Posted:
Originally posted by: mriara13
Thank you for this awesome storyline I loved it alll the way plz update soon
hiba
Originally posted by: Anunilmini
Aww! Your like a adrenaline booster. Thank you so much for those kind words. I missed you too. More than I thought I would. No I do not know everything... I'm just assuming from what I have come to know of you...you usually update on Sundays right? But then again who am I to demand for a update. When I very well know now what it takes to write a single update. But I can still claim to have short term memory loss and stalk your thread...and write all this. Glad be back in touch.
Chapter 6
They arrived at the first store, huge luxurious shop with traditional attire in the shop window. Anjuli applied to the brakes and her iron horse froze. She went out of the car walking the springy gait without looking back at the girls. They followed her like poults follow the chicken crossing the street.
The Queen entered the shop and nodded icily to the stuff that worked there. Anjuli moved decisively to the displayed clothes and started picking with her trained eye the best possible garments and jewels. Astha couldn't but admired her taste, sophisticated and refined.
"Parvati, you don't mind me doing the choice for you?" asked Anjuli without looking at Paro.
"Mother, of course not, you certainly know better. I like everything you choose. I really do" that was true. No one in the whole world could choose better pieces than that experienced woman.
"Good, girl. Do you wear Western clothes? I haven't seen you in it" Anjuli looked back at Paro for the first time as if she was estimating the possibility for her to wear western...
"I do but I'm not sure if Varad would appreciate it" hesitatingly pronounced the girl.
"He would but you better ask him yourself. I like you care about his feelings. Let's leave it then till the next time. Don't forget you can always come here yourself and take freely all the things you like" that was generous, thought Astha.
"Thank you, Mother. I'll remember it"
Anjuli turned to Astha "Astha, I'd like to buy a present for you as well and for your mother if you don't mind. Will you help me?" was it the air-conditioner in the shop or the presence of that woman cooled the air? Astha was not sure.
"But of course, Aunty. I doubt you need my help. Everything you choose is perfect" Anjuli looked fixedly at the young woman searching the trace of sarcasm but failed to find any. She narrowed eyes just like Shlok did "All right then. You give me carte blanche, right? As you wish, Astha" Anjuli seemed to lose all her interest in Astha and moved around the shop freely.
"Yes, definitely, I do" sincerely answered Astha to nobody in particular as she was standing alone in the middle of the shop...
Fifteen minutes later all was over. They left the store. That woman was definitely not much of a talker. She was fast in decision-making. Astha liked that. She liked more and more Paro's future mother in law. There was a lot to learn from her. Astha was only doubting how would traditional Parvati coexist with the modern relative like that but God knew his ways.
...
The car was packed with parcels up to the roof.
"Won't you buy anything for yourself, Mother?" timidly asked Paro. The answer shocked Astha "No. I have more than I need before I die". It was not actually the answer that killed Astha but the tone with which it was said. That woman was unhappy, desperately unhappy realized Astha.
Why the hell she was talking about death all of a sudden? She was too young for that. Such thoughts were in her perfectly combed head not in vain. It looked like Anjuli Agnihotri was deadly tired of life. There was no fire in her, no desire, no zeal.
At the same time Astha could bet the woman was a passionate person. All the signs were present. The way she moved her small nostrils reminded Astha of the thoroughbred horse, restive and capricious. She was headstrong and willful, that was obvious but she seemed hollow. What happened? Was she acting? Where was the real Anjuli?
Astha thought she should have been acting. Maybe this acting lasted that long that it became her second personality. She somehow has forgotten how hot-blooded she was. Something made her blood cold. Who added ice and made cocktail out of it? Sons? Husband? Circumstances?
Astha was lost in questions; all of them had no answers. Anjuli certainly didn't look like a woman who would appreciate the inquiries on her behalf.
