When Aastha met Veer, she knew they had a connection.
However, the connection would be from two centuries ago, she never could have imagined.
A love story that remained unfulfilled, broken by evil, and destroyed to ashes - whose reference hide...
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Kasauli, India.
It was early in the morning when Aastha woke up to the chirping birds and freezing weather. The last few days of December had been snowy, rainy and extremely cold. For a Mumbai girl, Aastha was quite used to the cold, thanks to spending the holidays in Roopgarh, Rajasthan. However, nothing had prepared her for Kasauli's weather.
Shifting to Kasauli hadn't been easy. Her grandmother, Gouri Devi had kept her promise in convincing her family, but it had taken quite a lot of effort and cajoling. Once the family agreed, her appointment letter was delayed. Eventually, things finally fell into place. Suraj had escorted her to Kasauli and made arrangements for her to stay at their distant relative's house. Since Aastha wanted to live by herself, she managed to rent a penthouse at her relative's place, giving her the best of both worlds.
Two months had passed by in a blur and Aastha had finally made a home for herself. Stepping out through the French windows, she breathed in the freshness of all the plants she had planted on the terrace. Aastha smiled at the birds who lived in the large birdhouse she had built for them. When she had first moved here, the penthouse was a storage room and the terrace seemed like a designated toilet for birds. It had taken her a week to transform the place into a green haven, well, a snowcapped green haven. The best part of living in Himachal Pradesh was the snowfall. To Aastha's luck, she had come to Kasauli during the winter season, and while she often found herself freezing to the burst of chill, she enjoyed and revelled in the beautiful weather nevertheless.
The morning mist started to descend in full force and Aastha drew a long sigh before rushing inside to the warmth of her room. Soon, she got busy making breakfast and getting ready for the day. Just as she sat down to munch on the food, Suraj called her.
"Good morning, my dear sister!"
Aastha beamed as her brother, Suraj's face came into view through the video call.
"Good morning, bhai sa! How are you doing today?"
Suraj shrugged showing her his office and then the view outside of the room. The majestic Shakti Mahal stood bright and hearty.
Aastha swooned at the glimpse of Roopgarh, "God! I miss being in Roopgarh."
"Then come here soon! I am all alone in Rajasthan... I could use some company."
"Once I am done with this work, I am coming straight to Roopgarh no questions asked. Goodbye, Mumbai!"
Suraj laughed at Aastha's theatric comment. "But.. bhai sa, I am so happy you took over as the M.D. for Prem Mahal. Bhauji and Chacha sa made the right decision in keeping you there."
Suraj frowned, "Are you telling me I was no good at our family textile business?"
Her family owned and invested in multiple lines of business. Apart from the newly renovated Prem Mahal heritage hotel, her family had quite an impressive portfolio in the hospitality business with a couple of five-star hotels under their belt. But the most prominent business of her family was the textiles. They owned factories, small and large scale that produced authentic Rajasthani handloom and a vast range of fabrics that catered to a wide spectrum of requirements in the fashion industry. Their Rajasthani handloom was a league of its own. Roopgarh royals have employed thousands of families from Rajasthan to grow their heritage and to empower women from the lower to middle class to step out of their boundaries.
