Journey of Hope

CHAPTER:- 8

Pratyasha's Pov

Happiness is not forever, so as sadness. Every phase of life passes away when the time favours you.

I was always motivated by this thought, although time never favours me. Life was never fair with me, but the hope was still alive inside a corner of heart that one day everything will be fine. The problem was that a layer of plaster was layering over that particular corner of the heart, with each passing days of my life.

I wore a fake smile on my swollen face. The layers of concealer perfectly hid the slap mark. I was sure that it won't be visible to anyone, still there was a expectation that someone will see the red mark of slap under the artificial pink shade of blush, will wipe the tears that eyes had forgot to shed, will realise the pain behind the fake smile, will read the hidden stories suppressed somewhere in the chambers of heart.

The expectations were too much to be true in reality, yet it didn't cost any special charge to live in a beautiful dream. Descending through each stairs, I kept my pace slower than usual thinking about all these, not wanting to face Mom and Dadi soon.

In the dining hall, I found everyone to be seated on their chair eating breakfast, except Baba who was reading a newspaper. I pulled the chair attracting everyone's attention.

"Thank God! Finally the princess blessed us with her presence. If now you will give the permission, can we start the breakfast?" Dadi started her taunt as soon as she noticed me.

"How can you start the breakfast, when you are already eating?" I pressed my lips to suppress the giggles , that was about to come out listening to Baba's comment.

"Prati! Have your breakfast soon. Pratik has an important meeting to attend." I nodded my head hearing Mom and sat on the chair at Baba's right in order to hide my burned hand from him.

"Nothing to worry princess. Eat calmly. Meeting can wait until my princess finishes her breakfast." Baba served me and then started to eat his breakfast.

"I knew that you can make the whole world wait for your princess. Then I know that, this meeting is an important one. So let's go Baba. I don't want you to be late because of me."

"It's a collaboration deal between many companies and no one will reject this golden chance to get the partenership of the Ahujas."

"I know my Baba is the best. Then please Baba, Let's go now, I promised I will have my breakfast in the college canteen." I begged as I didn't want to face another torture session by Mom and Dadi who were already shooting daggers at me.

"The canteen food are not good for your health princess."

"Don't worry about that I already packed the food for your princess." Mom forwarded me the tiffin box. I took it from her hand with a fake smile knowing that there was actually nothing inside the box.

"Ok. Did I ever deny my princess's command?" I grinned at Baba. "Sarmistha! Where are those two brats?"

"They stayed at their friend's house for group study, unlike your princess who only knows how to eat, sleep and roam around." Dadi said looking at me in hatred.

"Then also she gets the topper badge every year while your studious grandsons hardly get marks to pass the examination. I am warning you Mom, Don't spoil them too much."

"I am not spoiling them. It's not my fault if you are too blind in your princess's achievement to notice my grandson's effort. They are trying hard to get these marks."

"As if Prati is getting them in legacy."

"Pratik! You will be late." Mom interrupted both of them.

"Say clearly that you are doing your job of peacemaker." Baba laughed and went to bring his belongings from his room.

"I am warning you, if Pratik will come to know about this, Next time I will cut your hand." Dadi warned me signalling my burned hand. I nodded my head as I had no courage to go against her.

Baba came down and signalled me to come fast. I grabbed my stuffs and moved outside.

I sat on the passenger seat beside Baba. After tieing the seat belt around us, Baba started the engine and we drove away to the road to reach our destination.

In the crowded streets of Delhi, We are not alone to run for destination. In between the populous way, life was running fast than others. People were trying to match the pace, and failed miserably. No matter what you can't win over it. That's why people named those as winner who crossed everyone in this game, except life obviously.

"Princess!" Baba's call caught my attention.

"Yes, Baba." I was still looking at the window side.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing. Just observing this strange world. Everyone was running here in a hope to cross everyone and get the tag of a winner. When someone got injured in the middle of the race, we ignored them in order to complete this unending race." I moved my gaze to the rear mirror. A white car was coming fast in our direction.

"Look at the white car Baba. It was coming too close to us, but actually It was chasing us to overtake. More often we found some people too close to us, who were actually too far away from us, trying to chase us to overtake. We are just a mile stone for them."

"Such a deep thought. Not bad, Princess." I smiled. "Still, there are some people who are sitting beside you to complete the journey with you." He winked at me.

"Even those people will chase their dream, their destination, after leaving me at mine." I winked back at him.

"Achha. My princess is becoming intelligent day by day." He smiled and stopped the car at a side.

"Baba! Both of us are already late. Why did you stop the car now?"

"To show you that you will get some people who will complete the journey beside you towards the same dream, same destination." I gave a confused expression to him. "Look behind the white car."

At that moment only, the white car crossed us. I looked at the person coming behind it wearing a helmet which hid his whole face, but I recognized the person only by looking at the big flat A imprinted on the black royal enfield, which belongs to Ishaan Samantray only.

