Authors Note: I DO NOT, in any way condone violence. This scene was written to show the trials and tribulations certain women face.

॥The Wrong One॥ 

A loud thud echoed around the room as Kayana was flung towards the opposing wall.

"You will not talk about that boy again Kayana, I have told you, you are the honour of this family,." Ryda took a menacing step forward towards his cowering daughter, who lay slumped on the floor holding her hand to her struck cheek. "I will not let you tarnish this family's good name!" He roared over his wife's pitiful pleas at begging him to stop.

"Pita ji, I love him." She whispered quietly. She was tired. Tired of always being pushed around and thinking of her culture before all else. She had always acted to keep everyone happy, but when had anyone thought of her happiness? When was the last time she well and truly smiled? And wasn't afraid 

With Raian her heart whispered to her. Kayana's resolve was strong. She wanted, no, needed Raian. How could her father lie to Ionido ji and Raian?

Ryda had begun to turn around to stalk out of the room but stopped mid stride hearing heard Kayana's confession.  

"No you don't." He simply said with a tone of finality, without turning back around.

"Pita ji-"

"NO YOU DON'T!" His fists closed tightly, the skin stretching to a white over his knuckles, his fingernails surely leaving  crescent shaped marks on his palm. He raised his arm to strike her once again for her callow behavior when Kayana kneling in front of him, her hands placed together as if in prayer as her head tilted up to look into her father's eyes.

"Please Pita ji! You told him a year! You said yes!" Sobs racked her body as she continued pleading. "Pita ji please! I love him! Please!"

Somewhere during this, the scarf around Kayana's head had fallen, but Kayana was too far gone to notice.

Ryda's eyes softened internally as he looked at Kayana. His dear, sweet Kayana. His child and the honour of his family. How could he have let this go on for so long? When he first found out about Kayana and Raian he had wanted to put a stop to it at once, but Kenta had asked him to wait, to allow their daughter a sense of freedom before the undoubted imprisonment in the form of the holy bonding they called marriage. He regretted that decision. He should have stopped this when he had the chance. But now, he had no other choice. This was for the best. Ryda's eyes hardened again as he gazed at the tears falling from Kayana's eyes.

"You will marry Vodia. You will learn to love him and you will be happy." And with that, Ryda left the room, leaving his wife to pick up the pieces of his broken girl.

Kenta lowered herself gently beside Kayana as she watched her heart break in two.  

"Beti, shh, it will all be alright." And that's all it took for Kayana to lean into her mother and let out all her anger and frustration 

At the end, tears streamed down Kayana's face in rapid succession but no voice came out as Kenta held her baby 

Kayana was no longer wailing or thinking but was simply crying. She cried for what she thought could have been.

"Mata ji, why?" She managed to croak out.

Kenta turned Kayana to face her, her face still the cool mask of a perfect lady. But that façade slipped as she saw the defeated look on Kayana's face. A tear rushed down her face as she rushed to wipe it away before Kayana could see 

"This is what's best for you Kayana."

Grabbing onto her mother's shoulders, Kayana shook her,  politeness had long since left her mind. The only thing she could think about was the broken promises and lies that had been told to Raian and how heartbroken he would be once he came back and found she was gone. Married off to another against her will.

But that was the way of Kairya.

"Please Mata ji, speak to Pita ji, do not do this to me." She begged, trying once again to fight for a futile cause.

Seeing her mother slowly shake her head, Kayana withdrew her arms and wrapped them around herself. She rocked slowly as she continued to beg. "Please Mata ji, please."

Kenta knew she had to steel her heart for what she was now about to say, but she had to do it.

"Vodia's father is coming to see your father tomorrow. He will bring Vodia. Be ready to meet him."

And with that, Kenta also left her daughter, on her own. 

A sense of abandonment washed over Kayana as she lay on her own. Her mind rushed to think of ways to run, to hide, to do something so she wouldn't have to go through with this act. She would not only be deeply hurting Raian and  herself but, there would also be  another life that she would be ruining, and her conscience would not let it go.

But she couldn't run nor could she hide. She knew she couldn't. She wouldn't. She was doomed to this life. There was no way out for her. Though she denied the acceptance now, she knew she would have to deal with the consequences of her actions sooner rather than later.

Standing up on shaky legs, Kayana made her way to the mirror on her dresser. Standing in front of the mirror was a girl who seemed to be desecrated, her entire being called out betrayal, as a large red print began to appear on her face. But this was her now. Stripped of her rights.

Slowly, she reached her hand up to the scarf that had fallen and pulled it back over her head.

This was her life

॥The Wrong One॥ 

The next morning, Kayana padded down the stairs down the hall from her room, her face was as pale as her eyes, which were red from the previous nights anguish. Dressed in a dark blue skirt and a purple top so dark it looked black, her mood had begun to feel like the environmental feature the colours emobodied. Brown hair left hanging infront of her face;, Kayana seemed more pale than usual.

