Chapter 2Chakor hadn't quite woken up from the recent fiasco with her sister and Vivaan, but with Suraj's face hovering right above her, she snapped awake. She took a step back as another sly smile adorned his face.
A knock snapped them out of their stare-off and Chakor's eyes followed Suraj as he opened his room door. She watched Tejaswini come into the room holding a large platter which held what looked to be Chakor's outfit for the day. She had an arched eyebrow as she saw the state of her son and bahu. Suraj spoke then to his mother, "Maa aaj ke sab rasmo ki tayari hogayi hai?" Tejaswini who had been setting the clothes onto the dressing table turned to her son. "Tume fikar karne ki koi zaroorat nahi hai." Tejaswini then looked to Chakor and said, "Tume taayar nahi hona? Kitne rasme pure karne hai aaj. Yeh kapre aur gehne pehn layna aur jaldi neeche aana tum dono."
Chakor grabbed the clothes off the gold platter and with one last glance at the mother - son duo, walked into the bathroom to get ready.
With Chakor gone, Tejaswini turned to her son with an arched brow. "Mujhe nahi baata kai yaha kya chal raha hai. Lekin beta bhul na mat kai is ladki nai tume jail bijwaya ta. Jina haram kardiya ta usne sab ka." Suraj smiled down at his mother, "Maa aap ko kisi baat ki fiker karne ki zaroorat nahi he. Mujhe bi yaad hai ke yeh bandhwa billi nai kaise mere zindagi baarbad karne ki koshish ki tee." With this Suraj turned to his cabinet and took out his clothes for the day. Picking out a red kurta, he spun around and showed his mother, "Yeh kaisa rahega aaj kai liye?" Tejaswini sighed and nodded her head as her son put his kurta on. "Ek baat karni tee mujhe tumare saat beta." Suraj started combing his hair, "Han, bolo na maa." Tejaswini sighed again, "Mujhse toh tune kabhi jhoot nahi bola, toh mere sawal ka jawab do." Suraj's hand stilled as a thought crossed his mind. His mother didn't possibly think that he actually had any feelings for Chakor did she? He was snapped out of his thoughts as she began speaking again. "Tum sachme toh ... kaise kahen." Suraj's began to feel some sort of movement in his stomach as he watched his mother start pacing. She stopped and turned to him again. "Tum woh Imli kai bache ki pita toh nahi ho na?" The question threw him off and he felt relief that she wasn't asking him about Chakor. Then the full implication of the question hit him and he made a face. "Aapko yeh kisne..." He threw his hands up in the air exasperatedly.
Suraj faced his mother and Tejaswini was met with her son's annoyed face. "Nahi maa, woh mera bacha nahi hai. Mein kitne baar keh chuka hun, wo mera bacha nahi hai!" She still did not seem convinced. "Teek hai, toh pir mere sar par haat rak kar kaho, keh tum us bache ke baap nahi ho." Suraj's face dropped for a second before being replaced with a determined look. "Teek he, aapko yehi chahiye toh... " He placed his right hand on his mother's head and declared, "Maa, main kasam khataa hoon kai main Imli kai bache ka baap nahi hoon."
The worried look on Tejaswini's face finally dissapeared at her son's words. Suraj removed his hand and she took a deep breath of relief. She still wondered though why Imli was so certain that her son was the father of her child. "Toh phir Imli kyun..." Suraj cut her off , "Mujhe nahi bata ke woh kyun mujh per yeh bacha dalna chati hai. Yeh sab bate choro, hum aate hain jab Chakor tayar ho jaati hai."
With those words, Tejaswini remembered something else she had needed to tell her son. "Suraj tumne shaadi toh karli woh ladki ke saath. Ek baat ka toh tum faida utha sakte ho. Yeh Chakor chahe kitni bhi sar ka dard hai, woh tume paise zaroor lasak ti hai." Suraj knew what his mother was referring to. Chakor's running had attracted many sponsors and were willing to pay plenty of money to have her sponsor their products. With a curt nod at his mother signalling he knew what she was talking about, he saw her walk out of his room.
When he had decided to turn the tables on Chakor, his anger had not been the only factor to making the decision. He knew Tina would have gained him lots of money, but with Chakor he could make a lot more due to her high rates of winning races. He could kill two birds with one stone this way. Suraj also hadn't minded the devastated look that had fallen upon Vivaan's face when he had realized who he had married.
Deep in thought as he fixed up his appearance, Suraj didn't notice the bathroom door opening. He was startled out of his reverie when he felt water droplets hit his face.
