I started this FF about 7 months back because I was very unhappy at the way the creatives had started to systematically butcher Milinds' character. I didn't post it at that time as I wasn't sure if work commitments would allow me to do regular updates but I think it is worth trying to finish the FF. Hopefully, by keeping it close to the vision I first had on my story it will be a fitting tribute to the original Milind on the show. It is very different from BTs Kayamath with the exception that my Milind's character does follow the original Milind quite closely. My Prachi is very different in that she is not docile nor a crying doormat.
Milind Mishra - Business tycoon and older son of Aditya Mishra and his first wife. Mother died when Milind was very young. His father Aditya, remarried for the sake of his son but his second wife died in childbirth. Father died when Milind was 23 years old leaving him to run the Mishra empire.
Prachi Shah - Only child of the late Inder and Premlata Shah who died in a car crash when she was 13 years old.
Neev Mishra - Milind's half-brother born to Adyita Mishra and his second wife.
Ayesha Singhania - Neev's ex-girlfriend and daughter of a wealthy businessman.
Mamaji & Mamiji - Prachi's maternal uncle and aunt who adopted and raised her since her parents' death.
Marriage on the Rebound
CHAPTER 1
The room had fallen into a terrible silence. No one moved, no one spoke, the horror that was every young woman's worst nightmare hanging the very air that surrounded them. Prachi had dropped into the nearest chair, her face turned white with shock. Her hands were pressed between her knees and half-buried in the soft folds of her red silk lengha. Ice-cold and numb, they were crushing the single sheet of notepaper Milind had just grimly handed to her.
'How could he do it?' Her Mamaji's cry broke into the terrible silence.
Nobody answered him. Prachi couldn't, and Milind obviously wasn't prepared to. He stood by the window, effectively disconnected from it all now his part in the dirty deed was done, while downstairs was packed full of guests, all dressed in their wedding finery, waiting for a bride and groom who would not be turning up. By now they would have begun to suspect that something terrible had gone wrong, the fact that Neev and Milind were not in their places was enough to arouse suspicion alone. Her aunt would be jumping all over the place with worry waiting for a bride who was no longer wanted.
'My God! He couldn't have cut it any finer, could he?' her Mamaji said angrily.
Prachi didn't so much as move, her eyes not seeing much. They looked inwards into the dark recesses of her mind where horror, hurt and humiliation were waiting to grab hold of her once the numbness of shock had worn off.
Was Milind in shock too? she found herself wondering. She supposed he must be. He certainly looked pale beneath his normally golden olive skin and he was dressed for a wedding in a white and red Sherwani. He could not have suspected Neev was going to do anything quite as stupid as this. Her gaze dropped to her hands, where her fingers curled tightly around the single sheet of notepaper and she started feeling dizzy and sick.
Mamaji broke into sudden movement. 'God, I have to go and warn all those poor people waiting downstairs'.
'There is no need. I need to talk to Prachi alone. If you will give me a few moments with her, I may have a solution to the problem,' Milind said grimly.
'Are you sure?' Mamaji said.
'Yes, you need to reassure your family that I will make sure I have sorted this mess out to everyone's satisfaction'. Milind's words came out terse and clipped.
Mamaji left the room in a hurry. Milind just stood there, glaring at Prachi's downbent head for a few moments, then suddenly strode over to grasp the red tulle veil she still wore on her head. Careless of the amount of pins holding it in place, he ripped it from her head and threw it aside.
'Sorry,' he muttered tensely. He spun away, pushing clenched fists into his pockets.
Her scalp began to tingle from his rough handling, but Prachi didn't mind. If anything she was glad of the feeling because it told her she was at least partly still alive. And she even understood why he'd done it. She must look pathetic sitting here in all her bridal finery while her groom made off in the opposite direction.
Then it really hit ' bringing her staggering to her feet, the letter falling forgotten to the floor as she began a mad clawing at her bridal jewelry to take it off. With fingers trembling and her body shaking her eyes jerked up to his face only to see a shocked expression on his face.
'I don't know why you of all people are looking at me like that. You've done everything else you could possibly do to ruin today for me!' she demanded in a tight voice thick with condemnation. Milind had openly held her in contempt from the very first moment Neev had introduced her as his fiance. She grabbed the huge diamond ring winking tauntingly back at her, and with an angry tug she wrenched it from her finger and threw it at his feet. 'You can give that back to him when you see him next. I don't ever want to see it again.' Then she felt all her anger and strength drain away from her and sank back down on the chair. She felt humiliated and a fool for ever believing that Milind Mishra would let her marry his brother. She had known from the time she was introduced to him that Milind was going to do everything in his power to break them up. Prachi and her family were from a lower middle-class family and therefore, she didn't qualify to be a member of the powerful and wealthy Mishra family. Yet, here he was again, still standing there in front of her and not making good his escape like his brother had done, she noted grimly. He was still there, as always ready to see his responsibilities through to the bitter end.
