He tossed & turned restlessly. He had initially exulted in his twin triumph. Defeating the wily Indrani by whisking off her daughter right under her nose & then have Chandni under his complete control.
He no longer had to budget for the mandatory distance or society defined boundaries. This was Allahabad not London. Here the husband is purported to have absolute right over his wife. What happened within the confines of the four walls between a husband & wife is rarely questioned. He could do as he please. Chandni had feared the horror of forced intimacy. He would never subject her to that. He may hate her but he was still human. But his thirst for revenge was yet to be quenched. His first goal to antagonize her family & separate her from their protection had been achieved. But his blood lust ran unchecked. He had to draw blood. Hence he had sunk to plain pettiness & abuse.
He knew her legs were already hurt but he chose to ignore her discomfort, her pain. Had she not made him walk on glass shards. She had drawn first blood 16 years back & now it was his turn. Suffer she will & he would rejoice at her pain, watch her slow destruction in his hands.
Then why did he feel restless. She had not spoken a word since he had left her to her misery & commandeered the bed. But sleep remained elusive. Though he pretended to sleep every few minutes he kept stealing glimpses of her. Despite his mind's firm command his eyes seemed to have a mind of its own... Or may be it obeyed the diktats of the heart rather than the mind. He felt himself reluctantly drift off & an uneasy slumber crept over him.
He woke up with a start. His throat was parched & he longed for water. He got down from the bed & his eyes collided with the figure at the center of the room.
Damn he had almost forgotten her presence. Something did not look right. There were still remnants of sleep clinging to him & hence both his vision & thinking were hazy. He suddenly noticed her sway. He almost ran to hold her before she crashed.
She was shivering violently her lehenga poor protection against the bitterly cold night. His foot felt wet. He confusedly looked down to discover dark stains on the light rose petals.
Blood... Hers...
Breath left him in a whoosh. He recollected her leg being injured in that melee at the wedding. His heart raced ahead. Her eyes were closed. He realized she was hovering in between consciousness & unconsciousness.
Not aware but not completely oblivious either.
His eyes yet again were drawn to her legs & his vision was strangely hazy. Must be sleep he concluded till the wetness on his cheeks ruthlessly dispelled that conclusion.
He was crying... For her... At her pain...
He was furious. He wanted to fling her away. Wanted to hurt himself badly. Wanted to strangle her. Wanted to sweep her into his arms. He was no longer making sense even to himself.
Remember Cheeko your fire of revenge will burn not just Chandni but devour you as well...
His nani's words reverberated in his ears.
His eyes were drawn to her face. There was tear tracks on her cheeks. Her kajal was smudged. Her hair slightly unkempy but she still managed to look beautiful. Her beauty hurt him. He wanted to hurt someone. Her. Himself. Anyone.
He took in a ragged breath & before he could change his mind carried her over to the bed & laid her carefully as if she were a fragile doll which would easily break.
I thought you were fragile like glass but turns out you are hard like stone...
Again memories of words spoken in the past.
He stared at her for a long time & let out a sigh.
He stepped into the bathroom to come out with the First Aid kit. He started to work on her wound. He cleaned & bandaged it. Since she was still shivering violently he reduced the temperature of the air conditioner & covered her with a thick blanket.
He almost smiled watching her cuddle & burrow into the warmth of the blanket. Now that she had monopolized his bed he did not feel like sleeping on it. He might be affected by her pain but he had still not thawed enough to be comfortable with her nearness.
He sat down on the chair near the bed & continued to stare at her sleep. Strangely he no longer felt restless. Sleep embraced him.
Thus ended Day 1 of Advay & Chandni as husband & wife. Close yet divided by a gulf of misunderstanding. Apart from each other but strangely entwined together by a twisted fate & shared pain.
Time will tell where their paths will lead but for now they slept peacefully, unconsciously each drawing strength from the other.
Cricket
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Fan Fictions
