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Raina was arranging her things in her new room. Clothes were already settled inside the closet, medications and other items in the nearest drawer in the bedroom.
But what about the loads of files she had?
She sent the maids back because not many things were left to settle.
She sat on the sofa in the seating area with her documents lying on the table.
Thinking of resting a bit, she leaned her head back on the sofa, closing her eyes.
Just then, Adhiraj entered the room.
Raina opened her eyes sensing some activities just to see him flexing his limbs to ease his muscles. But it looked like he didn't notice her.
Walking towards his bedroom, he took off his shirt in between which was damp from the sweat.
Raina looked at him shocked as his back with a big tattoo of Sun became visible to her eyes.
He went inside the room but her wide eyes were still fixed on the door through which he entered a while ago with her mouth hanging down.
What was that?
But soon her eyes widened more if possible when instead of back, a naked chest came in her view.
She took in a shuddering breath.
Her eyes travelled upward.
The prominent collarbone, popping adam apple, his sharp jawline, his straight nose and his dark eyes.
His face was neutral earlier but when he saw her doe shaped eyes looking at him, a smirk started forming on his lips.
Raina noticed that and diverted her eyes, looking here and there like an idiot.
She stood up and started collecting her files.
"Raina! What happened?", Adhiraj leaned on the door frame with his arms folded against his chest.
Raina glanced at him and stammered out her answer, "Nothing. I a-am arranging my files."
Just then, few folders fell due to her nervousness. She shook her head and bent down to pick them.
She was now avoiding him, and it was just too obvious.
"Alright.", he nodded his head, amusement swirling in his eyes.
Raina pressed her lips in a straight line listening to his mocking statement.
"Where should I keep them?", she muttered to herself, but it was loud enough for him to listen.
"In office room, obviously.", he stated.
"Hmmm!!", Raina nodded and waited for him to go inside the room because he was standing close by the door of the office room.
"What happened? Feeling uncomfortable?", Adhiraj asked cocking up his right eyebrow.
"No!", Raina quipped.
"Raina, if it's me who is shirtless then why are you feeling uncomfortable?", he asked still leaning there.
"I am not.", Raina maintained a straight face and walk past him, entering the office, knowing that he was not going to stop anytime soon.
🔅🔅🔅
Adhiraj sighed in relief as the water washed off all the dirt. Few relatives were pestering to see the Royal horse stable.
Adhiraj had some work that time but Rana sa told him to take them himself as a responsible host.
Adhiraj didn't say anything to him but what he did was just out of quotation. He made them walk all the way to the horse stable which was at half an hour of walking distance.
And seeing him all serious, nobody dared to say anything. And it made him all sweaty and to top of that the desert environment. Dirt was making him itchy.
He wore a blue t-shirt. A chuckle escaped his lips remembering her nervous self.
He pushed back his wet locks back, giving them a messy but sexy look.
🔅🔅🔅
She sorted out the papers according to her different requirements and kept them on a table near the door.
"Not there, keep it here.", Adhiraj walked to his table and started arranging his cabinet at the back wall.
Raina looked at him and a frown marred her forehead sensing something different. Just then she noticed. During marriage time, his beard and especially his moustache was grown to give him a Royal look but he trimmed his beard and moustache, leaving a light stubble covering his jaw only.
Just like the old days.
"But, that is your shelf.", Raina said dragging her attention to the work in her hands.
"Keep it here Raina.", he said firmly while keeping his things aside to create space for her.
But she was still standing there, away from him.
"Don't scare away, I have my shirt on.", he smirked, examining one paper.
Raina made a poker face and walked to him with her files and started arranging them, royally avoiding him.
She saw a diary-like thing, looking odd in between the official folders.
She picked it up, "What is this?"
Flipping pages, she saw the photographs of his high school and university days of England.
Adhiraj watched her smiling looking at them.
He was looking so different in those pics, carefree and charming. With a boyish twinkle in his eyes.
She saw a picture of a group of boys where everyone was laughing because Rohan was clinging to Adhiraj and to her surprise Adhiraj was laughing back.
"You used to laugh?"
"I am not a statue who can't laugh.", Adhiraj replied in a fake monotone.
"Ahhh... I imagined you to be the one who will scare anyone away just by one look.", Raina teased him placing the album back where it was earlier.
"Like laser machine.", she added giggling.
"Being very frank, are we Mrs Rathore?", Adhiraj said emphasising the honorific.
He was expecting the rosy pink colour creeping on her face but instead, her features were drained of any colour, she looked pale.
And her smile disappeared in thin air.
"Sorry.", she muttered but he couldn't listen.
"Are you okay?", he asked in a concern laced voice.
"Yes, yes. I am okay. Let's go for dinner.", she walked away from him, adjusting her saree and looking down.
Adhiraj strolled behind her, keeping an eye on her smudged movements.
🔅🔅🔅
Adhiraj was lying on his side of the bed when Raina came out of the bathroom wearing her usual t-shirt with trousers.
Her hair tied in a big messy bun.
She stood near the bed, again fidgeting with her fingers. Adhiraj looked up. Just when their eyes met, she scurried to another place and started gulping her medications.
Adhiraj was noticing her for the past couple of hours, she was looking lost. Zoning out again and again.
She sat in the bed, looking at the switch of the lamp with her back facing him.
Should she say it? Or leave it?
She cleared her throat to gain his attention, which was of no use because he was already looking at her.
"I want to ask something.", she whispered.
"Go on.", he pulled himself up and leaned back on the headrest.
