Chapter 1

Nushrat

@Nush_Rat

Chapter - 01

It was just another ordinary day. Ansh had returned from his office and went to their room. Piya was busy with something. Looking at how engrossed she was in her work, a smile crept across his face. He wasn't good with words. Nevertheless, the way poets and writers depicted "True Love", he found it amusing and somewhat terrifying due to the high standard set up for a partner. Often he would wonder whether it was love or a contract between two people where someone was expected to be strong, patient and forgiving with no room for his/her own insecurity until he met Piya. She was everything and beyond. In his ice-cold, dark world, she brought light and warmth. However, it wasn't just her angelic soul that he was in love with. Her antics, her temper, even her vulnerability - every little thing that made her so perfectly imperfect made him fall deeper in love with her. She was a riddle wrapped in an enigma and he was enchanted by her mystery! He remembered the first time he had noticed her properly. Covered in colors and she was trying to clean her dupatta, paying zero attention to the people around her or what might they think of her brief quintessential act of floating dupatta. Ansh chuckled reminiscing the incident. Piya got startled and looked back. “Hello dear husband! How was your day?” She asked with her brightest smile. That smile! It always made his heart skip a beat. All he could think about was stopping time and savor that moment. “Ansh?” Piya waved her hand before him. “What’s the matter dear?” “Hmm?” Ansh got startled. He didn’t notice when Piya came in front of him. He felt embarrassed for the crazy thoughts that had occupied his mind just a while ago. “Sorry! I was just thinking about something and got lost.” He replied with a sheepish smile. Piya raised her eyebrows and examined every angle of his face. The obvious blush and awkwardness didn’t escape her attention. In fact, the longing and admiration in his eyes made her feel loved and content. But he just got home and she decided to continue their eye-romancing session later. “You must be tired. Go freshen up. I’ll bring your coffee.” She left the room while Ansh went to take a bath with a grin.

“What are these?” Ansh asked Piya while sitting beside her. “Well, we had removed most of the photos from the walls and shoved them in our cupboard when we brought Mohana back, remember? Had some free time today so I thought of rearranging them.” “Okay, Let me help you.” They both started putting the photos in their respective frames and albums when a particular photo drew Piya’s attention. “Really Ansh? You have still kept this photo?” She was visibly upset. “Oh God! From where did this pop up?” Ansh cursed his fate. It was a photo of him and Ruby - flashing all their teeth as if they were the happiest couple in the world. “What nonsense Piya! Why would I keep it intentionally? You were there when all that circus was going on. Isn’t it normal that the photographers would click photos of the couple?” He tried to reason with her. “Definitely. But what’s abnormal is that I had a hard time finding our old photos when we got back together. But you never threw away your and her photos.” “What photos? This must be the only one that I forgot to dispose.” “Really? Then what are these?” Piya pointed to a bundle of photos taken during Ansh’s engagement with Ruby. “God save me from this woman’s fury this time!” Ansh shuddered a little reminiscing about the time when Piya unleashed her wrath on Dilruba for trying to marry him. “Well, look at the bright side. These contain the family members’ pictures too. Look! Here’s one of you.” “In the background, all alone and evidently heartbroken. God! I had put Devdas in shame!” Piya quivered a little and dropped the photo. “Well, you were heartbroken, weren’t you? Because you looooooooooved me.” “That’s not gonna save you this time Mr. Rathod. Do you really think you can get away with this incredibly stupid accent of yours?” “There’s nothing wrong in trying.” He tried to put on an innocent smile as a last ditch effort. “Too late.” Piya was about to leave when Ansh held her hand.

“I know you are angry with me but in my defense, I wasn’t in my sense back then. And if we go by the incidents that followed later, you were ready to marry Naman with complete awareness. So it’s not done that you are showing this much anger.” “I might have agreed to marry him but I haven’t savored his memories like you GAP! (Ghanghor Ajeeb Praani!)” “This is not good! She has resorted to GAP from Mr. Rathod!” Ansh sensed the impending danger looming over him and tried to think of anything that would calm Piya down. And suddenly she started laughing holding her stomach. “What the!” “I was pulling your leg Ansh. Do you think only you have the right to get jealous or going berserk?” She couldn’t stop her sentence and started laughing again. “It’s so much fun to watch you get scared.” At first Ansh couldn’t understand how he should react. He was definitely annoyed; scrap annoyance, he was mad! But then again, it had always been difficult for him to maintain his attitude in front of her when she was well aware of his Achilles heel - her smile. Besides, the way Piya was laughing, even he felt like joining her. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him, “Come here you drama queen!” Piya wasn’t ready for that and they both fell on the bed. After they had finally regained their composure, Ansh asked Piya casually, “Have you ever thought about this?” “About what?” “Like how would our lives turn out if we weren’t married to each other?” “Well, for starters, you wouldn’t be alive, that’s for sure. Mohana would have snacked on you a long time ago with the help of your darling Ruby.” “Are you sure?” He smirked. “It could easily go the other way round." “Not entirely impossible considering what I have heard from the family members. The stunts you had pulled when I was in Trishankulok still give them minor heart attacks.” A mischievous smile twisted her lips. “Yeah.” Ansh replied in a muffled, apologetic voice. Sensing the despair in his voice, Piya tried to lighten up his mood, “I wonder what did you do back then! Did you terrorize them with your awesome dancing skill?” She tried to keep a straight face but ended up bursting into laughter. “For the record, I am a wonderful dancer Piya.” Ansh rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Of course! How can I forget your dance steps in front of the elevator when you became Kalishaktiyo Ka Raja!” She shuddered recalling the incident. “I hate to admit it but you are right. It was really creepy.” He let out a sigh. “But you haven't answered my question yet.” He tried to shrug his wariness off and said with a smile. “What if we had never met or didn’t have any power? How would our life turn out to be?”