About several things Astha was absolutely positive: Mrs. Anjuli Agnihotri was the most beautiful, enigmatic, stunning woman Astha has ever seen. She looked successful and confident, reserved and emotionless but... she was multilayer like the beautiful canvas created by the talented artist from scratch. Still waters ran deep - this woman was personification of that old saying. She was disappointed in everything: life, future, dreams if there had ever been any.
The thoughts were jumbling in Astha's head and finally she managed to catch them in the net -
Anjuli Agnihotri was an unreachable paragon who appeared to be a dead beauty...
Chapter 7
There were three thousand people invited to the wedding so there was a Palace rented to accommodate all the guests.
The Mehendi ceremony was simply amazing, only girls, all sitting in a round for two hours waiting for the Mehendi to dry. Parvati let the name Varad appear on her palm. She was so sweet in her blushing. Astha hasn't been laughing so much for years. Cracking jokes, teasing the bride, remembering the youthful days...Paro, shy at the beginning was totally relaxed in the end. There were thirty young girls, the majority were unfamiliar to Astha. It was fun and for the whole day Astha forgot about all the hardships: the nervousness of the event, the parting with Parvati, the ravishing mother in law, strange relationship within the family, the threat in the beautiful eyes of Anjuli Agnihotri and hatred in the black eyes of her son. Astha hasn't seen him since the day of engagement. That day they were so good in escaping each other that she saw a glimpse of him for less than a second. It was not him but his back she recognized the second she saw him.
During the Mehendi ceremony Parvati showed Astha the girl "Astha" whispered she "Do you see that tall girl?" Paro pointed to the young beauty.
"Yes, of course. Who is it? Someone special?" Astha noticed the girl earlier due to her wonderful long hair. She was looking just like Anjuli herself only thirty years younger.
"It might be. It's only rumors but you know... Its Poonam Balan. They say she is chosen to be the second bahu" Astha's decorated hands became cold without any special reason. She even turned around to look for Anjuli as low temperature was usually the signal of her approaching but there was no sign of Anjuli nearby and Astha understood that cold was spreading from within "Poonam? Balan? No coincidence I believe. Am I right?"
"Of course not. Mr. Agnihotri's political partner's daughter. Just like me" Paro was whispering as if she was revealing a governmental secret.
"I see. Already engaged?" Astha asked in her normal voice.
"Not yet but Varad says Shlok likes her and she..."
"Of course that asshole likes her. She has money and looks" The feeling inside Astha was dark. She thought it was towards the fop but somehow Astha didn't like this Poonam too. Evidently she didn't like everything that was connected to him especially his bride...
...
Varad told "the second" returned home and would be on the wedding but the months passed from the last fight dulled the ache caused by his insults. She actually thanked him for that eye-opening confessions. He didn't give a damn to her, she was an ugly and rotten liar for him. Was she hurt? Not at all since it was "the second" who passed the comments. He was the brainless swine whose words didn't count, did they?
After all the hatred would have been so painful without mutuality. Mr. Shlok Agnihotri treated her the same way she treated him. That was so nice from his side to return her feelings.
It was only a pity he would become her relative in the nearest future. Astha calmed herself down by the thought that worthless people were never hated with such intensity. Astha remembered his bleeding hand and her bruised wrist. Thank God they stopped before they killed each other in the direct sense. There was something in her that made him go outrageous. He reacted at her with the speed of the lightning. Sadly the same could be said about her...
At Sangeet everybody danced themselves to the fullest. Astha knew she would never forget these days...
Anjuli was talking to an elderly man who was definitely not Indian. He was tall and arrogant. Astha could swear he was Anjuli's relative. Father? Was it possible she was his daughter? Was that the reason she was so pale?
Astha was engrossed in her thoughts when she saw him at the tables with refreshments. All other ideas flew away from her head like bullets from the gun.
He was laughing heartily. The sound of his laugh irritated her beyond imagining... He was dressed in the light grey suit, definitely, Anjuli's touch, flamboyant as usual. He didn't see her. Astha was looking at him unaware of the fact she was watched too...
