Originally posted by: Sujz
CHAPTER 6
Aniruddh couldnât believe he was asking this to himself. He couldnât believe this fact to be true. Aniruddh Roy Chowdhary fell in love with that girl he married just to save a life?
Aniruddh fell in love with his wife.
Sounds ironical and funny but in their case, it was a big deal. For him, it was a big deal. That woman who called herself his wife, was so damn important for him and she grew so important for his heart to beat, but he never realized. He never tried to.
Whenever she came back from her college, he always kept their conversations limited to studies, cases and stuff. They had fun together but he never paid heed once to his or her feelings. They had fought a lot together to save so many women and peopleâs lives. They had grown as a team. They had grown as two people who can never be separated. He can never go away from Bondita. He took so long to realize it.
âI fell in love with BonditaâŚâ He accepted the truth slowly as he mumbled those words. He repeated it to make sure he wasnât dreaming. âI⌠love Bondita.â He said again and his lips curved to form a smile. He looked at himself in the mirror placed in a corner of his study. He saw his face glowing and a red tint on his cheeks. Something he never saw for Saudamini. He grinned like a hormonal teenager. âI love Bondita, I love my wife, Bondita Roy Chowdhary!â He declared, staring at his reflection.
He was on the seventh sky because of the self actualization he had, the realization he faced and he ran to his room just to see, a glimpse of his wife, just to be smitten by her sight as always, but this time really knowing- his heart beats for her. But as he reached the doorstep, the sight of Niranjan and Bondita speaking caught his eyes. His feet were glued onto the floor. Another realization, a chance of another scenario hit him.
âWhat did Bondita want?â he thought. He has been thinking about him, his feelings all this while. What if she wanted something else? But she always claimed to be his wife and always fulfilled every duty even if he stopped her from doing so. But again, she was refraining from even wearing the sindoor and was distancing herself from him from the past 2 days. All his thoughts were conflicted, then he remembered what she told him, she heard something. What? She never said him.
But now, the sight of Bondita smiling and chirping with Niranjan really didnât go well with Aniruddh. Not because he didnât liked Bondita having guy friends, because he wasnât sure of his place in her life and this guy seemed to have a large⌠space in her life for sure. Somehow the thought disturbed him and he was about to turn away when Niranjan spotted him. He stood up and walked upto Aniruddh.
âBondita, meet you after the holidays! Glad I met you. Get well soon.â Niranjan bid a bye before reaching Aniruddh. Aniruddh rolled his eyes in frustration. He walked up to Aniruddh and as he walked out, Aniruddh followed him frustrated even more, sparing a glance at his wife, who was sitting there looking at the guys without any expression.
***
Bondita ate her food and Bihari Kaka came and collected it even before she could stand up from the bed. She understood it was Aniruddh who ordered all this. She also took her medicines properly, for which Batuk was appointed as the supervisor. She smiled to herself thinking of Aniruddh being so caring towards her. But then, her heart broke under what circumstances he is doing this, he is sacrificing his love and life for her and her smile disappeared at the mere thought.
As she stood up to fold some clothes that Bihari Kaka collected from the terrace and was newly dried, she noticed some change in her face as she crossed the mirror. She came back to see what it is and she was confused seeing the sindoor on her partition. Who did that? She thought. âPati Babu?â She thought, addressing him as Pati Babu without any inhibition as she was talking to herself. âBut why would he? He doesnât even consider me as his wife, nor he likes me wearing the sindoor!â She stated, touching her forehead. âBut then, why was he pissed seeing me without the sindoor today? He also didnât like me calling him Aniruddh BabuâŚ! Why?â She slapped her head before she continued; âArre..! He likes to hear Barrister Babu. How can I forget that?â She said scrunching her eyebrows.
Knock Knock! Bondita turned hearing a knock and she saw her father in law Mr.Binoy Roy Chowdhary standing there in all his glory. She kept the cloths on the side table and stood froze, this man was someone she always feared of.
âWho was that?â asked Binoy, waving his hands.
âWho?â Bondita asked.
âThat⌠Niranjan guyâŚâ He pulled his spectacles upwards and continued; âYour lover or what?â
Bondita answered; âNo⌠he is-â
âFor what are you waiting for?â Binoy interrupted. âNow you want Aniruddh to arrange your wedding with him too? How much will you loot my son? He sacrificed his whole life for you! He married you to save your life. To save a damn widow! He brought you into his life! He spent all these money and precious years of his life, for you!â
Bondita swallowed in fear and pain as Binoy continued.
âAbove all! He sacrificed his love, love for his life, Saudamini, for you. Can you imagine the pain both of them went through by the separation? The pain they are holding in their hearts even now? You might havenât seen it but I have. I have seen my son, picking up the pieces of his broken heart one by one. What do you want now Bondita? How more will you loot my son? Do girls like you have any self respect? My Aniruddh, sacrificed this much, he stayed in this loveless marriage, even now, he is and now do you want him to marry you off too Bondita? Have some shame!â Binoy blamed her blindly without even letting her speak.
Bondita gasped.
âSasur ji, I really know how to back answer these disgusting accusations. But you being my elder and the values my mother and, my HUSBAND has instilled in me since childhood not letting me give that answer, I am keeping my silence. Kindly do not misunderstand it to be my weakness.â Bondita replied calmly before folding her arms in front of him and leaving the room.
Binoy was left speechless.
