"Can we go to that cafe? I need to have a word with you." Sayantika agreed as she nodded; the lady was being polite to her, and there was no way she could deny her to her face.

And here she thought just because she stood under the sun for a few minutes and she was sweating and feeling uncomfortable and her parents wanted her to settle in that extravagant family, come on, she would never be able to settle in their luxurious lifestyle.

Sayantika led her to the cafe; she could see a few bulky men following them as they were Avni's bodyguards; she just mentally rolled her eyes and walked in.

"Aah, one filter coffee, and you?" She asked Avni. "A glass of water will be fine."

"Okay, so let's get into the point. Why did you deny the marriage proposal, Sayantika?" Avni was straightforward; she hates beating around the bush.

"Because I think this is such a terrible idea of binding me and your son in a bond of marriage," Sayantika answered back, taking a sip of her coffee.

"And why do you think like that? Did Abhi do anything with you? Or did anyone from our family say something to you?" Avni shot the questions at the young lady sitting in front of her.

"I want to focus on my study for now." As soon as those words escaped from Sayantika's mouth, she wanted to hide herself under the table or wanted to run away from her for giving such a weird excuse when she herself knew that Mr. and Mrs. Raichand already said that they would let her study as much as she wanted after marriage.

"Then it's not an issue, beta; you can study after marriage," Avni assured. "I know you are thinking there is no comparison between us and yours or that we follow an extravagant lifestyle. I can assure you, we aren't that bad. To be honest, when I saw you that day, I knew that you'd be the best match for my son. He will surely keep you happy; please think about it." Avni explained everything to her politely, trying to convince the beauty who was sitting with confusion etching her face.

"Please think about it, beta," she mumbled further.

"Uh, Mrs. Raichand, I will think about it later; I need to leave now; I am already getting late for my work." Sayantika just wanted to escape now.

"Uh, alright, Sayantika. Just think about it, and here is my card; you can call me anytime."

_______________________

Jahnvi wiped the tears that were escaping her eyes nonstop; she wasn't able to forget the last conversation with Abhimaan. She had hurt him, which she never wanted.

She wanted a happy life with him, no worries, only love and laughter, but here she was forced to get engaged to Yuvraj Khurana, who was already a father of one. She scrunched her nose thinking about it.

She never wanted this, but when her dad begged that they were going on huge losses and on the verge of getting bankrupt, also he had to pay some huge loans, and Yuvraj's father helped him, and in return, he asked her alliance for his son.

She didn't ask for Abhimaan's help as their fathers are kind of rivals and dislike each other.

"Jahnvi, are you ready?" And this snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked in the direction to find her cousin standing at the threshold of the door. "Yes," she nodded her head as she got up, fixing her dupatta (scarf) properly.

"Let's go." She nodded again, and this time she found her mother standing there as well. "My beautiful princess." Chhavi kissed her daughter's forehead while more tears rolled down from Jahnvi's eyes.

"Don't cry, jaanu." Her mother wiped her tears and helped her to go down the stairs and to the lawn where the engagement ceremony would take place.

It was an intimate function with her and his relative present there. She looked in front to find a man standing talking with her dad. There was a baby boy of 2-3 years old in his arms whom he was rocking back and forth, his face cold as ice, no emotions, nothing, but she couldn't deny the man was handsome.

But she doesn't care; all she wanted was to vanish into thin air and hide herself in her Abhimaan's arm.

And then her conscience mocked her; he wasn't hers anymore.

"There she is." She heard her father's voice and felt the warm gaze on her; her eyes cast down, she wasn't feeling good; she was uncomfortable there.

"Shall we proceed now? It's already way too late for the ring exchanging ceremony." She heard the unfamiliar voice of the lady.

"Surely Mrs. Khurana," and she realized it was her to be Mother-in-Law.

"Yuvraj, give Yuvansh to me," the lady spoke again, and he gave the baby to her. That's when she looked at the baby. He was cute with blue hue in his orbs and puffed-up cheeks.

Chhavi made her stand beside him while she immediately clutched the sides of her outfit, looking down at her feet.

"Jahnvi," her mother nudged her as she forwarded the ring.

'Sorry, Abhimaan,' she whispered to herself.

Her hands were literally shaking when she held the ring in her hand; he held out his hand, and she slipped it onto his ring finger.

And now it was her time, and she let him do it.

_____________________________

Abhimaan was always a responsible person; he never did anything illegal, but tonight he was driving harshly and drinking as well, probably the first time he was doing something like this.

