HBAS Chat corner - Page 74

Originally posted by: karkuzhali

Their campsite was a mere 3-hour ride away - thus having made the bazaar an ideal place to stop by and stock up on essentials

👏 Love this picture, Periyamma... have it in my folders... have always wondered if I might use it someplace...

For, delaying would be utterly foolish. It might seem like he'd won Parnagarh and humbled Khalil, but his life was in greater danger than before - he'd made even more powerful enemies now. It was the first instance where he'd been forced to acknowledge an emotion he'd never experienced before - a lingering 'fear'. Fear of the unknown. Fear of death.

'Respected Mansabdar of Parnagarh,

Much as it pains me to write this, I am not going to fight to reclaim the house that has been in my family for generations.

All I ask, is to be given a week, during which I shall remove all personal memories and belongings from the haveli and shift residence to the sick house dormitory, along with my people.

Thereafter, you will be free to move in and make the haveli your home.

Regards,

Harka Bai'

😆

His forehead rested against the edges of the scroll, weary and heavy.

It hurt. Hurt that she thought so poorly of him. So much so that she was ready to leave behind something irreplaceable - an ancestral home - rather than share a roof with him in that massive haveli with so many rooms to spare!

Awww 😒

Nevertheless, if life had been cruel to the Sahiba - it was just about to get a little bit crueller - before it got better. She didn't know it yet, but she wasn't going anywhere.

😉

'You have to stop thinking of her as the Sahiba! What would you do if she was your enemy? How would you get her to agree, if you had no feelings for her?'

😉

And then, the ideas came rolling in.

❤️

'you cannot remove anything from the haveli without my permission...everything in that haveli... the furniture... the furnishings... they belong to the Mansabdar. The cooks and servants are there to serve me! You're aware of the law!'

'How DARE you!'

Akbar came close, so he wouldn't have to strain his voice. 'I dare because I can!'

☺️

'Fine! My personal possessions... my clothes... the jewellery that my mother left me... I hope they still belong to me... I'll take those belongings... and shift to the sick house, alone... would that please you?'

'Now you see... THAT's the second issue...' he drank another sip or two of cold water. 'YOU cannot leave either...'

'I simply refuse to live there... WITH YOU!'

'society would expect you to live with your husband, wouldn't it?'

Heera took a step back 'I'd rather DIE' she heaved sharply, in exasperation 'than be married to you!'

'Rather die? Of course...' he shrugged, with not a scratch on his confidence. The sly look that came up in his eyes, conveyed the rest 'But something tells me that you wouldn't be prepared to leave your precious people wholly in MY care...'

'Circumstances Harka Sahiba... now that I am the new Mansabdar... I need the people's support... I can't have everyone assuming that I've seized your money, snatched your rights and removed you from your own home... otherwise... one fine day, your people might rise up in a rebellion against me!

'I give my word... I do... I wouldn't utter a single whisper against you... but please don't force this wedding upon me...'

'this is politics... the only way, my position will be safe... the only way I'll earn the respect of your people... is if I am their baisa's husband... YOUR husband!'

'I am never going to agree to this...'

'You don't have to agree with it... just go through with it... for the sake of appearances...'

'Please... please... stop! Don't do this...'

'Marry me, then...'

☺️

'Ustaad Sahib, I hate you...' she negated the iciness in his eyes with a look that burned right through him 'I truly do!'

'You can gloat on having won everything dear to me. One day, you'll find yourself a helpless man too... suffering like I am... yearning... craving for the one thing you want, but cannot have...'

😭

The skin on his jawline flinched. The curse was familiar - he was already suffering from it.

👏😭

'So Sahiba, the wedding takes place as soon as we touch Parnagarh soil... do you want to make the official announcement, or...' he stalled 'do you want me to do it?'

The young man cleared his gruff throat. 'You respect my beliefs... and I'll respect yours...'

'From this moment on, you stop referring to me as the Ustaad... I was... and I am Akbar Khan!'

True, he wanted to keep his identity hidden. But also, 'Ustaad' was a title that his subordinates used. And he considered the Sahiba his equal. 'Alright?'

☺️

A thrill ride it was, indeed!

End of Part II

[Journey will Continue]