It Was All Destiny

part 20

"I will not marry him, baba. " Neetika exclaimed, looking horrified at her grandpa.

"Why? He is such a nice guy, smart and handsome too. Marry him or you'll lose such a nice guy. " He tried to convince but Neetika still shook her head.

"But why? " He asked again and Neetika denied to tell him the reason.

"Then go and tell the truth. Don't come to me when you are in problem, if you don't want to listen. Go away. " The old man huffed and shifted to the other seat, sipping on his tea. He did not looked at Neetika but she still looked at him like a child.

"Go away, I will not melt by your puppy eyes. " His voice was stern but at the end, he melted at her teary eyes.

"Come here. " He softly called, opening his one arm for her. Neetika smiled amid the tears and went near him, resting her head on his shoulders.
"I love you more than my children, how can I be angry with you. "

"I know. " She sniffed, feeling his warm embrace which she missed from so many months.

"If I am asking you to marry Akansh, I must have thought something right? " He softly whispered, caressing her hair.

"And I, too, must be denying after thinking something, right? "

He chuckled when she mimicked his tone and realised that no one could really win from his gudiya. But now, he needed to convince her, because he has seen the purity in both their eyes (Akansh's and Neetika's) and the respect they hold for each other.

And if, God forbid, the two never fell in love, he knew they would live happily with each other. Sometimes, respect and trust is more than enough for a marriage to work out, even when love is absent.

And he has seen both in Akansh and Neetika.

"But my gudiya, why can't you marry him? He is so good, he cares for you and thinks for you, even before himself. He respects you too. What more do you need in a husband? " He asked carefully.

"He cares for Prince, baba. He takes Prince as his own child so he cares for him, and because I am supposedly the mother of Prince, so he cared for me too. I might be his friend, but I can never be his wife.

He deserves someone who can make him happy, who can match his standards. Not me. Not the one who is a trouble in paradise and a.. a girl like me. " She finally expressed herself and sobbed in her grandpa's chest.

"A girl like you, meaning? "

"A girl like me, who has no knowledge of how a family works, how a relation work. He deserves someone who can bring a smile on face, not me who just brings.. disappointment. "

Her grandpa , now, knew the unspoken misery that neetika was carrying with herself. His lips thinned in a flat line and gently stroked her hair.

"You remember those who taunted you and blamed you for every bad thing, but didn't remember those who were living for you? Me, your grandma... We were so useless, neetika that you don't remember how we've loved you? "

Neetika shook her head, to deny his claims. "You and dadi were the only people who made me what I am today."

"Then trust me neetu, a person must be treated by what he/she is, in present. By their past or future, a person should never be judged or treated with." He told and waited for a minute, to continue.

"Marry Akansh. He is a good man. You both make a good pair. " He softly whispered and Neetika chose to not argue further.

But in her mind, she was determined to follow what she thinks. That is, to not marry Akansh and be a burden on him.