Shailendra cut the phone n looked up to see durjjan entering the study...'Manjula was telling me that ur daughter passed out cold in front of him... this is not going to help us in any way... either she will be thrown out too early from the house or will be killed off to avoid any scandal... she needs to know her job!' ... 'yes, u r right...' shailendra nodded ...'listen they r coming here for sangeet... once Pratigya is in their house we don't have much control over her... as Ma sahib was telling that she had already arranged for some girl to monitor every move of Pratigya... but that's not enough... we should makes sure she goes along with the plan... she should know how to play...otherwise he will just break her n throw away... I will call manjula now...'
Sajjan looked on angrily as the servants ushered Shalendra in '''''. Gayatri came n stood near Sajjan , smiling at the guests in general as she muttered 'don't insult him here sajjan , even though I know how much u want to'''.. it won't do well for us, as u urself know'.' 'why is that dog here?' hissed sajjan in anger ''.'I don't know'. We will soon find out'' said gayatri in undertone as she smiled n stepped forward ''''' 'welcome samdhiji'.' She said , folding her hands ''' 'namasthe Ma sahib'. Namasthe Thakur sahib' Shailendra smiled pompously , indicating his servants to place the gifts in front of sajjan '''' Sajjan forced a smile n greeted back , extending his arm 'welcome Shailendra '.' Shailendra shook his hand enthusiastically , while looking over at the guests smugly '.. Sajjan singh looked irritated as he stopped shaking the hand n shailendra let go immediately '''' the warning was very clear '''.'ehm.. Thakur sahib'. We have an elaborate sangeet function arranged at our house ''. I warmly invite u n ur whole family to attend the function n bless ur son's bride'''..' said Shailendra , politely ''' sajjan looked at him , suppressing his anger''.the nerve of him!!!... 'ofcourse , we will come' he said , his face hard ''''. He just couldn't say no bec there was the district court judge n the transport minister standing beside him''''.. declining the invitation would be the next talk of the town'' Shailendra beamed, looking around smugly n accepting a glass of wine from a servant'.'''..Sajjan looked at gayatri , who held his plam squeezing it '''''.
Krishna stood by the vast balcony of his room, listening to his fav music...it was nearing evening n the grounds were spilling with vehicles n guests ...but he was not seeing anything that was going on down below ...all he could see was her... her dancing to the music...only the venue changed ...instead of the circular room in her house , she was dancing in his fav spot in the grounds...a vast stretch of lush green ground , near to his ranch n golf course ... she looked ethereal ... beautiful...pure... the music changed ... he blinked ... it was one of his favs n he has seen the CD with her too...very soon she will be here , he thought impatient ...n of the many things she would be doing for him, dancing in front of him, only for him,to his fav classical music suddenly seemed to rank among the top...n he would watch her, night n day...marvelling at her ability to worship the art...
he suddenly remembered ...her ghungroo...he had thrown it away some where ...before he knew it he was back in his room, his eyes searching the floor...it must he here somewhere...somewhere here...there...no! here...he looked for it, toppling the racks of books accidently ... he ran his hand through his hair , a mixture of frustration n anger in his face...she is a mere slave n he is contemplating on enjoying her dancing to his fav music...!he went back to the balcony, boiling in anger... he turned around startled as he heard Chandu calling him...'what is it, Chandu?' he snapped ... 'we need to go to...er...what happened to ur book rack? ... did u want some thing?' Krishna gritted his teeth, not trusting himself to answer...Chandu let go of the matter, rearranging the books...'so ... we r going to Shailendra's house for sangeet... bauji told us to come down to the hall ...r u changing?' asked chandu , opening krishna's wardrobe ... he is going to see her again! ...lust n longing chased across his mind n heart ...just when he was thinking of her dancing for him , she will be doing just that ...in a matter of minutes... the knowledge seemed to kindle excitement n happiness in him... happiness? When was the last time he was happy? ... krishna almost snarled 'I am not coming...' Chandu took out a white shirt n a jet black sharply cut suit minus the tie n a n came to the balcony , carrying them... 'oh, u must come krishna ... so many important guests r coming... we can't afford to lose our face ...' said Chandu carefully... krishna looked exasperatedly at Chandu ...'whatever' he muttered irritably n turned off the music with the remote...
