Hey guys, thanks for the great responses, here's your next part!
**
As it was the night before Karwa Chauth, Naina sat with Shalini in the Doctor's room, as Shalini applied mehndhi to her palms.
"Thank you for doing this," Naina told her with a smile, "Otherwise I have no idea how I could have gotten it done."
"It's no problem at all Naina, after all it's your first karwa chauth with your husband, if you don't have mehndhi on your hands then how will it look?" Shalini asks her with a smile, while continuing to apply it.
"Will you be fasting?" Naina asked Shalini quietly, not really sure whether she should be asking at all or not.
"No," Shalini answered decisively, "It's not that I don't believe in the tradition, but I think that if the wife is going to uphold her duties, the husband needs to do his as well. He should be worthy of being fasted for." Shalini's face became sad for a moment before she brightened up, patting Naina's cheek affectionately. "And your husband is definitely worthy of being fasted for, I've seen how much he loves and supports you."
Naina nodded, smiling and blushing slightly. She agreed with Shalini wholeheartedly, if anybody's husband was worthy of being fasted for then it was hers.
"So have you told him how you feel?" Naina asks Shalini, "That he needs to uphold his duties as well?"
"Oh I've told him many times…" Shalini replies, "That's what many of our fights are about these days, and maybe that's why he hardly ever calls at all now."
Seeing the upset look on Naina's face, she smiled reassuringly and kept applying the mehndhi.
"Don't worry about it Naina, I'll be fine." Shalini assured her, "But what I want most of all is to see both you and Raj happy tomorrow, that's the best gift you can give me."
"At least that's one thing I can promise you, Shalini." Naina told her, "Nothing will be able to make me unhappy tomorrow."
**
Naina woke early to begin the preparations for her fast, surprised when she saw Raj enter the kitchen a few minutes later, rubbing his eyes sleepily. As she was putting the final touches on the preparation of the food he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and planting a kiss on her neck.
"Why are you awake?" she asked him, turning her face to kiss his cheek, "Go back to sleep."
"Did you think that I'd forget?" he asked her, "How can I sleep when you're up preparing for today?"
Naina smiles, raising a hand to ruffle his already messy hair. "I've done this without you twice before, you know." She informs him.
Raj just stares at her, not having expected this. "You kept Karwa Chauth for the last two years?" he asks her, "But why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, no matter what the circumstances, I was your wife, and I genuinely did want your long life." Naina tells him, "As for informing you… at the time I was worried that I was nothing more than a burden to you, an obligation… I didn't want to increase that obligation anymore."
Raj tightens his arms where he's hugging her around her waist, rocking back and forth with her slightly, his chin resting on her shoulder.
"You were never an obligation to me Naina…" he told her, "And it's funny that we both feared exactly the same thing. But now… there's nothing to stop us celebrating the festival together."
"Together?" Naina asked him with a frown, "When you say together…"
"Yes, I'm going to fast with you." Raj announced proudly and she frowned even more.
"No you're not, I forbid you to." Naina told him strictly, "What if you faint during one of your drills?"
"And what if you faint during your college?" Raj retorted, "Either both of us keep it or neither of us do."
Naina looks at the expression on his face and realises that he's completely serious, sighing, she decides there's no point in arguing with him, his mind is made up.
"Fine," she tells him, "But if you faint, it's not my fault… don't you know you're not supposed to be doing this?"
"Don't worry, I'm not just doing it for your long life, it's also for mine… how do you expect me to live to an old age if you're not here to look after me?" he asks, and she can't help but smile, pushing his head playfully.
"Alright, then come to the table and we'll eat." She tells him, taking his hand in hers, with the platter in the other and leading him to the table.
"As long as you feed me," Raj told her, picking up some food and offering it to her. Naina took it from his hands, before picking up a bite sized portion to offer it to him.
They finished the food quickly, and getting up, Raj tugged Naina's hand, leading her back towards the bedroom.
"What are you doing?" she asked him curiously.
"Naina it's early in the morning, at least let's sleep for a few more hours," he told her, "And if you don't feel like sleeping then you can lie there and let me hug you."
"When did you get to be such a flirt?" she asks him, amused.
"I think it was around the time I found out that you love me." He tells her, tugging her back down to the bed and putting his arms around her, "Now sleep for awhile longer."