Earlier that morning, Kayana had lay awake in her bed, her mouth stinging from the hit it had taken as her mind reeled imagining the endless scenerios and possibilities.  

Did Raian know what was happening? Was he in on everything? Was that why he wasn't worried? No, he couldn't have known, could he? Why didn't her mother help her?

Kayana could not remember most of the night after the offence, she had, infact, blacked out after her mother had left and had simply floated in a dream-like stance trance through the remainder of the night. Which lead her to think, had it really happened? But then her cheek would sting and she'd be brought a horrendous reminder of what her life was now reduced to.

Being the wife of another., bBearing his children, looking after his family while leaving her own world behind.

But isn't that what she had wanted? Yes, in the beginning she thought, but now, now she only wanted Raian. She wanted him to tell her that she had simply fallen and knocked her face on the cabinet, the sink, anything, as long as it made the inevitable truth no longer a reality.

Her father had struck her. Never had he done such a thing, not even in his angriest times, and yet, yesterday he had not even hesitated. All because of this boy. This Vodia. His name rolled around in her mind in disgust; , because of him she had lost the love of her life, the respect of her father and the love of her mother. She hated him already.

 A rustling of skirts brought Kayana back into the room she was standing in. The kitchen. Even sub-consciously she had sought the comfort of her mother. The same mother who had left her.

Seating herself on the cream and steel stool that accompanied the island in the middle of the room, she waited. In her periphial vision she began to see yellow, as she looked she noticed Ccovered in a pale yellow dress, was Kenta. As she walked,  the long pieces of woven fabric  brushed against the floor.  Her hair bounced as she gaily glided towards Kayana.

"Come on now beti, you can't wear that! Oh heavens no! Come on now, go change, you've to meet Vodia in a couple of hours," A quick, slight shove here had Kayana standing up from her seat, "You must look your best, come along now, I'll help you."

She was trying to make her forget about last night, about her cowardly retreat when I had needed her the most. Kayana continued walking, her mother's hand on the small of her back, guiding her back up the stairs and into her room, only leaving once she was safely seated on the immacuately made up bed.

Being awake all night gives you time to kill.

Kenta began pawing through Kayana's clothes, "Look at all these pretty dresses and skirts you have! And you choose the colours resembling a storm! Come on now Kayana, this is the happiest day of your life! You get to meet your husband, the man who'll hold your hand through all your tough decisions. Whom you'll sleep next to each night," At this, Kayana's hand which had been rubbing the ring Raian had given her clamped down onto it, "Who will, one day, father your children. The man you'll spend the rest of your life with, contently." Her mother had continued, oblivious to her reaction.

"This isn't my dream." She whispered.

"You'll live tremendously! He's very wealthy, you know, Vodia's father, very influential also. Did you know,"

"This isn't my dream Mata ji," Kayana repeated, louder this time.

Not missing a beat, Kenta continued speaking.

"Your father and he had met at a conference he had attended and year or two back, they had hit it off, your father had also met Vodia. A wonderful boy, he had called him. And you know how difficult it is to impress,"

"Mata ji, please, stop." Kayana spoke, her voice breaking, but not speaking very loudly.

Even now, at her weakest moment, Kayana could feel the pressure of being the perfect lady caving in on her.The pressure of being an only child, of all the eyes of society judging her and her reaction to everything. Society and it's rules and regulations dictating her moves, even when she wished she could scream and fight for what she truly believed in.  

Why should she even think about her parents feelings when they hadn't even considered hers?

Because you're helpless, a voice whispered in her mind, which she realised was hers. You can't bear to see their carefully upheld reputation fall because of their most prized possession, you.

Kenta took her hand, causing Kayana to jump violently from the shock.  

Laying down the clothes she had already picked out for her daughter next to her, she kneeled infront of her.

"Beti, as you get older, you'll see that what we're doing is for your own good, we're trying to keep you looked after, even when we're gone. Trust me."

That's what I did. Kayana thought as a lone tear fell down her cheek as she, instead, nodded.

Patting Kayana's hair, Kenta leant into her child for a hug, Kayana's stiffness not bothering her a bit. "That's my good girl." She kissed her head. "Your clothes are laid out beside you, change into them, have a bit of time for yourself, then come downstairs in two hours. I won't be needing your help in setting up." And with that, Kenta left a breaking Kayana alone. Again. 

Wiping her eyes calmly, Kayana remembered something her mother had said when she was a child, "Kayana, real ladies do not rush, they do not chase after things, they wait for things to come to them." And that's what Kayana did.

