Married But Why?

Ananya's POV Loving someone is the best feeling in this world. A feeling that can’t be described in words. But you know when you get back loved by the same person, it is a blessing. A blessing that not everyone gets in love. I also loved someone from the bottom of my heart in the hopes of getting him back, but what I received was just humiliation, comparison, low self-esteem, and whatnot. But who am I to blame him? It was my mistake that I bore everything, whatever he was doing, for the sake of love. The love that only I felt for him. He never loved me. Because if he did, I wouldn’t be sitting here waiting alone in the marriage pavilion for him. I knew he wouldn’t come, but deep down my heart was not ready to accept that. I wanted him to feel the same way I felt just for once. For that, I told him I would marry someone else. I was hoping he would say that he loved me and didn’t want me to go away from him. I just wanted to hear it once, and I would have left with him but here I am. A broken and loser girl who has nothing left in her life. I never wanted to take advantage of someone to get him. But they say people lose their minds and do stupid things in love. I also did that. Today I am getting married. I am not happy. I should say I can’t feel anything. I don’t even know why I am sitting here. I haven’t seen the person whom I am marrying for once. Because marrying him was not in my plan, but it seems God changed his plans for me. He wants me to marry a person whom I have never met. I don’t even know his name. Why? Because I am stupid. I didn’t bother to download his picture from w******p since I never wanted to marry. I was so hopeful to hear back from my love. I was lost in my thoughts when I felt someone’s presence and I realized him sitting beside me. I closed my eyes to calm myself and opened them again. I didn’t bother to look at him. The priest started chanting mantras and with each word my hope was dying. Soon we stood for the Jaimala (Garland ceremony). He put the garland on my neck and so did I, but my senses were nowhere close to work. We sat again, and my parents came for the Kanyadan (A ritual in which parents hand over their daughter to the groom) ceremony. After that, we stood and started taking pheras (Walking around the holy fire and vow to each other). Once we were done, we sat down again and the priest forwarded the plate to the groom and asked him to tie the nuptial chain around my neck. The first time, I felt him getting closer to me and I realized I was still alive. I can feel his breath on my neck while he tied the nuptial chain. Then the priest asked him to apply vermilion powder to my head partition. My sister came and held my maangtika (Forehead Ornament) and I closed my eyes when he did that. Suddenly, I felt some powder on my nose and opened my eyes, and realized that, by mistake, the vermilion powder had fallen on my nose. In our culture, this is considered auspicious and people believe it shows the love of the couple. “Now, you are both husband and wife. You can take the blessings of your elders.”, The priest announced, and I finally became a wife and God knows whose wife. We both stood and walked to my parents and bent down to touch their feet. At that time, I touched his hands and looked at him. I knew that very moment that I should run, but where? For a second I forgot to breathe. I made the biggest mistake of my life. I haven’t married to any random person. I am married to my biggest rival, Mr. Rudra Pratap Singh. Am I dreaming or is it a joke? What the hell is he doing here? I wanted to drag him out of the palace but couldn’t because now I have to live with him. Ananya, what the hell you did? You are married to your biggest business rival. Wait, not only me. He also married me. But why?