Well last time when I wrote here in India forums someone plagiarized my work called "WHO AM I?" and that made me stop writing altogether. I hope this don't happen again.😊 Also since I updated a little late the chapter is quite long. And also a surprise factor of the Imlie's character here is waiting which may either make you love this story or absolutely can make you angry😛 Yet I hope you all will enjoy it⭐️
CHAPTER-01: SHADOW
“Imlie, pack this too. You can eat them during your journey”, Arpita handed some homemade banana chips and cookies which Arpita made herself.
I couldn’t help but think, ‘The immense love they are showering on me is really appreciating. But the feeling of belonging seems to be still missing from my side. Sita Maiyya, will I ever be able to get rid of this uneasiness trying to blend in?’
I smiled and packed them in the spare bag which had been filled with water bottles, snacks, sanitizer, handkerchief, skincare products and other essentials like toothbrush and toothpaste.
Two suitcases perfectly packed for two people in the name of luggage along with a small luggage back with daily necessities. I counted the number of bags and the things put inside them so that nothing goes missing while staying in the village. If anything goes missing then it can ruin Pagdandia’s image in front of ABP. This is a potential reason why I am so worried right now. He already don't have much of a good memories there.
Arpita had already left the room, I saw ABP coming out of the shower. This might be an everyday sight but it’s a sight to behold. I swear I gulp everytime I see his body but it’s getting harder to do it without getting caught by him.
I suddenly remembered the first day I saw him bare chested, it was the festival of color ‘Holi”. He got something like rashes and bumps all over his back and I applied turmeric powder on it as it has anti-inflammatory properties as well as healing properties. In our village we use turmeric for every single problem from cuts to cold so using it was the best option when I couldn’t find the first aid box in a hurry. I don’t understand the inhuman power I had that day for which even tearing his vest felt easier, maybe the power came to me because I couldn’t think of him to be in pain. And when he rubbed the color on my face with his cheeks the distance between us was only an inch. The heat from his bare skin was like fire and the closeness made it more wild for me to think straight. At the end I just ended up shedding tears as it was getting hard for me to think straight.
Aditya wasn’t that packed up, thought I… The physical attributes of the men in my life just keeps on changing, I grew up watching fat men in the village, then Aditya came with the thin and slender type and now this person has a whole body made in the gym with weights and protein shake. Definitely better than many heroes in movies. I didn’t give a thought to his looks until I was married to him. How could I? My mind was pretty messed up to ponder over things like this. The first three weeks were pretty busy with work and rituals, now when things are getting comfortable a little the broader perspective of the whole situation is opening up to me.
“Imlie do you have any question?” asked Aryan.
“What?” with his voice I felt like I was pulled out of a trance.
“You are looking at me from past five minutes without blinking”
Understanding my own action I felt embarrassed so to change the situation I asked,“ABP where is the charger? Also the powerbank?”
“I already have sent them to put them in the car. Also the luggage has also been sent when you were busy daydreaming about me.”
Damn the internal damage he does with his words is something no one else can do.
“I wasn’t dreaming I was busy”
“Busy in what? Ogling at me?”
This freaking man always gets on my nerves.
“Chiii, what ogling? You already wore your shirt, there is nothing to ogle at!”
“That’s why I wore it immediately. Don’t you say this marriage is just a deal full of negotiations which you accepted only because you care for the happiness of others. Then why are you so interested in my private assets?”
What the freak?
“Dekho ABP hum tohar eight packs ko nazar nahi laga rahat hai. Dikhne layak hai ei liye dekhat hai. Ful ho kaa? Dikhne se murjha jawat ho?(Look ABP I am not giving an evil eye look to your eight packs. It’s something pleasant to the eyes so I am looking at it. Are you a flower? Will you shrink if I look at you?)”
With this I couldn’t stop myself from teasing him by trying to pick up his shirt. He started to jump around like a frog.
