MEERA'S POV...
" Stop crying and whining. I married you only for my revenge. Neither do I care about you nor this injury of yours, understand! And now I should not hear the sound of sobs, I have to wake up early in the morning, let me sleep."
These words were echoing in my ears till I fell asleep.
The pain was not in my feet but in my heart.
A small ray of hope had appeared to meet my family, but that too seemed to be fading away now.
I wiped my tears and tried to sleep. Finally, I fell asleep.
In the morning, the maids woke me up early on the orders of Maasi maa (aunt).
When I looked at my feet, they were completely swollen and looked no less than elephant's feet.
I tried to stand up but suddenly fell back on the bed, which slightly disturbed Hukum's sleep and he hid his face with my dupatta which was lying on the bed and turned his back towards me then again drifted into deep sleep.
With the help of the maids, I went to the bathroom and as soon as the cold water touched my feet, I sighed in pain. Somehow, I came back to the room after bathing and saw Hukum sitting on the bed while reading something. Suddenly, his eyes went to me and the maids supporting me on both sides.
ABHIMANYU'S POV...
The light rays of the sun which were piercing the curtains and coming on my face along with her sweet intoxicating smell woke me up.
I found that I was sleeping with her dupatta on my face. I looked at the other side of the bed and there was nothing except the folds of the bed.
The dupatta is with me then where is it's owner.
Just then I heard some sounds coming from the bathroom.
Oh so my queen is taking a bath .
My queen?
Abhimanyu, if you have forgotten then I remind you that last night you had told her that this marriage is just a pretense, a means of your revenge and she is just a pawn in this game. What has happened to you?
My conscience interrupted.
What could I have done, it must have come out of my mouth by mistake.
I tried to reassure myself.
I went to the other bathroom and took a bath and then after getting ready, I started inspecting some important documents in the room.
Due to Dadisa's arrival and the custom of 'Mooh Dikhai', there will be no court session today.
My entire attention was lost in the coordination between the state's expenses and taxes.
Then the bathroom door opened, I raised my eyes and saw Meera in front of me, she was looking extremely beautiful, only one thing was missing and that was her smile. I saw that there were maids on both sides of her and they were supporting Meera. Then I looked at Meera's feet which were badly red and swollen.
Ohh by that hot water.
This looks very painful.
Due to lack of timely treatment the wound has deepened and this is completely my fault. Ever since maasi maa has talked about her going to Marwar I have been holding my breath. I don't want her to go out of my sight even for a moment but due to all this irritation and frustration I vented out all my anger on her last night.
Because of her innocent child-like face the promise I made to myself seems to be vanishing from many eyes.
The dream which I had seen not only with closed eyes but also with open eyes.
Of the destruction of Marwar.
But today when I am looking at this then it seems as if there is no trace of happiness and satisfaction.
Those people snatched my most important thing from me but today when their precious person got hurt then why am I feeling bad.
The maids made her sit in front of the mirror, she was staring at her own reflection as if a stranger was sitting in front of her.
I ordered the maids to leave.
Everything was like any other day, only her silence was different. By now she would have taunted me a million times.
I stood up and went to her, she was applying kajal to her eyes, then I took the box from her hand, put some kajal on my finger and put a dot behind her ear and said-
"इतनी सुंदर दिखोगी तो नज़र लग जायेगी।"
( If you look so beautiful, you will be evil eyed.)
She ignored my words as if she had not heard anything.
She started combing her hair and I was standing there watching her as if a poet was watching the words of his poem come alive. Her every move was as soft and clear as water. There was no deceit or impurity in her heart, she was the epitome of purity.
She looked at me through the mirror and spoke softly-
" आप जाइए हम दासियों के साथ आ जायेगे।"
(You go, I will come with the maids.)
Then I smiled lightly and picked her up in my arms. She tried hard to free herself but it was all in vain.
Then finally she got tired and asked - "What are you doing?"
"You are not able to walk so I am carrying you."
"But what if someone sees?"
" तो क्या हुआ बीवी है आप हमारी , इतना तो हक है है हमारा, हैना!"
("So what, you are my wife, I have this much right, right?")
She looked at me in confusion. Then I started walking, she wrapped her hands around my neck and said - "You will make me fall, walk slowly."
I smiled and said - "Don't worry, I won't make you fall and if you are so scared you can hug me"I winked and then opened the door of the room, the maids and gatekeepers standing outside saluted us. Meera's heart beat faster seeing so many people's eyes on us.
I slowly started going down the stairs where all the royal family members were getting restless waiting for their daughter-in-law.
The sound of my footsteps diverted everyone's attention towards us. Everyone started whispering in each other's ears. Dadisa (grandmother) was sitting in the middle, she looked at us and said -
"बेटा आराम से करना था ना, बेचारी बच्ची चल ही नही पा रही।"
("Son, you should have done it gently, the poor girl is not able to walk.")
