The Cinderella Of Rewa

28. Nakul

The family astrologer pored over the charts in front of him.

"Sahiba, the princess' horoscope is actually matching more with Nakul", he declared.

"You shut up" Sunaina Mittal snapped "Neither of my sons are going to marry that bimbette. In fact, I think we've had enough of this alliance. Some big royal family they are! Thinking they can do anything! I want you to call off this marriage once and for all", she stormed at her husband.

Harsh Mittal pressed his head with his fingers. He had not expected this at all. He knew better than anyone that neither of his sons were particularly talented or ideal personalities. One was too arrogant and the other too subtle.

Of course, it wouldn't be hard at all to get them brides with all the money they had. Any father from the upper middle class or high class section of Rewa would give it his everything to get his daughter married into the Mittal family.

But then, what would he or his sons have anything to gain from an alliance like that? Whereas, a royal family was a royal family. A princess as a daughter-in-law was a jewel in their crown. The lavish dowry had been promising. And the headache of getting his idiotic son married too had almost been relieved off him.

Why did the princess have to come up with such a ridiculous proposal now? Harsh cursed the fates. Some stupid girl the Rajkumari was, he decided. No wonder she had been abandoned at the wedding altar once!

On top of all this, his wife was driving him mad. Their relationship had been walking on eggshells for years now. He could not see it getting better in anyway.

"Say something!" she stormed at him even as he wondered how on earth he had believed this woman to be fascinating, about three decades ago.

"Wait Sunaina", he said in an exhausted voice, "We cannot take a decision in haste".

He turned to Nakul. His older son was still shut in his bedroom wallowing in self pity. His younger one, though he hadn't proved to be brilliant in anyway, was his bigger favourite. Harsh saw the boy standing with a gentle demeanor, waiting for things to unfold. But Harsh knew how troubled Nakul was, by all of the drama.

He knew his wife and sons thought him to be a useless old man who drank too much and had extramarital affairs. But the truth was, he was not completely stupid. He had seen his younger son with a beautiful girl the previous night. She had seemed familiar but Harsh couldn't recognise her. He knew his wife had seen the same too. And he knew his wife had taken some sort of step to try and find who the girl was. He also knew that right now, Nakul was thinking about the very same girl.

"You all can leave", Harsh announced to a disgruntled hall of people, "We will make a decision today evening".

As people left the hall looking dissatisfied, most of all Sunaina, Harsh laid back in his seat and hoped that the girl his wife was looking for, would be found by that evening. 

•••

Nakul was in turmoil. What was wrong with the princess? Alright, maybe he had unwittingly glanced at her breasts once. That did not mean  she had to come and declare that she wanted to marry him and not his brother.

What would happen to Vedika now? He thought angrily. He would not forgive his parents if they forced him to marry the princess.

Subconsciously, he put his hand on his pocket to feel the sandal inside it. It took him a moment to realise that the sandal was not there.

Nakul started panicking. Where had he dropped it? It didn't take long for him to guess that he would've dropped it in his mother's chamber. If so, his game was up too. His mother was not like him, after all. She was smart.

•••

Nakul ran down to the stables as fast as he could.

He had to go and meet Vedika right now. It was very important.

He had taken out his horse and was about to jump on it's back when he heard that dreaded voice.

"Where do you think you're going sir?", Sunaina Mittal boomed behind him.

"M..mother..I was only..", Nakul started stammering.

"I know where you're going ", she answered her own question.

Of course, she did!

Nakul looked down pointedly.

"And you needn't go", Sunaina said lowering her voice miraculously. Nakul couldn't remember when his mother's tone had last been so tender.

"I've already found the person you want to meet", she said.