Rudra dug his pockets for his father's inhaler. He will need it if he continued yelling. "My son isn't crazy to shout for now reason. His anger is just. He doesn't have to explain himself to you," he said pointing to Kakisa. She replied that his anger will one day chase away his wife and this family will again be humiliated.
"Enough!" Dilsher said as his son got up. "Parvati Beendini had her chance. She could have left with Tejawat at the Mela. But she didn't because she respected her wedding vows even if the groom wasn't of her choice.. Unlike your sister who ran away after 16 years of marriage leaving her own son. Your sister ran away my bahu stayed. Never forget that," he finished.
Kakisa was furious. She hated to be reminded that she had a sister. She called her children and left the dining room. "Mohini, they are eating. Let them," her husband said. She kept walking. Things were going out of her control. She needed to rethink her strategy. As much as she wanted that camel and his family out she needed to ensure that outsiders don't realise the bitterness in their home.
"Bholenath, was my devotion not enough that you are testing me like this?" she prayed. Kakasa entered their room, "They will be here for 2-3 hours. They will talk to Parvati mostly. Once they are convinced she is alright, they will go. If the press hear it from them that it is just a normal arranged marriage, they will leave us alone. Think about it."
It was late when Paro finished cleaning up the kitchen. She stopped to make sure if Bapusa was alright before heading back to her room. As she entered, she noticed it was pitch dark. She grabbed her rudraksh tight and whispered, "Rudra? Are you there? Are you sleeping?" She walked slowly towards their bed.
A small light switched on. She turned around and saw a huge shadow. She looked up, her heart in her mouth. She breathed freely seeing that it was just Rudra. She went to her dressing table to take off her jewelry. She could see in the corner of her eye that he was sitting on the diwan at the other end of the room. She went to the bathroom to change.
When she got back, she realised that he hadn't moved at all. She slowly approached him. She saw the half empty bottle and glass filled with alcohol next to him. She sat down next to him and waited for him to say anything. After sometime he commented, "I'm not sharing this if that's what you are waiting for." She shook her head. "Did you feel bad because of what Kakisa said?" she asked.
He laughed softly. "This isn't the first time I have to face insults because of that woman or the worst thing done by this woman," he told her. She was confused. She knew he and Bapusa faced a lot of humiliation because of Thakurainsa. The worst thing Kakisa did was forcing them into wedlock but they both made efforts not to bother each other.
"She almost made you burn Ranavat alive," he said. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I would never hurt Bapusa. He is the closest thing I have to real father," she said. He placed his hand on hers. He never doubted that for a second. Even when she had been his adversary she had been fair in spite of him pushing her.
"She hired a woman who dressed in the same joda who set off a fire. Luckily the constables caught her and put it out before it got too big. That's why he was late for our wedding," he said. She wondered how she never realised all this. "I had the furniture changed so that he doesn't have trouble breathing with the smoke. You were unconscious when all this happened. The doctors said we had to give you time to wake up by yourself," he said.
She shook her head. She never noticed BSD constables around the house. "They were there since Sumer botched up your kidnapping," he said. She was shocked. Her heart started to pound when he told her how Tejawat's man recognised her during the Jhanki. Sumer caught him during the sangeeth. Then Kakisa found the truth and contacted Tejawat.
She wiped out the tear that trickled down her cheek. Suddenly she felt alone. Thakursa had known for days where she was but didn't send anyone to rescue her. She unconsciously moved closer to the one person who made sense to her at the moment.
He pulled his hand away and took a big swig from bottle. "If you keep drinking like this, you will spoil your health," she scolded gently. He smirked and asked if she is going to nag him like a typical wife. She pulled away scared that she had angered him. "I'm going to sleep," she said getting up. He told her to leave the nightlight on of she is scared. He took another long gulp of his whisky.
An hour later, he frowned seeing the almost empty bottle. His glance moved to his petite wife. She had been tossing and turning. He knew why she was restless. He wasn't with her. He couldn't remember the last time someone needed him so desperately. He walked to the bed. He saw her fingers move to his side of the bed.
He sat down and reached out to her. Her hand was softer than what he imagined. His inebriated gaze followed the silken skin to her creamy cheeks. He saw her delicate lashes flutter open. She sat up. "Did you need anything," she asked sleepily. He stretched his feet on the bed. She spread her blanket on him so that he stays warm.
"Why did you ... when Tejawat came?" he asked. She realised that his drunken state he was fumbling. "I told you when the doctor came Thakursa had no right to shoot you" she explained getting up. He shook his finger. He wanted to know why she stayed. "Because you asked me to," she said simply. His sloshed mind replayed how he had held his hand out and asked her to trust him.
"I prayed night and day that Bholenath delivers me. But when Thakursa came during the wedding, it didn't feel right. The eyes which had compassion for me all through my childhood were empty. There was only anger in them for you. He didn't come to save me. He came to kill you. That morning he was the Jallad who scared me. I chose the man who made me feel safe," she replied.He felt his heart soar. His lovely wife thought of him as a hero.
Before she knew it, he captured her lower lip and bit it gently. Shock was the first thing she felt. She vaguely remembered Bindi telling her before her first wedding that husbands usually kiss their wives on the lips. Mamisa had scolded her and chased her away. Then she had explained that men have certain physical needs and a good wife does her best to satisfy them.
His one hand moved to her waist pulling her close. And the other weaved into her hair angling her head as he deepened the kiss. She felt a slow burn in the pit of her stomach and her mind was getting fuzzy. She felt his tongue trying to part her lips. When their tongues met, a moan escaped her lips, urging him to kiss her deeper. She had never felt this way before. Was kissing really this overwhelming? She could barely feel the air enter her lungs.
He felt her hands move to his collar. He wondered if she would push him away. He hoped she would pull him closer. He could feel her soft body under his finger tips. He longed to close the distance between them. But she was pulling away. "Breathe. I need to breathe," she whispered. He looked at her flushed face.
His hand covered hers and she let's go off his collar. He raised it to his mouth and placed another kiss on her dainty fingers. She raised her eyes to meet his and he saw fire in them. She obviously felt the same heat between them since the day he saved her in the desert. But now he had something he never had before. The right to surrender to the passion he felt for her.
"Are you done?" he asked his hyperventilating wife. Before she could answer, his lips found herself again. Paro fell backwards. His hand held her head to stop her from getting hurt. Her hands wrapped around his shoulder unconsciously pulling him closer. The heat from her body contrasting with the coolness of her skin.
His lips moved to her collarbone leaving fiery trail of fire in its wake. His stumble sending a shiver down her spine. Her fingers moved down his back feeding the hunger within in. His fingers moved down the length of her slender arms and held her in place. His ministrations made her feel so different, so special. Like a woman, like his woman.
Kissing her felt so good. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before. He wanted to do everything to be closer to her than this. His grip around her form tightened. Warning bells faintly sounded in his mind. He was pushing her to her limits. But a voice argued that he would let her go if she wanted him to.
The bells were getting louder. He felt her move under him. She was struggling to pull her hands away. He got up and watched confused as she flexed her wrists. "Jallad! You hurt my hands. Do you have to hold them so tight? I wasn't going anywhere," she scolded.
The noise in his ear was deafening. He had gone too far. He had taken advantage of his gullible wife who trusted him. He grabbed the bottle and started walking. She was taken aback by his reaction. Did she say the wrong thing? Was he going away? "Go to sleep Paro. I'm not going out," he called out from the diwan where he settled once more.
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