Posted:
Hey guys,I am back.Trust me this was not my intention at all.I had been about to write the next chapter for my FF and this instant kichdi happened.Do read it and comment.Tell me if it is interesting and whether I should continue or not.All of you have been very generous to me till now with your likes and comments.So thank you all for the support.Hope you enjoy this one and please do not hesitate to point out any mistakes😊
Chapter-1
"I hate him so much...hate him...hate him",Gulaal thought to herself standing by the window looking out.A stranger would find it odd to hear a new bride say this about her husband but then they did not know her or her husband Kesar.Did they?
She still remembered the day her parents had put forward the idea of an alliance between her and Kesar.She was shocked.It was not hidden from anyone that Kesar and Gulaal could not stand each other.They hated the sight of each other.They had been next door neighbours all their life but that did not mean that they were friends.The whole neighbourhood enjoyed their very public fights and it would be no exaggeration to say that sometimes people even watched the live entertainment with a bucket of popcorn in their hand.Who needed saas bahu dramas when Kesar-Gulaal fights had all the ingredients of a full on masala thriller and to think once upon a time long long ago they used to be the best of friends.No,Gulaal...don't think about it...he is your enemy and will always be your enemy.She remembered his sly smile and his whisper of a taunt as soon as the pandit declared them man and wife, "toh Miss.Gulaal Mehta...ooops! sorry, Mrs.Gulaal Patel...welcome to hell..."
Why did she agree to this marraige...one may ask.She had to...she had no other choice- in short there was a lot of emotional blackmail involved and it hurt her to say this but her father did not trust her ability to run his vast business empire all by herself.That thought still rankled her.She could not believe that her father who had always been proud of her achievements,who encouraged her to go after her goals,stood by her in all her decisions could doubt her capability to head his company.It made her feel small and for the first time she felt the disadvantage of being born a girl.He did not want his company to fall in the wrong hands and so he along with his best friend Som Patel,Kesar's father decided to go for a merger and the way to strenghthen the professional bond was an alliance between their children.That Gulaal was disappointed in her father would be an understatement...this coupled with her mother's incessant crying and occasional blackmailing finally made her give in to their demands.It was at this time she had regretted not having an boy friend.At least she could have eloped but now there was no use crying over split milk.She was not one of those women who would sit in a corner and be an obedient wife.If Kesar was expecting to break her spirit then he was in for a surprise and who knows she just might have some fun,she thought with a grin.
"whoosh...", the door opened and she saw Kesar being pushed inside and the laughter behind him.Suddenly a fear crept up in her mind.This was supposed to be their suhaag Raat...he wouldn't try anything right...naaah she had known him for a really long time...he was not the type to...She looked around wildly and found what she was searching for.Kesar had not yet turned around,so she walked over quietly and took the item in her hand and hid it in her hand behind her back.She walked back innocently to her former position near the window and waited for her husband to turn around.
Kesar took a deep breath holding onto the door.Once again he could not help but grumble why...why did this happen to him?First of all he had not wanted to get married so soon and secondly certainly not to this evil banshee whose only purpose in life was to scream at him,throw accusations at him and humiliate him.When his father had approached him with this proposal he had laughed thinking it to be a practical joke but no his father wasn't joking.He needed him to say yes because that was the only way to keep their business floating.There was going to be a merger and Kesar would be the sole owner.It would be a great opportunity but Kesar did not like it.He wanted to help his father but not this way...Kesar got the feeling that he was a commodity and he was being sold to the highest bidder and the feeling did not sit well with him.He had tried his level best to prevent this alliance from happening but when his father pleaded in front of him-it broke him and he said yes...
Now standing there,he did not want to face her.Kesar Patel was feeling nervous for the first time in his life and well it did not surprise him that Gulaal would be the one to cause it.She always did bring up extreme emotions in him even when he was...no,it was better not to go into the past.He hated her...he had always hated her. This marriage was nothing but a sham,a mere business transaction,one which would be devoid of love and well he always did have steady flow of girlfriends before and who said he couldn't continue on with them. He wiped away the sly grin and replaced it with a blank,hard look as he turned around.He blinked at the sight in front of him and for a lack of a better word Kesar Patel stood gawking at his wife ...
Gulaal looked at Kesar and was surprised to see him stare at her.Somehow his staring was making her uncomfortable.She needed to say something...something to make him move and not stand there like a statue."Kesar,main jaanti hoon ki tu mujhse shaadi kyun karna chaahtha tha...aur yeh ...",Gulaal would have continued if Kesar hadn't interrupted "kyunki main tujhse bahut pyaar karta hoon gulaal.tujhse shaadi karne ka sapna toh maine bachpan se hi dekha hai.tere bina main jee nahi sakta Gulaal aur aaj tujhse shaadi karke aisa lagta hai jaise meri zindagi ko manzil mil gayi hai.tera saath paa kar mera jeevan safal ho gaya hai...ha.ha..ha..ha...Sorry mujhse aur jhoot nahi bola jaayega".
Kesar kept on laughing.Thank God Gulaal's shrill voice had broken whatever spell he had been under.Looking at her standing there by the window in all her bridal finery,he had been mesmerised.She had removed all of the jewellery leaving only the mangalsutra around her neck.She had left her hair open but had retained the pallu over head.There was a mixture of fear and vulnerability on her face and that in itself seemed implausible.The gulaal he knew had no fear and vulnerable...please Vultures would be more vulnerable than her.Maybe he had imagined it-a trick caused by the moonlight.She was beautiful,he had always been aware of that but tonight in that moment he had felt a sudden wave of possessiveness wash over him, "She is mine..."his mind seemed to scream out triumphantly.He did not like it at all.He never wanted to feel like this ever again and as he kept laughing he snuck a peek at her and there she was the fiesty Gulaal he knew and was comfortable with.He heaved a sigh of relief...all was well with the world...
