Thanks for everyone else who left comments. I've read each and everyone of them and just want to thank you guys for the encouragement. sorry that i didn't reply to most of them, i really don't have the time to. am having a busy week. but i'm updating today cuz i know that most of you have been waiting impatiently for me to update. 😆
-- "Mr. Walia, apne to koi aur se shaadi karnwale thi, haina?"----"Mr. Walia, yeh Mrs. Jai Walia kaun hai?"-----"Aapke phele fiancee ko kya hua?"----"Pia Dixit kahan hai?"----"Apne isse, Mrs. Jai Walia, ko kyun shaadi kiya aur Pia Dixit se nahi?"--- "Kya aapke paatni Pia Dixit ke behen hai?"---
(trans: Mr. Walia, you were to marry someone else, isn't it?---- Mr. Walia, who is this Mrs. Jai Walia?-----What has happened to your first fiancee?---Where is Pia Dixit?-----Why have you married her, Mrs. Jai Walia, and not Pia Dixit? What is the reason behind this?---- Is your wife Pia Dixit's sister?)One by one, reporters stood from their seats, shouting questions, eager for answers, and held notepads in their hands, prepared to write down facts and notes. Jai stares at them from his seat with his determined eyes and doesn't even flinch from the numerous cameras flashing at him, continuously. He remains still and calm, whereas his wife is the complete opposite. Bani has never felt so nervous and uncomfortable in her life until now. The blinking cameras, the eager audience, the media, and her husband- all made her a nervous wreck. She sits, shaking to herself, beside her husband in silence. Jigyasa, who happens to be sitting by Bani, nudges her hard in her ribcage, startling her. Bani looks up at her fake-wide smiling face.
"Bani, smile you fool. Are you now hell-bent on ruining your husband's reputation as your sister was", Jigyasa mutters to her, quietly. Bani reflects the hurt in her eyes from her remark. She slowly looks back ahead of her and at the reporters, smiling faintly.
"Pia Dixit, my previous fiance, was too young and naive...hence I dropped the decision of marrying her and have married instead her older sister, Bani Dixit, now my wife, Mrs. Jai Walia", Bani hears her husband speak in his husky deep voice, which penetrates inside of her. She flushes silently as she is referred to Mrs. Jai Walia by Mr. Walia himself. She knows for a fact that saying those words must have been a very great difficulty for him. Bani watches each reporter lower their heads down and write rapidly on their notepads, their pencils moving back and forth, quoting each and every word.
"Paar Mr. Walia, aapki phele fiancee, Pia Dixit, khana gaye? Woh aapke shaadi mein nahi thi aur aapke reception peh....", a curious reporter questions.
(trans: But Mr. Walia, where has your first fiancee, Pia Dixit, gone? She did not attend either the wedding or reception....)Bani's body tenses with worry at the question. Jai Walia nears the microphone before him once again and speaks into it. "Pia has gone abroad to further in her studies, which is why she could not attend our wedding nor the celebration for it."
Surprised yet relieved, Bani stares at Jai, thankful, but immediately switches her gaze down at her lap as his eyes meet with hers, a not so pleasant look in them.
"Mr. Walia, kya aaph khush hai aapke faasila se...maatlab aapke paatni se shaadi kharke...", another reporter asks.
(trans: Mr. Walia, are you happy with your decision?...meaning by marrying your wife?)Jai's eyes leave Bani and look over to the standing reporter, staring at him with great interest.
"Ji hain, main baut khush hoon. I have made the right decision in marrying my wife", he says in a rather convincing voice.
(trans: Yes, I am very happy.)Another reporter raises from his seat, but before he can even speak, Jai says clearly, "I'm sorry, but I will not answer anymore questions. I had planned for a brief meeting with the media and intend to keep it that way as for I have a tight schedule today. Excuse us". He stands from his seat, ready to leave the suffocating room, but stops from making another move as he hears another reporter's voice from behind.
"Last question, Mr. Walia", the man shouts, raising his hand in the air. Jai turns around and gives him a disapproving look. "Really, I do not have the time for this".
