Posted:
are nahi I am just posting it yaar..
extremely sorry for the delay...
lagta hai editorji left for the PTA meet..
Koi nahi I will post like that, right away if u read it now
Originally posted by: deepali.rock
better..it will take time to heal..bt its isnt dat bad now..
"Mere khayal me you are a lawyer. Tum samajh sakti ho. Khud hi dekh lo" he says as he goes to the restroom to change.
She opens the papers and feels her heart breaking to pieces as she sees the Deed of Divorce. Nidhi wonders if this is even for real? Is this a nightmare? Kumpel just gave me divorce papers? But why? Aaj shaadi tak toh he was looking at me as if he loves me. Pichle do teen dino se, unki aankhen jo mujhse keh rahi thi? ' did I misinterpret everything? Nahin, I am sure what I saw in his eyes, his behavior these past few days was love.. or was it?
Nahin, baat kuch aur hi hai, lekin kya? I have to find out. She angrily brushes away her tears, and makes a move to tear up the papers, Aane do Kumpel ko. Ye papers unke saamne faadungi aur unse cheekh cheekh ke kahungi ke mujhe aapse pyaar hai. I love you Kumpel. Her eyes brim over again, Nahin lekin isse kya hoga? He will think I am being childish. No, I can't do this. Bachchon ki tarah behave nahi kar sakti main. I need to show him that I am an adult who needs her answers. Mujhe khud pe control rakhna hoga..
She looks up with a steely resolve as he comes out of the restroom. Then she looks into his eyes and asks earnestly, "Aap mujhse naaraz hain kya?"
He avoids her gaze and sets about opening his duvet, "Nahin toh"
"Toh phir ye papers?"
He shrugs casually, "I think our marriage has served its purpose. People have forgotten the incident and moved on. I think we should move on too."
She just starea at him, not knowing what to say or do. He lays down on the bed. "Good night Nidhi."
She is all the more shocked at his casualness. Fighting back the tears that threaten to burst forth any moment now, she wets her lips, "Lekin Kumpel, why didn't you discuss this with me? I mean.."
He gives her a somewhat sarcastic smile, "Don't worry Nidhi, I have left the amount of alimony blank. You can fill up any amount you want.. don't hesitate ' the sky is the limit. Tumhe shayad andaaza nahi hai, but I have a lot of property, so I am sure I can give you whatever you want. Only one thing. I want to pay it one time and be done with it. So please fill up a lumpsum amount." Main dekhna chahta hoon Nidhi, ke tum mere pyaar ki, hamare rishte ki, ya phir yun kahoon, ke MERI kya keemat lagati ho!
Each word of his was inflicting a fresh wound on her heart. She pleaded, "But Kumpel.."
"Yeah, I know not an easy calculation to make. Take your time. 2-4 din soch lo aur rakam bhar ke sign karke mujhe de dena. I'll file it in court."
Before she could utter a word, he said, "I am sleepy. Good night" and turned to the other side. Dil toh mera ab bhi nahi maanta Nidhi ke tum aisa kuch karogi.. lekin what other explanation can be there? Main do dino tak sirf Armaan ke liye hasta raha, aur andar hi andar ghut ta raha. Reh reh ke dil me yehi sawaal baar baar ghum raha tha ke kisne? KISNE? Who the hell leaked my arguments. Only 4 people knew the content. And I could never ever suspect any of you three.. Mera dil nahi manta ke tum.. But then, my heart has always misled me where you are concerned. I could not take it any more Nidhi. Here I was hoping like a fool that things have gotten better. I was hoping ke mera pyaar tumhe badal dega. Lekin main ye bhool gaya tha, ki insaan ki fitrat kabhi nahi badalti.. Aaj mera har bhram toot gaya.
Main toh soch raha tha ke main tumhe samajhne laga hoon, lekin sach toh ye hai ke maine kabhi tumhe samjha hi nahi. Meri aankhon ne wohi dekha jo mere dil ne dekhna chaaha. Tumhari har harkat, har beimaani ko maine bachpane, immaturity ka naam diya. Log theek hi kehte hain, pyaar me insaan andha ho jaata hai. Pyaar? What I felt for you, can it be termed as love? Pyaar to kisi ko jaanne ke baad, samajhne ke baad hota hai. Maine sirf tumhara chehra dekha, aur meri zindagi uthal puthal ho gayi. Your face haunted me continuously since I first saw it. Phir haalaaton ne bhi mere saath aise khel khele, tum meri hi junior banke aa gayi meri firm me. Uske baad woh conference and finally our marriage in those circumstances. In haalaaton ke kaaran hi shayad, maine apne paagalpan ko pyaar ka naam de diya.
And the beauty of my predicament is that tumne toh mujhe kabhi koi dokha diya hi nahi! Main hi khud ko behlata raha.. jhoothe excuses, jhoothi unmeeden deke. You were always transparent. You made it very clear to me right from Day 1 that you are a self centred, selfish person, who ruthlessly pursued only her self-interest, to the exclusion of everyone. But the fool I was, I lured myself into believing that it was your childishness and immaturity.
Pichhle dino tum me jo badlav dekha toh main ye sochne laga ke tum bhi mujh se pyaar karne lagi ho.. kyun ki mera dil yehi chaahta tha. Lekin maine ye bhi nahi dekha, ke tumhara maqsad toh sirf meri aankhon me dhool jhonkne ka tha. When you said that you did not want to shop for the wedding, that should have been the signal for me. Clearly, you did not shop from my credit card because you had got some other source of income. This is the reason you had wanted to join the firm, to do the dirty work for Jagan, and I like a fool thought that.. Kitne me bika tumhara imaan Nidhi? 10 crore, 20 yaa 30 crore?
And I think the height of my craziness is that, in spite of everything, I half expected you to ' expected? No! - I wished with all my heart that you will tear up the deed of divorce and throw it on my face and shout that 'I don't want this divorce Kumpel'. He laughs inwardly at his own vanity, if wishes were horses!
Nidhi lay down almost lifeless on the diwan, tears trickling down her cheeks and her mind numb with pain. She does not even know what to think, what to make of his behavior, his indifference to her. No coherent thoughts occur to her except perhaps that she had actually loved and cared for someone other than herself, for the first time ever in her life and was on the verge of losing her love. She felt a desperation, she had never before felt in her life. She didn't know what it was to fight for life, but guessed it would not have been any different than this. She would have to get the bottom of this.. no, she won't let go of him so easily.
Both of them never realized when they fell asleep that night.
The next morning, Nidhi tried to behave normally and awoke Ashutosh as she did the past few days. She ran her hand on his forehead, "good morning". He opens his eyes and sees her. He immediately gets up, ignores her, and goes to the restroom. She goes to the kitchen and brings the tea. He says, "Nidhi aaj se tumhe ye sab karne ki zaroorat nahi ' mujhe jagaana, ye chai banana, khana banana."
She thinks, something is very wrong, but what? "But Kumpel, I like to do all this for you."
He shouts, "THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS TO YOU ' haina? What you want, what you like!" and turns to leave the room.
