Arranged by the Stars (20 page)

Latha was behind him as
if she sensed his doubt. “Cold feet?”

He shook his head. He
wanted to say they should stick to the plan, but in reality there
was no real plan. Unless she made a decision and chose him, then
this was for nothing. He could go up there and wax lyrical about
how great they would be together but if their night together hadn’t
been enough to show her that, there wasn’t much point.

As the music changed,
Kieran broke out into a cold sweat. Everyone in the large room
started splitting into groups and preparing for the bride to come
down the stairs. This was the moment every bridegroom waited for.
The moment when his bride walked down to him and took his hand,
ready to take her vows and promise a lifetime of commitment to
him.

Latha tugged his arm and
whispered good luck and then she was gone. Kieran’s gaze went to
the spot where the priest and the groom waited for the bride. So
that was Alok. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. But he didn’t
expect the timid looking man who watched the fire with the
intensity of someone afraid of his own shadow.

How could the stars have
matched them up? Ash would never survive living with him. The stars
were so wrong. The beat of the drums got stronger. He expected
Alok’s gaze to go to the staircase so he could see his bride. But
he continued to watch the fire. It was Kieran who lifted his chin
and waited in anticipation for his bride.

When he saw Ash in her
wedding gown he almost stumbled. Saying he was taken away by her
beauty would be an understatement. It was obvious she had beauty,
but there was something much more she had. She wore red and gold
gown that covered her from head to toe, like it was made for her.
He wasn’t sure why she was covered with gold from head to toe, but
he suspected it would have had something to do with her aunt and
this being a spectacular affair.

He watched her pause at
the top of the stairs and look down and he wondered what she was
thinking. Did she think of him, even once? Was this day a bitter
sweet day for her as it was for him?

*****

This was it. After today
she was shackled to a life she didn’t want. As she stood at the top
of the staircase and looked down all she saw was the possibility of
what might have been.

In the distance she saw
Alok stare at the fire that would seal their fate. Seven steps
around that fire with seven vows and they would become man and
wife. She had never had the courage to ask him if he’d wanted this
for himself. Knowing the kind of man he was, he would have agreed
with whatever his parents had said. He was a man without a
backbone.

Her gaze scanned the
crowd of people she didn’t recognise. Her aunt had made sure she
hadn’t spoken to anyone from New Zealand. She wasn’t allowed to
invite any of her friends to what should have been the most
important day of her life. It was like she knew what had happened
there. Like there was a huge stamp that said I was happy for once
in my life in New Zealand, please don’t send me
reminders.

The veil scratched her
skin, and she had to flick it away from her face so she could see,
but it was so heavy, it kept falling back into place. Her aunt had
insisted on her wearing every piece of gold she could find, so her
arms were covered in gold bangles that clanged each time she
moved.

Despite the hideous
overuse of jewellery and gold, everyone sighed and ummed and
a-hhed, and told her how beautiful she looked. Again her gaze
roamed the crowd. Her aunt urged her forward. In the distance she
saw two figures that looked like Rohan and Latha, and she lifted
her hand to rub her eyes and then remembered her
mascara.

“
Ash, they’re
waiting for you.” Sushi pushed her forward again, “Time is running
out.”

Yes, the stars were
exactly aligned and she shouldn’t be late. She was tired of the
reminder. She turned to her aunt. “Didi, if it’s meant to be, even
the stars won’t stop this match.”

Her aunt’s gaze darkened.
“Don’t test me,” she muttered.

Ash took a step forward
and closed her eyes. Why didn’t this make any sense?

“
When your
mother broke her promise, it ruined her family. Don’t repeat her
mistake.” Her aunt’s voice was a guttural whisper.

Slowly she put one foot
in front of the other and when she was midway she stopped. The room
was full of people she didn’t know, here for a wedding to a man she
didn’t love. Her gaze went down to Alok who had finally looked up
at her. She knew what was mirrored in his eyes and it wasn’t love.
So why was she doing this?

Frozen in that spot and
not sure whether to turn back or move forward, she turned towards
the gasps and then held her breath.

The people in front of
her parted to the side and a lone figure walked up to her. It
couldn’t be medically safe for the number of times this man was
able to make her heart stop.

She watched him slowly
make his way up the stairway. “Kieran. What are you doing
here?”

The room quietened and
everyone waited for him to speak. The last thing Ash needed was for
all of New Delhi to know what he was here for. But it seemed when
you invited all of New Delhi into your home, then you had to live
with the consequences.

Kieran looked around. Ash
shrugged. “I don’t think they will let us talk in
private.”

Whistles were heard from
the crowd as they agreed with her.

Kieran tried to quieten
down the crowd. “When we were in Auckland, I asked you a question.
I came here for the answer.”

She stared at him
wondering if he’d totally lost it. He was standing in front of a
crowd of people not making any sense. This was so unlike him. She
put her hands out palm facing up and lifted her shoulders in the
unasked question. The clinking of bangles was the only sound that
could be heard. Even the musicians had stopped their tunes to
listen to what he had to say.

He took another step,
until he was in front of her. “I want to know what the stars say
about us. Do you not think we have a chance?”

Her gaze went to Alok who
had walked away from the priest and was now standing closer to
them. “If I remember correctly, you didn’t wait for an answer. You
left before I could tell you what I thought. What makes you think
you deserve an answer now?”

Kieran’s gaze went around
the room. She could see him contemplate the options. She was
surprised when he answered in front of the crowd. “Because I love
you and I want to marry you. I don’t give a damn about the moon or
the stars, but it appears you do.”

