"Bound by Destiny"

Chapter Three:The Unifying Force

Sitting low in the sky, a warm golden light streamed from the sun down on Mehta territory that was lush. It was an off day for Arjun and he walked with Priya among sweet-smelling blossoms. For once, their arguments became less frequent and replaced by a truce whose trust wasn’t total.

Arjun looked at his colleague slowly turning around as she went through line after line of flowering roses. “Are you fond of gardening?”

For weeks, Priya had opened her eyes to give him a rare but genuine smile. “It is satisfying.” That’s better. Something is fulfilling about sowing plants and watching them grow till they are fully developed.

Arjun trembled silently too much for his calmness "I can see why you love it so much better than me. Since when do we start planting plants together?

Priya looked back at him, unable to hide her surprise “That would be nice.”

The time they spent in the garden marked a slight yet important change in their relationship. Laughter accompanied stories while creating a small herb garden together. Though such kind of project might appear infantile, however, it helped bridge the divide between them. By planting seeds into soil and digging each other mutual understanding began touching each other.

The days turned into weeks and these loved-up occasions started to occur more and more frequently. Arjun began scheduling morning walks throughout the estate as well as breakfasts with Priya. They started finding common interests and goals, which laid the foundation for mutual respect and trust.

One evening, Priya approached Arjun with a plan. “I’ve been thinking,” she murmured gently, “What if we did something charitable? We have the means; many others could benefit from them too.”

Arjun was skeptical but also interested. “What were you thinking?”

“My idea is a literacy program for poor children in Mumbai,” said Priya with sparkling eyes. “I have always been driven by social issues; I think that we can make a difference.”

Although unsure, Arjun agreed to give it a try. As they worked on it, their project merged Priya’s journalistic skills and commitment with Arjun’s business acumen and resources. In this process, they got to know each other better than ever before in new ways as well as their relationship grew beyond just being friends’ namesake taglines; they were partners on purpose.

"Today you are great," Arjun told her one afternoon after a very successful meeting with potential sponsors.

Priya shone with a warmth she had felt long ago. “Hi Arjun, thanks . Without your support I could not have done it”.

Collectively, many children experienced hope and connectedness. Late-night banters full of thoughts and laughter were so natural to them. They started seeing one another as actual participants in their enterprise with each one having a distinctive capability in working on projects together.

However, this newfound peace was soon put to test by an incident. One evening while Arjun was watching the television series the phone rang suddenly making him jump. His father’s voice which used to be always so calm and collected now faltered. “Arjun, something is wrong here, the competitor company is going to take over one of our major offices by force.”

His heart stopped for a moment, and he gasped. This happened especially when it came to his family and their company’s future which hung in the balance. He dropped the receiver, mind whirling with strategies and backup plans.

She noticed his worried look immediately when he entered her in the study room. “What’s wrong Arjun?”

He hesitated and then underlined how serious it was. “We are in deep trouble as an organization; we need all hands on deck.”

Priya looked at him intently as if she wanted to hear every word that he said.“We will manage it together. We have handled everything else up until now.

Arjuna could not believe his luck or her kindness: “Thank you very much, Priya,” I don’t think you can understand the amount your support means to me.”

We took part in different activities during the next three days. In the evening, they stayed up late to brainstorm and prevent the takeover. They discovered that deceit and betrayal threatened to tear them apart when they dug deep into the issues at stake.

It was on one of those nights when Priya was reading through some records in a dimly lit study that she saw something shocking. Pointing to him with it, she said, “Arjun look.”

He flipped through them and his eyes bulged out. “This is beyond our range. If true, this exposes us to more risks than we thought earlier.

Fear mingled with resolution in Priya’s heart. “What’s our next move?”

With an expression of cold resolve, Arjun watched her steadily.” We have to act fast; everything has changed.”

Surprisingly enough, a person from their company worked for a competitor. The final big betrayal shattered Arjun’s already fragile confidence. She needed Priya’s skills as an investigator now more than ever before as she raced against time to find out who had leaked information and gatheredthereddence that would prevent the take-over bid.

So many emotions were boiling within me that I could not even sleep. But he is a person whose ancestors, though destroyed by him, are still able to defend Arjun’s front. Priya at first gave up but later found the courage to aid Arjun in his fight against the common enemy.

They had reached the extreme limit of their relationship after the ordeal of dealing with falsehoods. Every realization caused them to raise the stakes further and open new avenues for them. When they picked up final proof that night, Priya turned to Arjun defiantly staring at him.” “Arjun, this is possible; let us remain strong.”

He was shivering all over because of how much he liked Priya.“I believe in us Priya; we can pull through this.”

By laying bare his lies and stopping the takeover bid at the last hours they faced the traitor. The victory mixed with disappointment at how close they came to losing everything left a bitter taste in their mouths.

From being business partners, they had gone through the toughest wars of their lives.

When Arjun turned to Priya and said, “Priya, without you, I couldn’t have done this.” He looked at her suddenly with gratitude as if he had finally realized she was the one who truly mattered in his life. You showed me what perseverance and loyalty mean.”

But there is a hint of happiness on Priya’s face while smiling. We can do it,” she said.

That period of their journey together has been like a tornado that strengthened them even more forcing each one to hold the other in higher esteem than ever before. They knew this therefore for their common stand they had prepared themselves for anything else that would come next because it would only strengthen their union and make love grow deeper.

“This is our beginning” Arjun whispered, holding his wife.

For some time now Priya has found mutual interest but what matters most is that she has got a place for a shared future where she seems satisfied about it.