Her eyes brim over as she holds on to his arm, "Kumpel, baat kya hai? Why are you so angry with me? Mujhse koi bhool hui kya?"
"Nahi bhool toh mujhse hui. Tumhe pehchaanne me."
"Kumpel please mujhe kuch bataiye toh sahi, aap kyun naaraaz hain mujhse? Main kya karoon aap ki khushi ke liye."
"Agar tum mere liye kuch kar sakti ho, toh bas itna karo Nidhi, ke mujhse door raho. Bahut bada ehsaan hoga mujhpe." And he tries to extract his arm from her grip.
She does not relent her grip, "Aaj aap itna gussa kyun hain Kumpel?"
"Kyun ke main paagal ho gaya hoon. Is that enough explanation? Will you leave me now?"
She is increasingly astonished at his behavior, and leaves him. He sits in the garden with his father while she takes her bath and gets ready. She comes out to make breakfast, but HK says, "Nahi bitiya aaj tumhari tabiyat theek nahi haina, aaj tum aaraam karo."
She is surprised, "Kaka, lekin meri tabiyat ko kya hua hai? Main toh bilkul theek hun"
"Ashu bata raha tha ke tum bimaar ho, isiliye aaj tum office bhi nahi jaaogi"
So, he does not want me in office too now? Oh God! Why is this situation spiraling out of my control. Is this some nightmare. She is still debating what to do, when HK says, "Aur Naashta taiyaar hai."
She nods and gets out of the kitchen, only to bump into Ashutosh. He says, "arre Nidhi, maine kaha tha na aaraam karne ko. Chalo room me, wahin naashta bhijwa deta hoon."
Nidhi looks up. Though his voice is quite normal, his eyes are indifferent and his manner aloof. She gulps hard and rushes to the bedroom, only to break down the next instant. A few minutes later, she looks up as Ashutosh comes inside and takes out his clothes for the day. Before she can even think what to do, he is inside the restroom. When he comes out, she tries again, "Kumpel.."
"Nidhi is waqt mujhe der ho rahi hai." and he leaves the room, says loud enough for her to hear, "Kaka lunch ki koi zaroorat nahi hai, lunch baahar hai aaj aur dinner bhi.".
Nidhi realizes that he is avoiding her. Ab main kya karoon? Kisse help loon, kiski advice loon? Anji? Nahi ye theek nahi rahega, she just got married yesterday. But her cell phone rings that moment, its Anji. She hastily wipes her tears and tries to normalize her voice, "Hi Anji"
"Nidhi kahan hai tu?"
"Ghar pe"
"Toh chal jaldi se mere ghar pe aaja, main bhi bas abhi apne ghar jaa rahi hoon, pagphere ke liye."
"Anji, yaar, abhi?"
"Kyun kya hua? Dekh Nidhi, main kuch nahi sunna chahti, Main Nikal rahi hoon, tu bhi nikal"
"Anji main nahi aa sakti yaar, mujhe kuch important kaam hai."
"Yaar Nidhi, don't be a spoilsport. Please yaar aajaa na, phir toh I am going to honeymoon for a week."
"Even I want to come, but really ek bahut important kaam hai yaar. Main aisa karti hoon, shaam ko tujhse miloongi, before you leave, okay?"
Just then Armaan walked into the bedroom, he asks Anji, who it is. She tells him, it's Nidhi. He signals her to pass on the phone. "Nidhi ek minute haan, Armaanji baat karna chahte hain tujhse."
Armaan takes the phone, "Good morning Saali sahiba, kaisi hain aap?"
"I am fine jijaji, how are you?"
"I am great (he winks at Anji. But then, he turns serious) Nidhi, Ashu ka mood bahut kharaab haina?"
Nidhi does not know how to react to that so she stays silent. Armaan continues, "abhi thodi der pahle hi meri usse baat hui. He was trying to appear normal, I know he has taken that defeat to his heart. And on top of that, the leaking of our arguments .. I wonder, kaise Jagan ko hamare saare arguments ka pata chala.. anyways ye sab chhodo. Nidhi, he needs you the most at this point. Please take care of my friend. Tum samajh rahi hona?"
Nidhi is silent. Finally, she sighs, "haan. Main samajh rahi hoon jijaji..(Then she abruptly changes the topic) aap log kitne baje nikal rahe hain airport ke liye."
"7 baje."
"Theek hai aap Anji se kahiye ke main 6 baje usse milne aaooongi."
"Okay, waise airport drop karne toh tum dono hi chaloge na. Ashu ne kaha hai, that he is gonna drop us."
"Achchha, toh phir theek hai, I will accompany him, phir main unhi ke saath aaoongi."
"Okay then, see you."
"Yeah see you."
As she hung up, she thought and thought.. granted that he was upset over the case, but why was he angry with her? Did he blame her in some way, for the debacle? But what did she do?
Finally, she called him at about 5:30 in the evening. But he rejected her call twice. Finally she sends him an SMS 'please pick me when you go to jijaji's place'. But, she did not get any response to that too. She got ready and waited for him. Finally at 7 pm, she got Anji's call. "Nidhi yaar I am very angry at you. Aisa kya kaam leke baithi hai tu subah se ke mujhse milne ki tak fursat nahi hai tujhe? Jijaji bhi kuch bata nahi rahe?"
She is surprised, "Has he already reached there?"
This annoys Anji further, "Reached here matlab, jaise tujhe toh kuch pata hi nahi. We are just about to leave. Bye"
"Anji sun toh.." but too late, Anji has already cut the call. Nidhi rushes out after informing BB and gets into her car. But suddenly gets an idea and gets out of it. She catches a cab, and reaches the airport. In a while she sees Ashutosh's car coming in.
Anji though still upset with her, is also delighted to see her. Nidhi maintains her calm and finally they bid adieu to the honeymoon couple. Then, Ashutosh goes to his car, completely ignoring Nidhi. She follows him nonetheless, and sits in the passenger seat, "I didn't bring my car. Came in a cab."
"Mujhe kahin aur jaana hai."
"Toh phir mujhe ghar chhod ke phir chale jaiye"
But, he gets down, and opens the passenger door for her. She helplessly gets down. He holds her arm a bit roughly and walks her around to the driver's seat and makes her sit down. She just stares at him uncomprehendingly. He says, "You take the car home. I will take a cab." And before she could even blink, he went away and hailed a cab.
She dejectedly drove the car home. Maine socha tha car me ghar aate waqt unse baat karne ka mauka milega. Lekin, he is completely avoiding me. What do I do now?
At home, BB sees her gloomy mood during dinner, and says, "Kya hua beta?"
She tries to smile, "Kuch nahi Baba."
"Ab tabiyat kaisi hai?"
"bilkul theek hoon Baba!"
"Achchha toh ab samjha, Ashu ko miss kar rahi hai na? (she remains silent) Arre beta, kabhi kabhi hota hai dinner baahar. Iska matlab ye toh nahi ke tu theek se dinner nahi kare?" and he offers her some more sabji and roti.
She declines, "Baba, mujhe bhookh nahi hai, please."