Mr. Touch Me Not…
“Dekho Imlie paas mat aana(Imlie don’t come near me)”
“Haa hum villain hai jo tumre ijjat pe nazar dalat hai (Yes I am Indeed the villain and now I have my eyes on your chastity)” I said.
But as I just touched his stomach he lost his balance.
The next moment I knew I was above him. We both fell on the bed. I could see his deep brown eyes looking at me intently though he was holding me in a secure position. I was all okay for the sudden silence between us but the moment I realized his hand on my waist as I was wearing a saree I got conscious. I couldn’t fathom taking my eyes from his, if I did I fear he would notice how many shivers I am getting down my spine for his fingers. His fingers slowly moved as he made the position comfortable to hold me properly. His fingers felt like burning my skin. With utmost care he made me stand again on my feet.
“I think we should leave already” said Aryan stammering.
I couldn’t say much but nod my head as a gesture of saying yes.
These awkward moments always end up being in the album of Embarrassed Moments.
As I came down from the stairs I saw Kakimaa and Arpita didi standing near the door.
Kakimaa asked me to call her mother a few times until now but it’s quite difficult to be honest so I am still trying hard to think of a suitable name for her. I already call Aparna Maa as Maa so what should I call kakimaa?
“Imlie, you looking beautiful daughter-in-law,” said Narmada happily.
“Thank you.” I said happily. This woman just loves me a lot and her love radiates from her eyes. It’s absolutely visible.
“Imlie, have you packed all the foods? By the way, Aryan is not ready to take a driver with him. If he gets tired while driving? It’s a long distance afterall.” Arpita sounded a little worried.
“Don’t worry di. I will drive when he is tired. My driving license came yesterday from the office” said I proudly.
Actually even for the license the credit goes to Aryan. The very next day after all the rituals finished he took me for the driving license test. I guess the way I masked my intentions during the whole marriage process was really worthy of doing.
I still don’t understand why Aryan wanted to marry me but from the first moment he played the marriage trick I really wanted to marry him. Sita Maiyya am I still the innocent girl of the village or I am a darker version now? I was hesitant at first but when Aryan said if we stay with a hunter either we become a prey or a hunter. The whole game changed, I was changed. Guess I got my needed charm. Villain? Let me be the villain for the bigger purpose, for my village, for the women and also for my life. Without cheat codes how could I, an ordinary girl who was supposed to be a housewife in the village, ended up here?
“Imlie…”
A call from Arpita broke my trance. I was already standing near the car.
“Safe and happy journey,” Narmada and Arpita said in Unison.
“You guys also stay safe. Lock the door properly and call us if there is any problem”, said I.
With a hearty goodbye we left our home and the journey for the pag phera ritual in Pagdandiya started.
Pag phera only? Nope. We have a whole mission lying ahead.
Suddenly my cell phone rang. I saw an unknown number which isn’t saved but I definitely know the number really well. I picked up the call.
“Ma’am half of the work has been done”, a male voice came from the other side.
“That means you settled in well there,” said I and turned my face to see Aryan’s reaction. He spared a glance and focused again on the steering wheel.
“Yes. But how many more days ma’am?”
“One week for maximum then you can leave,” I said. To be honest my own voice sounded quite unfamiliar, I was never this stern. But I need to have this command to get my work done. Guess I learnt well from Aryan.
“Okay ma’am”
With this I dismissed the call and looked outside the car window. The AC is on so I didn’t feel the need to open the window.
“These days I feel like you have changed Imlie,” said Aryan with a calm voice.
Changed? Indeed. I looked at his face, his eyes were still on the road.
I smiled and said, “I guess I changed a lot thanks to you. But you tell me, you were hell bent on marrying me. Isn’t it? But why? You never shared the reason.”
He was mum and tried to focus more on the road. I knew from the very beginning that it’s still not time for him to come open with his thoughts. Yet why did I use this topic of him marrying me? It’s simple, this single line can bend any of our conversations to the direction I wanted.
“Don’t worry as the contract signed between us I will never harm your family”
This time he turned his head to give me a look of disbelief.
