Flouting Our Destiny

Chapter 23

"But why?" Draupadi moaned in indignation, her thoughts were contrasting with her father's, who was viewing his daughter as an independent young woman however the lady standing beside Drupad was suffering from panic attacks recalling her youngest child as a toddler.

"I won't support you anymore" Prashasti declared, her attention diverting to her husband from her daughter, "she's just not ready" the mother's assuring smile made Draupadi bite her tongue.

"Karan is a nice fellow moreover Dev has proposed this relationship" Drupad proudly exclaimed, his eyes twinkling with satisfaction.

Prashasti narrowed her eyes, her motherly fears grew simultaneous to the sinking of her heart.
Karan was not someone she would want as her daughter's suitor, his social status was not equivalent to theirs and most importantly he gave out crude vibes which vexed the farsighted mother.

The Earth's gravity intensified for Draupadi, she felt the marble polished floor swallowing her rapidly, a painful yelp from her heart in advance of the spiralling of emotions in her mind which churned up all the hope to live the present without any trace of the past.
How can she marry the man who called her a whore?
How can she marry the man who was yet another reason for her tarnished reputation?

Like a nightmare, all dark and horrific, the woman's misery suffused brain started calculating the futuristic growth, she despised Karan as much as she loved her father.

"Take your time," The head of the family said with a broad happy look, his daughter was his first priority irrespective of his own wish to finalise this alliance.

Vidyut hugged his sister as soon as the parents left the room, Lakshana grinned watching the elder twin grow protective towards his sibling,
"you are free to say no" the maturity in her brother's voice comforted Draupadi, she wanted to live by herself and definitely not with Karan.

Arjun, the only word which she could mouth after being left alone, the five-letter word meant much more to her but the past!
The previously called Kauravas and Radhey were now good people as Draupadi thought of them but a sense of goodness does not equate to compatibility, the only prospective groom for her could be Arjun,
a perfect match made in heaven!

"Not any Arjun in this lifetime, please"
Her mewling heart quietened with acquiescence listening to the preachings by the brain,
"didn't he cause much trouble in the last birth that you want him again?"

"Love will find its own way..."
a sudden flash of the past scrunched her eyes, the spouse of Lakshmi teaching her lessons of love!

Her fingers guiltily dialled a phone number,
no conscience stopped Draupadi from deriving pleasure by calling a number memorised by her and then staying mum only to hear his voice.

The sharp-minded say that it takes 21 days to make a habit but for Draupadi, this tiny sadist act of blank calls had become an addiction, she used to unknowingly dial his number whenever she felt low in the past few months and listen to his irked voice.

"Arjun Kuruvanshi this side" The recipient answered, he sounded frustrated than ever before making the caller curious, Draupadi choked on her thoughts, her small secret was unethical to her brain but her heart always enjoyed this.

"Wrong number" His words kneaded with annoyance,
"Arjun..." Draupadi whined, escalating the tensions of the past only to lament the present situation, the lady's unbalanced state cried for his help.

"Drau..." A new vigour diffused in his wordings, happiness simmering in his heart and love flowing in his veins.

Silence struck their souls, his racing heartbeats loudly shouted her name while her deep breaths promulgated the fact that she missed him very much.

The distressed maiden felt the quietude dismiss on his side, a feminine pitch keenly reached her ear, the smart woman deciphered the presence of a lover of his from the previous birth, Shanaya it was, who was calling his name hopefully.

Her heart shattered like glass disintegrated into millions of fragments,
has Arjun moved on? He was a husband to the other woman too and that woman was his wife only.

"I hate you" Draupadi bounced back from a state of an emotional breakdown and whispered to the man before throwing her phone away.
.
.
.
.
.

Arjun's internals tightened, shielding the body from the piercing daggers thrown by her vocals,

"she hates me?" He pitied himself, first for being aware of what Drupad had planned for his daughter and the second that he couldn't even explain the love of his life to stay away from those dubious people.

Arjun glanced at Shanaya, her white dress politely flowed up to her knees and the long heels worn by her displayed a confident outlook of her personality.

"Umm...I came to meet Mrs Kuruvanshi, thought of greeting you too"

Shanaya, the only girl who was approved of roaming in Pritha's household, the mother of five sons was very particular in any decision regarding her children, when she met the then-girlfriend of her third son for the first time, her overjoyed antics were noticed by all but the reason for such excessive delight was only known by Pritha, her wish to keep the first official daughter in law of her previous life away was granted in the form of Shanaya.

Arjun's lips turned in a low smile, he offered an anxious free expression in return to the optimism of her face, the two sat down on the beige tuxedo sofa only to search for a good topic of conversation.

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Lakshana stationed the last dinner plate on the dining table, the cook fervently blinked at her in gratitude for helping him lay the table for dinner.

She silently observed the vacant chairs get occupied leaving only one chair empty, the one who usually sits beside her was nowhere to be seen, her best friend was perhaps still analysing the idea of the family head.

Vidyut raised his eyebrows to question his wife about the missing person, his senses were still fluttering because of the woebegone expressions appearing on the pretty face of his sister after the declaration.

"Dad" the humble beauty's utterance brought a gleeful fulfilment in the minds of the people playing with spoons and forks.
Four pairs of eyes turned towards the room's door.

"I introspected and..." Draupadi breathed heavily,
"I will think about it before jumping onto any conclusion"

The old heart of Drupad pumped blood enormously, his body flushed with content, he immediately embraced his younger daughter and showered fatherly blessings over her.

The struggle of the past and present shrunk all the abilities of the woman who had suffered the most, her mind wanted to safeguard itself from any haunting memory but her heart wanted to dive in the ocean of love, once again.

Draupadi's constant internal battle sweetly dismantled her capacity to differentiate between right and wrong!