Meera stood before the small, cracked mirror in her room. She ran a comb through her long, ink-black hair that fell past her waist. Her skin, the color of fresh cream, seemed pale in the dim light. She traced the line of her "button nose" and her pink lips, wondering if Abhiraj Thakur would even look at her.
"Don't just stand there admiring yourself," her mother barked, tossing a bundle of old laundry at her feet.
"Just because you're marrying a Thakur doesn't mean you're a queen yet. Finish these. I won't have the neighbors saying I sent you away lazy."
Meera bit her lip, her dark eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Maa... are you not sad? That I'm leaving?"
Her mother didn't look up. "I'm happy the debt is gone. I'm happy your brother Arjun can finish his exams. That is enough for me.
"Meera turned back to the mirror, a single tear escaping. She wasn't a daughter to them; she was a currency.
🌪️
Up on the hill, the atmosphere was entirely different.
The sun was barely rising when Abhiraj Thakur finished his final set of wood-chopping in the courtyard. His 6-foot frame was slick with sweat, his muscles bulging as he swung the heavy axe with rhythmic precision.
He dropped the axe and closed his eyes, his unique greyish eyes-inherited from his beloved Dadi-looking like storm clouds against his tanned skin.
He walked to the private temple in the corner of the mansion. The scent of sandalwood and incense always calmed the fire in his blood. He knelt before the idol of Mahadev, his head bowed.
"Om Namah Shivay," he whispered.
He didn't want this marriage. He had never felt the "spark" the poets wrote about; women were usually just a distraction from his duty to the land and his siblings. But his mother had insisted. She said the family debt needed to be settled and the house needed a woman's touch.
"Bhaiya?"
Abhiraj turned to see his younger sister standing at the temple entrance.
"Ma says the girl is coming tomorrow," she said timidly. Everyone in the house knew to speak softly when Abhiraj was in his "quiet" mode. "They say she is very beautiful. Like a doll."
Abhiraj stood up, towering over his sister. He grabbed his towel and slung it over his shoulder. "Beauty doesn't run a household, Choti. And it doesn't pay the workers."
"Are you angry with Ma for choosing her?"
Abhiraj paused. His jaw tightened-a sign of the anger he fought so hard to suppress. "Ma knows what is best for this family. If this girl is the price of our peace, I will marry her. But do not expect me to play the part of a lovesick fool."
He walked away, his heavy footsteps echoing through the marble halls. He had decided: he would give Meera a roof over her head and the protection of the Thakur name, but his heart? That was something he wasn't prepared to give to anyone.
🍒~N
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. short chapter? Yess... Next chapters will be long ...so don't worry, when your little author is in hurry...hehe🤭🥹
Okayy so,,, DAILY UPDATES AANE HAI AB, READY???😎🦥
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Authors note -🌷
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