unwanted marriage

**New Delhi, AIIMS Hospital**

In the VIP room of the hospital, an elderly man lay on the bed, wearing an oxygen mask. Monitors surrounded him, and it seemed like his final moments were near. His face had turned pale, as if life had almost left his body. Four people were in the room.

A young girl, around 18 years old, sat on a chair beside the bed, holding the elderly man's hand. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she spoke to him, sobbing:

"Nanaji, please don’t do this. Please don’t leave me. If you go, how will I live? Mom and Dad already left me. Now if you leave too, what will I do? Am I so bad that everyone wants to leave me?"

Hearing her, the grandfather, in a weak voice, replied:

"No, my child, you are not bad. You are a very smart and kind girl. But my time to go has come."

The girl shook her head in denial, crying and begging him not to leave. But how could anyone stop what was destined? The grandfather turned to another elderly man sitting by his side and said,

"Raj, I have only half an hour left. How much longer until Kabir arrives? I cannot wait any longer."

Rajvardhan Singhania responded, "Don’t worry. Kabir should be here any moment. And the promise I made to you, I will fulfill it."

As he finished speaking, the door opened, and a 28-year-old man walked in holding a file. He bowed down to touch the grandfather’s feet and said,

"I have brought the wedding papers."

Everyone in the room, including Rajvardhan, the grandfather, the girl, and an elderly woman (about 70 years old), looked at Kabir. The grandfather’s eyes welled up as he said,

"I knew, my boy, that you would listen to me."

Then he looked at the girl and said,

"Janvi, my child, I don’t have much time left. My last wish is that you marry Kabir in front of me. I trust Kabir completely. He will take good care of you. After I am gone, you will be all alone, and this world can be very cruel. I don’t want you to suffer. Will you fulfill your Nanaji's last wish?"

Hearing this, tears streamed down Janvi's face. Crying, she said,

"Nanaji, I will do whatever you say. But please don’t leave me like this."

Gayatri Singhania placed a comforting hand on Janvi’s shoulder and said,

"Janvi, my child, don’t cry. We, your Dadaji and I, are here with you. We promise that you will never feel the absence of your Nanaji. Now, please sign these wedding papers."

Janvi looked at her grandfather, who nodded weakly, his eyes silently pleading. Then she turned to Kabir, who had already signed the papers. Finally, Janvi also signed them.

Gayatri gave Kabir a mangalsutra to put around Janvi’s neck. Without showing much emotion, Kabir placed the mangalsutra around Janvi’s neck and filled her hairline with sindoor. Watching his granddaughter's wedding, tears rolled down Harishankar Srivastava’s face.

Kabir and Janvi bent down to take Harishankar’s blessings, but suddenly the machines beeped loudly, and his breathing grew heavier. Kabir quickly ran to call the doctor, and Janvi clung to her grandfather, crying.

“Nanu… my child… my time has come. But I am leaving this world content because I’ve placed you in safe hands. Move forward in life, fulfill your responsibilities, and make me proud. Even though I may leave this world, I will always be with you, watching over you as a star in the sky.”

His breaths grew weaker. Frightened, Janvi cried out,

“Nanu! No… please don’t do this!”

But the machine let out a long beep. Harishankar was gone.

Janvi broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Nanu, please wake up! I will never disobey you again. I won’t be mischievous anymore. Please don’t leave me like this. Please wake up, Nanu! I’ll do whatever you say. I won’t eat ice cream secretly anymore. I promise I’ll never misbehave. But please don’t leave me!”

She kept crying, holding his lifeless body, but nothing could bring him back. Harishankar Srivastava had left this world.

Rajvardhan and Gayatri tried to console her, but her pain was beyond healing. Harishankar had been in the final stage of cancer, and Janvi was his only granddaughter, whom he loved more than anything. With no other family, Rajvardhan, his closest friend, had promised to take care of her. Harishankar entrusted Janvi to Rajvardhan’s eldest grandson, Kabir Singhania.

Kabir respected Harishankar deeply and agreed to marry Janvi solely for his sake. Kabir was not just a successful businessman but also the king of the underworld. For him, love and relationships didn’t matter. This marriage was just a way to fulfill his promise and take responsibility for Janvi.

At around 2 PM, Harishankar was laid to rest in Delhi’s largest cemetery. Since his body was frail from cancer, cremation was not an option.

People placed flowers on his grave, paid their respects, and later returned to Srivastava Mansion.

Janvi was in a fragile state, having neither eaten nor slept properly in the past week. Gayatri instructed a nurse to administer a sedative so she could rest. Otherwise, the mental and emotional toll would have worsened.

Rajvardhan and Gayatri stayed back to look after Janvi, but Kabir returned to Mumbai that same evening.

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