BB senses something is bothering her, "Beta baat kya hai? Tu upset lag rahi hai?"
"kuch nahi Baba."
"Tere aur Ashu ke beech kuch hua hai kya? Sab theek haina beta."
She averts her eyes, "Ji. Sab theek hai. (Then she says uncertainly) Baba, woh Banwarilalji ke case me, can't we appeal against the judgement in the High Court?"
"Achchha toh ye baat hai. Ye dekhke bahut khushi hui beta ke Ashu ki chinta ab teri chinta ban gayi hai. Lekin beta, maine aur Ashu ne baat ki thi appeal ke baare me. Lekin hum dono ko yehi lagta hai ke 1% chances bhi nahi hai, ke High Court, is appeal ko admit bhi karegi court me. It's a lost cause."
She nods disheartened, and BB continues, "Beta, you need to distract Ashu, poora din isi ke baare me sochta rehta haina?"
Before she could respond, the door bell rings and she gets up with an expectant smile. She opens the door and Ashutosh walks in completely ignoring her.
BB says, "Arre Ashu, aagaya. Aaja baith. Thoda kha le"
"Nahi Baba, dinner ho gaya. Bhookh nahi hai aur khaane ki." And goes to his room.
Nidhi too washes her hands, when BB says, "Arre beta, tu khaana toh kha le."
"Nahi Baba, bhook nahin hai." And she rushes to their room. But he is in the restroom. She waits patiently. He emerges out of the restroom and goes towards the door, she reaches out and holds on to his arm, "Kumpel, rukiye please"
He disengages his arm, "Tumse ek cheez maangi thi ' just leave me alone. Ye bhi nahi de sakti?"
She swallows hard and leaves his arm. He leaves the room and goes to the study. She waits for him to return. Finally, after 2 hours she quietly peeps into his study. He has fallen fast asleep, sitting on the chair, with his head on the table. She silently returns to the bedroom and lays down on the Diwan. In the morning, when she awakes, she is relieved to see him on the bed.
She freshens up and goes towards the bed to awake him. But then turns back and goes to the kitchen. She opens the refrigerator to see what vegetables are there. She discusses with HK and decides the menu for lunch. After about 10 minutes, she sends his tea through HK. Then she sets about preparing breakfast as well as lunch simultaneously.
At breakfast, she sits down with them at BB's insistence and lets HK serve the breakfast. She does not participate much in dining table conversation. After the breakfast is done, she goes back to the kitchen.
Just when Ashutosh is ready and about to leave the bedroom, she enters it. She says softly, "I am not coming to the office from today onwards."
Though surprised, he says stoically, "Thank you!"
The words and the way they were said hurt her but she says calmly, "Aur ek baat. You need not sleep on the chair in the study. I promise aaj se, I'll keep out of your way and not disturb you in any way."
"Thanks again!" he mutters and leaves the room. He sees the tiffin ready on the table. He takes it and goes out. This routine continues for the next 3 days. She cooks all three meals silently and lets him think that HK cooks it, takes care of him in unobstrusive way and keep away from him as much as possible. Their only conversations are limited to, when they are with BB.
Finally on the fouth day night, before dinner, he says, "Nidhi, if possible, give me the deed of divorce with the alimony filled up and with your signature by tomorrow morning. Kal schedule light hai toh I can file it in the family court."
She nods dejectedly. Ye unhe ho kya gaya hai? I had thought ke he needs some time, some space. Sirf main hi jaanti hoon, ye 5 din maine kaise nikaale hai! He used to take such a good care of me, mere hothon ki hasi ek pal ke liye bhi khone nahi dete the. If I even frowned a bit, unse raha nahi jaata tha. He ensured that I told him what was bothering me and he eased my concerns, made them vanish into thin air, just like some magician.
Lekin ab, ab toh jaise unhe mujhse koi matlab hi nahi. And he is really serious about the divorce. Maine socha tha.. Main.. main unse kaise kahoon, mujhe nahi chahiye divorce. I want to spend my life with him.
At dinner that night, BB says, "Beta main soch raha tha ke tirth yaatra pe chala jaaoon. Hiraman ko bhi le jaaoon."
Ashutosh says, "Baba achanak, teerth yaatra?"
"Haan beta, socha tha, teri shaadi ho jaaye toh phir teerth pe jaaoonga. Lekin phir jin haalaaton me tum dono ki haadi hui, un.. anyways ab toh tum dono ek doosre ke saath settle ho gaye ho, ek doosre ke saath itne khush ho, toh socha ab mujhe jaana chahiye teerth pe. Tum dono ko yun ek saath dekhta hoon toh aankhon ko thandak milti hai, dil ko sukun milta hai beta. Bhagwan se prarthna karoonga ke tum dono isi tarah haste khelte raho aur tumhara aapas me pyaar bana rahe aur badhta rahe."
Ashutosh looks at Nidhi who looks back at him with pain in her eyes, and says to BB, "Ji Baba, aap kab jaana chahte hain?"
"Jitni jaldi ho sake. Aur agar tum dono ko taqleef na ho toh main Hiraman ko bhi le jaoon. Umar ho gayi haina, isiliye akele jaane se, I prefer to take Hiraman with me."
"Ji theek hai Baba" both said at the same time and looked at each other in surprise while BB laughed at them.
Ashutosh gets on the phone and starts making the arrangements. Finally he looks up, "Baba aaj Thursday hai, 10 din baad Saturday morning aap ko nikalna hai, theek haina?"
"Haan beta, bilkul theek hai.".
Later that night in the bedroom, Ashutosh says to Nidhi, "Nidhi, I think we should wait for Baba to leave before we file for divorce. Woh kitne khush hain.."
She nods, happy that she got a 10-day breather, a chance to atleast be in the same house, same room with him. I will do something, I will get to the bottom of why he is so angry with me.
The next day, he arrives home earlier than usual. Since the front door is closed, he opens it with his keys. He finds the light on in his study. He is astonished find Nidhi inside. Seeing him, she hurriedly closes the books and lowers the monitor on her laptop. He shouts angrily, "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU U DOING HERE?"
She gets scared, "k..k..kuch nahi, main toh.. main toh.."
"Tum toh kya? Huh? Let me tell you, jo tum dhoondh rahi hona, who tumhe yahan nahi milega.. woh toh sirf mere laptop me milega'"
Her brows are laden with sweat seeing his anger, "ye aap.. kya keh rahe hain, Kumpel? Please.. mujhe kuch samajh me nahi aa raha hai."
"Tumhe samajh me aa raha hai Nidhi. Phir bhi, let me speak plainly, because I am not used to playing games like you. (She looks up shocked) Chaunko mat, I'm not a complete fool. You were looking for my case files, specifically my arguments and my drats. Haina?"
"What are you talking about? (Suddenly something strikes her) Oh God, Kumpel! Kahin aap ye toh nahi soch rahe ke aapke arguments maine leak kiye?"
"Ab baat nikal hi gayi hai toh ye bhi bata do, ke us Jagan ne tumhe kitne paise diye the? 8 crore toh usne mere client ko bhi offer kiye the bahut pahle. Tum kitne me biki?"
