As soon as those rituals were over, we were guided to another room that had a large well decorated sofa that could seat two people.
"We can't be here, yet. We have to finish the signing first." Ritwik told his brother.
"We have to take pictures. The signing is about 15 minutes later. Molly is in there along with Sayan dealing with the reporters for now." I replied. It was after all my responsibility to ensure the wedding was perfect and everything was on schedule. Being the groom's assistant and the bride's cousin put that weird pressure on me.
"What do we have after the signing?" Ritwik asked.
"Yeah. You have the schedule, right? Give it to me. The bride shouldn't have to do these." Surya said with an awkward smile.
I ignored his manipulative shitty ass and focused on my boss. "The Bashor Raat event. That's supposed to be mostly young family members from both sides."
"What about the photographers? Would they stay?"
I shook my head. "No, they'll leave after having dinner." I reached for my phone then realised I didn't have my purse containing it. "I can't give you the exact time. But from what I remember, they're supposed to have dinner during the signing and then leave. They were supposed to have already taken majority of the photos with the bride and the groom by now. This was like the last finishing touch."
I bit the inside of my mouth and looked down. Everything went off schedule because ...
"Where's your phone? Get it and get Molly to contact the photographers. Tell them we had an emergency and need them to stay an hour longer."
"Uh.. It's.. It's with my mom and I don't think I can get it." I was slightly worried. No scratch that, I was extremely worried. I didn't like how calm he was being about the whole situation.
"I can get it for you." Surya offered.
"Do that. Tell them I want it." Ritwik instructed.
His brother nodded and quickly ran off.
We were surrounded by a lot of people who witnessed the exchange. Almost everyone was gossiping but Ritwik ignored it and walked straight towards the sofa. I had to, of course, follow him as we joined by our clothing.
We sat down for a few minutes until Surya walked up to us with my phone held up. He handed it to me and I quickly texted Molly and then called her.
"Hey, can you see the text I sent you?"
"Uh yeah. Where the hell are you? I am hearing some very strange things."
"Chances are you're hearing the correct things. Just see the text and do those."
"Bigg Boss' orders?"
"Yup."
"On it."
"Thank you so much."
"Eh, it's my job. Just get here ASAP."
"Will do."
I turned to face my hu-boss. He was just my boss. The whole thing was a fucked up accident.
He suddenly stood up and I raised my eyebrow. Ignoring me he began to walk forward and I felt a tug at my saree. Sighing I stood up and began following him. My hand itched to undo the knot but I was not trying to get slapped by my mother or worse my bitchy aunt.
It wasn't their action that I was worried about, rather my own reaction. Unlike most Indian kids, I didn't take being hit as a normal right of an older person. If anything, that was a trigger for me. I knew I would react with the exact same physical behaviour that I was given by them. Especially with how on edge I was in that moment.
Fuck. I'm such a horrible daughter.
I shook my head. No, there was nothing wrong with standing up for myself.
I focused down on the floor as Ritwik led me upstairs.
What the hell is he upto? Everyone is staring.
As much as I tried to ignore the stares, it was really hard to do. It's as if no one had the basic decency to wait to gossip after we were out of earshot. Once we reached upstairs, we found several people hanging out there. Especially in the room that was chosen to be the dressing room. So many of them blatantly stared at us that I wanted to hide my face in my hands, but I couldn't. I had stuff to hold. So, I braved it and looked straight ahead like the man in front of me.
He seemed to have finally found what he was looking for. It was a room that was almost empty save for my aunt, uncle, my cousin brother, my grandparents and my father. So basically, not empty at all. It just looked empty from the outside.
My eyes met my father's and he just stared at me like he didn't recognise me. After a few moments he's eyes widened slightly as he made the connection. We stared at each other. And I hoped. Like a complete fucking idiot, I hoped that my dad would finally say something. That he'd finally grow a spine and tell everyone that his daughter wasn't property that could just me given away like that. But of course he didn't. Why would he? It wasn't just that he lacked a spine, it's the fact that he never liked me. That he never wanted me.
My mother's words came back to me.
He doesn't care. He doesn't care what happens to his wife or daughter. You know he'll say yes anyway. He never wanted you. I'm the one who did everything for you.
"Is there a room that's empty? I need to talk to my wife." Ritwik's cold and calm voice sent an icy chill through my spine.
My relatives looked at each other. Then suddenly someone I never expected to speak for me spoke.
"This is not the time, baba jibon . This is not her fault, you know. She only agreed to this for us. To save our dignity. Please, don't misunderstand her." My grandfather spoke up. His eyes got watery as he held Ritwik's hand.
My situation with my grandfather was a little weird. I despised him for the trauma and problems he caused in my mother's life but at the same time he was probably the only who was somewhat genuine. He caused those troubles because he genuinely had good intentions. A lot like my own mother. That's why I loved them despite everything.
Ritwik being the polite man that he is, flashed a charming smile and spoke gently. "I just want to talk to her and clear a few things. I don't plan on hurting her in any way."
With shaky hands my grandfather pulled him into a hug and he let the old man pull back first. My aunt then tried to speak. "Son-"
"Please leave us alone for a while." His voice was back to being cold.
My relatives took the hint and began to leave. I hoped my dad would turn around and at least look at me once. But of course he didn't. It was my aunt who turned around.
To glare at me.
That bitch.
As soon as they left, Ritwik locked the door. My eyes widened a little. It wasn't that I had never been in a locked room with the man. It was the fact that I had been that bothered me. I quickly blocked out my thoughts.
I'm definitely about to start my period.
I quickly opened the period tracker app on my phone and found out I was about start it in 3 days or so.
Fucking great.
"What the actual fuck just happened?" Ritwik whisper screamed.
"The ol' bride switcheroo..."
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Bashor Raat = It's the celebration that takes place after the wedding. Most of the younger and middle aged members of both the families gather together to dance and sing and joke all throughout the night. Close friends are also a part of this.
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baba jibon- a way older family members may refer to the son-in-law.
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As some readers may have figured out, the characters are supposed to be Bengali (people from the State of West Bengal in India) and speak Bengali. So, that's why some words are in italics because I have no clue what those things are called in English or because I feel like translating those words to English make them loose their impact. I'm actually trying to write the story as if it all happens in English. So yeah.
Byeee.