Even though it is inspired a lot by a Bengali soap opera, it also has elements of a Wattpad romance and bits of my own personality. So, lemme know if you like where this story is going..
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"Make up your mind. All of you, talk it out and tell me, okay? I'm tired and I really need to freshen up, so I'm going to sit here, on the threshold until you all decide." I began to adjust the saree I was wearing to sit down.
"We made up our mind. You can come in. You're part of our family now and we don't make family sit outside the door." Ranajit Sinha said.
"But Dadasaheb-" Mrs. White started.
"No buts, Mishti Maa. Sinha's don't abandon family." He then turned towards Ritwik's mother. "Welcome your son's wife, Boro Bouma."
"I don't accept this marriage. I will never accept someone like her for my son. She'll never be Babu's wife." She insisted.
"Are you denying my order, Bouma?" Ritwik's grandfather raised an eyebrow.
Colour drained from Ritwik's mother's face. "No, of course not. I just.." She stammered.
"Mejho Bouma, go get the Boron Dala. Boro Bouma will welcome our Laxmi."
Me and Laxmi? Good joke.
"I respect you, Babasaheb, that's why I'm doing this. But she's no Laxmi." Surya's mother spat and flounced deeper into the house.
I sent a quick text to Naira, asking her if she spoke to Arunav or not. Then texted Molly that everything was fine and I was grateful for all she did.
Naira replied, "Talk to me tonight?"
"Yeah." I replied back a second before Molly texted back, "It's fine. Stay safe and text me if you need anything."
"Does that look like the behaviour of a Laxmi?" Mrs. White commented snarkily.
"She's a working woman. She needs to keep an eye on her phone. She's probably answering something important." A feminine voice defended me.
"You stay quiet. Didn't I teach you not to speak when the elders are speaking!" Another older feminine voice chided the younger one.
"Why are you scolding Kaju? She's right, Dyuti has to answer emails and that to for Babu Da." Surya intervened.
"You don't even say anything. You're the root of this. I can clearly see that. You have been defending her from the moment she stepped in here. If she's so good, why didn't you marry her? Why ruin my Babu's life!"
That's it. Enough. I will not accept disrespecting my friend.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know I got married to a minor. I was under the impression that Mr. Sinha is an adult who's capable of making his own decisions. I was also under the impression that he's of sound mind." I looked straight into the hateful eyes of the woman was now supposed to be my mother. Somehow, I could see it. I could see her being exactly like my mother.
"Just because you are allowed to stay in this house doesn't mean you will be allowed to act like however you want. This is still my family and you will be respectful to everyone here." Ranajit Sinha tried to discipline me.
"Allowed? No, sir, I think you mean asked. You asked me to stay here. What for, I'm not concerned about. But you asked me to stay not allowed. And respect is a two way street, at least for me. Do not expect me to respect someone who blatantly disrespects me. I'm not desperate enough to be a part of this family to accept that."
The old man regarded me. He stared at me like he was looking straight into my soul. I had a hard time holding his gaze but I was too stubborn to back down. I barely blinked while staring at him with as much determination as I could muster.
If soap operas taught me anything, it's that for some reason it's easier to get the respect of the male family members compared to the female members. I didn't plan on staying with the Sinha family forever, but I planned on not living like a slave for the duration that I did stay with them. So, if I could get Ranajit Sinha to side with me, I would likely have a bearable experience. But of course I had to start antagonising him. I wouldn't be me if I did stuff that made sense.
Surya's mother brought out the welcome platter with an irritated expression and handed it to Ritwik's mother. She took it and walked to me angrily. She then quickly finished the welcoming ritual as the woman who scolded the young girl moved about placing a white saree close to the door. The girl grabbed the plate on the table. It was filled with a red liquid (alta). As Ritwik's mother moved away, she placed it close to the door and quickly grabbed a pot filled with uncooked rice near the threshold. I kicked it gently causing the rice to spill. Then the girl placed the plate filled with the red liquid in place of the pot. I dipped my right foot in it first and then my left foot. I stood in it for a couple seconds before walking placing my right foot on the white saree and walking on it.
Ritwik took that as a cue to leave the scene. He began to angrily climb the stairs. I figured was supposed to follow him but the girl stopped me. I raised an eyebrow.
"You're not supposed to stay with him tonight."
"Why?"
"Kalratri."
"Oh."
I followed her as she lead me to a different room.
"I'm Kajol. You can also call me Kaju. You'll stay with me for tonight."
I nodded and smiled at her. "My name is Dyutilekha but I prefer Dyuti."
She smiled back at me.
"No. You can't stay here. You will corrupt my daughter."
I turned around to see the woman who had been scolding Kaju.
"Maa." Kaju tried to shush her mother.
She simply glared at her. "No. She will stay with Meenu today and probably for the rest of days she stays here."
My ears perked up. I knew Meenu. She worked for the family. Over the last few months that I worked as Ritwik's assistant, I had to show up at his house multiple times and each time it was Meenu who I interacted with. She was a fun woman and close to my age, maybe a couple years younger.
"Maa! What are you saying? Notun Boudi can't stay with Meenu Di! Dadasaheb will not accept it."
"See, you spent just a few minutes with her and you're already back-chatting with me. She's a horrible influence. She's better off with the maid."
I blinked.
This can't be real, right?
I knew Ritwik and Surya. They were very respectful to everyone around them. Sure, they were demanding and sometimes too high up their own ass to listen to other suggestions but never have I seen them look at someone subordinate to them with a condescending attitude. Their family members couldn't be so rude, could they? I just probably caught them on a bad day.
Yepp, that's it.
Not wanting to get the young girl in more trouble, I intervened, "Show me Meenu's room, please."
Before Kaju could say anything else, her mother interrupted. "Find it yourself."
