My destined wife!

（1） Destiny

A vast wedding hall shimmered under the glow of crystal chandeliers.

Every corner had been meticulously prepared for the ceremony.

The entire space was adorned with white and red flowers, their fragrance hanging softly in the air.

Guests filled the hall, seated on rows of white chairs, engaged in low, cheerful conversations.

In the center stood a beautifully decorated mandap, waiting.

The baraat was expected any moment.

Near the grand entrance, a few relatives stood holding flower trays, eagerly waiting to welcome the groom's procession.

In a quiet bridal room on the other side of the hall, a young woman sat dressed as a bride.

But there was no joy on her face.

Only sadness.

Her eyelashes were damp, her eyes distant as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, lost in a storm of thoughts she couldn't escape.

Just then, the door opened.

Two girls walked in hurriedly.

The bride quickly wiped her tears.

She forced a smile and looked at them.

"Maya! Why are you so late? I've been waiting for you."

Maya stepped forward - breathtaking in a red floral embroidered lehenga.

Deep dimples framed her cheeks when she moved, her large dark eyes alive with warmth.

Bangles chimed softly on one wrist while a sleek watch rested on the other.

Her curled hair fell freely down her back, effortlessly beautiful - the kind of beauty that could settle into someone's heart at first glance.

Beside her stood another girl in an elegant green anarkali suit - Anvi.

Maya immediately pulled the bride into a hug.

"Oh come on, Kavya di... what was the hurry to get married?" she complained softly. "Bade papa said you still had two years! My college isn't even finished yet!"

Kavya gave a faint smile.

"When Papa decided... I had to agree."

Then she looked toward the other girl.

"Anvi, how are you?"

"I'm good, di," Anvi said warmly, her eyes sparkling. "But look at you! You're looking exactly like a doll."

Kavya let out a soft breath. "Really? You both look beautiful too."

Maya dropped into the chair in front of her, studying her face carefully.

"Di... you are happy, right?"

Kavya's smile faltered.

Just for a second.

"Y-yes... why are you asking?"

Maya leaned slightly forward.

"Because two months ago you were telling me about someone... Karan. And now suddenly this marriage? I don't even know the groom's name."

Kavya's fingers tightened slightly in her lap.

"Maybe... this was destiny."

Maya frowned.

"But who is he? There are so many bodyguards outside. Is he some politician or something? And what's our future jiju's name?"

Kavya's voice came out quieter than before.

"Atharva Raisinghani."

Anvi's eyes widened dramatically.

"What?! You're marrying Atharva Raisinghani? Oh my God!"

Maya shot her a look. "Why are you so excited like you already know everything? Who is he?"

Anvi leaned closer, almost whispering in awe.

"He is the hottest man in this world. A huge businessman. Girls literally die to talk to him... and di, you got him without even trying."

Maya immediately turned to Kavya.

"Di, do you have his picture? Show me!"

"I... I would, but my phone..." Kavya looked around distractedly.

Anvi quickly pulled out her own phone.

"I'll show you. He's all over social media."

Within seconds, Maya and Anvi were scrolling through pictures and videos.

Business summits.Golf tournaments.

Basketball matches.

Everywhere - Atharva Raisinghani.

Powerful. Untouchable. Viral across the internet.

Kavya glanced at them once... when suddenly her own phone buzzed.

A message.

Her expressions shifted ever so slightly.

Quickly - discreetly - she typed a reply and locked the screen, then looked back at the girls.

Maya exhaled, impressed. "Nice, di. He's seriously talented. You're actually very lucky."

A faint, almost broken smile touched Kavya's lips.

"Maybe... I'm the most unlucky."

Maya and Anvi exchanged a sharp look.

Kavya's eyes had turned glassy again.

Silently, Maya gestured to Anvi to shut the door.

Click.

Maya slid down to sit on her knees in front of Kavya.

"Kavya di... what happened? Are you hiding something?"

That was all it took.

Kavya's composure shattered.

Tears spilled down as she grabbed Maya's hand tightly.

"Maya... I can't do this. I can't marry anyone except Karan. I really love him... Starting everything from the beginning with someone else... it will be very difficult for me."

Maya's face softened with worry.

"Then why did you say yes to this marriage, di?"

Kavya's voice trembled.

"What could I do? Papa threatened... he said if I refused, he would take his own life. I had no choice."

Maya gently wiped her tears with a tissue.

Anvi stood quietly, watching everything unfold.

"I'll talk to Bade Papa," Maya said firmly. "Maybe he'll agree."

Kavya slowly shook her head.

"It's too late. All the guests are here. Everyone knows. There's no point now."

Maya's brows pulled together.

"So you'll spend your whole life crying like this?"

"I don't know..." Kavya whispered. "But I will talk to Atharva once. Maybe he'll stop this marriage. I tried many times before the wedding, but I never got to speak to him even once."

