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Smile instantly formed on Pakhi's lips hearing her brother's voice. She gulped and spoke further,
" Bhai aap... aap thik hain?"
( Bhai, are you okay?)
" Yes, beta, I am absolutely fine. You tell me? Did anyone bother you? Is your head hurting? Did you cry a lot? Should I come to pick you up? Will you come?"
Jaydev bombarded her with questions that Pakhi couldn't help but to chuckle slightly.
" Did you eat anything?" she forwards a question at him instead.
A minute of silence came between them which none of them found awkward.
" How can I eat without you?"
She smiled slightly, " please eat something Bhai."
Jaydev, on the other hand, wiped his tears and asked a question instead,
" What about you? Did they give anything to you? If not, you can tell me."
That was her brother. Always ready to raise his hands to protect her.
" I..If you eat, I will also eat," Pakhi said, keeping her tone low.
" I will, my love, I will. Uhm, can you hand the phone to that shit?"
She glanced at Aryan before hurriedly looking down again and hummed, then handed the phone to Aryan who raised his eyebrows questionably.
" Done?"
She shook her head and he frowned before putting the phone against the ear. The first he heard from Jaydev was-
" Shithead."
Aryan leaned back on the chair comfortably and smirked,
" Yeah, fuckface."
Pakhi widened her eyes, realising they've addressed each other with only cursing, disgusting words till now.
" I will claw out your eyes if you troubled my sister."
Aryan chuckled, " you are still taking it wrong, my dear friend."
Pakhi felt his eyes on her and he continued while staring at her.
" I can never hurt her. I love her."
She turned her gaze to a side, shifting uncomfortably in her place, not knowing how he fell in love with her when she never ever met him.
" mhmn,"
Aryan heard Jaydev's voice who added,
" Don't think that I will keep quiet. After all, I am a friend of a bastard like you. Be ready for my retaliation. Now give the phone back to my sister."
Aryan rolled his eyes as he ordered him. Pakhi took the phone from him when he forwarded it to her.
" Ji Bhai?"
She spoke, keeping the phone close to her ear.
" Listen to me, princess. No need to cry now. I will find a way to bring you back home. Don't starve yourself and eat the food."
" Okay," she replied in a tiny voice and he disconnected the call.
She gave his phone back to him, making sure not to touch his hand anyway but him being a cruel teaser brushed his fingers with her.
She pulled her hand back back hurriedly then tucked the strand of her hair behind the ear.
She wanted him to leave so that she could eat her food but failed to string her words together. He scares her. He is continuously tapping his forefinger on the armrest and staring deeply at her.
She quietly made a morsel for her. Her fingers were shivering due to fear and nervousness.
She put the morsel into her mouth and felt delicious food melting on her tongue. Her stomach reacted by gurgling but he couldn't hear anything and she was thankful.
Oh, she was really hungry. She quickly ate two chapatis and a bit of rice before pushing the plate aside and adjoining her hands.
All the time, he was quietly analysing her actions and admiring her through his eyes. He yearned for such moments which he received but in a forced way.
He stood up and fixed his white kurta before saying,
" I'll send Shruti your clothes. Freshen up."
She glared at him once he turned his back at her and left the room with her plates. She scoffed,
" Who is he to order me?"
Her breath stuck when he entered the room again. He took his mobile from bed then left. She released the breath she was holding and moved her eyes around the bedroom.
As he said, Shruti came with clothes for her. She sat straight and blinked. Shruti put everything down on the bed and Pakhi glanced at it. There is a saree, undergarments and a few pieces of jewellery for her.
" Should I help with anything?"
Shruti asked politely and Pakhi refused.
" Oh, okay. You freshen up then."
Shruti left and Pakhi locked the door before going to the bathroom to take a long bath.
Aryan rubbed his face with his palm then spread it behind on the headrest of the couch.
" Leave it, papa now. Didn't you know I was going to marry her? Then why are you making a fuss about everything?"
Rajdeep glared at him, " who told you to lock us and put her family at gunpoint. I could have tried another way. I would have plead to them and convince them anyhow. But you chose the violent way."
Aryan shook his head, " I will never let you bow your head at them and plead for me. They knew I would do something, but they still chose to send an invitation to us."
Ekta sighed heavily, " you will break our relations more than before, Aryan."
Aryan looked at her, " our relation did not get better from the past 5 years, maa. He still holds useless grudges against me and finds ways to defeat me which he can never."
Shruti came and took a seat beside her brother.
" But what did you achieve? Pakhi hates you even more. In the end, she will trust her brother because he has raised her after their parents death. He became a parent to her, son. By this action of yours, you've created a wall between you and her."
Ekta said and it was not a lie at all. Aryan knew.
" What did you do to the groom by the way?"