He and Jahnvi used to share such a precious bond, which she broke last night. Whether it was love or not, their bond was precious. Before all the shit they did in lust, they were best friends, and he lost his best friend.

He wasn't thinking sanely as he did the rush driving while gulping down the expensive alcohol. When he noticed the truck coming from the opposite direction, he tried to save him, but the amount of alcohol he chugged was past his tolerance level as the car hit the truck and his head hit hard, causing it to bleed, and he passed out in seconds.

________________________

Sayantika was done with her work and was heading towards her girl's hostel by walking, as it was just a 15-minute distance.

She found the opposite side of the road was way too crowded, as if something serious happened there. Being a curious kitten, her feet dragged her towards it as she pushed through the crowds and saw someone had met with an accident.

"I guess he is no more."

"Damn the generation these days; he was drinking and driving. See the alcohol beside him?"

"The rich spoiled brat these days."

They were taunting instead of helping, and finally she succeeded in standing in front of the car, and when she saw the face of the person, her eyes widened. "Ab--Abhimaan Raichand." She stuttered a bit but controlled herself; he was the same man who had been disturbing her sleep for the last few days.

"We need to take him to the hospital; please help me." She yelled, asking for help; she luckily hailed a taxi, and the people there helped her to get him inside the taxi. Her kurti already had his blood on it as he was lying unconscious with his head on her lap.

His head was still bleeding and she didn't know how to stop it, she tried to tied the handkerchief but failed and, at last all she could do was to wipe his blood then and now with her scarf until it stop bleeding.

She took out her photo and found the card inside her purse, the card Avni gave her in the morning; she dialed the number.

_________________________

"Abhi, where is my Abhi?" Sayantika turned, hearing the voice, to find Avni, Anubhav, and Aashika.

"The doctor is dressing his wound."

"How did all this happen?" Anubhav asked in concern.

"I don't know, I found him at the roadside with crowds surrounding him and I took him here and called Mrs.Raichand, also the doctor has said his injury isn't much serious, he had bit of blood loss and dislocated his shoulder which they've fixed it and also he was doing drunk drive so he is still fully not concious" Sayantika completed her speech then took a deep breath.

"He was doing drink and drive seriously? When did he become so irresponsible?" Anubhav uttered in disbelief; he suddenly found himself getting angry at his son.

"Also, here is the bill; please pay it." She forwarded the bill to Avni: "I should take a leave now."

"Thank you so much for your help, Sayantika," Anubhav thanked her.

"Thank you so much beta for taking my son to the hospital in time, you are an angel" Avni said holding her hand.

"It's alright, Mrs. Raichand."

____________________________

Jahnvi stared at the man for some time, who was sitting beside her, maintaining the distance and feeding his son the ice cream, who was squealing in happiness.

She looked at the lock screen of her phone, then at her ring finger. She wanted to call Abhimaan and asked him if he was fine, but that would be very dumb of her to do so, so all she did was look down at her plate, playing with the food.

She doesn't feel like eating anything; her appetite is gone.

All of a sudden she coughed a bit, and that's when she heard him: "Here, drink this." He offered the glass of water.

She grabbed it and drank it in one go, not uttering a word.

She felt like a puppet, the way she smiled at the relatives and guests; no one knew how fake her smile was.

She was somewhat sure that Abhimaan could never be hers; she failed to see the spark in his eyes every time. He respected her way too much and made her his priority, but love?

Surely he loved her as a best friend but never as a lover.

She has seen it in his eyes, and she was able to read him like an open book.

As much as he said that he loved her and knew it, it wasn't a love from his side but somewhat she was content and confident enough that he would fall for her later, maybe once they got married, as it's a sacred bond; he was even ready for the marriage, but then fate had some other plans.

She got up from the chair, wiping her lips with the tissue, and walked towards her mother. "Mom, I am not feeling good. Can I please go back to my room?"

"Please wait for some more time, love," her mother whispered.

"I am not feeling good, please." She was so done pretending that she was fine.

"Is everything alright, Mrs. Khanna?" Jahnvi turned hearing the voice to find Mrs. Khurana standing with a suspicious look on her face.

"Yes, everything is fine, Mrs. Khurana," Chhavi answered, smiling.

"Actually Jahnvi isn't fine; her dress is too heavy; that's why she wants to go and take some rest," Chhavi further clarified for her daughter, who stood without any emotions on her face.

"Is she happy with this marriage? It feels like she is being forced into it."

And that wasn't something she was expecting to hear from Mrs. Khurana's mouth.

______________________