She looked at Maya - almost pleading.

"Just help me once... Before the rituals start... bring Atharva to my room. Please."

Maya nodded slowly.

"I will."

But Anvi's voice cut through the air.

"I don't think he'll listen to you."

Both girls turned toward her.

Anvi's expression had grown serious.

"He's not just a normal businessman."

A pause.

Then quietly-

"He's the biggest name in the underworld too. Along with his legal empire... he runs several illegal businesses. Most people don't know."

Maya and Kavya spoke together, stunned-

"What?!"

Anvi nodded grimly.

"Yes."

Maya frowned deeply. "Then how did Bade Papa fix this marriage with such a dangerous man? He must have investigated everything before giving his daughter's hand."

Kavya pressed her fingers to her forehead.

"Papa already knows. He fixed this alliance after seeing his business empire... so I could live a royal life."

Maya shook her head slowly.

"But he's such a dangerous person... who knows how many people he has hurt. And Anvi - how do you know all this?"

Anvi sighed.

"One of my hostel friends is obsessed with him. Her dad and Atharva's dad meet often in business circles. She once proposed marriage too... but Atharva's father refused."

She moved closer to Kavya, her tone softening slightly.

"Kavya di... whatever he is... there has never been any scandal about him using women. No bad affairs. No girlfriends."

A small pause.

"I think... after his family... you might be the first woman to truly enter his life."

And somehow-

That made the air in the room feel even heavier. Maya and Kavya exchanged a quiet, heavy look.

Just then-

Knock. Knock.

A girl's voice came from outside.

"Kavya di... are you ready?"

Maya quickly moved and opened the door. The girl hurried inside.

"Priya! What happened?" Maya asked.

Priya spoke slightly out of breath. "The baraat has arrived... Papa asked me to come check on Kavya di... she's ready, right?"

Without waiting, she walked straight to Kavya.

For a moment, she simply looked at her... then gently placed a small black kajal dot behind Kavya's ear to ward off the evil eye.

"Honestly, I should be happy," Priya said softly, her voice wobbling, "because after you leave, that room will finally be mine..."

Her eyes filled.

"...but I will miss you, di."

She pulled Kavya into a tight hug.

Both of their throats tightened with emotion.

After a moment, Priya pulled back, suddenly brightening mischievously.

"By the way, jiju has two brothers... and both are very handsome. So I'll marry one, Maya di will marry the other... and the three of us sisters will live in the same house!"

Maya immediately raised her hands.

"Whoa, whoa - wait. Not me, sister. You handle both."

Priya pouted. "At least look at them once. They're very cute."

Anvi spoke casually, "You mean Veer and Dhruv?"

Priya blinked in surprise. "Yes! But how do you know?"

Anvi smirked proudly. "I have their whole family's social media IDs."

Priya's eyes lit up. "Seriously? Do they follow you?"

"Not yet," Anvi said with a confident shrug. "But once di gets married, the families will be connected... then they'll have to."

Anvi and Priya giggled and hugged each other excitedly.

Maya, however, looked back at Kavya.

The sadness on her face hadn't moved an inch.

And Maya...could do nothing.

A while later, the three girls stepped out of the room.

-

The wedding rituals had begun.

The groom sat in the mandap, composed and unreadable. Guests filled the chairs in front, all eyes on the ceremony.

Priya subtly nudged Maya and Anvi, signaling toward two men standing nearby in sharp black suits.

Veer and Dhruv.

They were casually taking pictures, talking among themselves - effortless confidence radiating from both.

Anvi leaned closer, whispering dramatically, "Uff... so many handsome men in one family. They're too hot to handle."

Priya nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! I mean, how can anyone choose just one among the three of them?"

Anvi smirked. "That's true... but Atharva is Atharva. Veer and Dhruv come after him."

Priya made a face. "But he's about to become jiju. We can't look at him like that anymore. Let's focus on Veer and Dhruv."

Maya, half-listening to their chatter, instinctively glanced toward Atharva.

And at that exact moment-

Atharva looked up.Their eyes met.

For one suspended second, the world seemed to hold its breath.

Maya quickly looked away.

But Atharva didn't.

His gaze remained fixed on her.

Nearby, Veer frowned slightly. "Where is bhai looking?"

Both brothers followed Atharva's line of sight-

-and spotted Maya.

Together, Veer and Dhruv muttered under their breath, impressed-

"Woow... the girl in red is stunning."

Veer's lips curved. "Come on. Let's go talk."

Dhruv immediately grabbed his arm. "Relax, brother. At least let the wedding start first. The whole night is still left."

Veer's eyes gleamed. "Wanna make a bet?"

Dhruv raised a brow. "About what?"

Veer__"Let's see who gets her contact number first."

Dhruv smirked slowly. "Fine. If I win, you gift me a PS5."

