Kuch Aise Bandhan Hotey- new Ch 8 pg 9 - Page 4

Jai slowly turned around to see Pronita's face but she released her clutches and moved away in the dark. Jai in stunned voice, "What are you saying?" Bani did not reply and turned her back to hide her face into the grimness of the room.

"Don't look at my face, it's not mine!" she said solemnly. Then she suddenly came forward so that her body was visible till the upper portion of her chest and rest of her body including the neck and face were still in dark. Pronita suddenly threw away her pallu from her bosom and there she stood exposed wearing just the blouse and the saree draped around her slim waist. Jai was horrified at the sudden action of Pronita, he shrieked, "Pronita have u lost ur mind? What are you doing, what are you saying…..u are stooping so low….lower than even meera? Goddamn it woman what do u want?"

Bani came a little forward now, her face totally visible and she said sternly, "look at me Mr Walia, look at me properly, look at my body…..look at the burn marks?"

Jai's breathing became irregular and his pressure soared as he glanced his eyes on Pronita's body, the beautiful cream complexioned body was scarred throughout with horrible marks, the blotches were pink white indicating skin burns, Jai's eyes now travelled all over the waist, the cleavage, the neck everywhere there were irregular those ugly marks, never did he in his dreams imagine that he would be confronting such a sight - it was the most horrible, most unbelievable and most painful – he was robbed of his sense and mind and did not know what to do or say.

"That could be an accident of yours, don't tell me you are Bani…….," he stammered in a high pitch. He moved away from her. But pronita was vehement, she came forward and again held him by his torso, her hands now clutching sides of his upper body, "Don't you know this body? Don't you recognize just because it has some marks, they have done plastic surgery to my face…look at the cut mark above my left eyebrow…..when Meera smashed my face on the stone…..some scars would never go…….and who would recognize me if not you?" She said in sob suppressed voice which was grim and excruciating . something told Jai that she was telling truth, you know the truth by its essence and not by evidence, he slowly came forward to Pronita and held her by arms and looked into her eyes, "Pronita if you are Bani, if all that u said is true, if u ask me to believe the impossible…..tell me why did not you tell me all this at the very beginning, why did u…..?" Bani released his hands and walked a few steps away and said in a vehement voice, "If I had told you all this, would you have believed me readily and Meera, you were blinded by Meera, by her dedication towards MY children, towards MY house, towards you? How could I and still I don't know how to prove but," she sobbed a little silently and continued, "I just said all that 'really' happened. Now it's upto you, I am not asking you to believe me." Saying thus she lurched and sat down on the floor exhausted.