Chhaya smiled at her mother-in-law as she walked up the stage where the newly married couple were sitting. She came up and blessed the couple before taking a seat beside her daughter-in-law and engaging her in conversation. Chhaya gently answered whenever she was being addressed, but on the inside, she was extremely tired and wanted to go home with her bua and cry in her lap over the mess her life has become.
Very soon it was time for the bidai, and Chhaya was crying as soon as it was mentioned. Rohan had hired a full-time nurse to stay with Nimrat and got her moved to a closer and nicer apartment, so Chhaya didn't have to worry about who was going to care for her. But, it was hard for the two women to part from each other since Nimrat had raised Chhaya, she had decided to not get married just so she could provide for the mother-less young girl, whose father had taken to substance abuse as a way to cope with the loss of his wife during the birth of their first and only child.
"B-b-bua!"
"Mera baacha!" Nimrat hugged the girl close to her whilst requesting Rohan to take care of her.
"Meri bacchi bohot bholi hai. Ussne apni zindagi mein bohot dukh dekhe hai, Mere jigar ke tukde ka khyal rkahna."
(My child is very innocent. She's faced many hardships in her life, please take care of this part of my heart.)
Rohan seeked Nimrat's blessings and gave the women their moment before helping Chhaya into the car and they made their way home.
Chhaya closed her eyes and thought back to the moment when she became a wife. Wife to Rohan Singhania.
Chhaya gazed up at the man sitting beside her as he lifted her maang tikka and filled her partitions with the sacred vermilion. Her eyes shut as a lone tear slipped out her eyes and down her cheek. Rohan focused on that tear and watched it flow down to her jaw, until in turned into a droplet and fell onto her palm.
He thought back to the last time he had filled someone's maang with sindoor, how happy he had been that day and how that ended in the biggest mess of his life for him. Soon Meera was helping lift Chhaya's dupatta so Rohan could put on the mangal sutra before they did their phera's.
Chhaya's heart ran at a speed so fast she thought it was going to drop out of her chest. She held Rohan's hand as they walked around and something stirred in her, but she decided to ignore it knowing that there was nothing that could be done about it. She was not getting the married life she had dreamed of.
Chhaya's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening, she looked up to see a very annoyed Rohan coming in. He threw his phone on the bed beside Chhaya and went into the bathroom. He had been extremely overwhelmed by today, especially since it gave him flashbacks to his first marriage. He was not happy with this marriage, although he accepted it as it was his father's wish, but this was something he never wanted. Never again after Priya.
When he came back out, he noticed his bride sitting on the bed waiting for him with her veil covering her face, which annoyed him more. He did not want any drama right now, they were behind closed doors so in his understanding, they didn't need to be playing happy couple right now.
"What is this? Maine bola tha na ki humare beech koi rishta nahi hoga. Toh yeh kya drama hai."
(I told you there will not be anything between us. So what is this drama?)
"I'm sorry, woh aapki mom aur Meera bhabhi aaye the, woh yeh sab kr ke gaye."
(Umm your mom and Meera came in and did this.)
"Pr woh abhi toh nahi hai na. So please stop this nonsense. Dekho, mujhe tume koi interest nahi hai. Koi attraction nahi hai aur na hi kabhi hogi. You know what I never wanted to get married. Especially not to you. In fact, I don't even want to look at you."
(Look, I'm not interested in you. There is no attraction and there never will be.)
Rohan's voice was beginning to rise, which made Chhaya's anger also rise.
"Oh hello! Mr Rohan! You're not Hrithik Roshan that I'm dying to see your face. I know what you said okay! But you also said to play a happy couple in front of your family, your mom and bhabhi just left. Aur waise bhi, aap mere type nahi hai! So the unattraction is very much mutual!"
(And besides, you're not my type!)
Rohan took a step towards her, his anger rising at the sass being thrown his way. He pulled Chhaya up from the bed by getting a tight grip on her forearm. She struggled to release it but it was too tight.
"No one. And I mean no one speaks to me in that tone. I'm your boss."
With equal intensity, Chhaya looks into his eyes before saying.
"You're my boss in the office. Here you're my husband. And I will use any tone I like, stop me if you can."
Rohan twists her arm harder and pulls her closer, they two were chest to chest, their breath mingling with each other. They were so close that Chhaya could see the vein popping out on his forehead as he clenched his jaw.
"Mere saath tamiz se baat karo!"
(Speak to me with respect.)
Chhaya squinted her eyes and replied, "yeh baat aap pr bhi lagoo hoti hai. Jitni aapko iss shaadi se problem hai, usse zaada mujhe hai. Lekin hum dono aapne ghar waalon ki khushi ke liye kr rahe hai. Toh aap ke liye behtar hoga ki aap apne iss gusse ko kaboo mein rakhein."
(The same applies to you. I have more of a problem with this marriage than you do. But we've done it for the happiness of our families. So it'll be better for you to fix this anger of yours.)
Chhaya pulls her arm out of Rohan's grip before shoving his aside and brushing past him to the bathroom to get the ridiculously heavy outfit and jewellery off. It was itching her. And like that the couple spent the night fighting over the bed before Chhaya built a cushion wall and deligated a side to each of them. The moon frowned at the annoyance the newly married couple we showing each other, and the clouds cried over the couple's fate of being in a marriage without love.
Okay! So I whipped this chapter up really quickly! It is 10 pm here and I'm going to go to bed! So see you tomorrow when I open up to read your comments!
Bye, Love you!!
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️