She breaks down completely at that, "BAS KIJIYE. Aapne ye soch bhi kaise liya ke main aisa kuch karoongi?"
"Nidhi thodi bahut akkal mujhme bhi hai. I didn't become a successful lawyer just like that. Sirf 4 log arguments jaante the ' main khud, Armaan, Mallika aur tum."
"Aur aapke shaq ke daire me sirf main aayi. Kyun?"
"Kyun? So, what do you think, Armaan ko main bachpan se jaanta hoon, woh toh aisa kabhi sapne me bhi nahi kar sakta."
"Theek hai. Toh phir, aapne mujh hi pe shaq, shaq kya aap ko toh pooora yakeen hai. Kya main iski wajah jaan sakti hoon?"
"Nidhi, ab ye sab naatak karke koi fayda nahi, main achhhe se jaan gaya hoon tumko."
"Kya? KYA JAAN GAYE HAIN AAP?"
"Kyun mera muh khulwaati ho Nidhi?"
"Jab itna kuch bol chuke hain, baaki sab bhi bol hi daaliye.. mujhe bhi to pata chale, what exactly you think of me"
"Actually galti tumhaari nahi hai, saari galti meri hi hai. Tum toh aisi hi thi ..a gold digger. Mujhe hi samajhna chahiye tha, jo ladki shaadi ke baad sirf mera faayda hi uthaati thi, usse aur ummeed bhi kya ki jaa sakti hai? You have always wanted the best for yourself. Chaahe who 60k ka airconditioner ho ya Michael Kors ka handbag ..jo tumhe online order karna tha."
For the first time in her life, Nidhi feels that she is seeing her reflection in a mirror and the image she sees is so disgusting to her that she literally shuts her eyes tightly.
But it seems the dam inside Ashutosh has finally burst, "Ab kya hua? Sachchai bardaasht nahi hui?"
She opens her tear-filled eyes and pleads, "Kumpel, main maanti hoon, I have taken a lot of undue advantage, aapki achchhai ka.. lekin believe me, maine aisa kuch nahi kiya.."
"Nidhi, mujhe aaj bhi yaad hai tumne us mall me kitna naatak kiya tha.. sirf ek do-dhai laakh ke bracelet ke liye! Tumhe kya laga? tumne mujhe bewakoof banaya? I passed it off as your childishness and played along. I just humored you. When you can play me up for a mere bracelet, then the stakes are higher in this case' croron ki baat hai.."
She doesn't know where to hide her face. Her past deeds are catching up with her, "Kumpel, main sab admit karti hoon. haan I played you up for the bracelet, but please believe me, maine nahi leak kiye aapke arguments.. aur jaisa ke aapne kaha croron ka sawaal hai.. Toh maybe someone else did it..I swear maine nahi kiya aisa kuch.."
"Tumne nahin toh kisne? Don't tell me Mallika did it"
She nervously wets her lips, "maybe.."
"DON'T EVEN DARE NIDHI! Aur kitna girogi tum. You want to put the blame on Mallika now? (Gives her a wry smile) Galti tumhaari nahi.. Tum toh kabhi samajh hi nahi sakti ke Mallika kya hai!"
"Haan haan aap toh yehi kahenge na! She is your love after all!"
He did a double take, "What the hell? Kisne keh diya tumse?"
"Itni samajh toh hai mujhme. (He snorts sarcastically at that) Agar woh aapka pyaar nahi hai, toh kaun hai?"
"Chhodo woh baat. Ye pyaar vyaar sab bewakoofi hai!"
She grabs his shirt collar and shouts, "Kyun? Mujhe batana nahi chahte na? Lekin main jaanna chahti hoon. Kaun hai woh?"
"TUM! Main tumse pyaar karta tha, but now I realize it was all illusion on my part"
She leaves his collar completely stunned. Just then the door bell rings. Ashutosh opens the BB and HK who had gone for grocery shopping.
Later that night, in the bedroom, Nidhi again tries to talk to him, "Kumpel mujhe aapse kuch kehna hai."
"Lekin mujhe ab tumse na kuch sunna hai, naahi kuch aur kehna hai..I have had enough! I am sick of you!"
She rushes to the restroom and breaks down completely. She hates herself more and more as past memories flood her mind, how she manipulated him for each small thing, how she never cared for him. And how he always cared only for her! She recollected the way his eyes filled with a tenderness whenever they fell on her. Now that she didn't see that tenderness in his eyes, that love (Yeah now she knew it was love) in his eyes, in his every move, in his every word;; she missed it all so terribly that she found it difficult to breathe even.
However, she loathed herself the most. The man had been professing his love every day for her, with his every look, word and action the past 3 months, and she? She had been too busy trying to manipulate him, too wrapped up in her selfishness.. too busy enjoying materialistic pleasures to know when the most valuable part of her life slowly slipped away. She recoiled in disgust over her own behavior, remembering their first conversation after marriage ' how he had asked her so tenderly whether she was happy with the marriage, and how she had replied so sarcastically and rudely to him.
She winced remembering the occasions when he had tried to express his feelings, and how she had never even tried to understand them. Reception ke baad bhi unhone mujhse kaha tha ke maan lo Nidhi agar mujhe sach me tum se pyaar ho gaya hai toh? And my utter stupidity, I did not see the love in his eyes, nor the warmth in his voice, aur maine unki baat mazaak me uda di..
Then one day he had given me a rose! Mujh jaisa bewakoof duniya me nahi hoga. I threw that rose away in my haste to get to some goddamned, crap party! I never even thought for a moment as to why he was giving me that rose.
Should I laugh at myself or cry? Unhone mujhe itne clear indications diye do baar regarding his love and I had to go and link them to Mallika! What an utter fool I was!
Lekin ab? Ab main kya karoon? Unhe kaise yakeen dilaaoon? Ab toh, he clearly hates me! Sahi bhi hai, I don't deserve him.. I don't deserve to be so loved by such a man.. He is better off without a scheming, manipulating, selfish bi*ch like me! I have just 9 days with him. Let me make the best of these 9 days.
The next week passes off with her trying her best to do everything possible for him, without making things too apparent. Ashutosh is surprised to see the changes in her. When he gets up at midnight, he sees her sleeping like a lady, either on her back, with her legs together and her hands on her sides, or on her side, with her legs one over the other, bent at the knees and her hands too one over the other beside her head. While lying down, she is always covered properly with a duvet.
What astonishes him the most is that she hardly wears any jewelry these days. She wears simple sarees, puts just her mangalsutra around her neck, and fills her hair-parting with sindoor, something she has never done before. He just gets irritated, What the hell is she trying to show me?
One morning, he goes to the kitchen and sees her packing his tiffin. He watches silently and then walks out. When HK brings out the tiffin, he asks him, "Kaka, khaana aapne banaya na?"
