Barrister Babu

Chapter 12: A Proposal

A beautiful woman was looking at the RC haveli from the outhouse. "Anirudh Babu didn't come to meet us this week, Maa," said Mala, while her mother, Barsha Tiwari, was cooking food.

"I told you to use your charm and impress him. You couldn't so he even stopped coming every week, which he used to," Barsha taunted.

Mala turned to Barsha, a look of hurt visible on her face. "Maa, I tried but he is married and dedicated to his wife. Didn't you see whenever he used to come, he would always talk about that Bondita?"

Barsha rolled her eyes. "Five weeks passed and you couldn't make your way to a man's heart. You are a bad omen."

Tears formed on Mala's eyes. "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to impress that Anirudh Roy Chawdhary," she replied sharply.

"But he has a wife and—" Mala was interrupted by Barsha.

"So what? Everyone can have second marriages. It isn't illegal."

Mala nodded subtly and again shifted her gaze to the RC haveli. "I do have a soft corner for Anirudh Babu, he is a gentleman and rescued me and my maa. He gave us shelter. But will he ever think of me in a romantic sense?" she mumbled. That was when she saw a man strolling in the garden.

Who is he? she wondered because she never noticed this man before. She always found other two boys and Koyeli also told her that Anirudh had two brothers. Then who was that man? He looked handsome, but not more than her Anirudh Babu.

"Keth Babu!" Chameli called, making Keth stop at his steps.

He turned to Chameli with a smile. "Yes, Chameli?"

"Don't you have to go to the office today?" she inquired shyly.

"I decided to take a leave today," he answered. "Do you want to walk with me?"

She nodded and both of them started walking again in the garden.

"So how does it feel being a businessman?" Chameli started a conversation.

"Who doesn't like having a lot of money?" Keth joked.

Chameli chuckled. "But Kaka ji is a Zamindar so why do you have to worry about money?"

Keth put his hands in his pocket and took a deep breath. "Well, I know that money will stay for the Roy Chawdhary so why not just earn more?"

Chameli pursed her lips. "I understand."

"So tell me about you, Chameli."

"Well, my baba sent me to London to study and I was studying Literature. Then for some personal reasons, I had to drop my degree and return with Bondita."

"What happened?" he asked curiously.

Chameli's smile faded instantly. "I... it's just that Baba got influenced by some people and stopped sending me money so I had to drop out."

"But you could've borrowed money from Bondita," he suggested as he saw her looking everywhere but him.

"Yeah, I didn't want that," she managed to utter. "Anyway, why did you agree to get married all of a sudden?"

Keth admired her pretty face and said, "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"Yes, why?" she could feel butterflies in her stomach with the intense gaze of Keth.

"Well, I fell for you," as soon as he said that, Chameli's eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"What are you saying, Keth Babu?"

"I want to marry you, Chameli," Keth let out as he took a hold of her hand. "Only you."

Chameli stood there dumbstruck, while Mala and Barsha watched everything.

"Mala," Barsha kept a hand on her shoulder and said, "We never knew Zamindar Sahab had a son that was too older than Anirudh."

Mala arched an eyebrow, seeing the glow in Barsha's face. "What's going on in your mind?"

"He is unmarried, the eldest son which means the heir of Roy Chawdharys and also loaded with money," said Barsha.

"And so is Anirudh Babu," Mala added, not liking what her mother wanted to suggest.

"Think about it. Anirudh is not the eldest son. If you marry Zamindar's eldest son, you will be the eldest bahu of Roy Chawdharys. Who will miss this opportunity?"

"But Anir—"

"Think, Mala, think," Barsha urged. "Everybody will respect you. You will also stay in the same haveli as Anirudh so you can admire him as much as you can while you rule in the household."

Mala thought about all the tortures she had to face being a widow. People would've killed her and her mother if Anirudh hadn't rescued them. But if she had the title of being the wife of the heir of Roy Chawdharys, nobody would point a finger at her.

A smirk appeared on Mala's face as she started twirling a strand of hair with her index finger.

###

In the court, Bondita was sitting at her desk which was out in the open. Since she was a new barrister, she didn't have her personal cabin yet like her patibabu, but she was content with what she had.

However, no one was coming with a case to her as she was the only female barrister.

"Just getting a degree doesn't make you an eligible barrister," a male barrister near her snickered.

Anirudh, who just got out of his office, was strolling in the corridor. He stopped after hearing the remark and looked in that direction.

"Girls like you just seduce the teachers and make their way," that male barrister further added.

Anirudh clenched his fist in anger. He was about to walk in their direction but Bondita started speaking which made him stop.

"So?" Bondita asked nonchalantly as she got up from her chair.

That male barrister's eyes widened at her reply. "So? You have the audacity to say that?"

She nodded innocently. "Who cares how I got a degree as long as I got one? When you get a client, does your client call your college to ask how you got the degree before appointing you?" She continued when that male barrister became quiet. "No, right? Then why should it matter in my case?"

"It does! You are a woman!" he got agitated and responded.

Bondita was still calm and composed. She smiled at him and said, "Then that's your issue to deal with because I don't care." With that, she comfortably sat on her chair.

Everyone proceeded to do their usual work, making a mental note to not argue with this girl.

That male barrister just took his belongings and stormed off the office.

Anirudh, who watched everything silently, ended up bursting into laughter as his anger vanished. "Bravo, Bondita."