EMPTY

On-looking at the dark sky, Prachi stood by her window. The sky was clear, showcasing sets of unique constellations. The moon looking like a thin silver line someone had stitched in a dark sheet.

Prachi looked on, not seeing something, and absentmindedly turning the cold metal over and over around her finger. Since the day she..... since that day when he had taken off the ring from her finger, practically ripped to be honest, well, since that day, she had always found her hand odd. Empty, without the ring that signified her as his. Since that day, her hand felt foreign to her. Maybe because of the removal of the weight of the ring. But now, when she is wearing this new ring. Her hand seemed so heavy that she almost want to drop it off.

She had a million questions in her mind. Some she knows the answer of, some she doesn't. The answers she knew weren't specifically pleasing, and the answers she didn't know, she don't plan on finding them too.

Like one she didn't know, was that what was heavier? The weight of her broken heart or the weight of the new relationship she is walking into?

This new ring felt heavy because it was foreign to her hand. Will this new relationship she is getting herself into will feel foreign too? She knew the answer to this. Always.

Aarav may have said anything, but she knew, however much time passes, deep down in her heart, she will never be able to forget Ranbir. She will never be able to overcome the emotions and feelings she posses for him. The love she has for Ranbir runs deeper than her blood, it runs in every segment of her soul, and maybe it will continue to do so even after her heart stops beating.

She exhaled a long breath, still playing with her ring as she replayed the entire fiasco since proposing in her head.

She got the car onto the way she was sure they came. Still, she got hold of her mobile from her skirt pocket and instantly punched the address into it, placing it on the dashboard.

She stopped the car someway back from the house, still on the road but she could see the sea from here and got down, the midnight cool breeze immediately gushing past her face and tickling her face with the strands of her hair that had come loose.

She took a ragged breath, hoping the fresh air to clear her head from all of the damn drama scenes going on around her. More like about her. She felt more like a daily soap actress, whose life is written only for the intention of filling it with all the problems one could think of. Taking right from a broken family to twisted sibling, falling for the boy who she had no chance with, kidnappings, humiliations, murder attempts, heartbreak, sacrifices, and now complex turns into a relationship she thought would always remain intact and untouched from the negativity, but it too got pulled right in.

Screwed up, her life is.

Just when she thought that she could be at peace for a few minutes, the world blew her tiny bubble. She heard footsteps and wished them not to notice her and pass quietly, but no, when does anything happen according to her wish for now to be different.

The footsteps halted and she thought that the person had left, but then she heard them again, this time getting louder. Why doesn't everyone leave her alone? She wished it wasn't someone from her family. She was in no mood of talking to anyone yet. Well, she wanted to talk to a certain someone, but he couldn't come here. That too for her, and also while her twin was within a mile distance from them.

She sighed, but the footsteps kept getting closer to her. She looked around, to see someone so that she won't be off-guard. A frown etched on her face as she didn't saw any living being around her. 

Okay, now she partially wished it to be any known person.

She was about to turn back when she caught a foul drench. Her nose crinkled up on its own accord when she registered it to be alcohol.

She turned back and took a step back, startled as she came face to face with a man. He looked at her oddly and she cursed her luck for the umpteenth time this evening. Street harassment, just what was missing from her seemingly never-ending list.

She squinted a bit, jaws clenched, to make out his features in the little light from the street light that illuminated the area. He was tall, almost about half a foot taller than her, but lanky. The shirt he was wearing was loose on him and was building a stark contrast with his light skin. His hair was dark, but not black.

He took a step forward making Prachi involuntary step back. The forwarded step also brought his face to the light. He had a long face, sharp jaw, and blackish-brown eyes.

He was the source of the alcohol smell but he didn't seem to sway when he walked, maybe he wasn't that drunk. 

"You shouldn't be here at this time." He slurred and that was enough to make the whistle go in Prachi's head.