He shakes his head ruefully, "Beta, Nidhi mujhe kuch banana hi kahan deti hai? Subah ki chai se leke raat ka khaana, sab kuch wohi banati hai. Mujhe toh sirf sab kuch tray me daal ke deti hai, ke le jaao. Sirf kitchen hi nahi, poora ghar wohi sambhalti hai, kapde dhobi ko dena, sambhalke alag karna, tumhara aur bade sahab ka cupboard theek rakhna, sab kuch. Mujhe toh bilkul nikamma bana diya hai usne."
Ashutosh nods and gets lost in thought. Why is she doing all this? Am I misunderstanding her somewhere?
He goes to the bedroom and she looks up from her wardrobe but doesn't speak. He says, "NIdhi, aaj shaam ko taiyaar rrehna, hum dono ko Armaan aur Anji ke saath dinner pe jaana hai."
Her eyes light up at that, "ji, kitne baje?"
"around 7?"
"Sure. Thank you", she says with a genuine smile.
He nods and leaves. She is delighted, Kal toh Baba bhi jaa rahe hain aur shayad mujhe bhi jaana padega. Lekin aaj ki shaam toh mujhe mil gayi aap ke saath. Thank you, thank you so much Kumpel!
She is ready by 6.45 pm in a simple saaree with just small gold studs on her ears, mangalsutra around her neck and a few glass bangles on her wrists, and of course the sindoor in her maang.
Ashutosh arrives at 7 to pick her up. The drive to the restaurant was mostly done in silence. At the garden restaurant, the 4 had a great time.Armaan and Anji were ecstatic and constantly talked about the places they had seen in UK. Seeing the joy of marital bliss on their faces and the radiance of love in their eyes, Nidhi cast wistful glances at Ashutosh. The dinner was done, and they all walked to the exit. After saying their byes, they left. Ashutosh says, "You wait here, I'll get the car."
As soon as he is out of her sight, she hears a voice from behind, "Hey baby"
She turns to see Rohan. She averts her eyes and ignores him. He tries to hug her but she backs away, "I don't know you! Get lost"
He laughs sarcastically, "Don't know ME? Don't know Rohan Malhotra?"
"Rohan, please chale jaao yahan se."
"Kyun? Nidhi tumhe ho kya gaya hai. Look at you, is this the fashionista Nidhi Verma? (He laughs) You know what baby? You look like the typical middle class Indian housewife!" he laughs some more.
"Yeah but that's what I am. I am no longer Nidhi Verma. I am Mrs. Ashutosh Mathur now, who doesn't know any Rohan." Atleast aaj toh main unki wife hoon, kal ka pata nahi..She sighs inwardly.
He grabs her shoulders, "Nidhi, why are you wasting away your life being someone's doormat? Mere saath chalo, we will have fun, we will travel around the world, shop for the best things. Chhod do apne us temporary husband ko."
She calmly disengages her shoulders, "Rohan pahli baat toh ye ke I am his wife not his doormat. Aur agar hoon toh bhi, I prefer to be his doormat rather than giving you company in your bed for a night or two."
He is shocked but smirks, "Even you wanted that, baby.. don't you deny! And you got your 5 star dinners and could shop on my.."
"Shut up and just get lost Rohan. Mere husband aate honge."
He laughs, "Husband?"
"Yeah, husband in every sense of the word."
"You mean?"
She looks at him significantly, "Yeah I mean exactly that."
He grabs her shoulders angrily, "But you said.."
"I lied to you Rohan! You are so gullible, we share our bedroom and bed. You really think.."
"How dare you fool me?" she winces as his fingers dig deeper into her flesh, "Rohan chhodo mujhe.."
"Ye Kya ho raha hai?" They both hear Ashutosh's voice. Rohan immediately leaves Nidhi and she runs over to Ashutosh's side, who says, "Tum car me baitho, main abhi aata hoon." She nods and goes away to sit in the car.
He now turns to Rohan, "So, what's your problem?"
"Problem toh tumhe honi chahiye. Hum dono ke beech me kyun aa gaye?"
"Dekho Mr. Rohan, or whatever your name is. I don't want to waste my valuable arguing with you."
"Your valuable time? Do you have any idea who I am?"
"Yeah I know very well. Tum jaisi ameer baap ki bigdi hui aulaadon ko main achchhi tarah se jaanta hoon"
"Mera Intro achchha hai, but (winks) you could also say your dear wife's lover"
Ashutosh smirks, "Or I could say a playboy, who traps innocent girls."
He smiles smugly, "ab ladkiyan mere aage peechhe ghumti hain toh how I am at fault?"
"See Rohan, I don't want to stay here talking to you all night. I am just warning you, stay away from my wife."
"Warna?"
Ashutosh's eyes spit fire, "Let me tell you one thing. I have never taken a false case in my life. But I promise you Mr. Rohan Malhotra, agar tumne meri wife ki taraf aankh uthake tak dekha na toh I will send you behind bars for the rest of your youth. And mind you, the charges I levy on you will be non bailable. So, there won't be anything your multi-billionaire father can do, with all his money. The case against you will be totally iron-clad."
The words and the way they were spoken send a chill down Rohan's spine. The coward that he indeed is, is not used to dealing with strong men. He says, "Don't bother, waise bhi mujhe used goods me koi interest nahi hai."
Ashutosh does a double take, but before he can say anything, Rohan has already bolted from there.
Ashutosh gets into the driver's seat, and drives away. Nidhi is still miffed. Ashutosh says, "Don't worry, I don't think he will bother you again. I have warned him aur mere khayal se woh samajh gaya hai."
"Thank you." she says softly.
The rest of their drive is done in silence.
The next morning, Ashutosh leaves with BB and HK to drop them to the airport, and says to Nidhi, "Baba ko drop karke Armaan ke saath brunch karna hai, so don't wait for me. You have your lunch, okay?"
She nods and he leaves. He drops BB and HK and goes to Armaan's place to pick him up. They reach the club, where Armaan says, "Chal na, bar chalte hain, ek-ek peg chadhaate hai."
"Armaan, you are crazy, is time pe you wanna drink?"
He pleads, "chal na, abhi Anji bhi nahi hai, she doesn't let me drink at all yaar."
"Achchha Chal"
They enter the bar, order their drinks. Just then, they hear a voice that catches their attention. They turn to see Jagan Mehta with his assistant Aamod. Jagan is totally drunk, "areee..aamod ush naye mall me tuje bi ek shoop dilwa dunga yaar..mushe to 10 shoopsh mile hai...har mahine fokat me dash beesh lakh ka bhaada khaaunga.."
"Woh toh sab theek hai sir, lekin ye toh bataiye ki aap ke paas ashutosh ke arguments aaye kaise? Kise khareeda aapne?"
Armaan strained his ears while Ashutosh closes his eyes, Oh no! Ab Armaan ko bhi pata chal jaayega ke Nidhi ne.. But nothing had prepared him for the next words that came out of Jagan's mouth.
"are muje kishi ko khareedne ki sharurat nahi padi yaar..ush ashutosh ne hi muje bata diya..ha ha ha.."
If Armaan and Ashutosh are staggered by the words, Aamod is in no different state, "Kya baat kar rahe hain Sir?"