"Good Morning Uncle! Any problem?" He asked politely and this politeness was reserved only for a few people.

He was wearing a white shirt perfectly matching with his denim jeans.

"Good Morning Beta. Thank God I got you here. I have an important meeting to attend. Will you please take Prati with you?"

"Don't say please uncle. Am I not like Prajwal and Pratyush to you?"

"You are more important to me than those two brats. I am trusting you with my princess. Take her safely." Baba patted his back while Ishaan's face hardened listening to the last line.

"Sure Uncle. Good bye. All the best for the deal." He faked a smile till Baba sat in the car and drove away.

I was standing at the same place looking down.

"You are not a queen that I will welcome you bowing my head. Come and sit if you want to go. Otherwise stand there only. I am not dying to take you with me." He came back to his original self.

I immediately sat on the back seat hanging my legs towards one side, before he would have gone away leaving me alone there.

"What do you think me as? Your father's driver to drop you and to pick you up? Can't you go to college alone?" I silently sat there holding the silver rod behind the seat.

Ishaan Samantray was an ambitious personality with big dreams. According to him, our marriage will be the hindrance in his career. Then he was forced to do the engagement due to his mother's emotional blackmail.

Mrs. Anisha Samantray was a distant relative of Mom. She never liked me from my childhood. It was a shock for me when 3months back, she came with a alliance to make me her daughter-in-law.

Ishaan wanted to do his masters in London. Then Anisha aunt didn't give him permission in a condition to marry me first, then do whatever he wants to.

"Hello Madam! Come back to the earth. I have better things to do rather than guarding you all the time." I realised about the surroundings. We were about to reach near the college with in five minutes, all thanks to the speed in which Mr. Samantray drove.

"Get down fast." He said while applying the sudden break and I lost my balance.

I closed my eyes to lie straight on the ground, but a soft pair of hands held me at the middle.

"Are you alright?" Hearing the soft voice, I looked up to find a beautiful pair of brown eyes. Her straight black hair strands were falling on her eyes. She put them aside and shook me as I was zoned out observing her beauty.

"Excuse me! Are you fine?" For the first time, I found genuine concern in someone's eyes for me other than Baba.

"Yeah. I am. Thank you." I replied shortly noticing Ishaan's piercing stares from the corner of my eyes.

Only if, I would have look straight, probably, I wouldn't missed the direction of his stares, which remained constant upon the girl in front of me from the begining.

"Hello Mr.! If you don't know, how to drive, then there is no need of showing off your expensive bike. You might have a lot of money to waste for you, but you can't buy a person's life through it." She said as a ferocious tigress showing her index finger right on Ishaan's face.

"I am warning you for the first and last time. Never ever dare again to raise your finger upon me." Ishaan said holding her finger in a tight hold.

I had never seen that girl before in our college. She seemed to be a new admission. I didn't want her to be in a mess by hurting Ishaan's ego. I was about to stop her from provoking Ishaan more, when she did something that left me shocked with an open mouth.

"And I am giving you the final warning. Never ever dared to touch me without my permission." Ishaan's face lost his signature smirk when that girl kicked his bike's tyre and he lose his balance as he was holding her hand.

The bike fell down. Ishaan jumped at the exact moment, still he got some bruises. I was about ran towards him when that unknown girl showed her arm to stop me.

"He was the same person who knowingly applied break suddenly, so that you would have fall down creating a scene of fun for him."

"It was unintentional."

"Do you think so?" She raised her one eyebrow. "He was sitting on his bike as a king, waiting to enjoy your downfall. If this unintentional, then I might have read wrong dictionary to identify correct expression." A lot of students gathered around us to enjoy the free drama.

I lowered my eyes feeling bad. She was indeed right. It was not for the first time Ishaan tried to make fun of me. From the day our marriage got fixed, he always took his revenge from me.

"Don't lower your eyes princess. Be a queen, the king himself will bow down in front of you too." Her eyes held an unknown assurance. I felt a comfort around her.

"You know who I am! Ishaan Samantray is my name." She turned her back towards me facing Ishaan who was shouting.

"I am not a pet lover. If in future, I will get a dog, I will surely consider your suggestion to name it." She blinked her eyes like an innocent cute doll, while the whole college laughed out loudly.

"You." Ishaan was about to grab her arms when she pressed his arms, where he had got a wound while the bike fell down.

"Ahhh." He screamed in pain.

"I would have scream like this by your act. You wanted that right? Then enjoy your pain now." Her eyes held fire inside it while speaking. "I hope you won't forgot this hand of mine ever, then too, just for a better memory, remember my name, Ashia!"

She rubbed her palms parting the dust away and made her way towards the college building.

She held the aura around him that made people to look down. Her heel sound decreased with each steps she took towards college building.

I was starring at her in amusement unaware of another person's gaze at her. It was hard to determine what Ishaan's eyes held for her, it was definitely not only anger.