"WHY?" She snapped, the pent-up rage coming to the surface. "WHY SHOULD I NOT BE HERE? And who do you think YOU are to tell me what I should or shouldn't do? Who are you to tell me what to do? Who is anyone to tell me what to do?

Why does everyone just come along and mess my life? My life feels like a bloody Rubiks cube, anyone enters my life and just twist it to some new weird pattern that is definitely not right! 

My own sorry excuse for a sister snatched my first love from me that too by blackmailing me about my parents' happiness. WHO ARE HER PARENTS TOO. But she doesn't care at all. I held myself up for them, I was even going to leave, but MY OWN BEST FRIEND thought it to be thrilling to propose to me.

What is it with everyone controlling my life? And now YOU, Who the hell are you? You don't even know me aND YOU THINK YOU HAVE A BLOODY RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!!

NO, YOU DON'T, SO GET OUT OF HERE"

She screamed, her shoulders heaving up and down as she tried to calm her breathing and heart. She combed her right hand through her hair, pushing them off her face, and rested it on her neck where her pulse point was. The cool fingers feeling pleasing on her skin.

She looked up to see the boy rooted in his spot. Now that her anger vaporized, dread clutched her heart. She was in the middle of nowhere with an unknown drunk man who was clearly way stronger than her. The cherry on top she was very much foreign in this place and no one from her family knew where she was.

Not letting her fear portray on her face she looked around and quickly picked up a stray piece of glass that was laying on the sidelines. She held it up and something shot through the boy's eyes. 

"Woah, Woah, Woah."  He said, his eyes wide and hands held up in front of him, palms out. It only made her tighten her grip on the shard of glass, not paying attention to when her palm sliced open and warm liquid dripped down her hand.

"Go Away," she said through clenched teeth. 

"Okay, okay girl, listen to me, you are alone here, totally pissed off from your life and not caring that your hand is bleeding. I don't think I can leave you here all alone." He said, nodding slowly as he spoke, but Prachi didn't care.

"Okay, I've seen some men two blokes around from here, totally wasted, can't be sure that they wouldn't come here. I know you are afraid of me, why don't you do one thing- and I'm not ordering you or controlling your life- I'm merely advising you. You should go home, your parents must be worried for you." He said and Prachi actually for once since she met him, listened to what he was saying. She frowned a bit but relaxed her nonetheless. Sniffling a bit, she turned back and dragged her feet towards the car. Resting her left hand on the handle, she looked back to see the boy looking at the waves crashing against the shore.

"Have you drunk?" She herself got surprised to hear the words slip her tongue.

He in turn just smiles and shook his head, "No, my friend got drunk accidentally and I had to support her to her house. So..," He trailed out.

"You should go home too, your family must be waiting for you." Prachi smiled back as he nodded.

She parked the car in front of the house, no one had arrived yet. Strange.

Just as her eyes landed upon the house, the sad reality rushed back making her eyes tear up. She hastily unbuckled the seatbelt, tears blurring her vision. She got down from the car as quickly as she can without seeing, rushing to her room so no one can stop or see her in this state. 

She closed the door behind her with much force and with the bang of the door, her sob break free. She sat on the bed, profoundly crying. Hasn't her life already been disheveled enough that now she was on the verge of losing another of her close ones? 

She was not sure if she was more hurt, angry, or just plain fed up. Tears weren't stopping and to be honest, she never wanted to leave so bad.

That's when it came, the first knock, along with her mother's call to open the door. In any other circumstance, she would have never disobeyed her mother but this was an exception. She could not let her mother see her like this, if this is what it all came down to then she would have told her mother about her broken heart long ago. She wouldn't have kept it from her that her own daughter is playing dirty to snatch her first love from her.

She clenched her fists around the cloth of her dress to keep herself from sprinting to the door, only to relax them when the knocking stopped. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Only for the tears to run faster when everyone else took turns to get her to open the door. She wished that one person didn't call her or she would most definitely rush out to embrace him and never let go. And thankfully, even if he stung her heart, he didn't call her once. 

