A loud slap echoed in a mansion as every person present there gasped in horror.

"First you got born in this house with bad luck, then you tried to malign my name by running away and now you are saying that you won't get married. Do you want us to not even be able to look in other's eyes? We hold the biggest position in this city but your actions will bring us at the lowest." A man in his early 50s spitted out with his eyes red in anger.

A girl in her mid-20s turned to look at her father with tears at bay of her eyes and anger on her face "Why should I care about you if you never cared about me?" she shouted back as a lot of gasps heard around.

No one ever talked to him in such a way. Not even his sons, nor any other man.

He clenched his fist tightly as his body raged in anger and he walked angrily towards her as he held her jaw in his hold "Keep your eyes and voice low in front of me." He seethed in anger.

Seeing the situation escalating, his sons ran to him "Nanna, leave her. It's not good for your health. And we don't hurt a woman." They said trying to pull him. (Nanna- Father)

He jerked their hands "She is not a woman, she is a witch. She is some dharidhram who came into our family to destroy us. Once she leaves, I will be happy." (Dharidhram- Bad luck)

Tears spilled through her eyes "I am not a dharidhram, you are a mindless man." She shouted as his son glared at her but it didn't affect her.

"Nitya." Her eldest vadina Chaitra said in a strict voice. (Vadina- Brother's wife)

"I will leave this house."

"Then go. Get out from my property and business too."

"I don't need your business. I will build a business on my own."

"You don't need my business but those poor orphans and old people do need my money. Once you deny my request, I will throw them out of my property and make a café over that orphanage."

Nitya turned back on hearing that heartless man and threw a vase at the floor which broke into pieces and stuck into Chaitra's feet making her hiss.

Drishith looked at his wife and then glared at Nitya in anger "Keep yourself in control. Don't you dare to hurt my wife?" He seethed as Nitya's eyes went to Chaitra who was holding her feet as blood was flowing.

"I am so.." She tried to say.

"Shut up. Anyways you have the habit of hurting this house's woman." Her other brother Rahul said as he went to Chaitra to check her feet.

"Now you have started to hurt our daughter also." Her father seethed as he threw a vase at her in anger which scratched her arm.

Nitya looked at her two brothers and her father who were ready to hurt her but were now tending wounds of a woman who entered their life 3 years ago. Chaitra and Drishith had an arranged marriage but slowly they developed a lovely bond among them. And not just Drishith but Chaitra filled the void of love in all 3 men of the family. Her father Arjuna got to cherish a daughter and Rahul got a sister while Drishith's lonely life was filled with her presence. They didn't even try to tell Nitya about the wedding and only 2 months later when Nitya was back to her home from Mumbai, she got to know that her brother got married and it broke her as she slowly grew distant. She saw her family behaving with Chaitra as they should have with her until Chaitra approached her and she knew that she was a lady with an aura of goddess who just attracted people towards her. She never hated Chaitra but she envied her, she envied the love she got but she loved the fact that Chaitra always tried to give her motherly love even when the whole family was against it and now she was guilty of hurting her.

Nitya never got the love from her family. She already lost her mother at a very young age, and later she was sent to live with her grandmother(mother's mother) in her city. She lived with her grandmother till she was 16 and not for once anyone from her family came to meet her. But then her grandmother also left this world and she ended up in this house among her family who never cared enough about her. No one tried to talk to her or look after her, and slowly she understood she was just an unwanted child. Later after she completed her graduation, she ran away from her house to Mumbai only to enjoy her freedom where she met Abhi and Shreya who became her best friends and she met her ex-boyfriend Kavi who ended up giving her scars she never forgot. But then her family found her, and to save their so-called reputation in their city, they asked her to come back and after some months she was back. Since then, she solely focused on her business to earn for the orphanage people.

She muttered a sorry to Chaitra and left the house as Chaitra tried to stop her. Nitya left the house and sat in her car as she put her feet on the accelerator and drove on the roads of Vizag. Her vision was blurring with tears as she didn't know where she was heading and after driving for an hour she finally put brakes.

She got out of her car and saw another car stopping behind her. It was none other than her P.A cum bodyguard Kshitij appointed by her family's security agency. She saw him coming towards her with a bottle of water.

"Water, mam." He said forwarding the bottle as Nitya took the bottle from his hand.

"Why are you here?" she asked before she gulped the whole water.

"Got a message from Chaitra mam that you might need some assistance." He replied bringing out a white handkerchief and handing it to her.

After some time, they both were sitting at Rishikonda beach as there were only some people roaming around.

Kshitij was not just her P. A but he was someone whom she trusted and the list is very short when it comes to her trustworthy people.

"What's it this time?" He asked offering her popcorn.

"They want me to get married."

