Chapter Nine
'bhagwan ke liye mujhe chod do'
'kameene, neech, dusht',
'yeh paap hai'
He expected to hear these words but was greeted with raised fist with a thumb poking from it.
She shut her eyes tightly as if preparing herself for a stage performance. And then said "dekhiye, mujhe self-defense ke saare tareeke aate hain..agar aapne mujhe choone ki koshish ki toh main, toh main aap ki aankhen phod doongi" she locked her Jaw.
"sweet heart, tum in tareekon se apne aap ko kitni der bachaogi..aao humare paas..aao" he beckoned her with his two fingers.
Within a blinking speed, a dainty hand had left its five finger imprint on the left cheek of Udayveer singh the great.
His jovial mood vanished and his temper took over. His black eyes suddenly seemed to grow more hard black as he looked at her, glared may be the right word. The sudden fury in him made her feel hot all over and the next moment he had cornered her, reminding her of their encounter in the college dressing room.
He spoke so low that it made his words only sharper. "aaj tak kisi bhi ladki ne humare saath aisa nahi kiya, arre jaan de dengi ladkiyan humare liye par tum!" He stabbed a finger on her forehead.
"tumne hume mana kiya, theek hai..hum kasam khate hain ki hum tumhe itna tadpaayenge ki tum ek din khud aaogi humare paas..humara pyar maangne..par us din tak hum tumse door rahenge..bikul door!!" as if to enforce his words he suddenly let her go and stood a feet apart making her to wobble unsteadily.
"aisa din kabhi nahi aayega.." She quickly cleared her hazy mind and spoke up.
"aisa din aayega aur bohot jald'hum aise khiladi hain jo har khel ko jeet jaate hain.." he was enjoying it now.
His words rang in her mind like a gong sounded in an empty place. What did he say, she will go to him? She would go fall under a moving train rather than fall in love with him. So he loved challenges, didn't he? She would present him such a challenge which he would never win.
"main phirse kehti hoon..aap haar jaayenge, yeh jhooti shaadi kabhi sach nahi hogi" she said.
"Mrs. Manyata Udayveer singh, if you are so keen on this game, lets set a time frame..ek maheene ke andar tumhe humse pyar ho jaayega..dekhlena" he replied.
"kya aap vaada karte hain ki agar aisa nahi hua toh aap mujhe is jhoote bandhan se aazad karenge?" she said with so much hope in her glimmering eyes that he was forced to melt down a bit, only a little.
"yeh ek rajwade ka waada hai tumse'" he extended his open palm towards her and she placed her hand on it.
Their hands remained that way for a tad second too much and Manyata quickly extricated her hand, lest he think he was already winning the wager.
"tum yahan so jao, hum guest room me jaakar so jaayenge" he pointed her towards a four poster bed which was decorated in all finery for them.
The thought of sleeping alone made her a little apprehensive. At home she would sleep with Arjun beside her, but today he was being taken care of by Unnati so that he wouldn't 'disturb' the newly weds. As soon as Arjun had been brought here, Unnati had welcomed him by grabbing him and cuddling him up. She assured Manyata that he would be safe with her. Arjun warmed upto her same way and Manyata felt gratitude at her new 'sister' for this.
Udayveer wasn't going to the guest room to sleep as he had said to her. Instead he was going to DS's room to have that important talk she wanted to have.
DS was sitting in her rocking chair as he went in. "aap ne hume itni raat gaye kyon bulaya DS? Kya baat hai?" he asked.
"aayiye Uday, hume aap se kuch poochna tha..aap is shaadi se khush toh hain na? she asked drawing an amused look from her grandson.
" jee daadi saab, hum bohot khush hain" he placed his hand atop her hands.
"aur aap ki dulhan? Hume lagta hai ki unhe koi pareshani hai, Kya yeh shaadi unki marzi se hui hai? She had hit upon the precise truth.
Udayveer thought of how she would react if she came to know about his ploy to claim her. DS was a woman of virtues and principles and she had a great influence on his own way of living. It was another matter that he sometimes threw those principles to wind and behaved like a boor, like he had done now.
He lied through his teeth. " DS, aap itni chinta kyon karti hain? Bohot raat ho gayi aap so jaayiye" he asked her to sleep.
"woh dukhi hain..kuch toh baat hai jo aap humse chupa rahe hain" DS asked again.
She wouldn't leave the quest until she got to the truth. He thought quick and blabbered the first thing that he thought of "woh, humne use aaj ke baad college jaane se mana kiya, aap ko bhi achcha nahi lagega na agar ghar ki bahu bahar nikle toh" he batted his eye lids innocently.
"yeh galat baat hai..aap ne khud Unnati ko abroad bheja padhne ke liye aur apni patni ko mana kar rahe hain..humara aadesh hai ki aap Manyata ko college wapas jaane dein" DS said.
Uday came out so that DS could sleep. As he passed, he failed to notice the person hiding beside the wall. Manyata had felt thirsty and was going to get some water, when she had heard voices from DS's room. She heard the word 'dulhan' and realized they were talking about her. She heard every word that was spoken and felt a respect growing inside her inner being for the aged woman sleeping inside. But her mind was agog with confusion for the other person. She had concentrated on Uday's words and found him totally different from the manipulative cheat he was. He looked like a little boy having a bed time story session with grand ma. She nodded to herself and went back to have some much needed rest from all this.
Precap: 'Muh dikhayi' (introduction of new bride) ceremony was going on and a tall, masculine woman came to bless the bride. The woman had her pallu pulled over the face and without a word she made Manyata stand up from her place and gave her a hug, rather a tight squeeze. This impromptu hug was too uncomfortable for the bride and inadvertently she let out a scream.
Hey all..
that was it for today's update...tell me how did you find the chapter?
one more thing...did you guess the identity of the woman in precap? if you did then please tell me your guess...main promise karti hoon, agar kisi ne right answer diya toh main double update doongi next time😉
and no blind guesses😆
Thank you🤗
(P.S: Note for silent readers and some others:
silent readers, agar is baar mujhe aap ka comment nahi mila aur sirf 'like' mila toh main PM karna band kardoongi aap ko..if i can write a long update, you can write a four line comment too😊 right?
and those who scrap me asking for updates, guys i kept my promise of updating, your turn to comment now...don't disappoint me please😳...sorry for having been too harsh but im fed up with less response)