#📖 *Bound by Fate, Freed by Love*
**Chapter 3 – The Proposal at Home**
The clinking of steel plates and the faint aroma of cardamom tea filled the Sharma household. Aarohi sat with her mother at the dining table, absentmindedly turning the pages of a magazine she wasn't really reading.
Her father, Mr. Sharma, cleared his throat dramatically as he adjusted his spectacles. That was always his signal—he had something important to announce.
"Aarohi," he began, folding the morning newspaper neatly, "your mother and I were speaking with the Malhotras yesterday."
Aarohi looked up, confused. "The Malhotras?"
Her mother smiled knowingly, her bangles jingling as she set down the teapot. "You've heard of them, haven't you? Their son, Rian Malhotra, runs Malhotra Enterprises now. He's the youngest CEO in the industry."
Aarohi blinked, still not understanding why this conversation involved her. "Okay… and?"
Her father leaned forward, his tone softer. "They've shown interest in you."
The words struck her like a sudden gust of wind.
"In me?" she repeated.
"Yes," her mother confirmed, her eyes shining with hope. "They've sent a proposal for marriage."
The magazine slipped from Aarohi's hands, fluttering shut on the table. "Marriage? With a man I don't even know?"
Her father raised a calming hand. "He's a good man, Aarohi. Well-educated, respectable, and stable. What more could we want for you?"
Her chest tightened. Marriage. The word felt heavy, foreign. She wasn't ready. Not when her heart was still tangled hopelessly around Kabir.
She rose quickly from the table. "I need time," she whispered, her throat thick.
Her mother reached for her hand. "Beta, you've waited years for Kabir, but he… he doesn't see you. We've seen the way he looks at other girls. Don't let your life stop for someone who won't stop for you."
Aarohi swallowed hard, her eyes stinging. They didn't know how much she had already sacrificed for Kabir. How many nights she had prayed for him to turn and see her differently.
Later that evening, when she met Kabir for a walk, the words of her parents echoed in her head.
Should she tell him about the proposal? Maybe then, he'd finally realize. Maybe then, he'd hold her hand and say he couldn't let her go.
But when Kabir began excitedly narrating his latest plans with Naina, her courage shattered. He didn't even notice her silence.
By the time she returned home, Aarohi's decision had been made for her—not by love, but by the cruel indifference of it.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror that night, whispering to herself:
"Maybe it's time to let fate decide. If Kabir won't choose me… perhaps someone else will."
Outside, the city lights flickered like stars. And somewhere in a high-rise office, Rian Malhotra worked late into the night, unaware that destiny was preparing to intertwine his life with hers.