Posing endlessly for the sake of the camera, Uttara felt her limps and neck strained but the shoot seemed nowhere near the end. The photographer kept instructing her and she followed, not letting her tiredness pass on to her face as she lifted her chin up and leaned on the wall, with a wide smile she faked seduction for the camera.
The click resonated and some compliments were thrown her way.
"Time for a change." The director announced and she sighed inwardly before walking towards the vanity.
Her stylists and make-up artist waiting for her as she changed into a white shirt reaching mid-thighs. Her legs were bare and her shirt buttons were left open to give an ample view of her cleavage, leaving some for imagination as her hair was styled in lazy curls, giving her the vibes of pure seductress.
Feeling the urge, she took her cell phone and texted him.
To Him: I am doing this photoshoot and the dress seems revealing. You don't mind, right?
The reply never came nor was the text seen as she was called out. The coat covered her till the studio and she was asked to remove it, the eyes following her actions.
She felt a little uncomfortable with the gaze falling on her chest but once the lights brightened and she started posing, her thoughts took a back seat.
Her fingers combed her hair leisurely as she was told to act. The click sounds mixed with other instructions.
"Pull the neckline low, Uttara."
Her fingers hesitated before following the words, but willing herself that it was to end soon, she followed.
An hour felt like no less than torture when the shoot came to an end.
Quickly securing the overcoat she made her way to Vanity opting for a change even before she was told to pose again if the pictures did not meet her expectations.
She didn't care.
She was leaving for her date with her husband.
Slipping the wedding ring and her nuptial chain, she took the shades and instructed Farhan and Nitya to take care of whatever followed.
She waved at the media and smiled, ignoring their questions and calls for her as she sat in the Car and the driver started the journey.
Swiping on her feed on Instagram, she wished her fellow actor who married his girlfriend. She commented sweetly on their post even when she disliked the guy, he was a pervert whenever around actresses and models.
She checked her e-mails and social media accounts, posting a snippet from today's photoshoot on her story to hype her fans.
She will be posting the images later as instructed by her manager but till then, she will do snaps and stories.
Her thump caressed her profile picture which was one from her wedding, a picture where Vidyut looked at the camera and she at him.
She was forever grateful to this man who married her and saved her career from being destroyed.
What he did was no favor, it was something she could never repay back.
He saved her.
She owed her everything to him.
To Him: I'm on my way, you ready?
The car stopped at the hospital and she pulled on her mask and glasses before she thanked the driver and walked inside, not waiting at the reception or chatting with anyone, she quickly walked to the elevator and the 5th floor where his cabin was situated. He was a surgeon with a specialty in traumas.
Knocking once, she waited for him to answer but when received none, she turned the knob and unlocked his cabin door as instructed by him and settled on the couch.
He had told her to wait in his cabin rather than find him when she was in hospital.
She removed her glasses but left the mask as she massaged her temple feeling her eyes heavy with tiredness.
She glanced at her watch and sighed. It was still 20 minutes to his shift end which was never true, the emergencies always held him back.
Taking the recliner on the far end of his office, she decided to take a quick nap.
The door click made her stir, which soon turned down as the person closed the door silently.
Vidyut watched her sleeping in his office, her eyes moving and a frown married on her forehead as the voice disturbed her. Her mask was discarded and her hair was in a fishtail braid as her figure immersed into a loose T-shirt and mom jeans.
He tip-toed towards her and removed the frown from her forehead, caressing her eyes and watching the visible dark circles which were prominent with a lack of makeup, but covered under the big shades she carried almost every day.
Her skin looked fragile and soft under his touch and the feeling from the morning came back to him, she had been his wife for 6 months, in his bed and his home for this time period yet he always felt this pull towards her, no kind of intimacy could be enough for him when it was her.
"Uttara" He called her name and her eyes snapped open immediately. She watched him sitting opposite her.
"I am sorry I slept." She smiled embarrassed and tucked any hair which left her braid. "Are you free? Can we eat? I'm hungry."
Her stomach followed the word and her eyes widened as the hue covered her neck and ears.
He blinked in assurance with a hint of amusement.
Shrugging his coat, he wore his blazer back while she washed up in the washroom.
Applying a light coat of lip balm and some perfume, she smiled at her reflection and stepped out while he briefed his junior on the case files.
His juniors gaze jumped to hers as she silently walked out of the washroom.
Vidyut watched the eyes on her and cleared his throat for getting the attention back.
"Make sure you follow these instructions and give me a call if anything is out of the ordinary." He instructed, closing the file he handed it back rather harshly to the intern who nodded fervently at his sharp glare. "No mistakes allowed."