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Pratigya lay awake in her bed... her thoughts were in turmoil ...her life is hell, her mother is suffering so much...there seemed to be darkness n only darkness before her ...she had tried to phone her friends but found that the sim has been taken out ...every way of communication to outer world is cut off...she was a prisoner in her own house...n all these seemed trivial to her when she thought of another problem ... a more frustrating problem at that...she just can't seem to get him out of her mind... who is he? Why is he affecting her in such drastic ways?... n more horrifyingly , she had started seeing him in her imagination...he seemed to come n go as per his wish...!... She turned restlessly in her bed... a knock on her door startled her ...manjula entered , closing the door behind her... 'enough of ur 'taking rest'... get up!' she was carrying a heavily embroidered dress with her ...Pratigya sat up, eyeing her with contempt ... 'here!' manjula thrust the dress into her hands... 'u r to wear this today evening ...for mehendi n sangeet... him n his family r the chief guests for sangeet ceremony...' an involuntary gasp escaped Pratigya ...he is coming! Again!... no! ... Not again!... pls... she will go mad!...
'come on its already 5 now...get dressed quickly...i will send the beautician in 5 mints...' manjula pulled Pratigya up forcefully ...Pratigya wrenched her hand from her grip angrily ... she eyed the dress in disgust , opening it ...manjula watched her reaction turning to horror as the dress unfolded ...it was a lehenga saree... Pratigya held up the blouse in utter horror... the neck was deep n low cut at both sides... n it would barely cover her chest ... n given the low waist skirt with it , she would be baring herself from her sternum to her lower waist...'No! I will not wear this...this is henious...' she grimaced n threw the blouse on the floor... 'u will girl...u will...' whispered manjula dangerously , picking it up n throwing it at her face... Pratigya clenched her fists in an effort to keep herself from strangling the woman... oh, how could she go in front of the world wearing such a demeaning dress...? she would look like a lowlife prostitute !...she would rather die than wear this thing!... men stared at her even when she was in her full sleeve salwaar n she will be dead with shame n boiling with anger if their eyes fell on her bare skin... n not to mention him ! ...him! as if he wants any more reason to grope her!... she looked up suddenly shocked 'why do u want me to wear this? U were telling me in the morning that the dress was a pink lehenga...but this one is red ...different...' pratigya asked confused ...
'oh, caught on have u? So u do have a brain... use it wisely dear... u messed up yesterday ... let's see if u r really making some effort to keep ur mother alive... u r such a dead chicken... ... but he seems to be interested in u...god, knows why... we need the files n he needs ur body... so flaunt it ...use it... n seduce him... gain his trust ...make him want u more n more ... tonight is ur litmus test...he is sure to come for u, that boy can't seem to keep his hands off u... if u can keep him occupied for half n hour without passing out in ur stupid panic or letting him take what he desperately wants , I think it ur mother will get 3 meals a day ...if u fail tonight , ur mother will not be getting anything for the night, n that's just a start... n make no mistake , ur every move there will be watched ...we have, say , one of our friends there... our friend will be telling us about ur progress... every kind of progress... whether u live to serve him for one more day or whether he decides he is bored off u... whether u decides to divulge anything to anybody in that house or whether u try to escape from the house ...everything...any mis-step there , our friend will inform us ... n we will take care of ur mother...u know that , don't u?' manjula sneered evilly ... ..
Pratigya was in shock...the words seemed to be coming from a far away distance..'what? she chocked out , her head feeling suddenly heavy ...anger , n humiliation n utter panic cursed through her ...along with revulsion , at herself...she was demeaned to a status of mere wh**e!...yes, isn't that he wanted ...a mistress... a mere slave...in the outfit of a wife to show to the society...!... ... n her father wanted the files ...at the cost of her life n honour! ...at the cost of her mother's life!...no , he didn't even seem to care about the cost... !... that devil wanted a slave n her father is only too happy to send her as one! ...she felt like choking...no angry or painful tears gushed out of her eyes...her tears had dried up, it seemed...she heard manjula ordering her to wear the dress as she was sending in the beautician...Pratigya stood up, like a dead body ...she took the dress n went inside the bathroom, her eyelids were not moving...she changed mechanically ...she came back n sat down heavily on her bed , her hands clutching at the sheets...
she was dressed up so that she could lure him using her body n let him have his way with her ...! she had to seduce him !... but not quite let him have her ,both at the same time...! she barely knew who she was n what she is doing infront of him n she needs to stay sane for what...half an hour? She couldn't seem to think properly in front of him n her body seemed to be having a mind of its own in front of him, slumbering n surrendering into his arms at his merest touch , n she needs to let him have his way with her without actually letting him take her ... her mind reeled back to their encounter in her dancing hall... a tremor ran through her as she thought of what would've happened if the phone didn't come... he would have taken her n she wouldn't have been able to stop him...! why was she so powerless in front of him? Who is he? What is he doing to her? ...