"are ye hi shach hai yaaarrr.."
"Lekin kaise Sir?"
"dek maine shocha ke ushko phone karta hu ye bolne ke liye ke apne client she pushhke 30 crore me dega humko zameen??ushka shellphone lagaaa nahi..to phir maine offish ke landline pe phone kiya aur ushke peon ne uthaya..aur wo ashutoshhh ko batana bhool gaya mere phone ke baare me..main hold karke thak gaya huh..jaishe hi main rakhne wala tha i hit jackpot..wo shaare log ishi cesh ke baare me dishcush karne baithe..wo bhi ushi ke cabin me..aur mai 5 ghante unki shaari dishcushan shunta raha aur note karta raha..my good luck.."
While Armaan stared utterly shocked, Ashutosh threw his glass on the wall.. the sound makes everyone turn towards him. He says, "Armaan, I am waiting for you in the car." And leaves.
In the car, Armaan stares at Ashutosh, who is silent and driving rather rashly, "Ashu, aaram se.. main drive karoon?"
He doesn't reply, but slows down. Finally they reach Armaan's house and he waits for him to get down. Just then Anji too returns home in a cab, "arre aap log itni jaldi aa gaye wapas? Brunch nahi kiya kya?"
Ashutosh says striving to keep his voice normal, "Nahi Anji, mujhe kuch kaam yaad aa gaya.. Utar Armaan mujhe jaana hai please."
"Jijaji, aise kaise, chai to peeke jaiye na?"
Armaan too joins in, "Haan Anji, tum jaldi se jaake chai rakho, hum aate hain." She nods and rushes inside.
"Armaan yaar, please utar na.. mujhe jaana hai.."
"Ashu, I know it's a big shock yaar.. but please andar chal, cool down a bit, then go home. Please yaar."
He relents and accompanies Armaan inside. Anji brings tea and they all start having it, just casually chatting. Just then Armaan gets a call, and moves to a corner to take it. Ashutosh clears his throat, "anji.. kuch dino pahle mujhe ek case ke silsile me Kanchan mili thi. Aur tumhaare baare me.." he purposely left the statement incomplete to see her reaction.
"Kanchan? Kya bolti thi woh? mujhse toh kabhi milne tak nahi aati .. itni busy ho gayi haina?"
"Tum use kaise jaanti ho? Is she your friend?"
"She is actually my distant cousin, aur woh Nidhi ki classmate bhi thi."
"woh tumhari shaadi me bhi nahi aayi"
"Arre she did come, lekin she was in a hurry, so she left without even meeting me. She even gave my gift to Nidhi."
Ashutosh closed his eyes in despair. What have I done? Maine kya dekha aur kya samajh liya!! I have to go to Nidhi asap. I need to apologize to her.. I need to..
He gulps the tea in one go and gets up abruptly. By now Armaan's call is done. "Armaan main chalta hoon. bye Anji" and he leaves before they could utter a word.
He reaches home and opens the door with his key. Nidhi is nowhere in the house. Finally, he reaches the bedroom and find a large envelop on the bed. He apprehensively opens the envelop. It has divorce papers with her signature and a note. He hastily opens the note. It read:
"Kumpel, aapke saath guzaare hue lamhe meri zindagi ke sabse anmol lamhe the. Main jaa rahi hoon, divorce papers pe sign kar diya hai, aur haan, alimony ka amount bhi bhar diya hai. (He immediately checks the divorce papers and finds the alimony amount filled up as zero. Jaate jaate aapse kuch kehna chahti hoon, jo main mann me nahi rakh sakti. I love you Kumpel, mujhe aapse pyaar hai.. ye mujhe jab se realize hua, I had been wanting to tell you but mauka hi nahi mila.
With love,
Your errant wife,
Nidhi.
PS. Jaate jaate aapki achchhai ka ek aur fayda uthake jaa rahi hoon. I am taking my mangalsutra with me. I know you won't mind.. aap ka dil bahut bada hai."
Ashutosh literally falls down on the bed, completely defeated, not knowing what to do. Just then, he hears a little sound in the hall, and rushes out. Nidhi is holding a small suitcase and opening the front door. He shouts, "Wahin ruk jaao Nidhi, don't you dare step out of YOUR house!"
Nidhi turns back surprised and seeing Ashutosh, her eyes brim over. They both walk towards each other, till they are at an arm's length.
"Nidhi, mujhe maaf kardo, please. Mujhse bahut badi galti ho gayi.."
She puts her palm on his lips, "Kumpel ye aap kya keh rahe hain?"
"Haan Nidhi, maine tumpe itna ghatiya ilzaam lagaya.. main toh khud apni hi nazron me gir raha hoon"
"Kumpel, baat kya hai?"
He tells her what he heard at the bar. "Please Nidhi, mujhe maaf kardo. I treated you very shabbily. Main case haara toh bilkul paagal ho gaya tha gusse me. I just jumped to conclusions when I saw you with Kanchan."
"Bas kijiye.. I deserved every word you said. Bhale arguments maine leak nahi kiye the, lekin pahle jaise aapka poora poora fayda uthaya I deserved every bit of your censure. I never deserved your love."
"Bas Nidhi, bhool jaao pichhli baate, agar tumne apni childishness me kuch galtiyaan ki hain toh maine bhi koi maturity nahi dikhayee."
She looks at him and they hug tightly. He backs out a bit, "Tumne apne letter me jo likha hai, woh main tumhare muh se sunna chahta hoon"
"Letter me maine bahut kuch likha tha, aap kya sunna chahte.."
"Tum achchhe se jaanti ho Nidhi.. aur kitna tadpaaogi mujhe?"
She locks her eyes with his, "I love you Kumpel, I really love you very much.."
"I love you too Nidhi, very very much."
"since when?"
"Since when what?"
"Since when do you love me? Shaadi ke baad toh jaise main aapke saath behave karti thi.."
"Shaadi ke pahle se.."
"Jaipur se?"
"Nahi."
"Toh phir?"
"guess karo?"
"Jab main aapki office me aayi tab se?"
He shook his head, "It was love at first sight for me.."
"Really? Lekin hum office ke pahle kahan mil.. haan, aapki b'day party me? Right?"
"wrong again"
"Lekin party se pahle toh hum kabhi mile hi nahi. Ye aap kisi pichhle janam ki baat toh nahi kar rahe?"
"Nidhi you are too funny.. nahi, maine tumhe uske pahle bhi 2 baar dekha tha.. pahli baat apni engagement ke din"
She is confused, "Engagement?"
He nods and explains everything to her, regarding Mallika and how she left him and went to the US. Nidhi listened quietly.
"Nidhi, I assure you, Mallika was always a good friend to me. Usse zyaada kuch nahi."
"I understand. (She looks at him with awe) You loved me since so long, phir bhi aapne kabhi kaha kyun nahi?"
"I didn't want to force my feelings on you"
She hugs him tight at that, "Kumpel, how do I.. I mean what do I say to that? How do I thank you for loving me so so much.. I never deserved any of it.. how do I thank you."
