Sona's POV:

स्वस्ति श्री गणनायकं गजमुखम मोरेश्वरम सिद्धीधम

(Swasti Shree Gananayakam Gajamukham Moreshwaram Siddhidham)

The priest began chanting the mangalashtak and my heart picked up its pace as my grip on the garland in my hands went on shrinking with every word of the mangalashtak

(Mangalashtak is the holy mantra sung during a Marathi wedding)

The loud thumping of my poor heart was screaming to me ' Yes Sona... it's actually happening...you aren't dreaming...its the reality...your bitter reality'

And I so want to run away from this ugly reality of mine...

But I can't...

I am helpless...

And this is the worst feeling I ever felt in the 20 years of my life...

In the past few days, I have experienced the most difficult and painful struggles and unwanted and unwilling choices in my life

Marriage...

Yes, I am marrying a 35-year-old beast...

But why??

Why am I doing this??

For money??

Or...

For my widow mother??

Or both??

I really don't know...

My drunkard father drowned me and my mother in the pools of unplayable loans and escaped from this world like a coward...

Though I and my mother would sell ourselves we wouldn't be able to pay back his mistakes...

Such a coward loser he was...

But we didn't lose our spirits...

We both went on working our asses off and went on earning penny by penny to protect our self-respect...

But that isn't as easy as shown in movies and daily soaps...

A widowed mother with her 20-year-old girl surviving in this cruel world full of lustful eyes and touches is like a delicate leaf surviving on a bunch of big sharp thorns...

The so-called society's sympathy pity avoidance indifference and many more good terms won't let you breathe peacefully

Every step you take...every breath you take is criticised by the people

And this struggle was worth learning

During my schooling itself at the tender age of 10, I had always insisted on working...I used to work as a maid in multiple houses to earn our bread as my father was busy relishing his drinks...

My illiterate mother worked in a very small scale Papad factory and with that small earning she educated me up to 12th...

And after that, I began doing some suitable jobs along with conducting tuitions in our small one-room shelter but our lives were still not under our control...

The growing expenses with my mother getting old and the never-ending loans turned our lives into a living hell...

I don't even remember how many grievances and griefs we have had suffered...

Even before getting into the last job I have changed many jobs as they were very unpleasant and the people over there were too cruel and ugly to be explained in words

You can say that I had seen the cruelty and complexity of this world at a tender age...

But right now I feel extremely pathetic...

I don't have any self-respect...

But I had no other way...

My situation was like Do or Die...

But I couldn't even die...

I had my old mother to look after who was fighting with her life

It was the turning point of my life...

The only roof we had on our heads was seized by my so-called father's friend from whom he had taken yet another unplayable amount and lost in gambling

Within a single second our lives were brought to the road and my mother couldn't survive that harshness and ended up getting a heart attack...

I had no hand to help me...

With my mother lying on the bed of a government hospital fighting for her life I found myself surrounded by extreme darkness

And that's when an angel appeared in front of me extending his warm helping hand but little did I know that the same warm helping hand would grab my throat and pull me into this marriage

It was none other than Arun Sir...

The owner of the factory my mother works in...

He not only paid for my mother's treatment but also paid that man to get back our shelter

I and my mother couldn't express our gratitude in words or any other form...

When I and my mother promised him to pay back his every penny overnight he abruptly dropped the marriage bomb on me just like the US dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki...

He went on delivering emotional lectures to my mother that she should think about my future and like an obedient student she went on grasping every single word of wisdom of his and kept nodding her head

And after a full-fledged lecture, she agreed to get me married to his DIVORCED son

How selfish he was...

In exchange for the money, he wanted me to be his daughter in law and get prey to that beast

For a moment I was disappointed with my mother too but she too was helpless...as she had visited the heavens door once she was scared about me surviving in this cruel world without her...