the door opened again n manjula came inside , followed by the beautician... 'sangeet ceremony should begin before 8 .. ...its already 5.30 now...n they will be arriving in an hour... we will have to finish the mehendi first ... get up! There is no time... Pratigya glared in anger n pain at her ... her eyes were blood shot with suppressed anger ...n panic ...what would they do to her mother if she didn't do as they tell...? no!... but this dress was too revealing ... she would have to adjust her drape accordingly , Pratigya thought frantically ... 'oh,my..!' exclaimed the beautician n pratigya looked up to see her assistant looking at her in envy ... 'u look gorgeous...ravishing...! ' gushed the beautician , leading pratigya to the mirror n sat her down ...Pratigya didn't look up, instead her face twisted in disgust ... the beautician seemed to notice it ...'why, u don't like to wear such revealing outfits? Trust me u look beautiful...not vulgar ... its going to take ur groom every ounce of his self control not to take u the moment he sets his eyes on u this evening...!' she giggled , squeezing pratigya's shoulder playfully... 'No!...no...he' pratigya almost shouted ... her eyes had widened in panic ... oh no! What this women was telling was right ...! he will be having his way with her ...n she ...she won't be able to stop him!!!!...
'do u want something , Pratigya?' asked manjula in a falsely sweet voice...'no..! nothing...no!' said pratigya , her eyes brimming...'fine...be quick' she said to the beautician n went out of the room... the beautician smiled at her 'No!?' ...why ur groom don't like such kind of revealing clothes on u? is that the matter ...?' Pratigya looked up to meet her eyes n nodded ... may be she could get a change of clothes... 'hmmm...' chuckled the woman... 'trust me he will love u in this ...may be he will not like u wearing this in public like this...but if its only in front of him, he is going to go all deewana over u...typical men..' Pratigya shook her head vigorously ...'oh, Ok... for his n ur benefit , i think we must work on ur drape a bit so that u r covered up properly ... but trust me, when the dance is over he is going to pull u out of the hall to some cosy corner n demonstrate what exactly he thinks of u in this outfit ...' she giggled again, winking at Pratigya ...Pratigya waited for anger n disgust to come, but ...but all she could feel was a curious excitement ...now that she knew he was coming, all she could think was of the moment she will face him...oh! what's happening to her? Pls...help me!! Pratigya pleaded inside her head...
the beautician made pratigya stand up n started working on her drape... when she was finished , pratigya couldn't help but smile gratefully at her... she was properly covered up...only her waist line at the left part was visible... the drape , pinned to careful perfection managed to cover a very large part of her midriff ... n her chest was obviously covered ... the beautician smiled back at her ...'oh n u have ample hair...so that would take care of ur back' she winked again... she applied mascara n eyeliner n eyeshadows , just a brush ...not too much ... n then her eyebrows ...Pratigya was feeling relaxed , inspite of herself ... she proceeded to apply a thick coat of red lipstick n pratigya , her lips parted, looked at her reflection accidently as she shifted in her seat...her eyes widened in shock...
there he was right behind her , reflected in the mirror... he had a look of deep disapproval on his face, even though he was leaning casually against the wall, his hands in his pockets ... she saw him click his tongue n shake his head n ...to her horror...walk towards her...he seemed not to mind the beautician n her assistant ...he leaned down, his mouth in level with her ear as he whispered 'what did I tell u?' , his nose scrunched up in dislike , his eyes on her lips... even she hated loud makeup... n lipstick was strict no no for her , so was artificial blush n rose powder... n all that stuff...but no way ! no way she was going to look like how he wanted her to look like ...! she looked at him n met his eyes in the mirror, challenge in her eyes... he raised an eyebrow, amused ... she looked up at the beautician , suddenly stopping her hand 'no...i don't want ... I mean... not this much thick color..may be some light shade...he doesn't like loud make-up...he ...no!... I mean... I... ...' Pratigya stammered ... the words were out of her mouth even before she knew it...she turned beetroot red in embarrassment n her eyes darted on their own accord to where he stood...there was no one there... she was beginning to feel angry n frustrated ... the beautician beamed ...'ha! gottcha ... finally the tension is easing out! That's the good girl...! '
Pratigya sat like a statue for the rest of the time, as the beautician wiped off the makeup to put in a coat of fresh light makeup , her mind in turmoil ... as she looked at herself in the mirror after a few minutes , covered in minimal jewellery , she felt miserable...she felt defeated, lost...dead...but that was not why she was feeling miserable... bec she knew a part of her was very much alive n that part was eagerly waiting for him to arrive... the excitement , the anticipation n slight fear that she felt was almost tangible...
hope u liked it 😳 Part 2 coming soon
Web Series
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