"Am I behaving too much out of character?", she asked the question which was eating her brain cells from the instance he uttered that sentence.
Frank, she was being frank with him which she never did.
She gave him a fleeting looking, her gaze returning to her intertwined fingers resting on her lap, "If I am then I am sorry. I had an appointment with my counsellor a day before the wedding. I know how much you are trying to be soft and open to me, I wanted to reciprocate those gestures. Even she told me to do so saying that I would have to put extra effort because of my closed-off nature. I thought I was being open, not realising that I was overdoing it. I-"
"Raina, listen to me clearly.", he cut her off in middle.
"There was nothing about you overdoing something or behaving out of character. It was all about me teasing you. I was just teasing you, nothing else.", he said placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I am so full of insecurities!", she exclaimed tiredly, covering her face with her palms.
"We will work on that.", he pulled her closer and rubbed her back.
"I don't want this, I don't want to listen that I am changing after marriage.", she looked up at him with desperation to prove something evident on her face.
"I don't want to change. Change in someone's behaviour is something I hated. I hate two-faced people.", she mumbled.
He made her look at him and said, "That's completely two things. You can't compare the hypocrites with the universal truth."
"If anything is stable in this world, that is the unstable nature of each element.", he tried to make her understand.
But the look of uncertainty was permanent in her brown eyes along with restlessness.
He got up from the bed and went to a shelf that was full of unique artefacts. He picked something and sat in front of her.
"You know what is this?", he asked showing her a small porcelain bowl printed with fine arts. But the speciality was the golden lines covering its edges and surfaces.
The golden lines were not in patterns, instead, they resembled the random cracks.
"This is Kintsugi. Japanese Artwork of mending broken pottery. ", he kept the bowl in her lap.
She picked it up and keenly examined it, her fingers skimming the golden lines.
He pointed at the bowl, "Look at this, this bowl was broken. It was shattered into pieces. Was it the end? No. Because someone collected all the shreds. He tried to mend it, but it was weak and looking ugly with all those scars."
"Deciding to turn the weakness into the strength, he came up with something insane. He used his possessions, all the silver, gold and platinum he possessed. He melted them and filled the drifts with them. The scars which were looking ugly were now the centre of attraction. They became the beauty."
She was looking at him, his words drowning down in her heart.
He smiled, "It was not at all easy. Bowl had to accept the change, gold had to tolerate the heat and that man had to be stubborn about his task. It took time, patience, practice and dedication."
He cupped her cheek and said, "Your younger self was just like this porcelain bowl. Fragile, intricate and beautiful. You were broken and till today, you are living with those scars. You can't get rid of them because they are your parts. Scars are proof that you struggled and survived. They are your history, on which you should have proud."
He held her hands between his, "You have your pieces in your hands now. Do all the hard work to make your gold adhesive. And mind it, it will not be easy. You will have to put efforts, you will have to accept the pain. But in the end, you will be stronger and more beautiful."
Her hands confined between his big palms.
His finger grazed one scar on her knuckles, "Allow yourself to break, and have the courage to mend yourself."
He got up taking the kintsugi bowl with him. He turned after placing it and said, "Be the art of Kintsugi. Embrace your flaws and imperfections."
She nodded at him like a child.
"You are broken yet beautiful.", he smiled.
"What is left now? Change in personality? Raina! We are humans, we learn things every day. We grow up every day. We do change with time.", he sat in front of her just like her and ruffled her hair.
"Look at me. I was something else in London, I developed into something different in Mumbai. After returning to Jodhpur, I became more guarded and cold. With you and family, I am different. I changed a lot."
"You are becoming something else, it means you are learning many things. And it is not bad.", he cupped her cheeks.
"Got it?", he asked.
She nodded, looking at him innocently.
"Now to bed.", saying this he pushed her back on the bed and covered her with the blanket.
He walked to his side and switched off the night lamp, lying down beside her.
But she didn't off the lamp of her side.
"That was a lot to take in.", she noticed his gaze and muttered scratching her head.
It was feeling like her mind did overwork.
He felt a smile forming on his lips. Extending his hand he let his finger dive in the waves of her brown silky hair.
His left hand started caressing her scalp whereas he closed his eyes lying on his back. Raina tried to say something but he shushed her, "Shhh!! Sleep now."
After some time, he felt her turning sideways to face him but he didn't make any move. Placing her palm under her cheek, she stared continuously at the Kintsugi bowl visible from there.
Gradually, her eyelids started feeling heavy and dropped in sleep. The movements of his fingertips inside her hair were doing magic, it was relaxing her, lulling her to sleep.
Adhiraj looked at her after few minutes when he felt her even and soft breaths.
How did he forget to check her counselling schedules? Was he so much busy in his marriage? He scratched his eyebrows, frustrated at himself. He wanted to be careful around her and about her.
He propped up on his elbow and hovered over her to switch off the lamp of her side and retreated, not before placing a kiss on her forehead. Involuntarily, she scooted more closer to him in her sleep, looking for the warmth she had not experienced in years.
🔅🔅🔅
Raina was talking something to Vasudha after breakfast when Adhvan approached her, "Bhabhi sa!"
"Yes, Adhvan.", Raina smiled at him.
"I want to talk to you about something.", he motioned her to come aside.
"Yes, I am listening.", she walked out of the room with him.
Adhvan scratched his neck, "Actually...."
Target- 630 votes..
Hope you liked the chapter... 😍
Kintsugi concept is inspired from Siddhi Kadam @Skwookie, but moulded according to my story and characters.
See you soon... 😋