"It's alright, young man, ask your last question", Jai hears his sister speak into her own microphone. He stares at her with a "bloody-murder" look.
"Yeh question Mrs. Walia ke liye hai.....".
(trans: This question is for Mrs. Walia...)Completely petrified, Bani looks over at Jai, almost as if seeking for rescuing from him. She doesn't want to answer any questions...she didn't want to give answers to these strangers. Unfortunately, she sees Jai nod his head after a hesitant moment. "You may proceed...". Bani removes her gaze as Jai throws her a threatening look, sending her the message of not to mess anything up. She swallows and feels the saliva in her mouth run down her dry throat.
"Mrs. Walia, aph chup kyon ho? Kya aph khush nahi ho jaise aapke paati hai?", the same reporter asks.
(trans: Mrs. Walia, why are you quiet? Are you not happy like your husband is?)Bani freezes and finds herself speechless. Immediately Jigyasa comes to her aid.
"Aisa bilkul nahi hai. Meri Bani Bhabhi to baas aise hai-chup chap. Shayad usko is attention ko pasand nahi karte, kyon Bhabhi?", she says with fake sweetness. Bani could clearly see in Jigyasa's eyes that she wanted her to agree.
(trans: It's not like that at all. My Bani Bhabhi is just like this--- quiet. Maybe she doesn't like all this attention, right Bhabhi?)"J-Ji....", she stammers.
"Woh teek hai, paar kya aph khush hai, Mrs. Walia?", he asks once again.
(trans: That's alright, but are you happy Mrs. Walia?)With a lot of force, Bani manages to say quietly, "Ji, main baut khush hoon mere pati ke saath."
(trans: Yes, I am very happy with my husband...) Mere pati.....how strange it felt to say for her. Her husband.......
Along with the man, other reporters write this down in their small notepads. Jai signals for Bani to get out from her seat, which she does without any hesitation. She wanted to get far away from the demanding reporters....but also was scared of what would happen to her with Jai when no one was around. To her astonishment and great discomfort, she feels her husband's arm hold tightly around her waist, crushing her against his side.
Jai: (mutters, sarcastic) Chale, Darling?
There is a sort of evil glint of in his eyes which makes her shudder with fear. She lowers her head and lets herself be lead down the stage by Jai's side. Cameramen begin to go insane and flash pictures of them as they make their way down the free pathway and to the exit. Jai smiles broadly at them and his hold on Bani increases, hurting her....
Jigyasa follows behind them, flashing a bright smile to everyone. Aditya, who stood on the stage beside them, follows after them also. As they get out of sight, Jai lets go of Bani in disgust.
"Well, thank God you had enough sense to remain quiet throughout the meeting and didn't do anything to ruin my Bhaiya's reputation any further", Jigyasa says to her as she approaches Bani and her brother in the parking lot. Jai takes out his shades and puts them on. He reaches into his coat pocket, taking out his car keys, oblivious to his sister's venom like words. Bani, pained, stares down at the ground, not knowing where else to look.
"That is enough, Jigyasa. Will you for once put a stop to your nonsense talking?", her ex-husband, Aditya growls at her. Jigyasa, completely offended by this, remains quiet and glares at him with her dark looking eyes.
"Get in the car, Jigyasa. Let's go", Jai says in his authoritative voice, ignoring his best friend's and sister's cold attitudes toward one another. After casting one last hateful look at her Bhabhi, Jigyasa opens the car door, seating herself in. Not even thinking before asking, Bani blurts out in a soft innocent tone, "...Ji, main kiske saath jaaon?".
(trans: Who will I go with?) She bites down on her tongue as she sees Jai glare in her direction. After staring at her up and down with pure hate, he gets into the driver seat, sticks the key into the ignition, and starts the engine, ignoring her as he does this. In seconds, his car zooms off from sight. A terrible feeling of pain sweeps inside of her, making her feel low and depressed. Bani feels a comforting squeeze on her shoulder and turns around, looking at Aditya.
Aditya: Let's go, Bani. I will drop you home. (lightly smiles)
Bani nods her head and follows after Aditya to his car. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, until Aditya finally notices the tears rolling down Bani's face and her quickly trying to hide them away from him. Stopping at a traffic light, Aditya turns to Bani and wipes away a tear.