I shrugged and exited the room purposely shoving the rude woman a little. I figured she was probably the Ritwik's choto kaki.
She said something rude to me as I was leaving, but I wasn't concerned. I began to look around hoping to find some staff member with a sweeter disposition than the family members.
No such luck. The whole house was a fucking maze and I was starting to get a headache.
I found myself turning around in circles and the house seemed surprisingly empty. All the stuff that was on the living room table from when I was in the house just minutes ago before Kaju lead me in, was still there. My eyes landed on the stairs and I briefly wondered if it was a good idea to go knocking on Ritwik's door. He had stuck to his plan and absolutely refused to stick up for me. What if he didn't help me find Meenu but rather insulted me?
I could always threaten to expose his dumb plan.
With that in mind, I carefully climbed the stairs and began to walk towards the open door.
There he was, sitting on the bed holding his head.
"Yo, boss."
He looked up at and my heart ached for him. He looked so guilty.
Also another part of me ached because this asshole discarded his shirt and the memory of my tongue on his skin resurfaced. I tried to blink those thoughts away.
No, bad Dyuti.
Being around him made my pre-period horniness worse than it normally was.
He stood up and walked up to me, wrapping his arms around me after a few seconds.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I never expected my mother to act this hostile. She's particular but not rude. I don't know what got into her. I should have stood up for you. I really should have but I just...I.. I'm so sorry."
"Nah, it's fine. I don't blame you. You could be a hotshot business man but you're still Indian. If you weren't scared of your mother, that would have been concerning." I teased.
He hummed and placed a kiss where my neck met my shoulder. "I'll make it up to you." He whispered in my ear and nibbled on my ear lobe.
"No!" I breathed out. I pushed him away gently. "Do you want to create trouble? We can't do that. Not anymore."
He scrunched his eyebrows together. "Why?"
"Because.."
"Because what? You said you didn't want me because I was engaged to someone else. That is no longer the case. So what's the problem?"
Is this guy serious, right now?
I groaned. "Your family hates me. What do you think will happen if the find out we fucked?"
"What? It doesn't have to be here. They don't have to know." He wiggled his eyebrows mischievously. "Plus, it would be weird if they knew." He scrunched his nose up.
"No. Not here, not anywhere else. We can't do that. That's the end. You were supposed to be with my sister. Cousin, but sister nonetheless. I am not going to just forget that. And, I refuse to be your dirty secret anymore. It was fun when you were just my boss and I was just your assistant. Now, it would feel stupid and disrespectful and genuinely dirty. Moreover, I like someone else."
"Who?"
"That's the only thing you caught?"
He shrugged. "That's the only important thing. What was supposed to happen and what happened are both two different things. As for you being a secret, you are not. You are my wife. Everyone knows that. So, who do you like?"
I narrowed my eyes. "First of all, ew. Don't ever call me your wife. Secondly, if we do anything, that has to be a secret. According to your family and mine, we didn't want this, which is true. But you went overboard with it and acted like we aren't even friends. Which was unnecessary but I guess true. We aren't friends."
"What? Of course we're friends. You saw them. You saw my family. How do you think they'd react if I tried to stand up for you?"
"I'm literally your assistant! Why the fuck would you not have enough of a relationship with me to at least defend me when the whole purpose of my job is to make your life easier."
"I've never had a good relationship with my assistants. You said it yourself, you feel like murdering me everyday."
"Yeah, but that's cause you go overboard with how strict you are. That annoys me, but not enough to make me hate you. And why would you keep me if our relationship is hostile or cold?"
"It makes sense to them. Trust me. Things will not be like this forever. Just give it some time."
"Then have it. Look, I don't care. Like I said, I like someone else now. Our arrangement was fun while it lasted but now it's over."
He rolled his eyes. "You totally don't flirt with me, do you? You're very loyal to this crush of yours." His lips curved into a smirk. He pulled me closer by my waist. He traced my lower lip with his thumb. "I know I can fuck that little crush of yours out of you."
The weight of the gaatchora didn't stop me from touching him. If anything, it urged me on. As if to say, it's okay, it's not wrong. I wrapped my free hand around his throat.
"Quit acting like some alphahole when you know damn well I could have you on your knees begging for mercy."
The way he looked at me caused me to clench my thighs together. There was a raw sexual attraction between us. No emotions or anything else, just pure sexual attraction.
"Stop looking at me like that." My voice came out hoarse.
"Like what?" The way he sounded, it was clear that he was no longer my boss. At least not mentally. Mentally, he was ready to be my pet. To be everything I wanted him to be.
"Like you want me to make good on that threat."
"Maybe I do."
I took deep breaths and shook my head. "No. No, we can't." I began to move back.
"You don't have to do anything. Let me take care of you." His words barely registered in my head as my back hit the wall. The ball of white cloth was the only thing keeping him at a distance.
*CLINKKKK*
The sound of plates falling on to the ground grabbed our attention.
There stood the woman in White with a hand on her mouth and a shocked expression. A plate lay broken near her feet along with an upturned bowl and food around it.
I should have closed the door but didn't.
Fuck.
Guess the show's back on air.
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Dadasaheb- A formal way of referring to a grandfather.
Bouma- daughter-in-law
Boro Bouma- Wife of the oldest son
Mejho Bouma- Wife of the middle son
Laxmi- Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. A lot of Indian families refer to their daughter-in-laws as Laxmi to indicate that they're well behaved and would bring prosperity to the family.
Kalratri- A ritual according to which the bride and groom aren't supposed to look at each other on the night after their wedding ceremony, which happens to be the same night as the one before the reception.
Choto kaki- wife of choto kaka, a.k.a, father's younger brother
Gaatchora- The knot tied between the bride saree and the groom's wedding garb.