**
"Morning, Bhabhie." Sherry told Naina when she ran into her in the corridor, "Nice mehndhi, what's the occasion?"
"Thanks Sherry," Naina replied with a smile, "It's Karwa Chauth today so…"
"Oh, so you're fasting." Sherry commented, "Well I hope my brother is at least fasting as well if you're going to all that trouble."
"Yes, he is." Naina admitted, slightly shy and Sherry smiled.
"Just as well… otherwise he'd be in trouble with me." She commented.
"Oh, so you're fasting." A silky voice interrupted, and Sherry turned to face the woman with an annoyed expression, but not before she spotted the look of apprehension on Naina's face. "That's so old fashioned, I hadn't expected you would be. I mean, modern women in these times are choosing not to."
"Well maybe you could choose not to if you actually had somebody to fast for." Sherry comments, glaring at Ritu hard, "But as you don't, I don't know why you're worried about it."
"Well I'll have to worry about it eventually, won't I?" Ritu asks her back with narrowed eyes, "And you never know, it could always be sooner rather than later."
"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that," Sherry told her, taking a step closer, "You never know what might happen."
Naina realises that Ritu and Sherry are now focused on each other as if they've completely forgotten she's here. She had had no idea that Sherry disliked the woman so much, and has a nagging feeling that there's something going on she's not aware of at the moment. Wanting to disrupt the mounting tension, she speaks up.
"I'm getting late for college, Sherry, enjoy your day and keep an eye on Raj for me, if he starts to feel faint…"
"Just relax, Bhabhie!" Sherry tells her, "Bhaiyya is a soldier you know, he's not going to collapse if he fasts for one day."
Naina smiles, and finally waves goodbye, heading to the front of the academy.
Ritu and Sherry resume staring at each other in a kind of stand off, before Ritu finally speaks.
"There's no need to be so hostile towards me, Cadet Gehlot, it doesn't suit a future soldier to behave like this towards their superiors."
"And there's no need to try and convince me that I don't need to be hostile with you… I know exactly what you're up to, and I'm not going to let you succeed." Sherry told her.
For a moment a look of shock passed over Ritu's face, and Sherry began to wonder exactly what it was that Ritu thought she knew she was up to.
"We'll see about that." Ritu finally said, seeming to calm slightly, "And try to learn to control your temper before it really gets you in trouble." And then she stalked off towards her office.
Shrugging, Sherry entered the canteen where she grabbed a plate of food and sat down at her usual table.
She took the only empty chair beside Pooja, before sighing, realising that she'd managed to sit down exactly opposite Pooja.
"Did you know it's Karwa Chauth today, Sherry?" Pooja asked her, "I just got the reminder in my inbox from mummy, she'll be having such a good time today with all our relatives and friends."
"Yeah, Bhabhie is fasting today." Sherry told her, "I think Bhaiyya is too."
"Hai… so romantic, just like Raj and Simran." Pooja commented, sighing dreamily, which caused Aalekh and Yudi to both give her very disbelieving look.
"So…. Karwa Chauth… you know you can fast for your future husband too, so why don't you try fasting for me today, Miss Sherry?" Huda asked her, winking.
For a moment Sherry just looked at him, her eyes narrowing, then without saying anything, she began shovelling food into her mouth so fast that the rest of them stared at her.
"Sherry what on earth are you doing?" Yudi asked her.
"Isn't it obvious?" Sherry asked him, "If fasting would ensure Huda's long life then I'm hoping that by stuffing my face today it will have the opposite effect."
Almost everybody at the table burst out laughing except for Huda, who had quite an angry look on his face.
Sherry got up and put her now empty plate on the table, almost running into Abhimanyu who was just grabbing one.
"Hi Sir," she told him, "Have you seen Bhaiyya yet this morning?"
"No, not yet." Abhi told her, "Did you need him for something?"
"Actually I wanted to congratulate him on his good decision," she lowered her voice as if telling a secret, "He's fasting as well, you know."
"Excellent!" Abhi grinned at her, "I'm proud of him, I don't see wives should have to do it if their husbands don't."
"I agree," Sherry replies, "There's no way I would fast for somebody's long life who's not concerned about mine."
"Well you can put it in your questionnaire for marriage suitability," Abhi jokes with her, "That way you can weed out the bad ones easily."
"Yeah well, somehow I don't think that one point is going to be high on my father's list of qualifications in a future groom." Sherry tells him, "Which is why I'm not planning to get married."
