Barrister Babu

Chapter 24: A Love Check

Anirudh just got out of the bathroom after taking a bath, only to find Bondita brushing her hair while sitting on a chair, lost in thoughts.

With a small smile playing on his lips, Anirudh walked to her and placed his head over Bondita's shoulder, startling her.

She looked at the mirror and saw it was Anirudh and then smiled.

"Where are you lost?" he asked sweetly.

"Patibabu, I was wondering since Keth Dada is away, what about his haldi ceremony? If the haldi doesn't come after applying it to him, then how will Chameli have her haldi?"

Anirudh admired Bondita's concern. "Baba is there. He will send the haldi."

"So only Sasurji will be in Keth Dada's haldi? Shouldn't y'all go with Kakasasurji as I stay with Chameli?" she suggested.

"It's not a bad idea, but I will choose the side where my wife is." Both of them smiled as their eyes met in the mirror. "I want to stay by your side, all the time, even though it's a ceremony, I mean it, Bondita."

She could feel heat rushing to her cheeks and lowered her gaze. "Patibabu..."

"Yes, Bondita?" he asked lovingly.

"I... want to ask you something." He waited patiently as Bondita got up from the chair. He again walked to her and held her hand in his. He just wanted to be with her—touch her. "What does love feel like?"

Anirudh arched an eyebrow in confusion. "Love? What do you mean by what does love feel like?"

She pulled her hand back and turned her face away from facing him in nervousness. "I don't know what love feels like. I want to know if I love you in a romantic way or not. I know a husband and wife relationship doesn't need love, even trust and respect makes a perfect relationship. But... I want to experience it."

He was certainly not expecting this from her. He was astonished. "So you want to know how love feels like to check if you love me or not?" She nodded innocently. "What if you realize you don't love me?"

As soon as he asked that question, she frowned. "Why will I not love you? Who cannot fall in love with you, Patibabu?"

He chuckled at her response. "Then what's there to know about love?"

"It's just for my validation." She pouted cutely. "I never learned what love is supposed to feel like. You helped me understand barristery, then why can't you help me to understand love?"

He found her antics so adorable and he decided to drag this more to annoy her. "Love is not something I have a degree in, unlike barristery."

She crossed her arms against her chest and grumbled, "If you don't know about love, then how did you fall for Buri didi?"

This time, Anirudh's playful smile fell and he walked closer to her. He cupped her cheeks and said, "Saudamini was my infatuation, Bondita. It wasn't love. You can label it as a teenage love, an immature love or whatever you want, but not actual love."

"Is it the same when I thought I had a crush on you?" she asked innocently and he nodded. "No wonder why you could explain it to me because you went through that too."

"Yes." He left her cheeks and sat on the bed comfortably. "And about love, I don't think I can explain it very nicely."

She rolled her eyes and retorted, "There is nothing in this world that you cannot explain, Patibabu. Stop being so dramatic."

He raised his eyebrows in amusement. "I am being dramatic?"

"Yes." She also sat next to him and shifted her gaze to him.

"Well, I learned from the best." He smiled and winked at her.

She gasped dramatically. "What do you mean?"

"This is what I meant," he pointed to her.

"I won't talk to you!" she muttered, crossed her hands against her chest again and puffed her cheeks, turning to the opposite side.

Anirudh shook his head with a wide smile. Some things never change, he thought.

He poked her cheeks and started, "Bondita, love is something which really can't be explained; it can only be expressed."

Bondita glanced at him curiously. "Like?"

Anirudh looked at the huge picture of him and Bondita in a barrister robes, hung at one corner of the room as he said, "Like, wanting to give that person the perfect gift, basically looking for perfection at every little thing you do for that person. When they get hurt, you will feel the pain. Tears will come out of your eyes. When they are happy, you will be the one smiling widely. You can go to any extent to bring one smile to their face."

He continued, "It's like being comfortable with each other, opening oneself up to another person and allowing them to see and understand one's deepest thoughts, feelings, and vulnerabilities. Trust and respect are some of the key factors for love as well. Love is an emotional connection, an attachment. Like feeling each other's presence. Then understanding their touches without even looking."

Bondita was trying to pay attention, but she started feeling sleepy. It was becoming tough for her to keep her eyes open.

Anirudh further spoke, "Love is desire—the desire to be close to the person, to touch them. Love brings fulfillment, like you don't want anything else in your life as long as you have that person you love. It brings contentment. And even the thought of that person going away from your life, will kill you; it will eat you alive. This is love."

The moment he concluded his sentence, he looked at Bondita, who was soundly sleeping on the bed. Anirudh chortled at that. "So basically, my speech on love is a lullaby for you," he joked and properly tucked her in bed.

Once he was done, he admired her sleeping. It was until a sudden realization struck him; everything he said about love, was everything he felt for Bondita. She was his lifeline. All the things matched with his feelings. Bondita wanted to check if the meaning of love matched with her and Anirudh's bonding, but it seemed like Anirudh ended up checking it.

He loved Bondita—his Bondita.

A/N: Next update when there's at least 10 comments.