Shruti asked her brother. Aryan shrugged his shoulders,
" It was the day of her mehandi ceremony when I went to his house. I had already found out about him. Guess what? He was a greedy shit for money. Had to offer him some good amount of cash and he was all ready to follow my orders. His family must be enjoying that money right now."
Rajdeep rolled his eyes.
" You always waste money for such a purpose."
" What if Jaydev finds out?" Ekta asked.
Aryan again shrugged his shoulders, " he may treat them in his own way."
Ekta and Shruti shook their heads.
" What's next?"
Rajdeep asked and Aryan smiled mischievously.
" What about a reception? I wanna introduce my wife to the world."
Rajdeep, Ekta and Shruti stared at him blankly.
" Are you serious? Don't you want Pakhi to take a breath? The poor girl stops moving whenever she sees you. How will she accompany you throughout the ceremony?"
Shruti lectured him.
" I will take care of her. I am not a bad man," Aryan said and stood up before going upstairs to his bedroom.
Rajdeep pinched the bridge of his nose irritatedly.
" He.. how can he be my son? Doesn't he have feelings? Heart? Respect? You-"
He pointed at his wife who blinked several times while he continued,
" You spoiled him. See, how he doesn't listen to anyone now. How dare he lock his own father in a house? If you would have scolded him in his childhood, he wouldn't be roaming like a rogue and putting everyone at gunpoint. I believe he will one day put me at gunpoint as well to fulfil his wishes."
" Sounds good," Aryan replied from upstairs and ran to his room before his father grab something and throw it at him.
" Shit! Is he my son?"
He asked his daughter and wife like he was re-thinking his life decisions and felt like crying.
Ekta and Shruti passed one another an awkward glance.
" Uhm, yeah..I think," Ekta said and Rajdeep sighed heavily.
" Uhmm," a sweet and tiny voice grabbed their attention.
They all looked at the particular person. Pakhi slid the wet strands of her hair behind and looked down nervously,
" I..want my suitcases. Where's it?"
Her voice was barely audible but they managed. Ekta looked at Shruti who answered,
" It's in Bhai's room."
Ekta called two maids and ordered them to bring Pakhi's suitcase. Rajdeev's phone rang so he went somewhere in silence to talk to the person.
Pakhi was restlessly waiting for her things, standing there. Ekta saw she had not put vermillion on her head, yet the previous one was still there but smudged on her hairline.
She let it slide, not wanting to sound selfish and tell her to put it on.
" Pakhi, come here."
Pakhi looked at the elder lady and decided to go to her, not wanting to disrespect her at least. Ekta patted beside her and she sat there bringing the pallu of her saree in front.
She did not want to interact with anyone, at least not now. Perplexed look appeared on her face as she saw Ekta adjoining her hands and saying with truthfulness in eyes,
" On the behalf of my son, I apologise to you, daughter. We...we really didn't know that he would do such an act."
Pakhi fluttered her eyelashes down while Ekta grabbed her hands in a comforting grip then continued,
" Do you want to go back to your home?"
Pakhi knitted her eyebrows and immediately looked at Ekta with a questionable gaze. Shruti had the same reaction as her.
Ekta nodded, " the truth is harsh but it needed to be accepted. At the same, you need time-"
" Was my choice considered before?"
Pakhi finally opened her mouth, leaving Ekta tongue tied. Pakhi shook her head and looked down to her lap before continuing,
" Your son suddenly came into my life and married me forcefully. My family was begging but he cared about none. My brother was helpless and disrespected. Again, he cared about none. Then why are you consoling me? I...I am sorry for being rude, but.."
She took a pause of few seconds before continuing,
" I don't think you can do anything against your son's wishes. Ultimately he will do what he wants. Yes, if you want to show a little bit of kindness, you can send me back to my home..at least for a day. I will come back. I just want to see my brother."
She pleaded in the last sentence and looked at both the ladies with a hopeful gaze. They hesitated but as soon as Ekta decided to speak, a voice interrupted them.
" I believe you cannot go, dear wife."
Ekta felt Pakhi grasping her hands tightly which depicted how badly Aryan's presence affected her.
Shruti and Ekta looked at him descending the stairs with empty cups which he handed the maid as he stepped down the last stair.
Pakhi seemed to look everywhere for an escape but she did not dare to look at the way he was coming from.
Shruti observed her behaviour and was shocked to know how much fear her brother's one action had installed in her.
However, unaffected by this, Aryan took a seat opposite to her and roamed his eyes on her beautiful self. The saree looked breath-taking on her. The mangalsutra enhanced her beauty, but her empty hairline did not leave a good impact.
Putting it all aside, he spoke to the girl who is looking down to her lap all the time.
" If you want to go home, you need to follow proper rituals."