***
However, Bondita was controlling herself from breaking down into tears. She walked downstairs and went outside the home. Tears kept flowing from her eyes. The replay of all the accusations played in her mind, The night when she learned about Aniruddh and Saudamini, their conversation, everything played continuously in her mind. Her heart was really broken, and she didnât knew what can actually mend that.
Bondita walked through the streets of Tulsipur. She always knew how her marriage with Aniruddh happened. She learned it from her mother, how Aniruddh appeared as a God to save her from the clutches of the evils who wanted to kill her in the name of customs. How her wedding was arranged with an old hag. After that revelation, she had maintained a distance with Mama and Mami and they never cared.
But she never knew how she destroyed Aniruddhâs life unintentionally. All those times when she found Mini hovering over her husband, all those times when she found Aniruddh and Mini so close to each other, everything was making sense now. She was a child then. But after a while everything had stopped all of a sudden and she didnât really knew why.
She knew, she had grown to love her husband more than anything. He was just the best man she ever saw in her life. And the way he saved her just glorified him even more. Even without all that, the simple, honest, genuine man he was, she couldnât help but fall in love. She was her real self with him, she didnât had any inhibitions in front of him. She could remember all those nights when he stayed with her so that she didnât wet her bed in fear. She was just 8 years old then. He used to sit beside her, reading stories until she felt asleep and then he used to sleep in his bed, which was some feet away from the small couch she slept. And when she grew bigger than that chair, Aniruddh bought a single bed so that she could sleep, without fear.
Bondita covered her mouth with her hands as she tried to stop her muffles as she walked without an aim through the streets. She had to let him go, she knew that. But how? How can she let him go? How she could live without all those golden messages he gave to her? How could she live without that warmth she used to get from him? How could she live without him? She didnât knew.
Amidst her walking, she noticed a hullabaloo on a side. It looked like a marriage pandaal with guests and an altar set. She was about to pass when she saw something which gave her a dĂŠjĂ vu. A small child, seemingly 8 or 9 was getting married to someone close to 78 or 80 years old.
Suddenly all those memories came to her, when got married to Aniruddh. Even though she really didnât face anything as she was unconscious the story itself was terrifying and thinking of her marriage with Aniruddh, she couldnât dechipher his lost expressions then, but now she understood those. She wanted to stop this at any cost. She saw the little girl,and even she was unconscious. This broke her heart. She needed to stop this marriage, and without any Aniruddh Roy Chowdhary. She didnât want this girl to stand where she is right now.
âStop this marriage!â shouted Bondita and the whole crowd turned to look at her. The crowd recognized her as the Roy Chowdhary bahu instantly. And people who didnât know her could definitely say she was from a rich landlord family seeing how she was decked up.
âWhat? Who are you?â asked an elderly man in the crowd.
Bondita answered; âDoesnât matter who I am. Stop this marriage, right now.â
âWho are you to say that? And why?â He questioned.
âWhy? Canât you see this? What kind of a disgusting Jodi you have created? This man here is even older than this little girlâs great grandparents! How can you destroy her life like that? Let her free, let her study, this is no age to get married!â Bondita shouted. Her eyes were brimming with tears, she could feel the pain, she went through this ten years ago and this scene was pricking her heart and breaking her already broken heart into another thousand pieces.
âGirls and studies? Are you insane? And what is wrong with this Jodi? Anyone tell me!â The man asked the crowd and a lady replied; âKonu kichui bhul na, Eta dekhte Ram aur Sita Jodi mato!â
âRam and Sita? This Jodi? How can you even say this is a Jodi? Stop this marriage or I will have to force you to.â Bondita threatened them.
The man laughed. âYou? You will force us, little girl! Let the marriage continue, nothing is going to happen. After all, yeh ek ladki hi toh hai!â
Bondita was even more shocked hearing this. The crowd turned to the altar and they started the marriage again. She saw it and she got a flashback when she was forced to do haldi and what not in that tender age when she didnât even knew what the true meaning of marriage was. She got a flashback of Aniruddh marrying her. She saw her in laws being bitter to her and Aniruddh. She recalled how Aniruddh denied doing all the rituals. She saw Mini asking her who was Aniruddhâs wife again. The sight of Saudamini and Ani together, which she saw several times was played before her again.
The accusations of Binoy on her, The confession of Saudamini to Aniruddh. Everything was haunting her mind. She couldnât let this marriage happen. And she couldnât let any Aniruddh Roy Chowdhary to happen again! She had to do something about this.
The tears were no more brimming, they were flowing endless from her eyes as she picked up a bamboo stick from the corner of the altar and moved towards where the marriage was happening.
The fire in the altar was nothing compared to the fire in her eyes. She in her deep red saree, representing Maa Durga who tackled all the evil, with the sindoor her husband smeared on her, representing all the values and power he instilled in her, with those tears in her eyes, representing the pain she had to go through by being a child bride, with her broken heart thumping inside her chest in fear of losing her husband, moved frantically towards the altar and halfway she stepped onto a stone and was about to fall off with the bamboo stick hitting the stage and the decorations hurting herself badly when someone held her hands and pulled her back onto his chest engulfing her, keeping their arms on hers, supporting her hold on the bamboo stick.
Bondita turned to look at the person with the fire on the altar hitting her face giving her face a different glow when she was shocked to see her husband holding her in his arms while his eyes were fixated on the injustice that was happening in front of them.
âLadna pada toh duniya se lad jaungi,
Saath dega woh.â
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-Sujz!â¤ď¸
--*speechless*đ˛!!!gale lag jaa behenađ¤!!!!
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