Ishq

𝙆𝘼𝙍𝘼𝙉

The ceremony was ready to begin. Lavanya is about to marry Pranay in a matter of minutes. Lavanya stared blankly in the mirror, pleading with each and every god to put an end to the marriage. Suddenly, Neerav entered the room.

"Lavanya! How come you didn't tell me you had a male as a friend?"
After hearing that, Lavanya's trance was disturbed.
"Friend?"
"Yes. A farmer named Karan have come here, saying that you are his childhood friend." Neerav said.

Lavanya's entire body was filled with relief after hearing Karan's name. Her frightened and strained thoughts were put to rest now that Karan had arrived; he would now assist her in escaping this marriage. Her expression had changed from blank to a smile.
"Karan. Where is he? Can I meet him?"
"I suspect the boy of hiding something, but I'll allow you meet him because seeing you so depressed on the wedding day will destroy this day, so meet him for only 5 minutes after which Krishna and Shaurya will be here to take you to the mandap.But in front of other people, make sure you have a happy smile on your face."

Lavanya only gave a small nod.
"The chambers are now open to you." Neerav gave the command.
The doors to the chambers were opened, and a man walked in.
"I'll give you both some time to talk." Neerav said.

Lavanya stared at Neerav in confusion.
"But where is Karan?" Lavanya asked.
"I am hurt that you didn't recognised your childhood friend, Lavanya. I thought you will never forgot me after I saved you from falling in the pond." The stranger said teasingly.

Lavanya's memory immediately flashed back to their first meeting, when he saved her from drowning in the pond. She had no idea how this stranger knew about her and Karan's initial meeting, but she knew it wasn't her best friends. Maybe it was one of Karan's plan. So she played along acting as he was indeed Karan.
"You almost look unrecognisable Karan. What happened to you?" Lavanya exclaimed in fake surprise.

Neerav had been watching Lavanya and Karan suspiciously the entire time. He hesitated to go, but he expected his daughter would not flee from this wedding since she didn't want to endanger her mother's life. As a result, he drew himself away from his thoughts and left the room.

"I have some duties, so I am leaving." As he exited the room, Neerav stated. While leaving the chambers, the doppelganger Karan smiled at him.

"Who are you?" Lavanya asked to the stranger as soon as Neerav left the chambers.
"Please don't speak so loudly, Bhabhishree, or someone will hear you."
"Bhabhishree?"

LAVANYA'S POV!

"I am Bhrata Arjun's younger brother." He said.
My breath hitched after I heard Arjun's name. Did he really came here to save me from this marriage.

"Is Arjun here?" I inquired, enthusiastically.
"No."
"Oh." Knowing Arjun wasn't here, I felt an emptiness in my heart.
"Now we must hurry and run, or we will be apprehended." He said.

"However, I am unable to leave in this way ."
"What?"
"If I run away, my mother will be in danger; my father will harm her. Only if you guarantee my mother's safety will I run away." I stated.
"I'm confident that Angraj will take care of it-" he was abruptly interrupted, when Kanha and Shaurya entered the chamber.
"Now is the time to begin the ceremony." Shaurya replied somberly, his empathetic gaze falling on me. Kanha, on the other hand, was looking at me with a wicked grin.
"Sakhi, let's go."  Kanha said.

I nodded and then gave Arjun's brother a tight-lipped smile, knowing that this was my last chance to sneak out of the wedding. Now I was forced to marry that jerk. Nobody was able to help me now.

"What are you thinking?" Kanha asked me.
"Nothing."
"Are you certain you want to marry him? Think about it, Marriage is an important aspect of a person's life. It's a sacred link between two spirits." He said.

He is absolutely correct. Marriage isn't a toss-up between two people. It is holy for two lovers and eternally bonds them. He won't be my forever, since a boy like him could never truly love a girl like me. He's simply smitten with me. He doesn't love me. In my opinion, he is a nasty, egoistic, and worst of all, an evil Prince. That's nearly impossible for him and me to have a happy marriage. Am I doing right? Am I really let going of Arjun for that jerk? Would Pranay really make me happy? Will he ever understand me? or will he try to control me? There are a lot of questions but no answers. Life is a cruel mistress.

"Lavanya!" Hearing Kanha call my name jolts me out of my thoughts. "Stop thinking."
"But you told me to think about it."
"I told you to think about it, not overthink about it." He said.
"I wasn't overthinking. This had me perplexed. What if he doesn't comprehend what I'm trying to say? What if he doesn't want to be with me anymore? Is he truly in love with me? Will I be content in this place? How am I going to live in this massive palace? Kanha, what shall I do? I'm not sure if marrying Pranay while abandoning Arjun is the best decision, especially after he tried to save me from this marriage. Kanha, where should I stay? Did I take the right decision? Should to live in this huge palace or spend the rest of my life with Arjun?" I inquired him.

"Find a place where everything you see tells you to stay."
"What if I don't find that place?"
"Then run away," Krishna murmured, with a malicious grin on his face.

Maa and Charvi Maa appeared in front of me out of nowhere. "You're late to your own wedding, Lavanya; Prince Pranay has been seated her for the past ten minutes." While rushing me to the mandap, Maa said.
While separating from Kanha, I gave him a final glimpse and smile. I felt a little lightheaded after speaking with him. The more I descended the stairs to the mandap, the more anxious I became. Pranay was sitting in the mandap with sehra on his face when I arrived. I cast a final glimpse at my mother, who was fighting back tears. Tears began to well up in my eyes. As my mood became more intense and depressed.

"At this time, we will begin the ceremony. Please, both the bride and groom, have a seat." Says the pandit.
As I sat down I began to overthink about our unhappy marriage. I was engulfed by my gloomy thoughts.

"Lavanya." The groom spoke in hushed tones.
I widened my eyes as I instantly recognised this voice. This was a voice I'd never forget. But why was he here in the first place?
This wasn't Pranay, and it wasn't Arjun. It was him.

"Karan"