(#Book 1 of Fates Series)
Sanskriti Chauhan, the princess of Udaipur, has been a rebellious royal kid ever since she started breathing. Being groomed to be a perfect wife for a modern day king before you could even spell your name wasn't something s...
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"Mumma!"
My heart skipped a beat as a cheerful Vedansh sprinted towards me, calling me his mom with a huge grin on his face.
"Good morning, little lion." I hugged him back with a similar enthusiasm as his.
"Haww! No hugs for Papa?" Adi feigned a look of hurt on his face with furrowed eyebrows and lips curved downwards. Vedansh looked a bit puzzled at his dad's unusual behaviour. I can relate. If my gloomy father asked me for a hug with a teasing expression, I'll probably be admitting him in the mental asylum. Adi rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around our hugging figure.
"You guys are choking me!" Vedansh managed to spit the words out. We laughed at his antics.
"Thu! Thu! Thu! Kisi ki nazar na lage mere baccho ko.." Kaki Sa looked at us with teary eyes. Looking around, I found, the entire Rathore family was emotional at our interaction. Looking back at Vedansh, I raised my eyebrow when I saw him signing something to his father with his eyes. Both of them giggled softly before I felt a pair of lips on both sides of my cheeks.
(Getting rid of evil eyes.)
I wiped my cheeks with a fake disgusted expression making Vedansh laugh with his head falling back.
"I love you Mumma!" He said softly. His eyes were teary as his nose was pink now.
"Main cheez hi aisi hu.. pyaar to ho hi jaana tha.." I flipped my hair back, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
(I am just so lovable. You can't help but fall for me.)
~•~•~
The day passed on with a number of rituals and ceremonies lining up. As a wedding gift, Kaka Saheb announced the date of our coronation ceremony. Ofcourse, we panicked. What kind of weddings gift is a shit tone of responsibilities? This was the first question that crossed our mind. However, we soon realised that we could postpone our duties but not neglect them. We finally agreed upon it.
The next day, Vedansh got a few of his classmates home as he apparently wanted to 'flaunt' his mumma to all his friends. I couldn't be happier than witnessing this innocent soul being proud of me, though he met me only a couple of months ago. I couldn't help but compare him with my parents. They practically knew me all my life but never once tried to look into my accomplishments and achievements. All they cared was how better Meera di was than me. Though I knew I was wrong, my ego swelled knowing what happened with Meera di. She wasn't, afterall, as perfect as she portrays herself to be. As much as I wanted to call for a press meeting and let the world know Meera Chauhan wasn't a saint, I couldn't sacrifice my family's name. Moreover, it was Arunaditya's secret to keep. Not mine. If he found me worthy of keeping his secrets safe, I wouldn't dare let his trust break.
Sometimes I think, if I was in Meera di's place and she was in mine, would she have had accepted and loved my child as much as I do to Vedansh. Ofcourse, the answer was negative. She couldn't even look after her own son, let alone be mine. I sometimes wonder, what made her hate me the way she did. What makes my family despise me the way they do? I wanted answers to my questions. That would give me a final closure. Therefore, I decided to follow Dada Saheb for Pag Phera to Udaipur.
The Rathores were worried sick when I let them no about my departure. After witnessing my hatred and hostile behaviour day before yesterday, they were in constant fear of mis-behaviour by my parents. They wouldn't welcome me warmly, I know, but I would not breath in peace untill I get an exact answer.
"What the fuck is she doing here?!" My mother growled when I entered the living room. My father too had a vicious look of hatred in his eyes.
"I am not here to fucking celebrate Diwali with you all." I retorted. "All I need is honest answers to my questions an I'll leave you the fuck alone for all your life." I tried to appear calm when all I was feeling was a fire burning inside me.
"Why do you guys hate me?!" I got straight to the point.
"Because you're a fucking piece of s-" my mother was cut of by my father.
"That's all. You did whatever you wanted to do for all these years. For God Sake! Let her know what she deserves to know and leave in peace!" He growled out. Only if he had done this all those years ago.
"I'll tell you everything. Take a seat, Sanskriti." He told me. I took a seat silently.
"Ragini and I had a huge period of arguments between us, a few months after Meera was born. I was young and afraid of taking responsibilities while she was overburdened with duties too. I began running away from everything- relationships, duties, issues, everything. I found solace in one of our maid's daughter, Leela. Subtle looks, healthy flirtings, turned into stronger feelings and games of lust. She began falling for me while I began using her for finding peace and releasing sexual frustration. Unwillingly, she got pregnant. We didn't have many abortion options those days. Abortion was not a secret process. Letting her go to the hospital meant letting people know about the affair I had with her. She wanted to keep the baby too. She resigned from her position and left to live in a small village on the outskirts of the town. Three years later, she came back with a little girl in her embrace. She told me how she was diagnosed with a fatal disease and was going to die soon. She asked me to take care of my daughter after she passes away. A few days after her arrival, she really did pass away, leaving behind my illegitimate daughter. Sanskriti Chauhan." He whispered out.
A tear slipped my eyes as I sat there frozen. This explains everything. I was an unwanted illegitimate child. Mrs. Chauhan didn't like me because I was a living proof of her husband's infidelity. Meera di hated me because I was her half sister. My dad hated me because I constantly reminded him of his mistakes. However, hearing my own father say I was a mistake, an illegitimate child, hurted me more than expected. My mother, who I knew nothing about, was already dead.
Did Dada Saheb know about this.. heinous act? Did the Rathores know about my illegitimacy? Did they pity me for my ill fate for all these years? Did Arunaditya know about this too? If not, what will they do when they get to know about this? Will they still accept me as their daughter in law? Will Arunaditya still have the same look in his eyes or will they be replaced by pity and sympathy? What about Vedansh? Will he still be proud of me? How about the entire world? Will I loose everything within a fraction of second, once the truth is out?
Now, I regret. I regret coming here. I regret letting my curiosity over rule my conscious mind and finding answers. I regret having a birth that always had a constant sword of humility hand above my head.
A few seconds passed as black dots began clouding my vision. Before I knew, I passed out. ~•~•~•~
#3 in family and #4 in India? 6k reads?! That's so freaking awesome! Thank you so much for giving this book a chance. I hope I don't disappoint you.
Also, sorry for irregular updates. It's one of my crucial years in academics and I have my exams lined up for the next 4 months. However, I am trying my level best to think about plots and find sometime to type them out.
