The Rajvansh's mansion*

"AAYAN!?"

The voice echoed through the entire mansion.

Yuvaan hurried to the hall upon hearing his Badi Maa, also known as Dadi, screaming his brother's name.

"Yuvaan, where's Aayan?" Gyatri asked impatiently.

"He's gone out for work, Badi Maa," Yuvaan replied.

"What urgent work required him to leave now?" Gyatri asked, clearly irritated.

"You know how busy he is, Badi Maa," Yuvaan added.

"But your 'busy' brother should have been at home by now," Gayatri retorted, taunting Yuvaan.

"Why? What's the urgency, Badi Maa?" Yuvaan asked.

"Subh kaam hone se pehle nahi batate, kaam bigad jaata hai!" Gayatri said, eyeing Yuvaan.

[We don't announce auspicious work before it happens, or it gets spoiled!]

"CALL THE BUSY MAN RIGHT NOW, I WANT HIM HERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!!" Gayatri suddenly raised her voice in anger.

"Aayan Bhai, aaj toh aap gaye," Yuvaan thought to himself.

"Okay, Badi Maa, calm down, I am calling," Yuvaan said nervously, dialing Aayan's number.

*[Yuvaan's phone ringing; calling his brother]*

*Two minutes later*

"Hello!" A voice answered from the other end.

"Yes, Bhai, Badi Maa is calling you home," Yuvaan got straight to the point, knowing he could get caught up if he delayed.

"Why? What's the urgency?" Aayan inquired.

"I asked the same thing, but Badi Maa said if we speak of auspicious matters before they happen, they get spoiled," Yuvaan answered, quashing Aayan's curiosity.

"What auspicious matter?" Aayan asked, hoping for an explanation this time.

Gyatri listened attentively. Suddenly, she demanded Yuvaan to hand her the phone.

"Yuvaan, give me the phone," Gyatri ordered.

Yuvaan handed the phone to Gyatri.

*OTP Gyatri:* "Ayan, where are you right now!?"

*OTP Aayan:* "I just finished a meeting! What happened, Badi Maa?"

*OTP Gyatri:* "Come home as soon as possible, there's an important discussion!"

*OTP Aayan:* "What important discussion?"

*OTP Gyatri:* "Don't question me, just do as I said!"

*OTP Aayan:* "Okay, Badi Maa, I will be there soon."

*The call ended.*

"What's the discussion, Badi Maa?" Yuvaan asked, hoping for an answer, but his hopes were dashed when Gyatri spoke up.

"I've already said, no questions until the discussion," Gyatri said, her voice slightly raised.

Gyatri handed the phone back to Yuvaan and headed towards the Puja room. Yuvaan was curious about the discussion but headed to his room.

*Thirty minutes later*

"Where is Aayan?" Gyatri shouted. Everyone was home except for him, and he was crucial to the discussion.

Aayan hurriedly entered the mansion, knowing his Badi Maa, aka Dadi, would be furious.

"Badi Maa, I'm home," Aayan said, breathing heavily from running to the entrance from his car, anticipating her anger.

"Where were you, Aayan?" Badi Maa shouted from the Puja room.

"I'm sorry, Badi Maa, I know I'm late. I was stuck in traffic," Aayan replied.

"Okay, now come in, take the Aarti, freshen up, and come to the hall in ten minutes," Gyatri ordered Aayan.

*Ten minutes later*

Aayan entered the hall to see his entire family gathered there.

His Bade Papa, his Dadu, sat on the sofa like royalty.

His father sat beside Bade Papa, crossing his legs with one hand on the armrest.

His mother sat in the next couch chair, carefully scrutinizing some papers in her hand.

His brother, Yuvaan, sat opposite his mother on another couch chair, engrossed in his mobile phone. Ah, the young generation, Aayan thought.

Then there was Badi Maa, sitting among them like a queen, eager to start the conversation.

Aayan walked up to Badi Maa and stood beside her. She glanced up at him.

