Setting aside the insecurities, she set out to the wedding venue along with her friends and relatives. Her grandpa had cried, looking at her bridal attire "may God always keep you happy.." he said kissing her forehead.
Aarti didn't let herself to cry because she knew he'll cry all the more if he sees her tears. So she kept a straight face and walked with him to the aisle.
At one moment, she thought of her parents who weren't even there to share this special moment with her. It wasn't like she missed them, her mother had died giving birth to her and her father had ran away to India, atleast that's what her grandfather had told her.
She felt goosebumps on her arms as she sat next to him. He gave an encouraging smile and she felt better and gained a little confidence.
They finished their rituals and were married soon after.
The reception that followed was a lavish one, on the famous burj al Arab hotel overlooking the Jumeirah beach.
All the guests were invited and by the time they were done, she was extremely tired.
"Let's go home shall we?"he whispered beside her and she nodded, feeling grateful but a little sad for leaving her grandpa behind.
After a short bidaai, she left off with her husband in his new Lincoln.
"You're quiet, are you okay?" Viraj asked as they drove towards their new villa. She smiled "I'm fine but a little tired that's all".
"I know you're feeling a lot nervous and also missing your grandpa..but don't worry..I'll keep you very happy" he winked. She blushed and leaned closer to him.
They reached their house and she entered, noticing there was no one to welcome them. "Where are your parents?isn't there no grihapravesh?" Even though she didn't know much about the customs, she had seen it having one of her former classmates wedding.
He shrugged "we won't need it..I told you my parents have separated". She didn't ask more as she felt he hadn't spoken much. The servants took her luggage and carried upstairs as she watched.
After a while, they came out "anything else sir?" Viraj shook his head "that'll be all..you all can leave to your quarters". Soon, they left slowly.
Viraj took her in his arms "let's go to our bedroom..you must be tired". This was the closest proximity between them and she blushed burying her face against his chest.
He laid her softly on their master bed and closed the door "you have to stop blushing you know..get used to my closeness". She giggled "I'll try".
He settled next to her "good girl" he murmured, pushing a strand of her hair back "you look gorgeous..so beautiful" and before she could know, pressed his lips hard against hers.
She gasped at the sudden touch but kissed him back and he slowly pushed her to bed.
"Vir wait!"she laughed "I'm a little tired..and I need to get out of this heavy jewellery and the dress too" she got up and sat straight.
He pulled her close "you don't have to struggle..I can help you" he removed her necklace and bangles while she shivered in his touch.
When he was done removing all her jewellery, she sighed in relief "thank you..now I can breathe a little". His eyes gleamed in mischief "let me help you undress". She shied away "no it's okay..I can.."
He ripped her veil away from her shoulders and threw it on the floor. Surprised, she stared "relax Vir... you're going a little faster". He grinned "exactly..I've waited for too long..don't disappoint me".
His tone was different this time, she observed as he hastily fiddled with her blouse buttons "please Vir..I feel awkward to change in front of you".
"Don't be shy Aarti..we're married" he whispered closer to her ear "we can do whatever we want". She blinked, as the words weighed heavily on her "I know but don't you think we need to slow down a bit? I'm really tired and I appreciate it if you.."
"Stop acting like a freaking nun" he snarled "you're not making any sense..this is our wedding night..we're supposed to be talking about...loving each other".
She didn't know what to say to that; she knew about the wedding night, she had read a lot and even heard beautiful romantic things about it but she wasn't prepared for this "I'm sorry..I don't know what to.." she stammered.
He wrapped his arms around her "I know sweetheart" he kissed her forehead "it's going to be okay..just relax and put your arms around me".
She smiled at his sweet words and wrapped her arms around him "I love you Viraj" she whispered as he stroked her hair and lay her back to bed. "I love you too honey" he murmured and pushed her thighs apart.
"Wh..what are you doing?"she asked, alarmed as he stripped down in front of her. "Relax Aarti.." he pressed his body hard against her "it's going to be okay..".
The pain was unbearable and she could feel her feet getting numb "please stop it!"she yelled but he wouldn't listen "please I don't want it! No!"she cried as tears filled her eyes.
I'm dying, was her last thought as she felt nothing anymore.
"Aarti! Open the door" he banged "what's taking you so long?" She sat on the tub, her body bruised and tattered. "Honey? Come out please" he pleaded "what's wrong baby?"
Aarti sat on the large tub, too drained to even get up...she had even lost her strength to speak.
This isn't what she had imagined her wedding nigh to be..but how could she know what was it going to be like? She had absolutely no clue. No romance movies or the umpteen novels she had read had prepared her for this....she wiped her tears. This was...brutal.
"Aarti?"he called again, a little softly "I understand you're a little confused.. it happens..don't worry and let me hold you please".