Just about when she thought that everyone will leave, her best friend didn't. Well, isn't why they are called best friends?

"Prachi, for once, if you have ever trusted me, please let me in. Even if you don't want to let any of us in, just come out once so that we can be sure that you are okay. See, Pragya aunty is so stressed. Even Shahana is crying, please open the door."  Aarav said from the other side of the door and even though she was hell angry with him, she did trust him.

So she opened the door, not much, but just enough to let them see her. She could feel the eyes of everyone on her so she kept hers trained on the floor. 

"Prachi.." Aarav said and then sighed. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Not trusting her voice, she nodded her head and let him in, she walked over to the bed as he closed the door behind them.

"Prachi, please say something." He urged her. "Please say something."

"How could you even think so Aarav?" She said, her rage breaking free. "You were my friend, I trusted you, you knew how I am. I believed you to know what you meant to me! How could you?" 

Another set of tears break free and sobs left past her lips. 

"Oh Pika" Aarav sighed and wrapped his arms around her. He let her cry her heart out for some minutes before she calmed down.

"I'm so sorry. I really shouldn't have done something so stupid." Aaravv said softly as they both sat down at the floor by the foot of the bed.

"You know I am stupid right?" He asked.

Prachi just scoffed, "No, you were supposed to be the lesser idiot than Piyush and Shahana."

"What exactly were you thinking?"  She asked softly after some moment.

"About you," He answerd and Prachi frowned, "I found out that you were leaving the house, I know you feel like the black sheep in this family, I just thought that you might have some support and someone known along with you might be helpful."

"So you thought of marrying me?"

"Huh? No, no NO, not at all," He laughed, "I just proposed to take you and Shahana with us to UK. The marriage was all just a big mess up that just came to my mind because I didn't wanted Pragya aunty to worry for you anymore. You know she will never be out of the stress of your future. I just thought it to be kinda like an arrange marriage for you.

I'm sorry, I think that I just pressumed a lot of things in my head, but you know Piyush always like, shipped us... And I knew you always wanted an arrange marriage, to the boy who Pragya aunty liked, and the seed planted in my head just grew to be a plant. I'm sorry I know I really hurt your feelings."

"Did you thought it would have worked?" She asked, staring into nothingness.

"I don't know. Isn't that how arrange marriages work? You get married to someone you think is compatible to you and make tiny little progresses over the time. Taking it slowly. In our case it was already much sorted." He said and she frowned.

"Well, we know quite a few things about each other already. I mean that you wouldn't have to wonder if your future husband know how to cook or not. I cook as much as good as you, if not more. I wouldn't have needed to worry if my wife would understand my choices and workload, for you ae also as much as workaholic as me, if not more." He explained.

Prachi smiled a bit before sighing. He was right, if she just left, Pragya would never stop thinking about her. A year or two later, she will even start dropping hints about getting married. She would never force her of courese, but if she refused Pragya will definately start growing more and more restless.

"Can I ask you something?" He had asked breaking her out of her thinking and sh just nodded.

"Is there something you want to share?" He asked.

She just looked at him, contempating if she is ready to share this or not. After some seconds she nodded, taking in a deep breadth. "I'm ready to marry you."

And maybe this is what in her destiny was. Hasn't she always been the one who wanted and dreamed of an arranged marriage. And Aarav was the boy that matched her kind by flying colours. And he was right, isn't that how arranged marriages work, slowly. And he might be one to support her her whole life.

So that's what she had done. She had agreed to do yet another thing because she didn't wanted to trouble her mother.

And tomorrow, the priest is coming to decide an auspicious day for her marriage, to her best friend.

A/N:- Hey peanuts, how are you all? Here is another chapter for you. Aaannnd, it's still Monday. So yeah. Do share your opinions on the chapter via Votes and comments. 

Quick question:- Which fandom are you from? 

Me? Well, I've lost count. I don't change fandoms, I just add on mores.

Lots of Love,

Simran