Though I boiled my blood denying her   and explaining who would look after her in my absence her joined hands and tearful eyes crushed everything that I had built in me

And yes I am getting married to the beast himself

I was not naive enough to think of washing away all the sudden incidents and rewriting my life with my leftover will...

I am surged up with mixed emotions...

Anger contempt disgust and most importantly fear...

Fear of being the wife of this beast who had tortured his ex-wife

I feel like I am an inflammable doll sold to this 35-year-old carnivorous beast...

गंगा सिंधु सरस्वती च यमुना, गोदावरी नर्मदा 

(Ganga Sindhu Saraswati Ch Yamuna Godavari Narmada)

Maa says mangalashtak isn't just a mantra that a priest chants but it's a ceremony where the couples seek blessings from God himself

The word mangalashtak is composed of two words 'mangal' and 'ashtak' where mangal means holy and goodness while ashtak means blessings...so during the mangalashtak ceremony with its every verse people present over bless the couple with a holy blissful and a happy married life...

I am marrying a man whom I don't love...

I am marrying a man who doesn't love me...

So the tragedy of my happy married life can be imagined...

I don't hate him but still, I have a little sadness in my heart...

And yes I am standing right opposite of the groom sorry my soon to be husband within seconds with the antarpat between us

(Antarpat is the white silk woven cloth with a swastika mark on it)

The flowers of the garland are mercilessly getting crushed in my fists as the verses are going on and then suddenly a slight push on my back shoulder from God knows whom made my head tilt a little up and that's when the shadow of the tall beast on the antarpat was captured by my eyes

This man is so handsome

Shut up...

His shadow itself is damn hot Sona...

It's intimidating...

It's seductive

Will you just shut up

I am getting married here...

With the beast himself...

A hottie beast...

Urghhh...

My subconscious mind is a devil in disguise

And it's not so good thoughts forced me to take a sneak peek at his shadow

And yes it was right...

This beast is handsome...

Although I can't see his face clearly through the silk cloth he is tall and masculine in figure...

This man is actually a beast...

A big beast...

तदेव लग्नं सुदिनं तदेव ताराबलं चन्द्रबलं तदेव
विद्याबलं देवबलं तदेव लक्ष्मीपते तेङ्घ्रियुगं स्मरामि

(Tadeva lagnam sudinam tadeva
Tarabalam chandrabalam tadeva
Vidyabalam daivabalam tadeva
Laksmipateh temghriyugam smarami)

शुभ मंगल सावधान

(Shubh Mangal Savdhan)

And on that right auspicious moment, the antarpat between us was removed while people kept showering rice grains which is considered as a symbol of showering blessings of Gods from the heaven above but if you ask me it's not a blessing it's a curse...

In the name of culture, these people are wasting food for which many poor souls crave and sometimes even die starving for a mouthful of these grains...

I know the importance of this single grain because there were days when we filled our tummies only with water...

"The bride and groom can now exchange the garlands" the words snagged me out of my thoughts

Are you waiting for someone to lift you and make the ceremony cheerful as shown in movies

I felt someone's hand on my back and mechanically I lifted my hands towards his neck and unknowingly my lashes lifted only to get locked into his eyes...

Those pitch-black orbs are something else...

It's incredibly intimidating yet incredibly calm...

As calm as the sky before the storm...

His eyes are hypnoti-

Focus Sona...

As I put the garland around his neck my eyes shamelessly captured every minor curve and detail of his hopelessly handsome face...

That messed up forehead with slight lines that those baby hairs tried covering...those thick curved black brows...that sharp nose and clear cut jaws covered with that hot rugged beard and those dry brown lips pressed tightly against each other forming an exact straight line

In that simple kurta and the garland in his hands, he looks like a Powerful Emperor holding his royal sword

Oh my my...

How graceful this beast is

He is effortlessly handsome...

No wonder he's effortlessly handsome at 35...

It's like he is born to be handsome and split the sky with his alluring charms

Beware of this beast Sona...

I warned myself while with no expression on his face and putting on a cold yet elegant posture he put the garland around my neck

And we are married...

