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Mythili's POV -
The next morning when I woke up, it was almost ten in the morning and I panicked, throwing myself out of the bed.
" How did my alarm not go off? It's so late!" I rushed to the washroom, freshened up and took a very quick bath before walking to the hall where Aunty was sitting and so was Shivaay and I looked on confused. Usually, they both would be at work at this time.
Mythili's Look -
" Good morning Mythili. What happened? You look confused." Aunty must have seen me looking around.
" Good morning aunty. Nothing. No work today?" I asked as she asked me to come and sit next to her.
" Today is Sunday na beta." She reminded me. Ohh, that explains it.
" I forgot." I murmured and she gave out a chuckle.
" Of course you did. For the next two weeks, all days are Sundays for you now." She reminded me as I grinned. These holidays were what I had been craving for since the past two months. All the books that I had planned to read and my guitar but that's when I realized that I was not home anymore. I did not have my books or my guitar here and the happiness I had just felt started to fade away.
" So what are you planning to do in these two weeks?" She asked, thankfully not picking up on my mood that had just changed.
" No idea aunty. Probably just study a bit for the next semester." I said with the most easy tone I could muster up while feeling disappointed at the same time.
" I actually wanted to talk to the both of you about something." Aunty seemed to hesitate for a bit before speaking and this captured the attention of Mr. Rathore who was reading his Business newspaper religiously till now ignoring us.
" What is it maa?" He asked keeping it aside, giving his full attention to her.
" People have started talking Shivaay. Most of the people are aware that Mythili is now living with us and they have a lot of nasty things to say." She said and my heart started to clench. No conversation which starts like this ends up a happy conversation.
" Mother, worthless people have nothing more than doing that, talking. I don't care and neither should you. Let them talk." He announced, standing up. Aunty followed and so did I.
" I care Shivaay. I am done listening to people talking nonsense about my family and me. I don't want to hear it anymore." She raised her voice a bit taking a step closer to her son.
" Then my lawyers will send defamation notices to everyone to dares to, maa. But I will not change my plans to get married because people are talking. She will finish up her college first." He spared me a brief look before diverting his attention back to Malini aunty.
" Mythili will finish her college and then will go on to do her post-graduation before finding a job and there is no doubt about that Shivaay but she can do that after the wedding too." She said and it was like that this conversation was half about me but being talked upon like I was absent from there. Turns out that this is indeed, the reality of my god damn life.
" What is the hurry maa?" He asked her the question I so desperately wanted to. I mean, I have known this for a while now that eventually, I will get married to Shivaay but I thought that she was waiting for me to finish up my college at least.
" You are asking this to a woman who has lived through all her life listening to the taunts from society about a failed marriage and then raising two children on her own Shivaay? It hurts. Even though I am respected now because I am your mother but don't forget for one second that those very people who respect me go on to talk about me behind my saying saying how I couldn't hold onto my marriage." I heard her voice chocking as she sat down again.
Before any thought that could enter my mind, I rushed to the kitchen to get her a glass of water.
" Aunty." I placed the glass in front of the coffee table. Shivaay was sitting next to her, attempting to calm her down while I had no idea what to do about myself being present there so I just took a few steps back and stood by the pillar.
" Maa, if those people respect you for being my mother and not for the fact that you raised Anamika and I alone despite all the hurdles that were thrown at your way, it's their fault, not yours. You know I can do anything for you but getting married changes her life more than it changes mine at this point in time." Even after he said those words so clearly, I couldn't believe in them for a moment. Was he thinking about me?
" Mythili, please come to me?" I heard aunty ask as I found her eyes on me. I nodded and started to walk towards the couch as she made me sit on her right and took my hands in hers.