"Never give up, Cadet." Abhi advises her, in a mock serious tone. "You never know what the future has in store for you."
"Thanks Sir, I'll go and find Bhaiyya now, and see you later in class." Sherry told him with a small smile, now cheered up from the bad mood she'd been in ever since she had run into Ritu.
However her good mood didn't last for long, since at the exact moment she was about to exit the canteen, Huda stepped in front of her.
"Why are you always like this to me, Sherry?" he asked her, "Whatever I say, however much I try, you're never nice. And Abhimanyu Sir… well, you're happy to chat nicely with him. What's he got that I haven't?"
Sherry stares at Huda, unable to believe how ridiculous he's being, how much jealousy he's showing as if he has some right to claim her as his own.
"Cool hair." She finally replies, "Go and grow yours and then I'll be nice to you."
And pushing past him, she left to find Raj.
**
It was late afternoon when Naina arrived back from college, more tired than usual due to her fasting, and tempted to just collapse.
On entering the room she saw Raj seated in one of the sofas, also looking tired and trying to concentrate on his notes. He smiled as soon as he saw her and Naina moved forward, seating herself on the arm of the sofa and putting one arm around his shoulders, leaning against him. Raj reached up to take the hand of the arm around his shoulders, bringing it to his mouth and kissing it.
After a few minutes of sitting that way silently, Naina finally sighed and made a move to get up.
"Where are you going?" Raj asked her, tugging her back down.
"To go and start the preparations for tonight," Naina told him, "You do want to eat, don't you?"
"Forget about any preparations," Raj told her, "I've already arranged for some food to be delivered to us, I don't want you to have to cook tonight and I know that whatever I cook really isn't going to be satisfying after a day of fasting."
Naina smiled at this, raising her hand to run her fingers through his hair slowly.
"I think you're definitely the best husband in the world," she tells him, "Sometimes I wonder whether I really deserve you."
"Don't ever wonder about that," Raj replies seriously, "I'm lucky to have you… if any happiness has returned to my life, then it's only because of you."
"Well then I'd better get started with the other preparations." She tells him, "There are rituals we need to complete, you know."
"Oh yes, rituals, which I have absolutely no idea about except what I've seen in films." Raj told her, "So I'm afraid it's going to be very much up to you to get them right." Raj warns her.
Naina laughs, "That's fine, just let me go and get dressed properly and then I'll be ready to show you what we have to do."
She had already entered the bedroom when Raj called out behind her, "Check the bed before you go looking in the closet!"
Naina came out of the bedroom holding three boxes in her hands, one larger and the other two decreasing in size.
"What's this?" she asked him, a curious smile on her face.
"Open it and see." Raj told her, "Don't you know that you're supposed to get presents from your husband on Karwa Chauth?"
A small excited grin appeared on Naina's face at this, and she began to open the largest package, before marvelling at what lay inside.
"Raj this is…" she began to say, "But it must be…"
"Don't even think about worrying about that," he warned her, "I'll buy you whatever I feel like buying you, and you're not allowed to worry about the cost."
Naina looked down at the sari in her hands, which was the heavily embroidered and a deep red.
"Did you pick this?" she asked him, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Well… I had some help from the sales assistant." Raj admitted a little embarrassed.
Putting the sari down carefully, Naina put her arms around his neck, kissing him soundly.
"This is the most beautiful gift I've ever received," she tells him when she finally pulls away, "Thank you."
"Well I think I'm trying to make up for all that time we missed," Raj tells her seriously, "And I couldn't buy you a wedding sari at the time like I should've."
Naina wraps her arms around him, leaning her head on his chest.
"Aren't you going to open the rest?" he asks, impatient to see her reactions to the rest of the gifts.
Naina opens the next biggest box in size, once again gaping when she sees the contents, as it's an elaborate jewellery set which matches the sari.
"This is…"
"Unless your next words are 'beautiful and I love it', don't even think about saying them." Raj warns her.
"Beautiful and I love it." Naina finishes with a grin, knowing that he's not going to listen to anything else. "Just wait until I graduate and start earning money, I've got a lot of gifts to catch up on now to buy for you."
And instead of refusing, Raj smiles down at her proudly, "I'll be waiting for that," he tells her, and she knows that he is honestly very happy with the idea of her working after marriage.