Gulaal felt humiliated.Maybe it was better to have left him standing there stupidly.She shouted,"Kesar...mujhe bhi koi khushi nahi ho rahi hai,tujh jaise insaan se shaadi karke...lekin yeh math sochna ki main tere har ishaare par nachoongi aur haan tu mere paas aane ki sochna bhi math warna...".
Kesar smirked at her as he said lazily, "warna kya...kya kar logi...mujhe jaan se maar daalogi".
Gulaal looked at him with fire in her eyes as she took out the small fruit knife she had been hiding,"haan...maar daalongi aur mujhe koi afsos bhi nahi hoga..samjhe".
Kesar was amused now.At least his Suhaag Raat wasn't going to be boring.He couldn't believe that she had the audacity to threaten him with that thing.It looked less of a knife and more of a small blade.He could see her hands were shaking.oh...so she was really scared...hmmm..maybe he could have some fun here.He walked towards her slowly as he replied in an even tone,"acha tu mujhe is cheez se maaregi..chal maarke bata.main bhi toh dekun ki aakhir meri biwi kitni himmatwaali hai".
Gulaa was feeling slightly scared now but she did not let her fear show on her face as she muttered,"dekh kesar,main teri bhalaayi ke liye keh rahi hoon.tu toh mujhse nafrat karta hai na to phir...".
Kesar laughed as he replied,"haan nafrat karta hoon lekin aaj toh hamaari suhaag raat hai na aur waise tu itni buri bhi nahi dhikti..."
Gulaal felt nauseated,what a disgusting fellow she had got for a husband...She tightened her grip on the knife as she asked for forgivenss from God beforehand,"main jaanti hoon Bhagwaan ki kisiko chot pahunchaana buri baat hai lekin mere paas aur koi raasta nahi.isliye sorry.aap to sab dekh rahe ho na...".Kesar was now standing too close and so she brandished the knife at him.He looked taken aback.He had not expected that,she thought with a smile.
Kesar looked at her in shock.She was not joking was she?she would definitely kill him if he went near her.He stood still for a moment and admired her courage but no one could threaten him with that abominable weapon and gloat about it...least of all Gulaal.He approached her cautiously and once again she took a swipe at him and this time the knife did cut his arm."owww",he howled as he looked at the cut.Thankfully it was a small cut but now he was no longer amused.He was angry,"tu toh sach much mujhe maar daalegi.laa de mujhe woh chaaku...".
Gulaal had been a little flustered when she saw the cut and was about to throw away the knife and rush over to him but his voice stopped her.He was now looking at her with anger and she had no idea what to do.
Kesar saw the indecisiveness in her eyes and took hold of her hands.He successfully grabbed the knife from her and threw it out of the window."haan ab bata tu kya karegi?...".
Gulaal saw the lazy smile return to his face.She tried freeing herself from his grip but he just tightened his grip around her arms.Finally she gave up and looked at him with unshed tears,"main haar gayi Kesar...tu jeet gaya..."
Gulaal was crying.He had made her cry.This was something new and for some reason he disliked it.He did not want to be the cause of her tears,he realized.He wanted her to know that she had nothing to fear from him.The thought disturbed him as his arms around her slackened.He was just about to reassure her when he felt a punch on his arm.He couldn't believe it...She had been playing him.He grabbed her and held her close to him, "acting toh bahut achi kar leti ho Gulaal lekin yeh bhi tujhe nahi bacha saki..."
Gulaal had almost escaped but he proved to be too strong."Kesar,tere paas ab bhi waqt hai.chod de mujhe warna main chillaungi..."She knew it would be embarrassing but he was leaving her no other choice.
Kesar looked on incredulously ,"really tu chillayegi aur kya kahegi.dekho..mera pati mujhe chune ki koshish kar raha hai...".One thing was for sure he decided...this marriage would never be boring.
Gulaal took a deep breath and said in a low tone, "theek hai...you asked for it...HEL..."She started to scream but to her shock her voice never came out and soon she found out the reason why...
Later on Kesar would go on to justify the kiss to himself.It was just to stop her from shouting out,not because he found the shape of her lips intriguing or kissable...no...nothing like that at all.One thing was accomplished Gulaal had stopped talking for the night...
She was shocked at first and then she tried to push him but then she found herself clinging to him for support.What was he doing?He was kissing her and surprisingly it was soft and tender and how could she not melt.He stopped for a second and moved back.She had her eyes closed but she heard his shaky voice whisper, "ab chillaogi toh nahi...".She opened her eyes,gasped at the intensity in his eyes.He wanted her,desired her...she could see that and the shocking thing was she knew that he would be able to see something very similar in her eyes.She could not understand...how was this possible?She didn't love him or even like him.She hated him for God's sakes then why was she longing for his touch,his kiss?Kesar repeated his question,"tu ne jawaab nahi diya Gulaal...".Somehow the question seemed to mean something more,a sort of a permission and her answer looked equally important to Kesar.She looked him in the eye and started to shake her head indicating no.She could feel the relief in his voice as he replied, "good...".He carried her in his arms towards the bed and there were no words spoken...no protestations of love or any romance involved...
Anupamaa
