Flouting Our Destiny

Chapter 11

"Why don't you confront him?" Lakshana whispered.

"Because somehow I know his answer" Draupadi reflected back to her nightmares having him as the main protagonist,
"I was forced...I couldn't refuse...I cannot go against him..I am sorry..."

"I think I drank too much yesterday" Draupadi loudly proclaimed for Sarakshi to hear, who was rechecking the gifts which were to be given to the guests that night.
The lady who was mimicking boldness in front of Lakshana smiled a little assuming her elder sister to have gotten a solid answer for her yesterday's blankness.

"I don't know why do we need another engagement of theirs?" The twin of Vidyut lightly tapped on his head,
"Didn't you guys exchange rings in a private ceremony? Alright, I like destination weddings but we are so far from our home in Lucknow" the younger sister expressed her feelings while pressing her temple region.

"Whatever, Dad's special guests are coming today so please be in the lobby to welcome them, Mr Dev Kuruvanshi and his family"

"Aren't they related to Paranjay uncle?" Shalv who was supervising the workers questioned.

"Yes, he's Mr Paranjay's elder brother but many years back after a family dispute, the two brothers separated, the younger one shifted to Delhi while elder stayed in their ancestral home in Meerut" Vidyut recollected the meetings of Dev and him.

"I have met this family a few times, I don't like their two sons much" Lakshana mumbled to her best friend who was soaking in the wetness of her eyes and trying to act fresh, anything related to Arjun was now making her have an emotional burst.
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Arjun fluttered his toes, he felt an arm go around his arm only to clasp their fingers together,
"Not here, Shanaya" His plea was unheard by the lady.

A sense of guilt clustered in his heart as he silently observed the lady of his dreams.
The lobby of the widespread resort was perfectly designed, a big round white marble table with an antique flower vase housing exotic flowers,
the reception desk made to stand in one corner, making the entrance look bigger.
The man now looked at the translucent flooring, patterns of black and white granite eager to welcome all the stayers.

The tiny wave of realisation on one side of his brain reached the other side, enormous and grown.
His father had requested the family to politely greet the other half of their family, Yash had volunteered to stay back in the rooms with Bheem, who couldn't even withstand the sight of the cousins from Meerut.

Arjun's internal musing and his catching glimpses of Draupadi halted suddenly by the sharp honking of a blue Mercedes which could be seen at a distance from the big glass door.
Almost immediately a chauffeur panicked to open the car's back door as soon as possible.
Arjun peeped over the shoulder of the guard dressed up in brown and red to see the important personality, the group waiting to welcome the guests were now just a few inches away from the door,
Drupad grinned merrily, for Dev was his old and trustworthy associate.

Obstructions by the past incidents made Arjun's vision hazy, Karan it was, trodding in front of Duryodhan and Dushasan, oops, Samarth and Suyan.
The third son of Pritha, from childhood had despised the three Musketeers of their other family, but today he was seeing them in another light,  having hatred but to a higher extent courtesy the past.

"Drau.." A fear played with the man's heart, what if she reacts in the same way as she did after meeting Shanaya?

His eyes hopelessly searched for the woman in the group of people, neither paying attention to his father to touch the feet of Dev nor to his mother's to show some manners.
A feeling of relief transpired in his heart viewing her talking on the phone away from the other people.
He hurriedly shook hands with Dev and humbly hugged Gayatri, the only member of his other family whom he liked the most.

Shanaya watched her fiancé run from everyone's sight and forcefully hold her fashion role model's hand only to drag her to move.

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Draupadi found herself in an isolated place of the resort, unexplored by many people but exploited by the trees.
She first took a good glance at the trees and greenery limiting itself behind the corridor's boundaries, and then at the wall behind her, dead end, probably the last part of the resort.
How did she walk so much and that too in such a short span of time?
A spirited understanding of her slow sprint called for a deep blush on her cheeks, as she felt his hot breaths crawl up to her from beside her.
Shaking away the thoughts of a lover, she reminded herself of his betrayal.

"Care to explain?" She folded her arms and questioned about the need for forcefully bringing her to a deserted area.

Arjun blushed a little this time, how shall he talk to her?
She has not come up till now about yesterday's issue and he himself decided to stay away from her for her good.

"Oh! I thought, jeez..stupid me, I thought you are Shanaya" his words hurt his heart as well as her already wounded one.
His vocalisation echoed in her hollow self,
"Control..control.." stopping herself from crying.

As a tiny tear signalled red to the inner and physical self of hers, an unbreakable stream rushed down her cheeks, she turned away from him, facepalming herself, her wailing tried to be kept within the walls of her palms but still reached him.

The man who was fighting with himself couldn't see her state, the love of his life cannot break like this, she is strong, stronger than anyone else.

"Just go away, please go away" her murmurs made him tightly embrace her, his shirt saturating with her teardrops.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She howled as he kissed away the tears racing down her cheeks,
"Don't make me so vulnerable"

"I am sorry, I was not aware of the dealings" he finally spoke, forgetting his decision of going away from her,
She's the reason for him to live, how can he go away from her?
"I am going to defy everything," he told her, indirectly preparing his brain to go against the mother.

Loud laughing and manly voices trembled Arjun, were the three people who just arrived, coming their way?

"Is that Arjun?"
The woman heard a new yet overfamiliar voice,

Breaking the pact between their physical bodies, Arjun protectively stood in front of the woman, shielding her from another aspect of the ugly past.