Laxita's POV

After the wedding, I returned home. It was already early in the morning by the time everything finished. Everyone shed tears at Vanya's vidai as she was now leaving her home. I hugged her and told her to get ready for her new life at the palace. 

I was really tired and just wanted to sleep. So, I headed to my room, changed out of my heavy dress and directly slept. I woke up when it was early afternoon. I got up, took a bath and was ready to leave. I promised Vanya that I would meet her today at the palace. Yash also insisted that I should come over.

I was about to leave when I saw my uncle standing in front of the gate.

"Kahan chali? Ghar mai toh jaise paav tikte hi nahi hai."

("Where are you going? You can't even stay inside the house.")

Look who's talking. The person who barely stays home is lecturing me. Huh.

"I am going to the palace. My friends have requested me to be present there for their post-wedding rituals."

"You are not going anywhere today. And not just today, you are not going out until your marriage."

"What are you talking about?"

"I have fixed your wedding to Dhanendra, the rich and famous merchant of the neighboring kingdom. You will get married by the end of next month."

Is he serious? That man is over sixty years old. He has already married four times and his eldest son is older than me. 

"I am not marrying that man!!!"

"Oh yes, you will. Do you think that I don't know that marrying that Nakul would allow you to become the family head? I will never allow that. Dhanendra has agreed to marry you in exchange for settling my debt. Also, he is not interested in our business so he won't take it away from me. Since, I have already been paid by him, I will hold up my end of the deal..."

"I am not an object who you can SELL!"

"Since, I am the head, everything in the family belongs to me."

"You'll pay for this!!!"

"We'll see about that. Guards, catch her and don't let her escape."

"What? NO!!! You'll suffer for this, YOU BASTARD!!!"

The guards dragged me away and locked me inside my room. That asshole has hired private guards to keep me locked here. I can't escape and I can't protest. I'm trapped here. That man has finally shown his true colours. He is using me to settle his gambling debt. Marrying me off to a sixty year old maniac. I am not a commodity. 

Angry tears welled up in my eyes. I have never felt so helpless. How could he do this to me? What am I supposed to do now? I can't send any messages outside as they will be intercepted. I have to figure something out fast.

Days passed and I was just trapped in my house. There were guards around all the windows and room entrances. My mother's library was the only place where I could find some peace as it had only one way - in or out. The ventilators of the library were too high up for any one to reach. And if I could reach them, they were too small for me to squeeze into. All the possible escape routes were blocked. I was running out of time and I still haven't figured out anything.

Laxita's Mansion

A week later, I was in my library, reading a book. Actually, I was pretending to read and was thinking of possible escapes. Suddenly, I heard a commotion and saw that Vanya and Yash have come to meet me. As soon as I saw her, I ran to hug her.

She hugged me back and said, "You never arrived at the palace so I figured something was wrong..."

I told them everything which has happened in the past few days. While listening to me, their bloods boiled.

"How dare he do something like that? Tell us how we can help," Yash said in anger.

"The worst part is - you both can't get me out of here. But you can still help me..."

"How? Tell us we would do everything in our power," Vanya replied.

"I want you to send a message to Nakul for me."

I went and took out a few letters which I had written.

"Since, he's at the borders, I don't know if all of them will be delivered to him safely. Send them one by one and wait for his reply. Yash, write a letter as a crown prince to urge him to come back."

"But Laxu, what can he do?"

"Yash, how is the condition at the borders. Is it really that dire that he has to be present there as an army commander?"

"Currently, there is no major threat. He's staying there to monitor the situation. But he doesn't have to be present there in person."

"Then the problem's solved. He's my fiancé so technically he's family. He can interfere and say that our parents had made a promise for our marriage. No one can refute that. Since, he's at the borders, my uncle has pulled off such a stunt."

They nodded in understanding. After that, they took my letters and left. It will take maximum 3-4 days for the letter to reach him and another 3-4 days for him to come back. So, even in the worst circumstances, he can come back at least by the end of next week. Now all I have to do is wait. Wait until he rescues me. I'm sure he won't ignore my letters.

But I was wrong. Four weeks have passed since then and now, my wedding is in the next two weeks. I have waited for his reply for so long that I didn't even think of any other alternatives if he didn't arrive. By this time, I was doubtful that he was coming.

Vanya came back the very next day and was visibly very tensed.

"He hasn't replied to any of the letters. We sent him all your letters and additionally, we also sent our letters, asking him to come back. Yash even issued a order for him but there has been no reply. Maybe Nakul is so complacent because he knows that he won't suffer any major consequences by ignoring the crown prince's orders..."

"Or maybe he doesn't want to come back because he's happy that I'm getting married and now he won't have to deal with me anymore..."

Tears welled up in my eyes at this realization. He hates me. He hates me so much that he doesn't care if I live or die. Everyone knows that I will slowly wither away if I get married to that person. After marriage, my so called husband will treat me like his private property and I would have no right to oppose. Curse these rules and traditions. I can't even speak my own mind. I can't deny if I don't want to get married. I thought that he would help me. He would listen to my desperate requests. I literally begged him to help me so I thought that maybe he will help me out of our years of friendship. But no, he has left me on my own. Why was I in love with such a heartless person. Now I hate him with all my might. But what's the use? It might be too late now...

"Hey, we'll figure something out. You have to stay strong"

I nodded and said, "Can you please leave? I want to be alone right now..."

"Alright, I am leaving but don't lose hope. We will think of something. Anything. We won't let you marry that man. If you need me, call for me. No one can stop the crown princess. And if I don't hear from you, I will come back in a few days."

I nodded and she hugged me. I am so glad to have her as my friend. After sometime, she left. Now, I was alone with my thoughts. For the first time, I had no plans or ideas to tackle this problem. I was feeling so hopeless and lonely. Mother and father, I miss you. Although, I miss you every single day, I am missing you a lot today. What shall I do maa? Please show me the way.

I was sitting near a glass window and was crying when I saw a light from the corner of a bookshelf. I wiped my tears and got up to get a closer look. It was a necklace with a pendant.

I realized that the gate of the library was open. I ran to close the library door from inside. I came back to get a closer look at the pendant. It was a pendant I have never seen before. It had a unique design and it was glowing. Suddenly, it stopped glowing and then my sight fell on a parchment and a book on which it was kept. What are these things and why have I never noticed them before?

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Hello lovely people💕

I hope you are enjoying the story so far. The next chapter is going to have a big revelation and Laxita's life is going to change forever. So, stay tuned😌