TALES OF TAJ

CHAPTER X

*Plot Summary:*

Ava and Ruby arrive at the Tales palace, where they are greeted by Nikolas, Ruby's grandfather. Ruby is emotional to see her grandfather, and Ava is introduced to the family.

As the evening progresses, Nikolas announces that Ruby will be getting engaged to Anurag Mukherjee, the son of an old friend. Ruby is shocked and tries to talk to Nikolas about it, but he brushes her off.

Ruby's heart is not in the engagement, as she has feelings for Ava. Despite her doubts, Ruby goes through with the engagement ceremony, but not before sharing a quick conversation with Ava in the darkness.

As the ceremony concludes, Ruby agrees to marry Anurag, but her eyes lock with Ava's, leaving the reader wondering what was discussed in the darkness and why Ruby agreed to the marriage.

*Cliffhangers:*

1. What did Ava and Ruby discuss in the darkness?

2. Why did Ruby agree to marry Anurag despite having feelings for Ava?

3. What secrets is Nikolas hiding, and how will they impact Ruby's life?

*Themes:*

1. Forbidden love

2. Family secrets

3. Identity and self-discovery

*Genre:* Romance, Drama, Mystery*

MAIN STORY:

Ava and Ruby finally arrived at the palace. Ava noticed that the palace was named Tales, and next to it was another palace named Taj. Ava exclaimed, "Wow, Tales of Taj!" Ruby was shocked and asked, "How did you know that both palaces are called Tales of Taj?" Ava smiled and replied, "The names are written outside both palaces, so I read them and the first word just came out of my mouth." Ruby said, "Oh, okay."

Ava and Ruby entered the palace and saw Nikolas standing in front of them. Ruby became emotional and rushed into Nikolas's arms. Nikolas was overjoyed and said, "It's been so long since we met, you're my dearest granddaughter." Ruby happily replied, "I know, Grandpa."

Rajesh announced, "Grandpa, Suresh's brother has also arrived." Nikolas pushed Ruby aside and said, "Oh, he's here too." Suresh rushed in and hugged Nikolas, saying, "I missed you so much, Grandpa."

Nikolas looked at Ava and said, "And who is this?" Rajesh intervened, "Grandpa, this is Ava, Ruby's friend, who has come to attend the wedding with her." Nikolas moved closer to Ava and said, "I've seen you before." Ava smiled and asked, "Where did you see me?" Nikolas replied without thinking, "Wait till the wedding, and maybe you'll have to stay here for a few more days after that."

Ruby asked curiously, "Why, Grandpa?" Nikolas said, "You'll find out at Rajesh's engagement ceremony tonight." Ruby asked, "Is it a surprise?" Nikolas replied, "Yes."

Ruby took Ava's hand and said, "I'll show you to your room." Nikolas was still suspicious of Ava, wondering if she was the same person sent by the unknown person.

Ruby showed Ava to a room upstairs in the palace and said, "From here, you can see the entire city, and in the evening, you can also see the sunset." Ava said, "That's great, I love sunsets."

Ruby said, "Your room is right next to mine, so if you need anything, just call out." Ava asked Ruby, "So, you're the boss, and you also want to do all the work?" Ruby walked up to Ava and said in a loving tone, "Forget about being a bodyguard or a boss, just remember that we are..." Ava asked, "We are what?" Ruby replied, "We are just friends."

Ava said, "That's okay, but I won't forget to collect my fees." Ruby laughed and said, "Okay, okay, I'll pay you your fees, just leave it for now." Ava said, "Okay, now you go, I'm going to take a bath." Ruby said, "Yeah, me too, I'm all messy and dirty." And with that, Ruby left the room.

In the evening, all the guests had arrived at the palace. Nikolas was chatting with everyone, waiting for a special guest to arrive. Rajesh had also come downstairs, dressed and ready, along with his fiancée. Everyone was in high spirits.

Nikolas noticed that Suresh was on a phone call for a long time. Just as Nikolas was about to approach Suresh, his special guest arrived. Nikolas was overjoyed to see them and hugged them warmly, saying, "Mr. Mukherjee, it's been a long time since we met. I'm glad you could make it to the engagement ceremony."

Mukherjee replied, "You invited us, how could we not come?" Nikolas asked, "Where's your son Anurag? I don't see him." Mukherjee said, "He'll be here soon."

Just then, Nikolas pointed to a young man who had just entered and said, "Look, there he is!" Mukherjee said, "Anurag, come and touch Uncle's feet and take his blessings."