The crowd gasped. It
didn’t fix a thing because the threat of destruction was still
there. “It’s not about the moon or the stars. It’s about a promise
and about what’s right. I made an agreement and I have to honour
it.”

He turned to Alok and she
felt a sharp pain at her side. Alok was not equipped to deal with a
man like Kieran. “Leave him alone Kieran.” Why she felt the need to
protect Alok was beyond her but she couldn’t help
herself.

He turned to her.
“Why?”

Ash walked down a few
more steps until she was past him. “It’s not his fight. I made a
choice.”

He scratched his head and
laughed. “You don’t get it. I am here fighting for you, while he
stands there and watches. What does that tell you?”

Ash shook her head. “It’s
not his fight.”

Kieran’s gaze was so
intense she was forced to look away. “How can you say it’s not his
fight when we’re fighting over you? After knowing that he will not
come up here and fight for you, you will marry him?”

“
I promised
to,” she said.

Sushi walked down the
stairs to stand beside her. “I think you should leave.”

The vein at Kieran’s
temple was beating at a rapid rate. “I think you should have stayed
out of this.”

Ash knew that nothing she
said to Kieran would make him leave. “We don’t have much time. You
need to leave.”

He took her hands in his.
“If this is really what you want, then I can’t stop you. But I will
give you this.” He reached into his pocket and took out a blue
velvet box and a small scroll wrapped in ribbon.

Her first reaction was to
punch him in the face. If he thought it was romantic to give her
the same ring he was going to propose to someone else with, then he
was clueless and then some. But then she looked down at the box and
realised it was more than anyone else had ever done for her. Her
gaze went to Alok and she realised it was more than he had done for
her. He was still standing in the exact spot and hadn’t moved. He
was never going to fight for her. The ring from Alok came from his
family and no personal proposal.

It would be so easy to
say yes. Living with Kieran would be an adventure. But she couldn’t
let history repeat itself. The blue velvet box was so enticing,
even though she knew what was in it, she couldn’t stop staring at
it.

As if he read her mind he
slowly opened the box. The stones one the ring winked back at her
and her gaze wouldn’t leave the modest setting. He remembered. He
hadn’t even liked her when she told him that she preferred
sapphires to diamonds. Like Lady Diana. That had to be custom made.
It wasn’t exactly like hers because it had emeralds too, but this
meant―

How long did he have
that?

She couldn’t swallow
because it hurt. He tipped her chin up and then wiped at the
wetness at her cheeks.

“
What is it
going to take to convince you that I love you?” he said.

Ash shook her head. Why
did he have to make it so hard? She took the scroll from his hand
and opened it. The words blurred. Did he really go through all this
trouble for her? “For real?”

He smiled. “For real. You
can study nursing at the school of your choice. Resit your exam so
you don’t have to start all over again.”

He wasn’t offering her
marriage but a future. That was such a huge difference. “Why would
you do this for me?”

“
It’s what
you’re good at. You’ll make an excellent nurse and I want to be
there when it happens. I want to help you make it happen and
hopefully you’ll work with me.” Kieran pulled her into his arms.
“In the last few months I realised that unless you’re with me,
nothing makes sense in my life.”

Sushi came up from behind
them. “I told you about history repeating itself. This is meant to
be. You’re the one who chose and decided. Don’t choose your
mother’s fate.”

Why did it all have to be
so hard? Was this how it felt like to be pulled in two directions?
If she listened to her heart, it would be simple. She would walk
into Kieran’s arms and never look back. This was so much more. This
was her family’s reputation on the line and her aunt had given up
her life to take care of her, how could she throw it all
away?

His hand grasped hers.
“Tell me you’re not thinking about going through with this. Not
with how you feel about me.”

Her gaze fell on Alok who
had relief written all over his face. Was this what he wanted?
Alok’s father walked up to them.

His gaze focused on her
and she shifted closer to Kieran. “I should have known you would
renege on this arrangement. You have her eyes, why wouldn’t you be
as deceitful?”

Kieran’s grip on her
tightened. “I know arranged marriages are our way. It has always
been our way, but don’t you think it’s about time we
changed?”

The crowd managed a wave
of whispers and were then hushed into silence. It was Sushi who
stepped up and faced Kieran.

“
We always
give the bride and bridegroom a choice. They don’t have to agree.”
She pulled her pallu closer and nodded to the crowd, seeking
approval.

“
Didi, I was
sixteen when I agreed to marry Alok. I didn’t even know who I was
then. Don’t I get a chance to change my mind?”

Sushi folded her arms
across her chest. “How can you not know who you are? Once you’re
married you’ll be his wife. End of story.”

Everyone in the house
watched her and Ash knew that her next words had to come from her
heart. “I don’t want to be defined as someone’s wife. I want to be
me, a somebody.”

Sushi came up to her and
tugged her hand away from Kieran. “You are talking absolute
nonsense. Let’s get on with this wedding.”

Ash stepped back. “I
would rather not marry and follow my dreams then be defined as a
wife or a mother and nothing more.” Her gaze sought out the females
who stood in front of her. “Tell me you don’t want more in life
than this?”

Again there were hushed
voices. Kieran stepped up next to her and wrapped his hand around
her shoulder. “I think the lady has spoken. Are you ready to
leave?”

Ash watched the people
around her whisper amongst themselves. She was sure that no-one had
walked out of a wedding of this size before to seek their
independence. “I think so.”

Kieran bent his head so
his lips were at her ear. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re not
going to marry me?”

For the first time in ten
years, Ash felt true relief. “Ask me again when the stars are
aligned.”