Kshitij nodded in understanding "So the boy is ugly?"

Nitya shook her head "He is handsome."

"Is he creepy?"

"No, he gives me the same comfort that I get near my Shiva."

"Is he poor?"

"Richer than us."

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

"I guess no." She replied confused.

"Then why are you denying marriage if he is so perfect?" Kshitij voiced out his confusion.

Nitya looked at him and pondered upon his words "Because they didn't ask me before fixing this alliance. I want to have a say in the biggest decision of my life." She grumbled in frustration crushing the corn in her hand.

Kshitij just shook his head and stood up. Nitya looked at him running back to his car and her eyes furrowed in confusion. He soon came running back to her with a first aid box in his hand. He took some ointment out and put it on her arm's wound as Nitya's eyes teared up.

"Also I don't want to leave you here alone?" She said as he put a bandaid over the wound making him look up at her.

"I am your bodyguard, how can I be left behind?" He asked genuinely confused.

And Nitya just shook her head "I don't have a problem marrying Kshi but I am worried." She said as she choked on her tears "I am scared that what if he didn't love me. What if he left me estranged like others? I don't want to do arrange marriage because I don't want to lose that last hope of love in my life." She said putting her head over her knees and crying out.

Kshitij took a deep breath and patted her head gently while she cried sitting there.

In Madhya Pradesh

Shivansh just came back from the office after a tiring day and lay on his bed. He closed his eyes and saw those same light brown eyes, he had seen for the past months, Nitya Raghavendra. He opened his eyes and opened his phone again to take a look at her.

He remembered how he got a call from his brother one day

Shivansh was in the office doing some work given by his brother when he got a call from him. He quickly attended it in the hope of getting some relief from this work.

"yes, bhai. The file is almost......" he tried to say

"Shiv, we found Shreya's family. But we need your help." Aashrit said from the other side.

Shivansh understood with seriousness in his brother's voice that the situation was way more critical.

"tell me bhai."

"There is only one person who could save Shreya's family at the moment but he has a condition."

"What condition?"

"His sister's marriage with you."

Shivansh was shocked hearing him. No way in his dreams he thinks of marrying so early and that too arranged marriage. He wanted to marry someone he loved. Marriage was a big deal for him and he didn't want to just make a hasty decision.

"We will deny his help if you do not agree."

Shivansh took a deep breath "Would Shreya Bhabhi's family be safe?"

"Not sure. We will try but we can't promise anything."

Shivansh closed his eyes hearing him and remembered Lord Shiva. He prayed to God to show him some way and his bhaiya bhabhi's face came in front of him. And he opened his eyes abruptly.

If bhaiya can make his arranged marriage work then I am much more romantic and understanding than him, I surely can do this.

"Bhaiya I don't have a problem, but please don't tell Abhi bhai and Shreya bhabhi, or else they might deny help because of me being in this situation."

And he remembered how he enquired about the girl and searched for her on Google only to skip his heartbeat. She was pretty, not just pretty but confident and strong. She looked like a lioness, his lioness. He went to his Instagram and saw her pictures, and videos, her holding meetings, giving speeches, and helping needy people and he lost his heart to her.

Yes, he fell in love with her without meeting her.

But then when his other brother got married, he got the chance to meet her as she was also the best friend of his bhai and her soon-to-be bhabhi.

He looked at her recent pictures but noticed how she was not happy with them. She was smiling but her eyes were not lightening as they usually do.

"Shivu" He heard his eldest bhabhi Meera's voice.

He saw her standing at the door and signaled her to come inside.

"How many times do I have to tell you, you don't need my permission to enter my room? It took you a year to reach from Shiv bhaiya to Shivu and now do you want 1 more year to stop taking permission." He said scolding her who was his best friend and elder sister-in-law also.

Meera sat on his bed as he put his head on her lap "Are you nervous for tomorrow?" She asked after listening to his blabbering.

Shivansh closed his eyes as she massaged his head "I am not nervous bhabhi. But would it work?"He put forth his concern.

Meera took a deep breath "We don't know if it would work or not. But give your best in this marriage and make it work."

Shivansh looked at her "What you were thinking when our family went to your house for the first time?" He asked with concern in his voice.

Meera smiled at him "I was worried if I would be rejected or would you all notice my flaws. I was not worried for my future but I was afraid of rejection." She said truthfully "I don't know what Nitya must be thinking. But whatever time I spent with her at Abhi's wedding. I know one thing, she craves love." She said with some pain in her eyes "And if you get married, then it's your responsibility to make sure she gets the love and would top your priority list which shows your respect for her." She said caressing his hair as he understood her words.

And he understood that not just love but Respect is also an important key to a relationship.

_______

Updates will be irregular for now.

SPREAD LOVE AND HAPPINESS.