It was just another hot day in the Village of Tamil Nadu. Even though it was a tiny village, it had a population that wasn't proportionate to the land open. Maybe, it would have been enough for the people in the Village if not for the overly domineering wealthy Family, The Ramans.

The Ramans occupied almost all the farming lands available. Most of them were colonized from the poor landowners saying they haven't paid their debts.

Just like any other family that has debts to clear, there existed one such family. Raju Muniyarayar and his wife. They were a low-income family with 20 Acres of land that they have lost to the Ramans because of their lack of knowledge and innocence, just like many others.

All they had, was their only daughter. They wanted to get her married to their mother's friend's family, just like the promise. But, the current generation of that family was already married to the ones they loved.

And the most pleased about it was their daughter, Meenakshi. Meenakshi was just another ordinary village girl who wanted to get married and live happily with her Husband and Family. She believed in love. But her fate had different plans for her.

And now, during the summer, she was wailing and crying due to the pain she had to suffer. She didn't have anyone other than her mother to help her out in the deserted old house.

After a long time, going through that agonizing pain, she saw her. Her innocent and pure baby. Her daughter.

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Anitha turned around, hearing the sound of her little granddaughter giggling while the silent wind is passing by her, causing a few of her hair strands to fall on her face. Smiling at the innocent girl, Anitha held her arms wide open for her little girl. The little girl rushed to her grandmother's arms.

"Patti, When will I meet my parents?" Anitha heard the question she always avoided.

" They will be here soon," she said silently, turning back towards the cooking area. They didn't have luxurious things, neither did they have basic amenities. They had few utensils, that too made of aluminum which many people didn't prefer. Anitha and her Husband wanted to provide a better future for their grandchild, and thus, they knew there was only one way.

And they were hoping that would happen soon.

The little girl sat there silently after hearing the same routine answer from her grandmother every time she inquired about her parents. She wanted to spend time with her parents, just like the rest of the kids in the Village.

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"Katyayani, Don't ever forget that you are betrothed to a boy already." The little girl turned towards her grandmother while sitting next to her on the ground of their kitchen, which was made using mud, without a proper understanding of the words.

Katyayani smiled when she saw her friend approaching her. She was happy that she could finally go back home from the government school they studied in. The government school they went to was not in their Village. It was in a village 10 kilometers far, yet they traveled every day. The students are provided with two meals every day. And, that was the main reason, a considerable number of students were in the school. 

Katyayani didn't want to study. She tried to help her grandparents, but they disagreed with it. They wanted her to learn. After all, it was necessary, considering she needed it in the future. And she agreed to study only because her grandparents could have proper meals, which they used to skip to fill her stomach. 

" Katyayani, do you know that Raghu wants to be your friend? " She heard her friend, Janaki, whispering so that nobody heard them. Katyayani stiffened hearing her friend. She didn't want to have any friends who were of the opposite gender. All she wanted was him to be her friend, her love, her Husband to be.

"Janaki, there is nothing hidden from you. Yet, you still talk about this to me? "Katyayani glared at her only friend.

"Katyayani, all I'm saying is being friends. I'm not asking you to get married to him," Janaki spoke, annoyed at her friend staying away from every boy as if they had a disease that would kill her. It was the opposite. It was Katyayni with the disease. A fever of a boy. A boy she never saw. A boy she never met.

" Leave all that! My grandmother told me his name the other day," Katyayani said, giggling with flushed cheeks.

This caught the attention of Janaki. She wanted to know something about the boy her best friend was crazy about. Janaki turned towards her after placing her bag in the car. Janaki's driver would come to pick her up every day; after all, she was the daughter of The Ramans.

"What is his name?" Janaki excitedly asked her twelve-year-old best friend was shy even to take his name.

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Katyayani went back to her house after talking to her best friend. Katyayani lived far from Janaki's house. Her home was present in a destitute locality of their Village. She lived with her grandmother. Unfortunately, she lost her grandfather a few years ago. All they had was a hut. The house walls were made up of mud and stones, while the roof consisted of Grass, rocks, and coconut branches.

They had a barrier that differentiated their house from the rest, it was made up of sticks aligned horizontally and vertically, and they had a little gate. The gate was again made up of posts like the barrier they had as the compound wall. Pushing the gate made of sticks, she stopped mid in her tracks when she saw a few pairs of footwear outside their hut. Katyayani never even saw multiple types of footwear. All she had were worn-out slippers she bought two years ago. Now, at the age of sixteen, she was more than just understanding. She didn't complain. Never did.