Milind. The older brother. The more successful one. The head of the great Mishra empire. A man with shoulders more than broad enough to take whatever was thrust upon them. And Neev had certainly thrust her upon Milind today, she thought with a bitter smile.
'After all that he said to me he didn't want me. He didn't really want me' she said dully.
'He wanted you, Prachi, but he loved Ayesha. In all fairness, he had no right to promise any other woman anything while he still loved her.' Milind said.
Yes, Ayesha, she thought emptily. Neevs' first and only love''And you had to bring her back into his life,' she said accusingly.
'Yes,' he said. She stared up at him through huge black haunted eyes, wondering if that grim look he was wearing hid satisfaction or any guilt at all for what he had done. Milind had warned her ' as long as six weeks ago when she was first introduced to him as Neev's fiance, he had warned her he wouldn't just stand aside and let her marry his brother. From the first moment their eyes had met across the elegant width of the Mishras' luxurious home, his contempt for her and her background had been there. Until that moment she had just been Prachi Inder Shah, the proud and loving daughter of the late Inder and Premlata Shah ' both parents having died in a car crash when she was 13 years old. Consequently, she had been adopted and raised by her mother's brother and his wife who had been childless until she came into their lives. Now she was a middle-class upstart who wanted to climb up the social ladder by marrying into the great Mishra family. This was the first time in her life that she'd experienced what real prejudice felt like. She'd had to steel herself to actually take the hand that Milind had held out to her in that formal greeting, knowing by sheer instinct that he had no wish to touch her or even be in the same room as her. Yet, oddly, not only had he taken the hand but he had held on to it ' the dark, dire expression on his face had managed to chill the blood in her veins. It had been that moment when Milind Mishra had made sure she was aware of her complete unsuitability to become a member of the great Mishra family.
Well, today he had won his battle, she supposed. Lend comfort to the defeated. She glanced at him, seeing the rigid tension in his jaw and in the harsh line of his strong profile. He was nothing like Neev to look at. The two brothers were as different in every way as two men could possibly be. Where Milind had a golden olive skin, Neev was fair, so fair that it hadn't come as a complete surprise to her to find out later that they were only half-brothers. Which also answered the question as to 7 year gap in their ages. Neev had the 'chocolate boy' looks with the uncomplicated smile which went with his uncomplicated character.
Milind, on the other hand, wasn't your average handsome man. The man had everything. Good looks and a great body. He had a rigidly chiseled chin, lean cheeks and a perfectly sculpted full, firm set mouth. He sported a short stubble which could easily be described as designer which gave his appearance a rugged attractiveness. But it was his eyes that held your attention the most'they were sharp, intelligent and shrewd. The eyes of a hunter. A stalking hunter, instantly skimming and assessing the situation and his surroundings and looking for a weakness to exploit. It was no wonder then, that he had a legendary reputation as a hard and ruthless businessman.
Milind suddenly walked over to her and sat down in the chair opposite her and looked at her. Prachi had a beautiful angelic oval shaped face with high cheekbones and light brown almond-shaped eyes with full lips that reminded one of an innocent exotic doll. Her skin was as smooth and as pale as milk. That and a combination of thick, straight jet-black long hair that was now pinned up in a plaited bun on top of her head and adorned with jasmine flowers, usually turned people's heads in admiration.
Milind said in a tense voice 'I know you won't believe this, but I knew from the beginning that Neev was not the man for you. All right,' he conceded at her deriding glance, 'I'm relieved he came to his senses before it was too late. But I am not proud of the time he took to do it. Nor will I forgive him easily for dragging the Mishra name and honor into the mud in this way'If it gives you any satisfaction at all to know it, I can tell you that he and Ayesha are not proud of themselves for what they have done.'
Prachi said 'I really don't want to hear it Milind. After a small silence she said 'I know this has been an ordeal for you, and I thank you for the bother you've taken with me, but I'm going to be all right, and I would like you to leave now.'
But he gave a grim shake of his dark head, not even attempting to get up. 'I'm not going yet,' he informed her bluntly. 'I have a proposition to put to you first. And I want you to hear me out before you say anything. I know you're in shock, and I know you can't possibly be capable of making decisions of any kind. But I'm going to force this one on you for the simple reason that I think, if you agree, we can at least save both our families pride and honour, if nothing else from this mess.'
He paused, then turned and looked directly at her, his eyes very guarded but unwavering as they caught and held her own gaze.
'Will you marry me instead of my brother, Prachi?' he requested gravely.
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
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