Uttara stared at the exchange, clamping her lips shut to not grin as her husband glared at the junior for staring at her longer than required.
"Stop smiling like a stupid and move out." He grumbled at her as she looked at him with a gaping mouth.
"My smile is not stupid." She countered earning only a quick glare from him as he locked the door behind them. "But you definitely look pissed about something. What happened?"
"Put your mask on properly." He ignores gritting and pulled her wrist as they passed the crowd.
"Easy, easy, Vidyut. I'm not wearing shoes that will be able to match your pace." She complained and he gave her an annoyed look but nonetheless pulled her towards the exit and his car. "What about my driver?"
He blinked and deadpanned.
"I'll send him home." She concluded as she took the passenger seat and he threw his things on the back before taking the wheel. "Chinese, right? I'm dressed for that."
He hummed and started maneuvering the car as she tweaked the radio channels to play some light music.
The silence did not engulf them as she kept humming and her fingers tapped their way following the music.
"It has been weeks that I have been on a drive." She sighed happily as she glanced at him, leaning on the backrest and watching the night sky, traffic, and him. "To and fro from sets and back is hectic."
"Take some time off." He said after minutes.
"I will, just not at the time. There are a lot of things scheduled. Movie promotion, interviews, award shows, some wedding receptions, and commercials." She started telling him about the work schedules for the week and he blinked along the way.
She smiled feeling his attention towards her words, his words mattered but his silence equally had her hooked.
They reached back home and she unlocked the door as he held his things and entered.
Closing the door behind them, he dumped his jacket and took the bottle passed to him as she started turning to take another one when he held her wrist and yanked her to him.
She gasped at the suddenness, landing closer to him.
"You talk a lot." He commented holding her eyes.
"I do" She grinned "I talk to people I'm comfortable with."
"Are you comfortable with me?" He asked touching her waist, eyes hauntingly grey.
"Shouldn't I be?" She questioned with a playful smile which dropped upon hearing him.
"You shouldn't."
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Her fingers clutched into the rose petals, crushing them under her nervousness, feeling the warmth spreading her body with the anxiety of what was next. Her bridal outfit hung on her petite frame like dead meat which she couldn't wait to step out of but had to wait for her husband to come.
She gulped as her mind played with the giggles and teasing of the young girls who had escorted her to the bed and spread her champagne color, zardozi lehenga on the bed which covered it whole. She breathed to calm her nerves as she waited for the past hour, her dupatta discarded as it felt suffocating to breathe through the heavy borders which covered her neck. The fitted deep neckline blouse constricted her movements, the designer wanted to give her an ethereal look being the eldest of Chouhan's bride but forgot that she required space to breathe, her skin was daunted with the marks left with the fabric.
Another set of minutes and she pushed herself out of bed, her jewelry was already discarded on the bedside table, they lay scattered. Uncared.
She worked on her hair, pulling the flowers away and letting them trail down as she reached the vanity. The pins dropped on the counter as her hairs cascade down, falling into puddles of being treated with hair sprays.
Her fingers worked to remove the makeup before she let the strings loose and sighed in relief.
With makeup, hairstyle, and jewelry gone, she stared at herself trying to find a change in her. The vermillion and nuptial chain scream as the witnesses.
The door clicked open and she crossed her arms to keep her blouse intact.
The man entered looking tired and pissed off as he took a glance at the bed, crumbled flowers, and creased sheets with her void of any trace of jewelry.
"Did you take a lover before I could come?" His taunt made her snap her gaze to him.
"What do you mean?" Dhwani questioned her husband she had met only a handful of times, each time not getting to interact more than a few eye contacts.
"You look ravaged and it cannot be by me." Anirudh walked towards her, leaning against the wall as he took in her reflection with undone blouse strings and black eyes stilled.
"What nonsense are you uttering?" Dhwani scowled "I couldn't sit like a bride wearing everything waiting for another hour so you could come."
"I don't mind." He said ignoring her glare "If you wish to take a lover, you can. I do not mind. This marriage means nothing to me, it shouldn't be to you too."
His words made her gape, watching him go inside the closet and arrive in minutes of changing into a fresh pair.
"You want me to be unfaithful?" Her words halted him as he looked behind his shoulder.
"I expect nothing from you or this marriage. You can do anything you want unless it affects my family's reputation."
His family.
The words made her eyes burn, she knew what a family meant. Being an orphan teaches you the worth of what was snatched.
"I am not characterless." She started with fierceness, glaring at him.
"Good for you." He shrugged and yanked the bedsheet and comforter dusting all the petals down before setting it again. "Even if you were, it would hardly matter to me. I will take the left side."