But Katyayani felt scared and inferior. She remembered that her husband-to-be and his family lived in Hyderabad. And from all she heard, they lived in a city. So she concluded that it must be them. But the thought of her Husband-to-be in her house made her happy yet anxious. She felt blood rushing up to her cheeks.

'What if he came here to meet me?'

She was excited to meet him. Her Husband to be. Before she could understand what to do. She heard a voice. Her grandmother's. She looked up to find her grandmother rushing her inside while her eyes never left staring at the mud floor of their house. She wasn't ready to see her Husband-to-be.

That day Katyayani met her new family, not all of them. But, Few of them. And she was partially correct with her guess. Not entirely. She did meet his family but not him. And since then, all Katyayani dreamt was about him, even though she never saw him, never heard him, never met him.

All she knew was his name.

"Yuvein" Her Yuvein. She murmured to herself, dreaming about an unknown face, person, and their life together.

Katyayani was cooking when she heard the sound of an engine. She thought it must be Janaki and went outside, only to be proven wrong. It was them, the people she considered her family. She smiled at them.

Four people came, Her future Mother-in-law, Father-in-Law, and their siblings who were married to each other. She smiled at them, tucking the few strands of hair that were falling on her face. Katyayani wanted to rush inside and make herself look better, but all she did was look like a maid. Nevertheless, Her new Family didn't feel that way about her.

She welcomed them inside the house, touched their feet to show her respect, and took their blessings. She knew the reason they came.

"How is your grandmother, Katyayani?" asked Saavi, concerned about the little girl.

Saavi liked her the moment she laid her eyes on her years ago. She felt like she finally met her daughter. A Daughter she couldn't have. Not just Saavi, back then, all the older people of their family, starting from Kalinda Devi to Anokhi, her younger sister loved this little girl immediately.

Katyayani stared at her feet with tears brimming in her eyes. Katyayani told them the dreaded news following the lump forming her throat.

"The village doctor told that she wouldn't live longer than a day or two."

And then, she broke down. Tears were streaming down her face while her only family, her grandmother, lay on her deathbed.

Saavi immediately rushed towards her and hugged her while Anokhi patted her head.

Tushar and Kaustav Felt terrible for the little girl, but they were worried about the storm that was going to rise back in their home when they would take Katyayani along with them. Tushar and Kaustav knew the things about their sons that their mothers didn't know. And, all they prayed was for Katyayani. They didn't want it to be ruined because of their sons.

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Katyayani sat on her soft bed while she stared at nothing, lost in her world. She was now an orphan even though she was in a new family. She was going to turn 18 in few hours and then married.

A lone tear ran down her cheek. Not that she was sad about getting married. Only God knew how many times she dreamt of her wedding, about him and their kids. But never did she ever think that she will not have her grandparents with her.

She heard a maid come inside her room. Turning to look at her, she nodded at what she said.

"It is time for the midnight dinner; everyone is waiting for you; please come downstairs."

Katyayani covered herself with the pink dupatta and started walking towards the stairs, her head hanging low. She reached the dining table after walking through multiple hallways. The dining area didn't have an oval, rectangle, or square table with the head chair towards one end.

They had a Circlular dining Table, where all of them sat together as a Family and ate. Nobody was showing their authority being the head of the family. Katyayani came to know about many relations due to them. Even though she met her brothers-in-law, she never met her husband-to-be.

"Katyayani," Anokhi Called her, Breaking her chain of thoughts as she looked up to meet the eyes of a man she never saw before. Hazel Eyes, just like her Brothers-in-law, stared into her eyes, but she saw nothing in them. Just blank.

She immediately lowered her eyes, not even looking at his face, but she realized who it was. She clutched her dupatta tightly and walked towards Anokhi, sitting at the other end of the table, while she didn't even understand the way she felt.

And before anyone would say something, she heard his voice for the first time.

"Katyayani, I'm Yuvein, your Husband-to-be," He stated while his eyes pierced through hers as if eating her soul away, silencing the people at the table.

And that's how Katyayani met her Husband, the man she dreamt about for so long, her Destruction when the clock struck at twelve indicating the start of her Eighteenth Birthday.

Hello Readers! I hope you are all Safe!

I'm pleased to all those waiting for me to Update.

I'm deeply apologetic for not updating, but I had continuous exams and other things keeping me preoccupied, but from now on, I will try to update as soon as possible. '

This Chapter is completely away from the rest of the chapters, and it is meant to give an insight into Katyayani's life before her marriage. It is not just her, and you will be reading these in between the current plot. I will surprise you with something like this when you least expect it. hehehe.

Do let me know how this chapter is.

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Until Next Time...

Stay Healthy! Stay Safe. Be Happy!