Aditya: Bani...look at me.
Hesitantly, Bani looks at Aditya, her eyes brimming with tears. She drops her hand back into her lap.
Aditya: I know this is difficult for you.....it's not easy having to go through your sister running away without giving any information of her whereabouts and leaving you to marry a man whom you didn't even imagine to wed....
Bani sniffs and looks back down at her knees. He was right...having Pia gone and not knowing whether she is safe or not, kills her inside. On top of that, she had never even pictured in her wildest dreams of marrying Jai Walia, a man whom she respected a lot....but felt nothing else.
Aditya: But Bani...you must be strong. I know you can pull through this difficult phase in your life...
Bani: (her voice quivering) Paar Aditya Bhaiya-- Mr. Walia, he-he hates me...he wants for my sisters and I to be miserable...how can I---
Aditya: Sure Jai isn't making this easy on you, I understand that, and it is definitely wrong on his part for doing so, but you mustn't forget that even he has been equally betrayed as you....probably even more. He was deceived by the woman he loves, who promised to marry him, and by the man whom he considered to be his younger sibling and cared for more than anything in the world. Can you really blame him for being so bitter?
Bani remains quiet for a moment, pondering over this information.....No....no matter how hard she tried to hate her husband, she couldn't...nor could she blame him for his cruel attitude. In fact, she could understand it. Like her, he was deceived and back stabbed. Like her, he also is going through pain. Like her, he was betrayed by his sibling and lover.... But unlike in Bani's case, Jai Walia's love agreed to marry him, filling him with dreams and goals of their future together, only to have them crash down with a single runaway letter on his wedding day..... He has every right to be angry and hurt. Bani knew she was also.....
Bani: ....I can't. (whispers)
Aditya: Bani, tum mere choti behen ho and I love you. Do not misunderstand me, thinking that I am taking Jai's side rather than yours. Jai Walia may be my best friend, but that necessarily doesn't mean that I will always think he is right, because I don't. In this case he is terribly wrong in being unfair to you. He is blaming you partly for what happened which is absolutely the wrong thing to do when you also were equally as shocked and hurt by what happened.
Seeing the cars ahead of him moving, Aditya steps on the accelerator, driving the car forwards.
Aditya: Give him time to deal with his wounds and to recover....maybe by then he will move past what happened and think about his future....with you.
Bani gives Aditya a stunned expression and doesn't know what to say. Did Aditya Bhaiya honestly think that her husband would keep her around for that long?...No, he is already talking about divorce, wanting to get rid of her....there is no future of them together....
Aditya: (giving her a sideway glance) Do not act so surprised, Bani....You heard what I said....
Bani: What makes you think that we will remained married, Bhaiya...(her voice full of hurt) Mr. Walia can't even bear to look at me....how do you expect for him to keep me around as his wife?
Aditya: (gently smiles) For now he may detest the look of you....but only because he is reminded of Pia's betrayal and his wounds are still fresh....You must give him time to heal, Bani....After that, I am sure he will start to appreciate you for who you really are....like before and accept you as his wife and future.
Bani: (softly)....Bhaiya....Mr. Walia abh mere pati hai....
(trans: Mr. Walia is now my husband...) I have accepted this fact....I am also ready to commit myself to him and this new relation....but even if he still refuses to accept me...I will leave and let himself free from this forced bond...
(Author's Note: I forgot to mention that Aditya and Bani share a close brother-sister relationship.)
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Jai was in his room, getting ready for going to the office and starting another day of hard work, when he heard his bedroom door open from behind him. He looks through his mirror and sees Bani's reflection, standing at the doorway, her eyes staring at him. She has changed into a pretty yellow saree, clashing perfectly with her complexion, giving her a somewhat of a glowing effect.... He raises an eyebrow and turns to look at her, swiftly.
Jai: Why the hell have you come back in here? Hadn't I told you before not to enter my bedroom? (anger in his voice)
He is slightly taken aback by seeing that his words have no affect on her whatsoever and watches her proceed her way towards him. In her hands are printed papers...he stares at them, curiously.