"Oh yes, come, Aayan, sit," she gestured for him to sit beside her.

Aayan settled next to Gyatri and asked, "What's the matter, Badi Maa?"

"Okay, so I've gathered all of you for an important discussion," Gyatri stood up, finally revealing the purpose of the meeting. No one dared interrupt her; they all knew what the formidable old woman was capable of.

"AMINA!" Gyatri called out to Aayan's mother, who stood up promptly.

"Hand Aayan the papers," Gyatri ordered Amina, who handed the papers to Aayan before returning to her seat.

Aayan studied the papers thoroughly and asked, confused, "What is this?"

"These are details about the girl you're going to marry," Gyatri declared. Aayan gasped at his Badi Maa's sudden announcement, looking at her in disbelief.

"Badi Maa, how can you ask me to marry? You know I'm not into this marriage stuff," Aayan said, disappointment and bitterness evident in his voice.

"Aayan, you're of marriageable age now. I want you to have a secure life," Gyatri retorted, aware of his difficulty in moving past his past.

"Badi Maa, I can't marry now. It's not easy for me to forget the bitter memories of my past. I don't want to revisit all that," Aayan said, his dissatisfaction evident.

"You can't let your life drown because of that bloody past of yours," Gyatri said firmly.

"But, Badi Maa..." Aayan began, but Gyatri cut him off.

"You are getting married, and that's final. There will be no further discussion on this," Gyatri declared firmly.

With that, Gyatri headed towards the Puja room, and everyone else stood up. Bade Papa stepped in front of Aayan and patted his shoulder with a sigh. Soon, the hall fell silent. Amina came over to Aayan, trying to reassure him that it was the right decision.

"Aayan, think about what Badi Maa said. She's right. The girl we're talking about is the daughter of your father's business partner and our family friend. We know she's the right match for you, Aayan. Please think about it before you make a decision," Amina said softly. Aayan nodded silently.

💐

*Aayan's Room*

[Assume this is Aayan's bedroom.]

Aayan sat on his bed, pondering over the conversation that had just taken place.

"I can't marry right now. It's not appropriate," Aayan muttered to himself.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

A sudden knock on his door startled him.

"It's me, your Dad," a voice called from outside the door.

Aayan got up from his bed to open the door and saw his father standing there with both hands in his pockets.

"Yes, Dad, come in," Aayan invited him in.

"What's the matter, Aayan?" his father asked, turning to face him as he walked towards the couch.

"Dad, Badi Maa has decided I'm getting married without even discussing it with me," Aayan said, following his father.

"You know how she is, once she decides something, it's set in stone," Ashwin said knowingly.

"Listen, Aayan, give yourself a chance too. Who knows, she might be perfect for you and for our family. Give her a chance; maybe she will prove you wrong," Ashwin suggested, his voice full of concern.

"Aayan, please make a wise decision so you won't regret it later," Ashwin added before standing up from the couch. As he reached the door, he turned the knob and said one last thing to Aayan.

"By the way, her name is 'Tashvi,' and tomorrow we're going to the Khannas for the marriage proposal," Ashwin said, exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

"Tashvi," Aayan whispered the name to himself. A jolt of excitement ran through his body.

"Tashvi, what a beautiful name," he whispered again to himself. "Aayan, Aayan, what are you doing? What's wrong with you? You have to call off the marriage tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey Readers it's your beloved Author here it's my first time writing a book I am into reading more so please show some love to my book so it can further motivate me 😭 to write and improve myself I know this is going boring soory Readers i know you are hoping for more but I am trying my best to improve while I write further

Yes here you guessed something right jitna sidha Aayan lag raha hai na utna seedha hai nahi to Aayan ko sidha samjhne kei bhul na kare 😏

[Aayan is not innocent as it seems don't

make a mistake of considering Aayan innocent]

Well yei to apko aage story mai Pata chal hi jayega

[Well you will discover it in the story further]

Bye lovely Readers 💗🎀