"Okay, third one." Raj tells her, becoming impatient again.
"Well I don't know what it could be unless you bought me matching shoes." Naina remarks.
"Actually that's the only thing I couldn't buy, I had no idea what size your feet are." Raj admits, embarrassed.
Naina opens the third package and this time is genuinely surprised once again. "Well this is… different." She tells him, picking up the mobile phone in her hand.
"Well I had to buy a new one for myself after Sherry broke mine…" Raj tells her, "So I thought why not get two while I was there."
"When did Sherry break your phone?" Naina asks, and Raj realises that it's probably best not to go into that story.
"Not too long ago…" Raj told her, "It was accidental… but now that you have one you can contact me in case of any emergency, or call your mother whenever you wish, or even text message me when you're bored in college…"
Naina laughs at this last option, and bringing his face down to her with one hand, kisses his cheek.
"Well I'm going to go and get changed now," she tells him, "It's nearly time for us to start the rituals so I'll get ready now."
The food arrives while she's changing and Raj sets it out, waiting for her to be done before he changes himself.
The moment she steps out of the room, he has to steady himself on a chair, honestly afraid that he might fall over at the sight of her.
He had known that she was beautiful from the first day he met her, but now…
As he stands there just gazing at her, Naina tries not to smile and fails.
"Okay, go and get changed," she tells him, "Don't think that if I'm this dressed up, you're allowed to complete the rituals in jeans and a shirt."
Finally waking up from his trance, Raj walks towards the bedroom, purposefully brushing against her on the way, knocking his fingers against her.
Naina's smile just increases at his playfulness and she checks the food that is already laid out, noticing that he has ordered some of her favourites.
When Raj comes out of the room wearing a formal kurta pajama set she just smiles even more.
"You're so handsome," she tells him, reaching out to take his hand.
"Accha, is my biwi flirting with me now?" Raj asked her, "Actually I think you should be telling me that more often."
"And have you told me how I look tonight?" Naina asks him back jokingly, knowing perfectly well what he thinks about how she looks.
"Well I'm not sure I could find the words, but if you allow me, then perhaps I could show you…"
"Ah! Rituals first!" Naina tells him, cutting him off before he can complete the sentence, "The moon is out and I think it's time that we break our fasts."
They complete the rituals seriously, and as Naina gazes first at the moon and then at his face, she feels herself almost melt at the look in his eyes. Finally the other rituals are completed and he holds up the cup of water for her to drink from, bringing it to her lips. Naina takes just enough to sake her thirst before offering him the water as well, and Raj drinks deeply.
She's too quick for him the next time, holding out a bite of food before he can take any for her, and smiling at her quickness he eats it, before offering some to her in return. It is awhile before they finally finish eating, the process slow as they keep feeding each other.
When their dinner is over, Naina wanders to the bedroom, intending to take off the heavy jewellery she's wearing, as her fingers begin to undo the earrings, she feels Raj's hands join hers, and he quickly unpins the jewellery that she was fumbling with. Within a few minutes her jewellery is lying on the bedside table and Naina gazes at him, wondering exactly what it is that he intends, however as soon as he's finished helping her, Raj wanders back out of the room, closing the door and leaving her to get changed in privacy.
She opens the door when she's done and he comes back in, taking her hand and making her sit on the bed then sitting beside her. Naina isn't sure what to expect but he takes her hands in his, inspecting them carefully, his finger tracing over the lines of her mehendhi. Naina shivers slightly as he does so, but Raj either doesn't notice or ignores it.
"I think I've found my name," he finally tells her, tapping a part of her hand with one finger.
Naina blushes, remembering her request to Shalini to include it, not having thought at the time that he would actually look for it.
His task completed, Raj lowers himself so that his head is in her lap, one of her hands still grasped in his.
"I love you, Naina." He tells her, "Don't ever leave me, I don't know what I would do without you."
"Not even on holiday?" she asks him softly, aware that his eyes are already closed.
"Not even on holiday." He confirms, "Wherever we'll go, we'll go together."
His breathing deepens and she realises he's gone to sleep, exhausted by a combination of the day's physical exercise, the early start and no food all day.
Naina leans down to plant a kiss on his forehead. She can at least promise him that very easily, she'll never leave him.
Because if she did, she would be so lost she would never be able to find her way again.
Arjun
Web Series
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