Chapter 1

Prologue -1965

Thunder boomed across the sky while the rain poured down in torrents.Akaal Singh Brar stood at the threshold of his house, numb to the cold,his heart clenching with every scream of his wife as she writhed in pain upon the birthing bed.Two midwives were there to assist her,yet she screamed for him.He knew she badly wanted him there to hold her hand and support her,but propriety dictated that the birthing chamber was solely the woman's abode.No man was allowed to set even a single foot inside.

"Jabjyot,please forgive me."he muttered.

As long as they lived in society they had to follow the rules set up for them.If he wished to make something of himself in this world ,he had to play by their rules.When on the bottom rung,even the tiniest and most harmless of rules mattered.If he were to run inside,the flustered midwives might become remiss in their duties,neglecting his beloved wife.

To bend the world to his whims,he would have to be right at the top of the social hierarchy.

They had lived through the partition,countless famines and riots.Their meeting itself was nothing short of a miracle.She had fled from Lahore and him from Amritsar as children . Both of their families had lost their ancestral wealth to the partition and had to settle for less than what they had been used to.

When he had been born,a seer had prophesied a life filled with pain and sorrow.He would be both a prince and pauper,rising right to the top and falling equally hard.And the partition had seemed to prove his words true.

Former friends, acquaintances and relatives had turned their backs on his family and financial ruin finally lead to his father committing suicide.His mother too had decided to follow him,leaving behind a nine year old Akaal to fend for himself.Luckily,a goldsmith had pitied him and taken him in,teaching him his craft.With the humiliation and loss seared into his mind,Akaal had been determined to rise to the top and battle his preordained destiny.

He had vowed to make everyone bow in front of him and pay for the sorrow he had endured.He would be the king of the world,he had decided.

And thus had begun years of grit and hardwork as he had striven for perfection and meticulously planned his future.He had mastered his craft and amassed a small fortune.The goldsmith,pleased with him,had bequeathed him his shop upon his death.

Everything had seemed fine,until the accident.All he remembered was pain and a lengthy stay at the hospital.His savings had been spent and to rub salt into his wounds,he had lost function of one leg.He would need a walking stick for the rest of his life.More than the physical pain,it had been the wounds to his pride which had stung the most.

Yet,the heavens had seemed to be smiling upon him,when they had sent him Jabjyot as his guardian angel.Desperate for money and starving ,she had attempted to burgle his shop only to get caught red handed.What followed had been a long war of words,tears and cajoling before Akaal had found himself with a new assistant who would work for him in exchange for food.

It had only been a matter of time before they had fallen in love but there had been opposition from her family .He had and still loved her,but he knew what he'd choose between his dreams and love.However,fate had been kind to him when she'd showed up at his doorstep,bags in hand.

They'd wed in a quiet ceremony in the Gurudwara nearby,with only the kindly goldsmith in attendance.

Another scream brought him back to the present,this time accompanied by the faint sounds of a baby crying.

He turned to the heavens and thanked them profusely.He would win at all costs ,destiny be damned.