One chapter journey

Not love

Request- Anya (Soulmat!AU)

A soulmate was supposed to be your other half.

They were supposed to complete you, fulfill that empty void in your life. They go through your entire journey of life with you, accept you for who you are and love you unconditionally. It was a goal to find your soulmate so that you can live within that dream- that standard, that ideal.

But life was never that straight cut. Everybody had their own story. They all stray from what has been expected of them; they all have deviated from that ideal. The idea of having a soulmate was a norm that had been integreted so deep into humanity that the concept was more like an expectation now.

People were expected to find their soulmate. They were expected to stay with their other half for the rest of their life. But the pairing didn't necessarily meant love. It was rare to find love in this world anymore. After all, humans hated being bound to things. They craved for freedom and independence. They craved for the right to choose their own path. They refused to cave into the standards of society.

My soulmate seemed nothing like that though. She was more traditional than anything, following the rules than going against it. I suppose I was living the dream that everyone had longed. It was like I was the main character of a romance movie, where the two main leads fall in love and lived a happily ever after.

We two were the perfect couple. Aashvi Singh was the perfect woman. She was one of the top businesswomen in India, had a stable job, was financially well-off, and she was handsome- more handsome than I could ever fathom a woman could be. It made headlines once the press found out we two were soulmates.

"Aashvi Singh finally finds her one true love"

I thought I was really lucky to have snatched someone up like her. Even my friends talked to me in envy, gushing over how perfect the woman was. And she really was perfect in my eyes. She took me out on dates, pulled out the chair for me whenever I sat down. She held my hand and helped me out of the car when I wanted to get out, put a jacket over my shoulders when it was chilly outside. She got me flowers and presents, spent as much time with me as she possible could.

But something kept nagging me in the back of my mind the entire time. It all seemed perfect- too perfect to be ever true. After all, actions didn't mean anything unless the feelings behind them were real, and along the way of this relationship, I had begun to doubt her sincerity.

Had she ever questioned me about myself? About my hopes and dreams and fears? What I liked and disliked? Had she once ever called or texted me first? Inquire about how my day was going or how I've been feeling?

Had she ever once said I love you? Express her desire to be with me? She gave me presents and flowers, yes, but they were never my favourite flowers. The presents she gave me were generic, luxury brands that I suppose any person would feel lucky to have.

I recalled back to all of our previous dates with her, realising that all this time, it had been me talking the most. It was me who had been asking her all of the questions. It seemed that she never really was interested in me, as I was always the one leading.

Had she forced herself all of this time? Was she just being kind to me because I was her soulmate?

After all, who would love a stranger that they had just met? Who would love to be bound by fate? Who would let fate decide who they will spend the rest of their life with? A stranger who had no connection to them whatsoever, who appeared out of the blue, and now they have to be bound to them for eternity.

It was the mentality of the current culture now. Soulmates didn't mean anything anymore. People will choose their own lover, and not the person who fate told them to love.