No! He didn't understand what she was feeling right now..was she raped? She was tormented and haunted at the thought...how could it be? They were married weren't they? They loved each other..then?
She came out of the bathroom, wrapping the blanket around her. The wedding dress was torn and strewn on the floor, she was naked beneath.
"Oh Aarti" he came close to her and held her in his arms "did it hurt? I'm so sorry..you should have told me". She raised her head "I tried Vir..you had clasped your hand on my mouth.. I was yelling for you to stop!"
He kissed her forehead "I'm sorry honey..you were so gorgeous I just didn't know how to control myself"he laid her to bed "it's your first time..I promise you it'll get better later..you'll see" he smiled broadly. She thought so too and closed her eyes
This was just a beginning...
◇◇◇◇◇
Aarti scrolled through her phone gallery, at the pictures of her daughter. Tears welled her eyes, thinking about her sweet Jasmine.
The doorbell rang, interrupting her thoughts. She sauntered towards the room, already half knowing who it was. No one else visited, except for Seema of course.
"Can I come in?" Prithvi asked, in a surprisingly sweeter tone. She knew that tone very much; he needed something. "Sure" she said, ushering him in "what do you want? More money?"
With Prithvi, it was easy to be nasty and rude. He didn't mind at all, because she knew he was going through the same boat as her; they both needed each other.
"Why do you always talk to me like I want your money or something?"he smiled. She quirked an eyebrow; he was annoyingly sweet and that was a danger sign, "Well..don't you?"she seethed.
He settled on the couch with ease "not always, your highness" he bowed with glee "this time I need your favour". She couldn't help but grin herself "haven't I paid you enough?"
He bit his lower lip "this isn't financial help..you have to accompany me somewhere.." his voice trailed away. She stared in bewilderment as he continued warily "well...in our office, I kind of slipped out that I'm married" he carefully avoided her gaze "now everyone knows and they've kept a party for us..so.."
"What the actual heck!"she yelled, her voice echoing a little "how could you slip like that? Are you slime?"
He made a guilty face "I'm sorry..I know you wanted to be discreet but I didn't have any option...I.."
"To hell with you!"she stomped her foot in anger as he struggled to meet her eye "I warned you before..how can you make such a stupid mistake? You're a moron.."
He waited for a moment while she used up all the profanities and when finally she had become quiet but glaring at him, he gave a long sigh "I did it to keep my job" he said quietly, "please believe me.... I.." he leaned back "you can cut my next deposit.. for unruly behavior".
She realized how badly he wanted this, she had to use this to her advantage "alright...I need something else in return". He looked up "anything".
She couldn't help but smile at his desperation; something was really fishy here "I want you to be there for me whenever I call you...till my work is done".
He threw his hands "as long as there's no shady business involved, I'm in". She gave a sideways grin "I might ask you to do a murder or two..so be prepared". He smiled back "sure...text me the equipments".
She laughed and laughed until her eyes watered. When was the last time she had laughed like that?she couldn't remember "when is this fancy party?"
He heaved "tomorrow night..after seven..at the Chinatown high bar". Her narrowed her eyes "is it a bar?"
He shook his head "not actually.. there's a huge family room...".
"Wow..they must really love you to keep a party like that" she mused. He shrugged "yeah..I'm like a big deal around there". She smiled again "alright..I'll be ready at seven...".
He got up "I really appreciate the help". She smirked "I'm doing this for me..don't be so high on yourself". He pocketed his keys "point noted".
◇◇◇◇◇
He came at seven like he had promised and she was already waiting for him.
"Why aren't you ready yet?"he asked, staring at her. She blinked "I'm ready.. are you blind?"she asked, feigning innocence.
He struggled to remain calm "it's a party dammit..you need to wear a grand dress..and you're still in your denims" he pointed out at her cotton kurti and denim trousers.
"But I don't have a grand dress..I didn't exactly come here to celebrate you see" she said coolly. He gritted his teeth "you can't possibly wear this!"
"Fine..tell them I'm not well" she almost stepped inside her room when he called out "oh come on! We'll buy on the way..we'll go to a boutique".
She shrugged "will they fit me?" He clenched his fists "of course they will, now come on". She sat back on the couch "say please".
It took a moment for him to realize what this was all about as she waited for his reaction. He took a deep breath "please Aarti...can you help me save my job...and humiliation?"
She shrugged "okay..let's go then..I need to go to the salon afterwards". He glared "are you for real?"
She laughed "let me change then" she walked towards her bedroom. "Wait.. I thought you didn't have a dress". She almost closed the door "I already bought one in the morning"she turned back "won't you call me a bitch?" His lips twisted into a grin "nah..golden words are not repeated".
He could hear her laughter from outside.