Biting her lips, she stood in the middle of the room with tears ready to leave the threshold as she took in the words, processed them, and blinked to let them fall as she walked into the closet.
Changing into a pair of kurta and leggings, she carried a shawl and exit the room.
Each son of Chouhan had a floor to themselves, trying different doors she found one which was left unlocked, she brought a spare pillow from the couch and laid on the empty bed with a comforter but only her shawl to hide herself as she slept into oblivion.
The opening of the door brought in the memories, the ones which made her curse every decision of hers.
The servants moved towards the closet to unpack when she stopped them.
"I will do it. You may leave my things."
"Mam, we can help you." The maid offered politely but she shook her head.
"Please let my things be." She requested and the help bowed and left.
Not stepping into the threshold of his room, she turned and retraced her steps to the other side, the room where she once finds solace.
Twisting the handle, she tried pushing the door open.
"It is locked." The voice halted her actions, she stepped back and walked to another. "All are locked except one, Dhwani."
"Then, I shall check on Vidyut's floor, I'm sure he would lend me one." She turned to pass him when his palm clutched her wrist. "Let me go."
"You are not going to announce to the world that you and I have problems." He gritted irritated, the calm exterior no longer there.
Anirudh watched her closing eyes to calm down her rage when she yanks her hand away from him, only if he wanted to let go.
"Let my hand go." She demanded staring into his eyes, the dark chocolate brown orbs flared with sparks of anger.
"Not today or ever." He announced and turned them both towards the direction of his room, the one he had insulted her in, the very first day.
"I am not sharing space with you, it is your room." She spat the words as if they disgust her, pushing inside the room he closed the door before she could leave.
"Why?" He asked calmly.
"Because I wish to have a lover, something I cannot do in your room." She spat again, the fury laced her words.
"You can, just it will be me as a lover you will have." He stated walking towards her, unaffected by the glares she threw his way.
Never had he known her to be a firecracker, she was always quiet and a wallflower when it came to interactions.
"You? Never in a million breaths." She scoffed and pushed him to walk out when he yanked her back, pinning her to the door. "Leave me!"
"I haven't held you enough to let you go." He confessed calming her struggles, watching her face laced with no makeup and no jewelry but small pearl earrings which his mother would have a heart attack watching on his bride, he assessed her whole. "You have changed a lot in a span of two years."
"Me? What about the man who never remembered my face? Haven't you changed too, from wanting me to be out of your hair now not signing a piece of paper to free me forever? Why don't you divorce me and let me go away from your room, your family, and your life?"
"Aren't you mine too?" His words made her shrug harshly but his palm shot to her waist stilling her "My wife."
"I am not." She gritted "You don't deserve me."
"That's true." He admitted, "But I'm a selfish man, I don't give up, even when I don't deserve it."
"I am not a possession." She snapped making him smirk tilting her head to the side.
"How about you become my obsession?"
"You can dream." Dhwani glared at the man, pushing him away from all her strength and making him step back.
"Should I? About you?" Anirudh cocked a brow.
Before she could reply, a knock broke their staring competition.
"Come in." Anirudh allowed pulling Dhwani away from the door.
The maid opened the door, keeping her eyes on the ground.
"Rakshit sir is calling the entire family downstairs, he requests your presence, Sir, Ma'am."
"Okay." Anirudh nodded and she left. He glanced at Dhwani who still glared at nothingness, "Go take a look in the mirror and calm your horses. We are going downstairs."
With a last glare, she entered the washroom and slammed the door shut. Splashing water on her face, she breathed slowly and watched her flushed face because of anger.
Wiping her face, she touched up her face and walked out to find him on his phone.
She strode towards the door and pulled it when her wrist was held by him, he gestured her to wait for a minute as he quickly ended the call.
Pocketing his cell, he took her wrist and led her outside.
"Leave my hand." She whispered and yelled at him to earn a look that was given to children in disappointment.
"Bhai." The voice greeted him and Anirudh nodded at his greeting with a soft smile.
Dhwani felt eyes on her, especially the matriarch who took in their hands with a satisfactory smile.
"What is this about?" Anirudh asked.
"Just a minute, let me take Vidyut on a call too." Saying he kept the phone on speaker.
"This better be good." The voice gritted from the other side.
"It is," Rakshit announced proudly. "Is Bhabhi with you?"
"Yes," Vidyut answered after a long pause.
"Great" He chimed and grinned the widest anyone had ever seen on Rakshit Chauhan "So dearest fam, I have an announcement."
"Something you have been repeating for the last 20 minutes." Harshvardhan Chouhan rolled his eyes at his youngest son. "Out with it already."
Rakshit smirked watching the curious faces and announced.
"I am getting married."