Suraj turned around ready to give Chakor a piece of his mind when he felt his throat close up. She was drying her hair with a towel and the sun was shining right on her. Suraj was speechless for the first time in his life as he looked at the simple beauty that was Chakor. Suraj felt strange then as his heart took a stutter and then thump, thump, thump his heartbeat started racing.
Chakor noticed the lack of noise in the room and noticed Suraj staring at her. Thinking he was just doing that to make her feel uncomfortable Chakor continued drying her hair. She waited for a snarky remark but when none came she turned towards him again. "Itni der say tum mujhe ghur kyun rahe ho?" She demanded.
She watched him abruptly turn around and she swore she heard him mutter something. Shrugging it off, Chakor walked up to the dresser and began putting on the jewelry that her dear new mother-in-law had brought.
Ignoring Suraj who stood behind her, she finished getting ready. Her stuff had been brought in by a worker sometime yesterday when everyone had been digesting the events that occurred. She applied her make-up as Suraj watched on. Momentarily forgetting that he was even in the room due to his stillness, Chakor moved her hair that had been covering her back to her shoulder and began tying the dori that had come loose. She heard a sharp intake of breath and her eyes widened as she realized that Suraj was still in the room with her.
Chakor spun around and locked her gaze with his. She could feel herself blushing as she realized that Suraj had had a full view of her bare back. "Tume aur ku-ku-kuch kam nahi hai." The words were stuttering out of her mouth and she took a deep breath to steady her nerves. His gaze was unnerving her, and she could feel her heart beating a mile a minute.
Suraj seemed to realize he had been staring for more time then was appropriate and turned his face away. "Ja-Ja-Jaldi sai tayar ho jao, sab hamara intazaar kar rahe honge." With that Chakor watched Suraj leave the room.
She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding when the door snapped shut.
Chakor needed to figure out what to do with this whole sham of a wedding before things got any weirder between her and Suraj.
Quickly tying her dori and fitting her dupatta over her head she looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy from the crying she had done in the dead of the night. But she felt she was missing something as she looked at her appearance. Her eyes fell on the mangulsutra that lay on the table from when she had thrown it off during the night. Her hand reached for the simple thread that was supposed to mean so much for her. Somehow during the swap that had occurred yesterday, the mangulsutra she had chosen for herself - much simpler than the one that Tina had chosen - had still ended up around her neck.
Making a decision, Chakor put the mangulsutra on. Later on she would wonder exactly what had compelled her to do it, but for now she again stared at her reflection. Grabbing the sindhoor that had been brought with the clothes she pinched some in her finger. She stared at her forehead, because no matter how hard she had scrubbed in the shower, the colour had not come off. Shaking those thoughts from her head she applied the sindhoor and took a step back.
Taking another deep breath Chakor walked towards the door of the room. She opened the door and smacked right into a solid block of muscle. She felt herself lose her balance in the heavy red dress. She closed her eyes ready for the impact of the floor.
Suraj turned around just in time to grab a hold of Chakor's elbow and pull her into his chest. Chakor felt herself smack into someones chest while her arms were trapped between her body and his. Her eyes flew open and she looked into the eyes of her husband. She felt his arms wrapped around her waist as he held her steady against himself.
Chakor felt her heartbeat shoot-up again and was surprised to find another set matching her heart, beat for beat.
They stayed in that spot for what seemed to be hours as he gazed down at her, a new feeling sprouting within him, while she lay against him as her body unconsciously craved his warmth.
A shout from downstairs finally broke apart the pair and Suraj let go of Chakor as she too took 2 steps away from him. Suraj's eyes were drawn to her neck as he noticed her wearing her mangulsutra, something he hadn't failed to notice being on the room table. His eyes then flickered toward her maang which he found to be filled with sindhoor.
Chakor saw the questioning look in his gaze and turned her face away from him to look downstairs. "Chale ab hum niche." Suraj nodded and started walking towards the stairs. Chakor lifted up the hem of her heavy skirt as she quickly walked to catch up to his long strides. They reached the stairs and as they began their descent down, guests stopped to watch the new bride and groom make their entrance.
That was when Chakor felt her foot miss a step and she let out a squeek as she lost her balance yet again. The thought stupid lehenga passed her mind when she felt a familiar pair of arms steady her. One hand held her left and another rested on her waist holding her up.
And that was how the bride and groom made their first entrance to the waiting guests on the first day of their marriage.
Edited by PotterHeadAMP - 9 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
