12 parts Ongoing The ornate mandap shimmered under the midday sun, a stark contrast to the storm brewing inside Anya. Her carefully chosen lehenga felt like a suffocating cage, the vibrant colors mocking her silent despair. Across from her, Arjun stood stiff and unfamiliar, his dark eyes filled with a mixture of apprehension and what she swore was pity.
Just hours ago, Anya had been a carefree medical student, her future a canvas of vibrant possibilities. Now, she was a sacrifice on the altar of tradition, bound to a man she'd never met, a stranger thrust into her life by the iron grip of familial obligation.
Arjun, a software engineer from Chennai, had been equally blindsided. His world, a symphony of logic and code, had been shattered by the weight of his family's expectations. Now, he stood on the precipice of a life he hadn't chosen, a marriage dictated by forces beyond his control.
Their families, caught in a web of unspoken debts and long-forgotten promises, had orchestrated this union. Anya's family, burdened by financial woes, saw this marriage as their salvation, a lifeline thrown to a drowning man. Arjun's family, desperate to uphold their honor, saw it as a duty, a sacrifice demanded by their lineage.
Lost in the whirlwind of chanting and rituals, Anya and Arjun were mere pawns in a game they didn't understand. Their hands, trembling as they exchanged garlands, felt alien to each other, a symbol of a union forged not in love, but in circumstance.
As the sacred fire crackled, casting dancing shadows on their pale faces, Anya wondered if this was truly the beginning of a life, or the end of the one she knew. Arjun, his gaze fixed on the flames, echoed her silent question, his heart heavy with the weight of an unknown future.
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