Veer chuckled. "And if I win, you buy me a Versace watch."

Dhruv extended his hand. "Deal."

They shook on it.

Then both brothers turned their attention back toward the mandap - where Atharva was calmly completing each ritual...

...but his mind, for the first time that evening-was no longer entirely on the wedding. For a while, the atmosphere continued like that.

Everyone was busy in their own world - some chatting in groups, some clicking pictures, some listening quietly to the priest's chants.

The air buzzed with celebration.

Until-

After a few minutes, the priest's voice rose clearly,

"Call the bride."

A man nearby nodded and gestured to a few women to go bring her.

Just then, Maya's phone rang.

Frowning slightly, she stepped aside and answered.

"Hello... who's this?"

The voice on the other end came hurried and shaky.

"It's me... Kavya."

Maya straightened instantly. "Kavya di? Whose number is this? Everyone is calling you - come quickly-"

"Maya..." Kavya's voice trembled, breathless. "I ran away with Kunal. I can't do this marriage. I tried... I really tried to convince myself... but I couldn't."

Maya's fingers went cold around the phone.

"Because of Papa, I was ready to sacrifice everything... but I will die alive without Kunal. Please... handle everything there."

Her voice dropped into a whisper.

"This number belongs to the cab driver. I left my phone and everything behind... I'll talk to you later. Till then... please manage."

Click.

The line went dead.

Maya froze.

"Hello? Di- hello-" She pulled the phone away. "Ah, shit..."

Panic flooded her face as she hurried back toward the others.

-

Near the mandap, everyone was still waiting for the bride.

Atharva's sharp gaze briefly landed on Maya.

He noticed.

Her expression had changed.

But Maya was too shaken to notice him noticing her.

She quickly leaned toward Anvi and whispered under her breath,

"Kavya di... has run away."

Anvi's eyes widened. "What? But just a while ago she said she'd marry-"

"I don't know," Maya whispered frantically. "She just called me. If Bade Papa finds out... everything will be destroyed."

Anvi swallowed hard, her voice dropping to a fearful whisper.

"That's the later problem. If this mafia finds out his bride ran away... he'll kill all of us."

Maya's face drained of color.

"God... please help us... what have you done, di..."

Anvi grabbed her arm urgently. "Listen - let's just leave from here."

Maya immediately shook her head. "Everyone's life is in danger. Not just ours."

Anvi looked like she was about to cry. "Mom told me not to come to this wedding... but my brain stopped working and I came to my best friend's sister's wedding. Oh God, please save me... I swear after today I will never look at any guy badly again..."

Maya shot her an exasperated look. "Shut up. We'll think of something. Don't talk negative."

Anvi muttered darkly, "At this rate, we'll only get time to think after reaching heaven..."

Before Maya could respond-

Several women came rushing out from inside.

Breathless.

Panicked.

They hurried to the elder man and whispered something urgently in his ear.

The change in his expression was instant.

The entire hall slowly fell silent.

The man - Kabir - staggered slightly... then sank down onto the floor, clutching his forehead.

Guests began rising from their chairs in confusion.

At the mandap, the groom sat still-

watching.

Carefully.

Another man, Rajvendra, stepped forward, concerned.

"Kabir bhaisaab, what happened? Are you alright?"

Kabir remained seated on the floor, shaken, while family members gathered around him.

Rajvendra's voice hardened. "Where is our daughter-in-law? Why hasn't she come yet?"

A woman - Usha, the bride's mother - spoke with trembling lips,

"Bhaisaab... Kavya is not in the room. We searched everywhere... she's nowhere."

"What?!"

The word cracked through the hall.

In the very next second-

Atharva rose to his feet in the mandap.

Slowly.

Dangerously.

Every head turned toward him.

Shock rippled through the crowd.

Rajvendra's face flushed with fury. "You people couldn't even handle one girl? In front of the entire society you have played with our respect like this! If she didn't want to marry, why did you fix this alliance?"

Behind the crowd, Anvi whispered under her breath,

"...and now the guns will come out."

Rajvendra continued, voice like thunder, "Do you even realize what a huge mistake you all have made? You will have to pay for this."

Arun immediately folded his hands, voice shaking. "Bhaisaab, please forgive us... we made a terrible mistake. We never thought the girl would do something like this..."

Nearby, Priya whispered bitterly, eyes wet,

"Because of di, chachu... papa... all of us are getting insulted. She trapped everyone and ran away with God knows who..."

Maya's patience snapped.

"Priya!" she said sharply, stepping closer. "She tried to tell everyone. But Bade Papa refused to listen. Yes, she shouldn't have done this like this... but what choice did she have? None of you left her any option."

And somewhere ahead-

Atharva Raisinghani was still standing in the mandap.

Silent.Still.But the storm in his eyes...

...had only just begun.