“You seem drastically changed from our marriage… nope from the moment you made me sign the weird contract”
“What was weird about it?”
“Everything. What are you plotting Imlie?”
“Something real fun I guess. You know I have always been the loser. I was played by the villagers, played by Adi Babu, played by Malini didi and her mom. Even the love I get from Tripathis do you think it’s free? I earned it by sacrificing myself more than a thousand times.”
While saying these I was lost. I was lost in nature, I was lost in myself. I could not hear any reply from him so I turned towards my right facing his face directly and threw the last bomb out of my bag, “I was even played by you Mr. Aryan Singh Rathore.”
As always he chose silence so I carried on, “So I decided to take your advice and be the hunter instead of the prey. But you tell me if I become a bad person while being a hunter will you divorce me like Aditya babu?”
This question was needed for me, for my own ears to hear. I tried so much in my first marriage, gave my best yet was only defeated. So this time without love, without affection and even without emotional investment I need an assurance, an assurance totally based on compatibility and half broken trust.
This only can make me get over the wishes of the normal life a girl dreams of. I am Imlie Singh Rathore.
We are still not married at court which kakimaa don’t know. The legal age has already shifted to twenty one but still I need to make sure I don’t go through this nonsensical wastage of emotions.
“No…” I could hear the firmness in his voice.
“No?” I asked him with a smirk.
“No… I won’t divorce you even if you become the worst person for everyone and even for me. For me you will always be Imlie. For being the hunter you can never please everyone. If you are good enough for your closest one you are good to go. I myself don’t go on pleasing others so I don’t want you to have such idealistic high morale standards like Aditya Kumar Tripathi. You can harm, hurt and even screw others. You are Imlie Singh Rathore now, you are under no one’s kindness. So be free to use this power any way you like.”
I smiled again, broken trust can be mended but it will not be mended by the naive Imlie. This Imlie has high standards. Aryan Singh Rathore you will be the one who will mend the trust you broke. Till that time I need to screw up some people. Also this will be a gem for my internship project.
“ I will go back to college after my return from Pagdandiya. Is it okay?”
“No problem. By the way, I never asked which year are you this time?”
“Second”
“Course?”
I smiled at his ignorance as well as smartness. I know it very well he did my background search long back but only to keep my face he is asking with his own mouth.
“BJMC”
“BJMC?”, he pretended to be confused.
“Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication”
He looked at my face proudly as if his eyes were saying that I did well.
I did well nope I hanged well in between all the dramas life offered me. It was really hard to be honest and my teenage mind, which is still growing, hardened a lot. But I am still hopeful and yet I know I have darkened a lot. Now I have chosen the path to be a villain. Did Malini didi liked being a villain too? She was such a Good girl before but then she became viscious. Maybe the adrenaline rush to our brains makes being a dark person more exciting and I guess I am picking the shades to turn things well. Naah… Villains are in negative limelight. Let me stick to my aim to be a hunter instead. I will hunt every prey on my road maybe someday Aryan too if he can’t keep his word that he gave today about not divorcing me ever. The ‘Happy Forever Together’ fake promise was given by Aditya babu too once.
How can I trust you too Aryan Singh Rathore when I am so not clear about your intentions? People never give anything for free, if you are giving either you have a gain or some emotions involved. How would I know that our relationship will not be a joke like my last one? But since you have married me already I will not give you a loophole like I gave to Aditya babu. Your words also sound like honey which only praises me just like the words once Aditya babu used to say. Now he just messes up every time he is in front of me. The road he is heading is exactly the road I saw Malini didi walk on.
But anyways how much should I trust you Aryan Singh Rathore? It had already become so hard to trust people and since I changed so much my thinking process has already darkened a lot. I can no longer be the extra sweet person. I can no longer think without the profits of my goals.
My heart darkened to the hue of Gray called Shadow.
Now do tell me did you guys like this or not in your comments. Will wait patiently for your reactions. Also I hope you all have enjoyed it😳
Yours Mimi😎
Bindi
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Jodha Akbar