******

Other rituals took place one by one...

And it was time for him to tie the nuptial chain of his name around my neck...

He was sitting next to me and feeling him near me shivers kept running down my spine continuously...

The priest handed over the nuptial chain and he leaned toward me while my poor heart began thumping in my mouth...

His male cologne hit my nostrils and my eyes shut tight feeling him that close to me...

I have never been that close to any male species in my whole life...

It's always me and my mother and all of sudden that proximity of a male stranger left me shuddering and sweating...

As I kept clutching my clothes abruptly I felt his rough fingers brushing against my skin passing an electric jolt to my body and my eyes opened only to meet his again..

Big clear eyes...

As deep as an ocean yet as hollow as something that I couldn't define

That one pair of black orbs can invert all living beings

And yet another time I was hypnotised by his mysterious eyes...

Yes, there's some kind of mystery in his cold eyes...

Some kind of hidden pain...some kind of unspoken emotions that he was trying to scream through his eyes to me but I couldn't get him

I just kept staring into his deep oceanic orbs as if every ounce of me would just drown and blend with his soul as if I was incomplete without him...

What???

Incomplete without him???

What's wrong with me???

Why am I getting such vibes with him???

Recall the words about him...

"He is a generous open-minded and reasonable man...he never interferes with other's affairs...he never said a heavy or a bad word to anyone...he is respected by everyone"

A very few people in the temple where our wedding was happening spoke to me about how good he was...

And when I looked at him from a different perspective I noticed a tint of softness in his eyes...

His eyes were as innocent as of a small kid...

His eyes are a great combination

Intimidating...
Calm...
Deep...
Hollow...
And now innocent

Why this beast is such a mystery???

"Fill the vermilion in the nuptial chain" I heard the priest and he held my nuptial chain in his palm and followed the priest's words...

And once he was done he was back to his seat and holding my chain I kept looking at it only to remind myself that I was married to the man next to me...

But then again a series of words that were spoken by my mother a few minutes back disturbed me again

"If you marry him you'll never suffer a loss"

Ok fine...

Stop haunting me...

If this beast is not a bad man and is really good to my family I will be good to him and support him...

******

With a heavy heart, I bid bye to my mother but God knows how she had a smile leaving her only daughter in the hands of a big beast...

And right now I am all alone in the room sorry the den of the beast...

It was a simple one with pale colours...

As I was glancing at the details of his den suddenly the door swung open and I was gone...

And there was the hottie beast looking all fierce in a black shirt and black pants...

He stood right at the door and those thoughts began haunting me

"All he needs is a girl with open legs"

"His hunger has no bounds"

"He is blood-sucking beast"

My palms and forehead began sweating badly as with every word the pounds of my heart went dangerously audible...

And then again a strange assurance from my heart calmed me

"You'll never suffer a loss with him"

"He'll never hurt you"

I don't know how and from where did my heart screamed those words to me but a sudden gush of security grew up within me and my body relaxed unknowingly...

But a question still lingering in a small corner of me...

This beast is really so good???

And hold on...

Did I mention the name of the beast???

No???

Ohhh sorry...

Let me...

The name of the beast of this beauty is

ARJUN❤

***********

Dearest Readers❤

It's been a long and tough time...

In a world full of fake faces you guys are the real ones and I feel really blessed to have you all

Thank you for everything❤

As I always say, when I am left with nothing Arjun Sona gave me everything and yet another time I am hoping to get back my sanity through Aarna and this chapter is an attempt of mine to get myself back...

Can't explain much but all I can say is this chapter is something that will decide whether I am capable and good enough to hold the pen again or drop it forever...

So please it's a humble request...

Do share your views on this chapter and let me know whether I should hold my pen again or drop it

So if this chapter goes well I'll ascend the first step of getting myself back

Your words matter a lot now...

So how's the beginning of Aarna in the new version of Beauty and the Beast??

Thank you for everything again❤