◇◇◇◇◇
They reached the parking lot but she realized his bike was missing "where's your bike?" He took out the car keys, much to her surprise "I thought it would be more appropriate if we went in a car.."he stated "do you miss my bike?"
She raised an eyebrow "I'm glad to be rid of it". He opened the door for her and she sat inside "man! You're such a gentleman!" He didn't miss the sarcasm there "can you for once appreciate the good things in me?"
She shrugged "I would have if there was anything worthy".
He chose to remain silent and so did she but slowly averted her eyes to look at him. He wore a white shirt, and looked comparatively better than his usual look, probably because he had ditched his oversized jacket, she thought with amusement. But his glasses were intact. She wondered if they were reading glasses or due to sight issues.
"We've reached" he spoke up, stopping the car to a side and looked at her "remember...we're madly in love with each other..and we met through Facebook". She nodded.
His eyes fell towards her wrist "is that diamond?"he asked. "Yeah..why?"she asked, curious. He shook his head "you've to remove that...I don't want them to be suspicious..".
"I can't..it's my grandpa's gift..I never remove it" she said firmly. His frown was back "the hell!"he swore "your grandpa won't die if you remove it for once".
She didn't; he waited "God! Why are you so stubborn?" She gritted her teeth "don't force me Pradeep...".
"It's Prithvi..and you're deliberately doing it" he sighed "okay fine..but no accent please..just speak like a normal desi girl". She opened her mouth to argue when they felt a knock on his door window.
"Okay..we can fight later" Prithvi whispered and lowered the window pane.
"Come out love birds!" It was Kevin and he beamed at them "you've made us wait for long". Prithvi smiled brightly "of course dude!"
She walked with him towards the venue he had said. Suddenly, she felt slight tremor at the sight. There were many people at the large hall, each pair of eyes on her. She saw a large banner at the entrance which read congratulations Prithvi and Aarti.
"Welcome welcome!" She saw a burly man approach them who looked to be in fifties probably. "Aarti..this is my boss Tapan Sen.." Prithvi introduced him and she forced a smile "nice to meet you".
"My heartfelt congratulations!" Sen beamed at both of them "please enjoy the party" he walked away towards the other end. "Your boss is weird" she whispered in his ear. Prithvi rolled his eyes "tell me about it".
Soon, everyone surrounded them and she felt many hands shaking her and few girls hugging and congratulating her as she forced a smile at each one of them.
"Bhabi?" Kevin approached them "who proposed first?"he teased and few others laughed. She cast a quick glance at Prithvi who was busy chatting with a man she didn't know "er..he did" she lied, feeling a little guilty to fool so many people.
"Wow! Really?" Kevin grinned "he said it was you". More laughter followed and Aarti felt like disappearing from the spot. This was too much to bear.
"It's Aarti is it?" She turned to see a girl who looked pretty and had a sweet voice "I'm Teena..I'm in the same team with Prithvi.." she introduced and they chatted for a while. She was a nice girl, thought Aarti as they chatted away happily.
"I'm so glad for Prithvi actually" Teena said, observing him at a distance "he finally moved on from her..".
Aarti stopped sipping her cold drink "her?" Teena nodded brightly "didn't he tell you about Maitri?" Aarti felt taken aback, who was this girl? "Er yeah..he didn't say more because we didn't want him to dig out each other's past" she added.
Teena looked thoughtful "that's sweet" she smiled "they were in love since so many years...even engaged too..but I don't know what happened..they just broke up and the next thing we know..she got married".
Aarti listened in curiosity as the story unfolded...who knew this khadoos had a girlfriend? But why did they break up? Somehow she didn't feel like asking Teena.
"Is it?"she made a surprised face "that's okay..who doesn't have a past isn't it?" Teena shrugged "I thought you guys must have been very close" she looked around and whispered "because if you knew his secret and still married him, I really appreciate you".
Aarti felt alarmed "what secret?" Teena came nearer "when Prithvi was fifteen..he was in juvie for beating up a small kid and blinding his eye".
Aarti felt goosebumps erupt on her arms in terror "you mean juvenile home?" It was hard to believe. Teena nodded "he's kind of a tough guy..like when he had initially joined here, he beat up this guy and he ended up in hospital...only Kevin and I know about it.. please don't ask him.."
Aarti found it hard to breathe; why didn't Seema mention any of this? Or..was she unaware of these facts?
"I find it hard to believe.." she whispered, almost to herself.
"I know..but since we're quite close, he confided in me" Teena said "but I hope he's changed person, for your sake...excuse me" she walked away.
Aarti kept the cold drink aside; she felt her appetite vanish suddenly. Was Prithvi a violent person? She could feel her insides getting churned at the thought. Did she make a mistake choosing him to marry?
The fear was back...again...
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