Unreachable Destiny- The Curse Of Your Love

Chapter-16: Preparing for an evening of Chaos

Over the next week on camp, Maya and Ranav grew closer with Ranav's teasing remarks and Maya's counterbacks to his comments. They became quick friends and soon formed a group of friends with Pradeep and Trisha. Abhimanyu observed their closeness with interest but he could not tell if there were any romantic feelings involved in their interactions so he took a back seat in the matter so as not to presume anything on their behalf. He believes that the kids are wise enough to make their own decisions. Ranav and Maya only grow closer with time but the closeness does nothing to change their stance in their hearts. As they understand each other better, time passes and as they say 'time does not stop for anyone' whatever the circumstances might be. By the weekend, they return to their homes once again and Rajvansh's house is packed with workers as the house is getting ready for the party being held the next day.

Meenakshi Rajvansh awaits Maya's arrival with bated breath as she puts her plan into action. Maya lies in her bed scrolling her Instagram as she watches her close friend Olivia roll in the snow with her other batchmates she longs to be in there with them and enjoy the winter in England. She is so used to the cold that she is often drenched in sweat here in Rajkot. If anything, she would think twice before signing up for a camp in the future. A knock on her door pulls her away from her burning desire for a cool drink and she gets up quickly, half expecting it to be Amish Bayya or Parul Dadi as Aditya would never knock before entering and the others in the house usually don't bother to interact with her on a busy day like today but when she opens the door to find Meenakshi Rajvansh standing in front of her, her back goes straight as she refused to look anything but stern in front of the woman.

"Ms. Meenakshi, what a surprise. What brings you to my room?" Meenakshi invites herself in as though she had been to Maya's room many times which on the contrary she had never been since Maya started staying here. 

"Beta, I bought you a dress for the evening party. I think it suits you really well." Maya's eyes fall on the boxed package Meenakshi is holding as Meenakshi puts it on the bed and unwraps it. A Navy blue dress is pulled out of it with white stones adorned on it with detail. "I believe it is to your liking as Aditya suggested that you would like the colour."

"My favourite colour is black." Maya does not miss a beat to point out how little Meenakshi knows about her.

"And it is an inauspicious colour for such a lovely occasion. This is close enough." Meenakshi comes back with a smile growing on her face.

"Close enough but not the same. Just like how I am close to being a daughter to Ms. Kuhu but I am not her daughter. Don't you know that I don't settle for less, Ms. Meenakshi?" Maya's deliberate satire reduces Meenakshi's bright smile to a mere uplift of her lips as she gathers all the calmness she can summon in her to face Maya with a diplomatic smile.

"Black is not a good colour for special occasions like today, you should've known. If only you had a mother to teach you such things, my poor child."Meenakshi places her hand on Maya's head, gently caressing her hair as she smiles sweetly to her but Maya knows that this is nothing but Meenakshi picking on her loss and a desperate attempt to get the last word in. "Don't worry, Dadi will you everything."

"Exactly, there is nothing special about today." Maya closes the conversation with her statement as takes the dress from Meenakshi's hands. "I think you should go get ready. after all, you are the host." Meenakshi leaves, thinking that she has won because she finally got Maya to come to the party, wearing the dress picked out by her oblivious to Maya's plan. Both Maya and Meenakshi know that this is not just any party but it is the party that is being held by their family after decades and the first public appearance of Maya and Aditya. They know that whatever happens at the party is what people remember Maya for. They say first impressions are the best impressions but both of them had different first impressions they want to leave about Maya Rajvansh and are unwilling to fail at their plan.

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Ranav was ready in his white Kurta pajama with the top buttons left open and paired it a golden duppata. As he looked in the mirror his mind started wandering to places, to a certain woman who is merely few kilo meters away and he knows what she would be wearing. He smiled to himself as he decides to apply perfume which is unlike himself as he never really liked to apply perfume. That day, he wanted to be more. Alas, he was unaware of his fate that has been entwined with Maya and the feelings that they were oblivious to but the universe knew that it would be strenuous for Maya to fall in love with anyone while her soul still held on to her lost love. Just a few feet away, Akshay wears his black tuck-in shirt with his navy pants as he prepared for the evening that he had been awaiting for quite a while. He had not seen Maya for a week and is hankering to meet her, which is why he chose her favourite colour for his attire.

Ranav looks at himself as his mind flashes back to the day they went for shopping a week ago. He advised her that he could pick her dresses and she agreed reluctantly. 

Flash to a week ago...

He sat himself down near the cushion where the dresses were lying as he started browsing through the ones that were are already opened.

"What is your favourite colour?" He had asked her and she answered in a heartbeat.

"Black" He smiled as he could imagine her liking black. The colour suites her fierce, placid personality and her ravening gaze.

"That was quick. What kind of shades do you like the most, dark or light?"

"I don't know. I don't mind either." It was surprising for Ranav that she was so unsure because he thought she had great fashion sense observing her daily outfits. Maybe she doesn't posses the same skills when it comes to Indian dresses.

"Then let's find out what suites you the best. Come here and stand in front of the mirror." Maya stands in front of the mirror as Ranav pulls out a green chudidar and places the dress in front of her to check in the mirror. He didn't realize how close they were standing and as soon as he met her gaze in the mirror, he awkwardly took a step back. "This is not good. Let's try something else." He hurriedly puts himself to work as one after the other, he placed each dress in front of her and waited for her reaction. Whenever she gave a good reaction he put the dress aside and then, among them, he picked out the ones that matched her well. By the end he picked out 12 such outsits for her, one of which is a designer Anarkali that was picked out for the party.

"Akshay said you aren't going to be at the party. Then, why do you need a dress?" Ranav couldn't help but ask. He had lied that akshay is the one who told him but it's actually Ranav who just happened to listen to Akshay talking on phone with someone.

"Because I know her well enough that I know I won't be able to escape from the party and I'd rather use this opportunity than let it simply go. After all there is something I want the world to remember." Ranav stands confused but recides not to push her for more answers and moves to another topic.

"How about we match outfits. We are shopping anyway, we could match our outfits to commemorate our budding friendship." He suggested knowing how she will answer.

"No" Maya said as Ranav mouthed the same in sync with her and Maya gives him a side eye. Maya's lips slightly lift but she tries to remain serious.

"Fine, then. Your loss that you won't be able match your outfit with the most eligible bachelor alive." Maya ignores his suggestion once as she smiles to herself. So, He ended up taking a white Kurta Pajama instead and he can't deny that he bought it with intention.

Now that he is just an hour away from going to the party, he feels his heart beating at a rocket speed. He didn't know if it was just the excitement or something more. That two men were ready, one to confess his feeling, the other to finally accept his. They were unware of the storm that was building in Rajvansh's house as the two woman prepared to unfold an interesting evening. As one woman planned to pass a statement, the other called for chaos. Who were to win and who were to lose? Only the almighty knows where the path to peace lies.

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Sorry for the delay in uploading, I was terribly busy with work and finally found some time and inspiration to continue the story. Anways, if you are liking the story so far, vote and leave a comment so that it would encourage me. It's always good receive some love (>-<).

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