Ties of Destiny

Chapter 3

The bustling streets of Mumbai echoed with the sounds of horns honking and people rushing about their business as Karan Malhotra strode down the pavement with purpose. He was a man of determination, his mind constantly consumed by thoughts of business deals and corporate conquests. Today was no different, as he made his way to yet another high-stakes meeting.

As he turned the corner onto a quieter street, Karan's path intersected with that of a young woman, Tejasswi Sharma. She was hurrying along, her arms laden with groceries, her attention focused on the task at hand. The collision was unexpected and unwelcome, and both Karan and Tejasswi recoiled from each other with irritation.

"Watch where you're going!" Karan snapped, his voice sharp and unforgiving as he glared at Tejasswi.

Tejasswi bristled at his tone, her own patience wearing thin. "Excuse me? You walked right into me!" she shot back, her voice laced with indignation.

Karan's jaw clenched in frustration at the woman's audacity. He had no time for petty arguments with strangers, especially ones as insignificant as this. With a dismissive grunt, he attempted to sidestep Tejasswi and continue on his way.

But Tejasswi wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily. "Hey, don't just walk away! You should apologize!" she insisted, her eyes flashing with determination.

Karan halted in his tracks, his temper flaring at the woman's persistence. "Apologize? For what? I don't owe you anything," he retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Tejasswi's cheeks flushed with anger at his dismissive attitude. "Fine, be that way! But just know that you're incredibly rude," she shot back, her voice trembling with emotion.

With that, Tejasswi turned on her heel and stormed off down the street, leaving Karan standing there in a cloud of frustration and confusion. He watched her go with a mixture of irritation and begrudging admiration for her fiery spirit.

As the encounter faded into the background of his mind, Karan pushed it aside and focused on the task at hand. He had a meeting to attend, and nothing would distract him from achieving his goals.

Later as Tejasswi was leaving the daycare with Aarav in tow, as today was his half day, she noticed a figure approaching. It was Avni, Aarav's friend from daycare, accompanied by her nanny. Tejasswi's heart skipped a beat as she watched the adorable little girl toddle along, her laughter ringing out like music.

Unable to resist the pull of maternal instinct, Tejasswi approached Avni and her nanny. "Hi there," she said warmly, offering a smile to the nanny. "I'm Tejasswi. Is this little one Avni?"

The nanny nodded, returning Tejasswi's smile. "Yes, this is Avni," she confirmed. 

"She's absolutely adorable," Tejasswi remarked, reaching out to gently ruffle Avni's hair.

Avni giggled in response, her eyes sparkling with innocence. Tejasswi couldn't help but be enchanted by the little girl's infectious joy.

Just then, her nanny spoke up. "We should be heading home now, Avni," she said, addressing the toddler. "Your father will be waiting for you."

"It was lovely meeting you, Avni," she said softly, giving the little girl's hand a gentle squeeze before bidding farewell to the nanny.

As Tejasswi watched Avni and her nanny disappear around the corner, a whirlwind of emotions churned inside her. She couldn't shake the feeling of connection she had felt with the innocent child, nor could she ignore the sense of foreboding that lingered in the air.

She scooped Aarav up into her arms, showering him with kisses as they continued their journey home.

"Aarav, my darling," Tejasswi cooed, nuzzling her son affectionately. "You are my world, my precious little angel."

Aarav squealed with delight, his chubby arms wrapped tightly around his mother's neck. His innocent laughter filled Tejasswi with an overwhelming sense of love and gratitude.

Later that same day, Tejasswi found herself in the park with Aarav, enjoying a moment of respite from the chaos of city life. As Aarav played happily on the swings, Tejasswi's heart swelled with love for her precious son.

Meanwhile, Karan sat alone in his penthouse apartment, his thoughts drifting to the encounter with Tejasswi earlier that day. Despite his usual stoic demeanor, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that there was something about her that intrigued him.

As fate would have it, destiny intervened once again, bringing Karan and Tejasswi together in an unexpected twist of events.

Tejasswi was walking through the park with Aarav when she spotted Avni, sitting alone on a bench, her tiny frame shaking with silent sobs. Tejasswi's heart went out to the little girl, and without hesitation, she approached her. She checked for her nanny or someone who has accompanied her, but found no one.

"Hey there, sweetheart," Tejasswi said gently, crouching down beside Avni. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Avni looked up, her tear-stained cheeks glistening in the sunlight. "I.. choco," she sniffled, holding up the crushed candy bar.

Tejasswi's heart melted at the sight of the distraught child. "Don't worry, sweetheart," she said soothingly, reaching into her bag and searching out for a fresh chocolate bar. But didn't found any chocolate so assumed her son had eaten the chocolate . Shaking her head  she went up to to a stall in the park and brought a chocolate. "Here, take this one."

Avni's eyes widened in surprise as Tejasswi offered her the chocolate. She smiled widely at Tejasswi showing her teeth. 

Tejasswi smiled back, her heart swelling with affection for the sweet little girl. As she watched Avni's tears dry up and her smile return, Tejasswi couldn't help but feel a sense of connection to her. Avni's nanny comes back after few minutes as she was busy talking to people in the park and apologizes to Tejasswi for the inconvenience caused by Avni.

"How could you be so careless?" Tejasswi scolded, her voice tinged with frustration. "She could have gotten hurt, or if there was someone else instead of me anything could have happened."

The nanny hung her head in shame, apologizing profusely for her mistake.

"Be careful." Tejasswi responds. And founds both Avni and Aarav playing together looking absolutely adorable.

Little did Tejasswi know, her encounter with Avni would be just the beginning of a series of events that would change both her and Karan's lives forever.

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I don't know if you all are linking the story or not, because no one is commenting or giving votes.

So please do let me know if you want me to continue with the story so not, and if you guys want to suggest something, then suggestions are always welcome.

I never wanted to do this but as its my first time writing so its kind of disappointing so I'm setting a target to complete for the next update.

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