" I know beta that life has not really been fair to you and unfortunately, It was never fair to me either. I know a thing or two about bearing the burden of having a family who doesn't want you and then a husband who does not care for you and that is why I have raised my children to be the very opposite of those things. When you marry Shivaay, you will not just become the daughter-in-law of this house, you will be an equal in every sense. You will be responsible in every sense just as much as every other member of this family will be. You will study, work hand and all of us here will always have your back. You will be family. That day at your parent's house when I saw how they treated you, I froze for a moment because I saw myself in you Mythili and I knew that no one deserves that treatment. That is when I decided that you will be my daughter-in-law and I am sorry how things are going for you. Had you stayed at your parents place, they would have married you to Shivaay or anyone else and getting you out of there and bringing you here only meant that you will be Shivaay's wife. I know that I am rushing into things but for someone like me, it is very difficult to listen to people day in and day out. I have heard for a lifetime now and even though that should have made me immune to their taunts, it did not." She said, tears glimmering in her eyes as her voice shook. Every word that she had thrown towards me was true. I know Shivaay and her were doing the best they could to protect me from any negativity but I know how this so called high-society works.
" I am ready aunty. I will marry Mr. Rathore whenever you want me to and if he wants to. As much as I want to say that I don't feel what you are talking about, I do. I have heard people talk about my back for as long as I can remember. My parents put their best foot forward to show how happy of a family we are, I never truly fit in and people are not blind and they are most certainly not kind." I took a deep breath before agreeing to it. What else could any of us do? They were in this pickle as much as I was. At least she had the decency of putting the truth as it was instead of hurling insults and orders at me.
For a moment, none of them said anything and I felt that I may have spoken out of line but then Malini aunty pulled me for a hug.
" Thank you beta and I promise that Shivaay will always be a perfect gentleman towards you. He will never let you down. I know I have raised him better than that." She said between her sobs and my heart broke to see her like that. She didn't deserve any of what has happened to her.
" Aunty you should rest for a while or you'll end up falling sick. Please." I asked her as she pulled away.
" Shivaay, will you both marry each other after Diwali?" She asked him. He looked conflicted as he pinched the gap between his eyes. Of course. Why would he want to marry me? Who am I? Neither do I help him in anyway with his business plans, nor am I some super-model with the likes of whom he is rumoured to every three months. I am nothing more than just a liability to him.
" If Miss Kapoor is okay with that, it works for me too." He said, leaving the last of the decision on me before he walked out of the house.
" I don't think he's happy about this whole thing." I muttered to myself.
" Oh don't worry about him Mythili. He has been like this since he was a child. One thing that does not go his way, he'll throw a silent tantrum before realising that it wasn't all that bad at all and this time, I know it will be the best for him." Aunty must have heard me as she spoke up to me.
I could do nothing but give her a silent nod before I asked her to rest once again. This time, she agreed and I walked with her to her bedroom, turning the blinds away and switching the lights off as she laid down on the bed.
" Rest well aunty. You have a kitty party to attend." I tried to sound a little enthusiastic for her.
" I am not going to that damn party beta and please tell Sushma to send my lunch up to my room. I'd like to eat it alone." She demanded and I agreed after closing the door behind me.
I had a lot of questions running in my head. What exactly happened with aunty? She had a daughter too? Where was she? etc, etc, etc.
By the time I reached up my bedroom, I had no idea what was I going to do now that I was supposed to get married within the next one month perhaps because Diwali was just next week.
" At least I'll be allowed to study further and then work." I tried to reassure myself with the facts running haywire in my head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The whole of afternoon, I paced in my room as a feeling of uneasiness creeped up my stomach. Even though I had known for a long time now that I will get married by twenty-two max, it didn't make it any easy. In fact, it didn't make anything easy at all!
Also, it was not fair for Shivaay. If only he had not rescued me from my parents, he wouldn't have been in this mess. Maybe he had gone to talk to them into taking me back? Maybe now that it was finally happening, he had realised that it was not me that he wants. There were so many maybe's in my head that it might just as well explode!!
I then went to stand in the balcony to clear my head with some fresh air and that is when I spotted a kitten down in the lawn. Where did it come from?
I leaned on the wall railing to have a better glimpse when my hand was harshly pulled away from the railing and my head hit a wall. Wait, a wall? When did a wall get here?
" What do you think you're doing Mythili?" I heard a voice, his voice which made me look up immediately.
