On His Blindness
The damp night air flitting in through the tiny window of his room ruffled its fingers through his hair and teased him with the scent of first rain and wet earth. Rudra inhaled deeply. He always preferred the aftermath of the storm to the storm itself. No matter what destruction the storm may have wrought-- it was only ever followed by a brand new day.
Perhaps part of the reason he embraced the brief period of complete stillness and peace so hungrily was that he knew how fleeting and elusive it was. It couldn't be called up on a whim like a hot cup of tea.
He rubbed a hand gingerly over the thick growth over his jaw. A cup of tea would have been nice. A glass of rum would have been even nicer.
With a sudden flash of wry amusement, he remembered how much she despised his occasional drink. The night of their rushed wedding, he had desperately needed the alcohol to sooth his temper and his frayed nerves. He'd caught her staring in disbelief at him. And just to rile her up, he'd offered her a sip. She had recoiled in physical horror and rushed to the other side of the room on the pretext of unpacking her trunk, murmuring under her breath about alcoholics and her terrible luck.
Women were the strangest creatures. Parvati certainly was.
She'd been forced into a relationship she had not wanted. And all she had expressed displeasure about was his drinking habit.
He had known the moment Sunaina had given her official statement and the BSD's medical team had confirmed her account of assault and torture, that Parvati hadn't a clue about the probable fate that had been waiting for her.
Nonetheless, he had waited for his men undercover in Birpur, to confirm Sunaina's story-- confirm that the brides genuinely did not know about the sham that the weddings were.
While Parvati had been absolved of all guilt, Tejawat had still been a threat to her. And so she had continued to stay at the Haveli. What he hadn't anticipated were the threats that existed much closer home.
A nasty shadow had emerged.
A young woman had been living with him in not just the same house, but also the same room for a brief period, without a mangalsutra for far too long.
He'd watched in increasing disconcertment, how the grudging respect she had commanded earlier dwindled and disappeared, only to be replaced by averted gazes and suggestive statements.
The day he'd caught his own cousin making a pass at her, he'd seen red. And it was while nursing a black eye that Sumer had spat out that Parvati was fair game, considering Rudra didn't really intend to marry her.
He had known then that he had to finish what he had started.
Now, months after, he still wasn't sure which would have been a greater favour to her-- marrying her, or sending her miles away from him.
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Ye Hai Mohabbatein
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