"Tu pahunch gaya theek se? Rashly drive kar raha tha isiliye."
"Armaan, I am fine now, ab sab theek hai. I am not upset or anything. On the contrary, I am really happy today yaar."
"Achchha, kyun? aisa kya hua Ashu?"
He suddenly gets an idea, "Aaj meri shaadi hai.. ?"
"Kya bak raha hai?"
He laughs, "Haan Armaan, sahi keh raha hoon. I want to marry again."
"Ashu you are drunk or something?"
"No, I am not. Will you listen carefully now? Meri shaadi jis mandir me hui thi na, wahin jaake saara arrangement kar le. Make sure everything is ready by the time we reach there?"
"we? Who we?"
"Main aur Nidhi, aur kaun?"
"Achchha toh ab samjha. Tum dobara shaadi karne jaa rahe ho? Good good. Tum log pahuncho main saara arrangement kar doonga."
"Thanks buddy. See you"
Ashutosh goes to the bedroom, where she is unpacking her suitcase happily.
"Nidhi, tumse ek bahut important baat poochhni hai."
"Ji?"
He goes to where she is standing, takes her hand and goes down on a knee, "Will you marry me Nidhi?"
She is surprised and delighted, "Again? (he nods) sure."
He gets up and both lock their eyes and close in. Their lips meet in a gentle, tender kiss. Their lips part and he pecks at her forehead, then her cheeks, then suckles at her chin, before taking her lips once again. This time, the kiss is more probing, demanding.. one that leaves her breathless.
He comes to his senses and hugs her, "Chalo, jaldi se taiyaar ho jaao, Nidhi. Armaan wait karega mandir me. Aaj hamari shaadi hai. I want to see you all decked up as my bride. Shopping ka toh time nahi hai abhi.."
"Is there any need to shop. We both have our wedding clothes na?"
"Hmm.."
"Chaliye, main apna dress nikaalti hoon." and she excitedly takes out her wedding lehenga choli. He too takes out his sherwani and both get ready. He looks at her, "Nidhi, didn't I say, I want to see you all decked up?"
She looks at him confused, while he continues, "Where is your jewelry?"
She shows him the mangalsutra and the glass bangles, "Ye haina?"
"Pahli baat, ye mangalsutra toh tumhe utaarna padega."
"Ji?" she instinctively clutches the mangalsutra.
"Agar tum utarogi nahi toh phir tumhe shaadi me pahnaaoonga kaise?"
She nods, "Theek hai, mandir chalke utaroongi."
"Okay, lekin kuch toh dhang ki jewelry pahno, mujhe lage toh sahi meri dulhan mere saamne khaadi hai?"
"Theek hai Kumpel, jo aap chaahe woh pahnoongi. Nikaal ke dijiye na please. Aur please kuch light haan? I hate heavy jewelry now. In fact, I hate jewelry now"
He tenderly takes her face in his hands, "Nidhi, please bhool jaao maine jo gusse me kaha tha. I don't want to change you."
"Kumpel, please. Its not about something you said. Main jab khud ko dekhti hoon na, mujhe apne aap se nafrat hoti hai. In materialistic cheezon ke kaaran.."
"Nidhi, Nidhi, humne kya decide kiya tha? We won't talk about the past, haina?"
She nods soberly and he takes out a light but elegant diamond set. He first puts the earrings on her, tingling her senses. Just then his phone rings, "Abbe kahan reh gaya. Jaldi kar, panditji keh rahe hain ke agle 3 ghante me shaadi ho jaani chahiye aur gruh pravesh bhi."
"Abhi bas nikal hi rahe hain yaar."
By now, she has worn the set, and they leave. As soon as they reach, Armaan and Anji rush to their car, all smiles.
Armaan teases, "Ladki bhagaake aaya haina Ashu?"
Anji looks at him mortified, "Aap bhi hadd karte hain, jijaji itne shareef hain, ye kya ladki bhagaayenge. Maamla ulta hi hai, Nidhi inhe bhagaake laayi hai."
Nidhi runs after her and hits her, "Anji.."
"Arre yaar ye action scenes raat ko apne hubby ke saath karna, abhi you need to act coy. You are the bride remember?"
It's difficult to say whose cheeks color more at these words, hers or Ashutosh's.
Finally Armaan clears his throat, "Chalo, panditji wait kar rahe hai."
They reach inside where the kund is already burning with the consecrated fire. Pandit tells them to sit down. Nidhi is about to sit, when Ashutosh stops her, "Ek minute ruko, yahan aao" She obeys, and he takes out the deed of divorce. He puts it in her hand and places his own hand on hers as he makes her put the papers in the sacred fire. Nidhi is totally touched, as she watches the papers burning. She keeps looks at him with her heart in her eyes. He says softly, "Mangalsutra".
She nods and removes it, still looking straight into her eyes. They take their places as the pandit directs. Both pay full attention to each and every word as the pandit explains them. Armaan and Anji do the gathbandhan. Ashutosh and Nidhi take the 7 pheras hand in hand and make the promises to each other sincerely. Then Ashutosh fills her maang and puts the Mangalsutra around her neck. She feels complete, fulfilled, when the pandit announces them man and wife.
Armaan congratulates them. Nidhi looks around, "Anji kahan gayi."
"Kaam se gayi hai. Chale?"
Since Anji has taken Armaan's car, Armaan drives Ashutosh's car while the newly weds sit in the back seat. They are holding hands and lost in each other's eyes, when Ashutosh quietly brings the hand he is holding to his lips and kisses it passionately, sending shivers down her spine.
Armaan whistles at that, "Lage raho, lage raho, maine kuch nahi dekha!"
Both leave each other's hands guiltily, and look out of the window for the rest of the short drive home.
They are surprised to see Anji at the door ready for the ritual of gruh pravesh.
Armaan winks, "Sorry Ashu, I stole your house-key from your pocket."
Ashutosh just shakes his head and smiles at that. They arrive at the door, where Anji does their aarti, then Nidhi kicks the rice kalash with her foot.
Armaan and Anji then lead them to the terrace where they are surprised to see it decorated and a table with two lounge chairs set in the midst, with food. Armaan says, "Look I know you must be probably cursing us for not leaving you alone, but the fact is we all skipped our lunch. So we ordered an early dinner. I am totally famished, itna kaam kiya yaar, shaadi karwaayee tumhari"
And he sits in one of the two lounge chairs. Ashutosh is surprised, "Tum log yahan baithego, toh phir hum kahan baithenge?"
"Arre meri jaan, hum chaaron yahin baithenge.(Ashutosh looks at him as if he had gone crazy) Abhi batata hoon. Pahle tu baith ja."
Meanwhile Anji is done serving the food into two plates, her cheeks pink since she knows what her husband's plans are. She didn't approve of it, feeling embarrassed at doing something like that before her friend and her husband, but her own husband was very stubborn in these matters.
Ashutosh sits in the other chair, wondering what his stupid friend has in his mind.