Changing into what her mother had chosen for her to wear, she sat on her bed. Her mind quiet, but rushing at the same time. How she wished she could turn back time. She sat, still, on her bed until her mother came up to her at noon, pulling her towards her dresser.

As Kenta began messing with Kayana's hair, she felt an unusual stab of guilt at the future she was practically shoving her daughter into, her only consolation had been her husband’s constant reassurance of Kayana's wellbeing at her in-laws that had made her follow blindly, no questions asked.

Arranging Kayana's hair around her head so that it fell in a cloud-like abandon that framed her face, she smiled. Kayana was gorgeous and Vodia was a lucky man.

Pulling the red scarf over Kayana's hair, she laid one last kiss upon her head before she showcased her daughter to the man she would be bound to for the rest of her life.

"Come along Beti, they are here."

As Kenta dragged Kayana along with her, the latter felt nothing. She did not feel the excitement that a girl in her position should feel, nor the nervousness or concern, that maybe her hair didn't look quite right, or she had a pimple on her nose. The truth of the matter was, that Kayana just simply did not care.

Ofcourse she would not embarrass her parents, her social restrictions were ingrained deep into her subconscious that she'd have to make an overly conscious effort to hurt them. And she couldn't do that. But she couldn't be there. She couldn't share herself with any other man. So she locked herself away. The way she was with Raian was now only a distant memory in her mind, locked away into the deepest depths of her soul.

The Kayana now was simply an ingenuous shell of who she had once been.

A heavy arm settled itself onto Kayana's shoulder causing her to flinch slightly. Glancing slightly to the left, but not too much that it would be considered disrespectful, she realised it was her father, the realisation making her flinch more than the contact.

"Beti, this is Vodia."

Without knowing when, Kayana and her mother had made their entrance into the hallway off the lounge. Her father had met her there, attempting to portray a united front she thought bitterly.

A slight squeeze alerted Kayana to the situation at hand as she felt the barrier around her tense a little, waiting for her comment.

Kayana made sure her scarf was placed firmly around her head as she bowed, remembering her place, a role she should never have forgotten. How stupid was she to think that maybe she could sway her father?

Deep in her own thoughts, Kayana did not notice her mother leading her into the kitchen, speaking a hasty excuse as she moved, guiding her child with one hand surreptitiously.

"Kayana, beti, you must atleast try to make a good impression," Kenta chastised her, a tender expression on her face. "I know you're upset, but we're doing this for you, for your future."  

Laying a hand on Kayana's, Kenta opened her mouth again, but stopped, lifting her hand up.  

Gesturing towards the ring on Kayana's thumb, she raised an immaculate eyebrow.  

"What is this?"

Kayana pulled her hand away from her mother's prying eyes as she continued to look down, placing them on her lap.  

"Nothing."

Twitching her mouth as she did whenever she did not like something, Kenta moved back, speaking with a harder tone.  

"You will get up Kayana, and you will serve the tea and biscuits like a good girl would. You will smile, you will blush and you will shy away from him as every other girl would. You will forget Raian and get ready to begin life anew with Vodia. Get up." And with that, Kenta left the room, pulling her own scarf atop her head.

Kayana could hear the quiet murmurings of the other room while she took deep breaths. This is for Raian she thought, this is for his dreams, for his future. I will do this for him.

Picking up the tray she squared her shoulders, a small act of defiance, one she could afford to do, and she coerced herself into taking the remaining steps that would plunge her into her future. An ocean where she knew not how to swim.

॥The Wrong One॥ 

"So it's settled then, they will be wed within the month!"

Madkun Lakin's chuckle bellowed throughout the Drewetts house, his mirth contagious to some, but not to Kayana as she sat dutifully next Vodia on the two-seater couch.

"As you wish Lakin ji." Her father joined in, unceremoniously accepting the proposal.

A cheer rose up from Mr Lakin, a joyous sound that made her mother laugh daintily behind her hand, more than her father had ever accomplished, and Ryda to smile a full, teethy grin.

Atleast they were happy.

As their father's shook hands, Vodia turned to Kayana, who still had her head down.

"Here." His deep voice reached her ears, a certain ruggedness that portrayed his maturity though his years were minimal.

He held a small, round sweet in his hand, a creamy colour that Kayana recognised as being a Ladoo. A tradition in Kairya was that once a marriage was finalised, the male would feed his fiancé a sweet, an act that symoblised his role in keeping her happy, 'sweet' and providing for her so that she may never be left hungry. A tradition that Kayana thought would be fulfilled with Raian.

Opening her mouth slightly, she took a tiny bite, enough to make a dent in the little ball. As she closed her mouth, Madkun let out another woot of joy.

As everybody laughed and talked, Kayana heard her father say, "A week Lakin ji, the marriage will be in a week." 

॥The Wrong One॥