Hearing this, everyone present there started laughing and Meera hid her face in my chest out of shame. Her face had turned completely red and to be honest, mine too.
Then Yuvi Banna interrupted and said - "Hey dadisa, if you have such a beautiful wife, what can you do, it is not the brother's fault, no one will make fun of him."
Grandma gently patted him on the shoulder and said - "You know a lot, after listening to you, it seems that you will have to get married as soon as possible."
I gently made Meera sit next to Dadisa and then we touched Dadisa's feet together for blessing.
Meera's face was still hidden by the veil and which the first and last right to pick up was just mine.
MEERA'S POV...
When I sat there, I saw that the whole hall was decorated with flowers. I was pleased with the fragrance.
Then dadisa (Grandma) said, "Let's start the ceremony, and according to the scriptures, the first right to lift the veil of the bride belongs to her husband. Lift the veil, Abhimanyu."
He stepped towards me and bent down to remove my veil.
His eyes had a distinct sparkle and a smile on his lips but I knew it was all fake after knowing the truth he told me last night.
I looked away from him.
When he started to stand up, Grandma said, "Son, you won't get to see such a beautiful face for free. Give her a gift or you haven't bring anything."
He said, "No, no, I have brought dadisaa." He lightly searched his pocket and took out a bracelet and showed it to dadisaa. "It has my name engraved on it so everyone knows who she belongs to." He said showing the bracelet then gently put it on my hand.
Dadisa praised him for his thoughtfulness but only I knew the truth.
Then Dadisa looked at Yuvi Banna and said, "Now you sit on your sister-in-law's lap."
Before I could say anything, my dear husband stepped in and said, "Why?"
"Son, this is a ritual in which the brother-in-law sits on his sister in law's lap and does not get up until he gets what he wants. " Grandma explains.
"But dadisa she is like a mother to me" yuvi banna said in a low voice.
"It's ok child it's just a ritual."
He looked at me and when I nodded in agreement, then he stood up. Before he could sit, my dear husband said again - "Wait" then he took a cushion lying nearby and placed it on my lap and said - "Now sit down."
Oh wow, what an acting he does, he should join a drama troupe.
I rolled my eyes back.
Yuvi Banna sat down and if I tell you the truth, he didn't even sit down, his entire weight was on his feet. I opened the knot tied on my pallu and took out some precious diamonds and gold coins to give to him but
he stopped me and said - "Bhabhi saa, I don't want all this."
"So what do you want Yuvi Banna?"
"A promise"
"Promise?"
"Yes Bhabhisaa, a promise that whenever I come to you for help, you will not refuse me."
"I promise you that I will never disappoint you and will remain steadfast on my words."
I said in a confident voice.
On hearing this, he stood up from his place. Then slowly the rest of the people also gave me many different gifts which included Daadisa's ancestral necklace and Maasi Maa's gold anklet.
After the ritual, everyone sat down to eat. I had to sit next to my husband even though I didn't want to and he was carrying me around like a sack of potatoes.
Everyone started eating food when suddenly Dadi sa said - "Meera, as soon as I arrived this morning, I had sent a message to your home that by evening someone from your home would definitely come to pick you up. You be ready."
Hearing this I looked at Hukum who was definitely a bit shocked by this information and then said - "But Dadi sa, Meera's leg is injured right?"
"So what, we are not sending her on foot and anyway her parents will be more worried about her than you."
"But" he interrupted
"I have told you this is my final decision and being the elder of this house, my order too. I know that you have just got married and she would not feel like going without you but it is necessary to go, now there should be no further debate on this." Hearing this everyone started eating food.
But still his sharp eyes were on me.
Last time when this happened he burnt my feet, now I don't know what he will do. Thinking this the food got stuck in my throat and I started coughing. Then he quickly filled a glass of water and brought it near my lips, I started drinking water and he started massaging my back with his rough hands. Tilted near my ear and said softly -
"आराम से खाओ ना बच्चा।"
(Eat slowly child)
Child!
Who?
Me!!!
Is his health okay?
It seems that mood swings are happening due to periods.
I am so crazy, boys don't have menstruation.
Thinking about these childish thoughts of mine, I started laughing. He was looking at me as if I had run away from a mental asylum.
After having dinner, I was sitting in my room, confused about whether to prepare for going to Marwar or not.
Just then, Hukum came into the room, he had a bowl in his hand, he came near the bed, then sat on the floor, placed my feet on his thigh and started applying turmeric paste.
ohh, a failed attempt to be nice.
After applying the paste, he looked at me and asked -
"अब कैसा लग रहा है?"
("How are you feeling now?")
"घाव पहुंचाने वाले मरहम नही लगाते।"
("Those who cause wounds do not heal.")
♡
AUTHOR'S NOTE..
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