Nikolas said, "No need for that, Mukherjee." Anurag had come with a young woman. Nikolas asked, "Who's this girl?" Mukherjee replied, "She's my sister's daughter. After her mother's death, she's been living with us."

Nikolas asked, "What's her name?" Mukherjee said, "Dipti." Nikolas said, "Good, good. Brother, you've brought Dipti along too. I need to talk to you about something. Can you please come with me for a bit?" Mukherjee asked, "What's this about?"

After a while, Nikolas and Mukherjee returned to the party, and Mukherjee asked Nikolas, "Where's Ruby? I don't see her." Nikolas replied, "She'll be here soon." Mukherjee joked, "She's even late than the groom!" Nikolas chuckled and said, "You know how kids these days take forever to get ready with their makeup." Mukherjee agreed, "Yes, that's true."

Just then, the lights suddenly went out, and everyone was shocked. "What happened?" Rajesh asked a staff member to check on the lights. Just as the staff member was about to investigate, the lights flickered back on, and Ruby and Ava made a stunning entrance together at the engagement ceremony. Ruby was wearing a beautiful red gown, and Ava was wearing a sleek black blazer. They were holding hands, and their entrance turned heads.

Dipti whispered to Anurag, "Ruby looks so beautiful today, just like a princess, and the girl with her looks like her prince." Anurag's eyes were fixed on Ruby, and Dipti couldn't help but notice how charming Ava looked.

Nikolas looked at Ruby and said, "Ruby, I was waiting for you. Meet Mukherjee, my old friend." Ruby looked at Mukherjee, bowed her head slightly, and said, "Hello."

Nikolas introduced Ruby to Anurag, saying, "This is Anurag, Mukherjee's son." Ruby greeted Anurag with a "Hello" as well.

Dipti looked at Ava and said, "And I'm Dipti, Anurag's sister." Ava smiled at Dipti.

Anurag looked at Dipti and said, "What's wrong with you? Stop acting crazy!" Dipti seemed delighted by Ava's smile, and Anurag noticed his sister's unusual behavior.

Nikolas, beaming with joy, said to Ruby, "Today is a very happy day for me. My grandson and granddaughter are both getting engaged at the same place, and I'm overjoyed." Ruby was taken aback by his words and asked, "Which granddaughter, Grandpa?"

Nikolas replied, "Who else but you, Ruby? You're my only granddaughter." Ruby's eyes welled up with tears, and she asked, her voice trembling with sadness, "Who am I getting engaged to, Grandpa?"

Nikolas said, "Anurag Mukherjee, of course. That's why I introduced you to him earlier. I had planned to surprise you with this news." Ruby asked Nikolas to step aside with her, saying, "Grandpa, please come with me for a minute. I need to talk to you."

Nikolas brushed her off, saying, "We can talk later. First, let's get the engagement over with. We're running out of time." Ruby's heart wasn't in getting engaged to Anurag; she had feelings for Ava. She glanced at Ava, who was chatting happily with Dipti. Ruby felt a pang of uncertainty, wondering if Ava felt the same way about her.

Despite her doubts, Ruby still wanted to marry Ava, and she wanted to talk to Nikolas about it. But Nikolas wasn't listening, and he forced Ruby to proceed with the engagement ceremony with Anurag.

Ruby sat down with Anurag for the engagement ceremony. Nikolas had made all the arrangements beforehand. Ruby kept glancing at Ava, but Ava was ignoring her and chatting with Dipti instead. Ruby was feeling torn apart inside, and the pressure was becoming unbearable.

Suddenly, the lights went out again, and everyone was left wondering what was happening. Ruby took advantage of the darkness, got up, and pulled Ava aside. Before the lights came back on, Ava and Ruby had a quick conversation and returned to their seats. Ruby then went through with the engagement ceremony without saying a word.

During the ceremony, Rajesh asked Ruby, "Ruby, do you like Anurag? Are you willing to marry him? If not, please tell us before the engagement, and I'll stop the wedding." Ruby replied, "Yes, I like Anurag, and I'll marry him."

Rajesh said, "Think carefully." Nikolas intervened, saying, "Rajesh, look where you're sitting." Rajesh said, "But we should know what Ruby wants." Ruby reassured him, "Don't worry, brother, I'll get married to Anurag."

After saying this, Ruby looked at Ava, and Ava was now looking back at her.

What did Ava and Ruby discuss in the darkness? Why did Ruby agree to the marriage?

To be continue...