Suddenly Armaan pulls Anji onto his lap and looks suggestively at him, urging him to do the same. Ashutosh's insides scream, Already I am fast losing my control, and this rogue! Armaan gives him a devilish smile, telling him that he know what he is aware of his condition.
Nidhi looks at him expectantly and he reluctantly pulls her into his lap. The contact sends fire raging through both their bodies. Ashutosh's voice has a rough edge to it, when he says, "Okay, Your Brilliancy, ab ye bhi bata de, ke aise hum khaana kaise khaayenge?"
"Yes, my dear student, batata hoon. Hum khaana nahi khaayenge. Ye jo hamari dharampatniyaan haina ye apne pyaare komal haathon se hume khilaayengi."
He groaned, "Armaan you and your stupid games!"
Armaan ignores him, "Anji mujhe bahut bhookh lagi hai, jaldi khilao."
Anji though hesitant starts feeding him and Nidhi too does the same. Ashutosh can't refuse Nidhi when she feeds him. A few bites later, they get at ease, and he becomes playful. While taking the morsel, he suckles at her hand, sometimes even bites at her finger, making her gasp. As she has to turn around everytime, to take a morsel from the plate, he takes the plate in his hand and both feed each other. He sees some remnant of food on her lips, takes it in his hand and puts it into his mouth, all the while looking into her eyes. Finally the plate is empty, and they turn around only to be stunned that they are alone on the terrace.
"Ye log kahan gaye?" he asks surprised.
She gets up from his lap, "No idea". She takes a leisurely round of the terrace, while he feasts his eyes on her. Just then Anji returns to the terrace and clears the table. Nidhi immediately rushes over, "Arre Anji, main karloongi na, tu chhod"
"Nayi naveli dulhan kaam nahi karti. Chup chaap baith. (Then she turns to Ashutosh) Jijaji, hum nikalte hain, please come and close the door."
Ashutosh nods and gets up, glad that finally they will be left alone. He goes down and closes the door on Armaan's face after enduring some more teasing from him.
She nods with a smile, then frowns, "Arre Kumpel, neeche chaliye, please, aapko zukaam ho jaayega."
"Yeah today, I can't afford that." And he picks her in his arms and carries her downstairs, never once taking his eyes off her face, especially her lips. Finally he lets her down at their bedroom door. He opens the door and they are both surprised. The entire room is decorated with candles and flowers. They walk in mesmerized.
Finally, she says, "Jaldi se change kar lijiye."
He nods and takes out his clothes from the wardrobe. He goes upto the door and beckons her, "Nidhi zara ek minute,"
She goes to him, "Ji?"
He hugs her and puts his tongue in the whorls of her ears, making her senseless with pleasure, '"Main soch raha tha.." his tongue moves down to her neck and catches a raindrop that going towards her cleavage. She mumbles, "Hmm?"
His hands caress her body and she shudders under his touch as he whispers huskily, "Ke kyun na hum saath me change karen?"
She pushes him inside, "Kumpel, jaldi se change karlijiye, aapko thand chad jaayegi.." and closes the door.
When he opens the door after 3-4 minutes, she is standing before the dresser, removing the last of the safety pins that's holding her dress in place. She had already removed all her jewelry. As soon as she realized that he was out, she caught hold her nighty-gown that she had kept ready and walked towards him, or rather towards the restroom. The sight of her soaked body, with the clothes sticking to it, leaving not much to imagination, minus the jewelry, was a big turn on for him. As she passes by him to go inside the restroom, he grabs her arm from behind and with a jerk pulls her smack against his frame, her entire back portion touches his front, with him heavily breathing on her nape. She closes her eyes as he runs his hands over her wet body. He starts with her thighs, lightly kneading them then to her inner thighs, gradually he subjects her abdomen, waist and ultimately her breasts to the same treatment, , all the while his lips are feasting on her neck and side face. She is totally senseless by now and her entire weight is on him . Finally, he bites her earlobe and he whispers huskily, "Going to change?"
She is confused, she has totally forgotten what she was doing or where she was going. She takes a moment to think before nodding. He says, "Nidhi, I don't want you to wear this,"
She turns back, "Toh phir?"
"Waise toh I would prefer nothing.. (She blushes a deep red at that, he smiles innocently as if he doesn't understand whats making her blush, but his eyes look at her naughtily and continues) better than your bridal attire, but since that is wet.." he stops strategically again.
She heaves a sigh of relief, "Oh! I thought.." she mentally kicks herself, why did I have to open my big mouth?
He caressed her face, "What? What did you think?"
"Nothing. please jaldi bataiye na, what do I wear?"
"Actually.." she pauses strategically, learning his game.
He pulls her near, "Actually what?"
She enjoys his impatience, "Actually.. umm.. I have thought of another german word"
He pecks her jawline, "You know I am tired of german words"
She is barely able to balance herself, "ek baar sun toh lijiye, maybe you like it."
"Okay, tell me"
"Miene Liebe"
His hand is now on her shoulder poised on her dupatta, "What does it mean"
"My love"
At that, he yanks the dupatta off her. Since it is wet, the force sends a chill over her and she shivers. This brings him to his senses, "Arre tum change karlo, you are all wet. Thand lag jaayegi" and he walked over to her closet. After searching for sometime, he finally pulled out her blue PJ, "Tumhe yaad hai? Jab hamari shaadi hui thi, us raat tumne ye pahna tha.."
She is touched again, "Mujhe bhi yaad nahi hai.. aap ko kaise yaad hai ye baat?"
"You were looking so innocently alluring in this. Anyways you go change." He hands it over to her and takes the nighty gown from her."
She is about to go when he stops her again, "Your clothes are totally sticking to you, how will you remove? Here let me help you.."
She knows where its leading to, but silently stands where she. Ever mindful that she will catch cold, he controls his urges and slowly unhooks her choli. Then unclasps her lingerie. Then he slowly bends down and unbuttons the lahenga from her waist.
Then he moves a bit away, "Jaao jaldi change karlo"
She literally rushes to the restroom, only to stop at the door, What about innerwear?
"Zara woh nighty dijiye na please."
"Why you are wearing that na"
"Yeah but, uh.. uske andar aur bhi kuch hai"
He is confused and takes the nighty, starts to open it.
"Please No!" she shouts but too late. He has already undone the bundle. He looks at her with a smirk,
"You don't need any of these tonight"
She looks at him mortified. Oh God! How can I wear just my PJ with nothing inside!
He says, "Ab jaldi karo or I will have to change your clothes for you!"
She sighs and closes the door. When she emerges after a few minutes, she hesitates a bit taking slow timid steps with her arms crossed over her chest. Seeing this, he switches off the main light, leaving only a dim light in the room and she breathes easy. He picks her up and gently lays her on the bed. He kneels down besides her on the carpet. She smiles and takes his face in her hands and peppers it with wet lingering kisses, finally taking his lips and giving him a smack kiss. When she finally leaves him, he goes near her legs and spreads them apart, "You know, this is how I found you sleeping that morning.. I felt like just.."
She blushes as he adjusts the rest of her body the way he wanted, "You just felt like what?". He says in barely a whisper, "You will know soon enough."
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