I looked at him, confused. What was he talking about and when did he get there?
" What do you mean?" I asked him meekly as I tried to distance myself from him but his hold didn't let me.
He didn't say anything but his gaze went back and forth between the railing and me and that's when I realised, he thought that I was going to jump!!
" Oh no no. I was just looking at the kitten." I told him quickly but he looked like he wasn't believing me a bit.
" Honestly! I wasn't thinking to jump. I am not suicidal Mr. Rathore! I told you that it was a stupidity that day." I defended myself, flabbergasted that he wasn't believing me.
" If I don't find a damn kitten down the lawn Mythili, you'll find surveillance on you every hour of every day." He spoke up plainly as he let go of my hand and walked up the railing to look down.
He must have spotted that cutie because he didn't have that murderous look on when he laid his eyes on me again.
" Told you, I'm really not suicidal." I muttered, tucking a strand of hair back to my ear.
" One can never be too careful now, can they Miss Kapoor?" He mocked me and I was revolted at that.
What a progress? Now he thinks that I'm suicidal too!
" I don't jump like that." I clarified once again.
" Don't you? I thought you did jump off your room's window that day and then I found you standing up this very railing the very same day." He was making complete sense but he was wrong but I also knew that I couldn't prove myself right with the current situation I was in.
" How can I help you?" I asked him, giving up.
" Your father is after all, pushing you out of his properties. He has cut you out of his will and he refuses to recognize you all a legal heir. If something happens to your brother after your father, the whole business will go to his Kamal Kapoor." He told me as his eyes flickered in anger.
" Kamal uncle? My father hates him but this only means that he must absolutely loathe me to take that step." I couldn't stop myself from laughing bitterly.
" We will fight him in court. He will not get to do anything as such. He will lose." Shivaay announced and tried to walk away but before he could, I grabbed hos wrist involuntarily.
" Please don't." I spoke up as he focused back at me.
" Mythili I know you think that you don't care and you're being a bigger person here but that's not the truth. You cannot be a bigger person in front of people who have no backbone. I did give in the last time you asked me to do the same thing but after seeing your father's attitude, he does not deserve it. You will hardly be involved in the proceedings but there is no way I am going to back down now." He clarified and there was anger on his face as I sighed.
He wasn't going to back down. I could see it.
My gaze then went to my hand that was still holding his and I immediately withdrew it.
" Sorry." I said, looking at him and saw his gaze softening towards me.
" I need you to trust me here." He said.
" I think I do. It's just that I don't want you to deal with my troubles for me." I told him honestly, as I looked away, once again my eyes being captured by the little kitten.
" You will be my wife soon and no one gets away after threatening my family." He announced with a sort of determined grit in his voice and for some reason, I couldn't look at him this time.
" Can I please keep the kitten?" The words slipped my tongue before I could realise what I had just said and my eyes widened in worry as I turned my eyes to meet his.
" I am sorry. I didn't mean to say that out aloud." I said, almost panicking. I had no right!
" Yes you can keep the damn kitten provided it doesn't come in my way." He didn't acknowledge my apology but gave in to my demand anyway.
" Thank you!" I exclaimed before I rushed out of the balcony and my room to the lawn to reach the cutie.
It looked a little scared as I approached it and sat down in front of it, letting my baby come towards me. All this while, for some reason, Shivaay had followed me out but he was standing near me, instead of sitting like me.
Finally, the little kitten started to circle me multiple times and then climbed up my lap, digging it's little paws into my arm and after so long, I felt almost light. Like there was no burden on my chest which was funny because it was only today I found out that I'd be a married woman in less than a month. Funny.
"Hii Snowflake." I whispered to the little angel who purred in satisfaction before it hopped away from my lap and started to circle around Shivaay's legs too and I was borderline scared before looking at him.
But when I did, he looked as if he was actually amused but even if he was, he was trying his best to cover it away with indifference.
Maybe, just slightly, he's not all broody as he shows to be. Maybe he's a bit of a softie.
I had so many maybe's in my head all day but this one was a biggest of them all!!
Snowflake -
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