Bani approaches him and extends the papers over to him. In a calm and determined voice, she says gently, "I have prepared and signed the divorce papers....all that is left are your signatures...". Jai stares at him, his eyes clouding with shock. He slowly takes the papers from her hands and looks through them. His wife had signed everywhere necessary for their divorce....he looks up at her.
Smiling devilishly at her, Jai holds the papers in his hands in front of her and tears it down the middle. Bani watches with horror as he continues to tear the divorce papers in tiny pieces before her. He thrusts the remaining pieces in her face, startling her.
Jai: Wah, Mrs. Walia, wah. Tumne to saabh kuch tiyaar kiye hai....you didn't hesitate at all to get the papers ready....are you really so restless to get away from me? (in a dangerous tone)
(trans: You have prepared everything...)Bani: (stammers) Mr-Mr. Walia--- apne aisa kyon kiya? Apne divorce papers ko kyon----
(trans: Mr-Mr. Walia---why did you do that? The divorce papers, why did you ---)Jai: It's actually rather simple why I have torn up the papers....I don't want a divorce as badly as you do...
Bani: (stunned)...aaph---kya? You had told me you wanted a divorce...
Jai: I did want it...but now I have changed my mind.
Bani: Paar kyon? (desperate, exasperated)
(trans: But why?)Jai: (smirks) You want a divorce to get away from me....and take your sister and yourself far away...some place else where I will not be able to find you....(laughs) Mrs. Walia, I am sorry to break your dreams, but I will not allow this...I will not let you leave me .....(his voice husky)
Jai takes steps closer towards her, continuing to shamelessly smirk at her, alerting every nerve inside of her and terrifying her. By each approaching step of his, Bani retreats back.....
Bani: B-but you had wanted this....you had told me to go away from your life...take Rano with me and go somewhere else....you had said you didn't wish to see my face. (barely audible, her voice shaky)
Bani lets out a gasp of fright as her back hits against the wall and Jai stands before her, resting his hands against the wall behind her, trapping her inside of his arms, and giving her no room for escape or breath. He has a glint of mischief in his eyes which worries her. Scaring her and causing her body to heat up, Jai pushes back a strand of hair, which had fallen into her face, behind her ear gently. His face is only a few centimeters from hers.....his body so up close to hers....almost pressing onto her....making her aware of herself.... Bani begins to feel suffocated with burning heat.
Jai: (harshly) No, Mrs. Walia....I have decided on keeping you around...you will remain here with me as my wife....I will not let yourself be free from this tied bond of ours....No way in hell will I be able to tolerate you being happy somewhere else with your damn sisters...I intend to make your life miserable...I want to see you suffer with pain....teach you and your sisters a lesson for playing with my emotions...
His peppermint like breath hits her face, emphasizing each and every word he says....Bani holds in her breath, afraid of making any kind of sound. Tears form in her eyes....
Jai: When I hurt you, Bani, that sister of yours, Pia, will also feel it....she will live with the guilt of causing her sister's misery....forcing her into an unwanted marriage....And this guilt of hers will kill her inside.....which will please me a whole lot.....
The tears start to stream down her face....
Jai: So...as you can see, Mrs. Walia...
Bani flinches as he calls her by this. She feels his finger trace against the left side of her face, starting from the side of her forehead, then below her eye, down her cheek, and ending at her chin. Her face tingles from his touch....Jai pushes her face upward with his index finger and causes her eyes to meet with his threatening ones.
Jai: I am looking forward to this marriage.....really forward to. ---I hope you are too....
With a final bitter laugh, Jai lets go off her and storms off from his room, leaving Bani alone by herself, replaying his words in her mind, and tears falling from her eyes. Slowly, her back slides down against the wall and she falls down onto the ground. Her eyes rest on the scattered pieces of papers from the divorce documents not so far away from her. She hugs her knees against to her chest and lowers her head onto them. She weeps for what seems like hours.......
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Comments are more than welcome! 😃
Edited by indian_godess - 17 years ago
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