He caught a sight of small frown on her forehead which was enough for him to realise she was listening to him carefully,
" If you agree to attend the reception with me, I will let you go home in a ritual called pag phera."
She hates him for always putting a choice in his favour. She encouraged herself to give him a sharp answer as well but couldn't gather enough courage.
"Aryan," Ekta scolded him.
" Maa, let me talk to my wife," Aryan said.
" This is not the time-"
Before Ekta could complete her sentence, Pakhi stopped and practically ran to her room. Aryan sighed while Shruti glared at him and said,
" Don't come near her, Bhai."
Aryan raised his eyebrows and chuckled sarcastically, " seriously? She's my wife. If not today, she'll have to face me tomorrow."
He stood up and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows.
" Aryan, don't go there," Ekta stopped him when he started taking steps to her room.
" Your son is not a bad man, maa."
" Aryan don't!"
Aryan sighed and stopped on his track, only to look behind at them.
" No," he passed them a sly smile and continued walking to her room.
" She'll cry Bhai," Shruti said.
" I will console her then," Aryan replied and twisted the door knob only to shake his head, finding the door unlocked.
" Oh please, you don't even know how to wipe tears."
He shrugged his shoulders, " I'll try learning from now on then. Don't worry, your brother is a keen learner."
Not wanting to hear them anymore, he opened the door and entered and did not forget to lock it from inside.
His eyes fell on Pakhi, sitting on the bed with a pillow hugging close to her chest. Fear was clearly visible in her eyes; her actions showed that she did not trust her husband at all.
He parted his mouth to reassure her but chose otherwise, " you did not reply?"
She brought her legs up on the bed and moved backward to the headpost. Aryan clicked his tongue then lifted his foot to walk.
" Take it easy, princess. I am not here to hurt you."
She blinked, wondering whether she should trust him or not. Flashbacks of their wedding reminded her that she should not take risks by trusting him.
According to her brother, he's a bad person who broke his heart and betrayed him. This is the man because of whom her brother cried day and night over his girlfriend and broken friendship.
He walked toward the dressing table while speaking, " you are looking gorgeous as always but one thing is missing, sweetheart. Considering it as your silly mistake because of her first day, I'll let it slide."
She tilted her head slightly to see what he was searching for. He grabbed the vermillion bottle and turned to her with a smile on lips.
She fisted the pillow in a tight grip and stared at him timidly. Aryan stopped after coming near the bed and very calmly, took a seat in front of her on the bed.
She tried moving further back and gasped when he grabbed her left upper arm.
" There's no space left behind," he said.
And, he wasn't wrong at all. He left her arm and fixed his eyes on the vermillion bottle then opened it.
He collected a pinch of vermillion then lifted his face to stare at her. She did the complete opposite and looked down.
She was extremely uncomfortable which he did not intend to make her.
Her eyes itself closed tightly when he raised his hands up to her hairline and gently filled it with vermillion of his name.
A Satisfied smile spread on his lips and he felt like kissing her forehead but refrain himself from doing so because that would be a little too much for her.
" You know,"
His voice again entered her ear and the next second she felt the pad of her thumb on the tip of her nose.
" Maa says if the vermillion falls on the girl's nose then her husband loves her a lot and,"
He wiped off the vermillion and continued,
" She was absolutely correct."
She opened her eyes slowly and engulfed his view in her eyes. He seemed different this time. He did not look dangerous, rather handsome and comforting but in no second, he covered his expression by asking her,
" So yes or no?"
She frowned.
" Will you attend the reception with me?"
It's not like you will consider my consent.
She eagerly wanted to utter the above sentence but guess she lacked courage.
" So it's a yes?"
Not hearing a word, he concluded the answer by himself. She looked down and he nodded before standing up.
" Day after tomorrow is our reception. Be a wonderful wife and accompany me throughout the ceremony and I'll fulfil your wish to meet your brother."
Thanks! -She mentally rolled her eyes.
" and,"
She gasped when he suddenly leaned his face down to her and her head rested back on the head post.
He smiled mischievously and tilted his head slightly, " you are adorable."
Her mouth hung open as left the room after leaving her breathless, heart pumping inside chest and of course fearful.
She touched her hairline and recalled how she deliberately missed this part as if she wanted to paste the lie on the truth.
She stared at the closed door and got lost in her own thoughts.
Don't know what destiny holds for her. Because life won't continue like this. She hates him with every point of view she has for him. Her brother has given her many reasons to dislike him.
If he could not maintain this friendship well then how much truth was there in the fact that he would be able to maintain his role as a husband well?
She'll have to either accept him or find ways to leave him.
But the main question is, will he let her go that easily? Will she be able to find a way or be forever trapped in his world?
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How are you liking this story so far? Excited for Shruti and Jaydev's moments?
You can read chapter 5 to 10 in scrollstack.
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