Suddenly he turned around and caught her look. He felt her presence. Again, admitted Astha bitterly. He addressed to her loudly with a lazy tone for everyone to hear "Hey, Schumacher? How are you doing?"
"Thanks to your prayers I'm well" she grimaced a smile at him. All guys around were evidently his friends. They stared at her with smirks in their conceited faces.
"Trying to deceive the nature?" his smile became wider reveling white teeth.
"Meaning what?" she made a gulp of water from the glass. The premonition inside was the prickly one. She understood he was in the mood of scoffing at her. Revenge... she grasped. Blood for blood. In their case in direct sense.
"Makeup, saree, heels, jewelry..." he was looking at her derisively "Sorry, sweetie. Don't want to upset you but it doesn't work. You are still short and plain" the men around burst into laughter. Here we go... thought Astha. The fight began. Again.
"Oh, really? Don't waste your charm on me, chappie" the emotions were wild inside her like the forest fire. Why she just couldn't ignore him? Just walk away. He was insulting her publicly.
He laughed "Why not? I have more" he enjoyed every second of the process. That was obvious. He stood deadly self-confident with his hands in his pockets.
"No more charm, please, you prat. I don't want to throw up from pleasure of seeing you" the laughter became louder.
"You can throw up as much as you like. It's unlikely to make you prettier, Barbie"
"Dear Ken, your opinion is SO important for me. It's priceless from a man with plastic brains" Astha pretended she drank water. She has just lost the ability to swallow.
"Ohhh, dear I just LOVE your adoration. Give me more but I beg you this time without biting" the men around started giving whistles "Shlok, has she bitten you? Wow"
"She did, quite passionately I must confess till the blood. Not sure the bite was safe. The girly is quite a poisonous creature" for the first time in her life Astha was close to madness. At this moment she understood the meaning of the medical term "aberration". People could kill in this state of mind.
If she had a gun she would have shoot the bas***d regardless where he was conceived... He knew she was on the edge and enjoyed it, every bit of it. Her face was red with anger but he wanted to overkill her "Come, pussy, let's shake hands or you can hold me if you wish and make up a quarrel. You are like a sister to me after all. Your rebellion eyes scare me to death" the whole business turned into the circus. He was showing off. People were gathering to watch the fight. Astha has always known he had no boundaries, no one has ever questioned his self-confidence but he didn't know Astha...yet.
Astha moved slowly towards him. The silence was oppressive. She knew everybody was watching her steps...She came close enough to him. Looking into his black eyes she suddenly splashed the contents of her glass on his trousers. Right at the fly...
"Oh, Ken you haven't told me you are sooo scared" she closed her mouth with her hand pretending to be embarrassed "If I had known it earlier I would not have threatened you that much, dear. Let's save hugs till you change the pants if you don't mind, sweetheart. Agreed?"
Astha turned around. It seemed to her she heard the quiet "Bitch" behind her back but she wasn't sure. She walked away hearing the claps and whistles behind her back. The girl wished she could see his face but it was impossible due to the crowd that was herding around the spot.
She knew she has won but it didn't bring her happiness. The things he was saying to her were extremely offensive. He made her bite public. All the man around would think she was a kind of a wicked woman or even worse... They could have thought she was easily approachable. He was forcing her - it was the only reason she bit him but who would understand it...
Astha was unaware the fight was not the greatest problem she was to face.
Originally posted by: Anunilmini
Oh! Jane you're dragon lady is an enigma. You describe her so well. Gives me the creeps just reading it. Missed your romantic metaphors. You're putting doubt into our minds.
Act becoming a habit is so true. Once that happens they tend to forget which is the mask and which is the real face. Mask stays on, sad. Thank you for the Lovely update. Setting up the base with a strong foundation is paramount. And you my dear have set up a rock solid base. Can't wait for the next update to peel of one more layer.
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