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-- 

Kaka couldn't believe what he heard. 

His Bahu was using such derogatory language in front of him! 

Anirudh still hadn't taught her that she shouldn't use such words, especially when she didn't understand the meaning! 

On top of that, Anirudh was using the word himself in front of her, as if she was well-acquainted with it. 

"Shiv Shiv Shiv," Kaka said, "Bahu, do not speak of things you do not know about!" 

When his innocent Bahu asked Anirudh to go to the bedroom, when she said her body was ready for him, she surely didn't know the heavy meaning behind those words! 

She was certainly referring to the abuse that Anirudh could put on her, and that was what had awakened the compassion inside of Trilochan. 

It was not right for Anirudh to raise his hand on Bondita! He still remembered the other day, how her saree was ripped. 

His nephew seemed to have turned into a beast! 

"But Kakasasurji, I do know what it means," she told him bluntly. 

Trilochan nearly fainted when he heard of such a thing, and Anirudh just groaned. 

"KAKA WILL YOU LEAVE US ALONE?" Anirudh screamed, clearly not willing to give his vocal chords a rest even now. 

"Shiv Shiv Shiv, Anirudh don't use such language in front of Bahu and awaken her desires of being a wife when you won't give her what she wants!" Kaka said, "And do not raise your hand on Bahu! She doesn't deserve this! All she did was she didn't study. So what? Is the world ending?" 

Anirudh couldn't believe this! 

Even Bondita gaped at her Kakasasurji, her mouth dropping open. 

It was hitting her only now how strongly her Kakasasurji believed that nothing happened between her and her Pati Babu. 

"KAKA, I WILL SAY WHAT I WANT TO MY WIFE! WHETHER SHE HAS DESIRES OR NOT, THAT'S UP TO HER TO CONTROL THEM!" Anirudh screamed, referring to her desires of reading romance novels, "I CAN'T ALWAYS SAY YES TO WHAT SHE WANTS WHEN IT'S NOT GOOD FOR HER!" 

Bondita furrowed her eyebrows and glared at her Pati Babu now. 

Romance novels weren't poisonous like her Pati Babu was acting, and she was sure of it! 

Trilochan watched Anirudh, shaking his head. Of course he would maintain that having conjugal relations with his wife was not good for her, and Trilochan still couldn't understand why! 

Little did he know what Anirudh was really referring to. 

"AS FOR HITTING HER, DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK I WOULD DO THAT? I HAVE ALWAYS STOOD AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE!" Anirudh screamed, "DO YOU THINK I WOULD DO THAT TO MY OWN WIFE?"

As much as Anirudh was screaming, Trilochan felt quite relieved that Anirudh referred to Bondita as his wife twice in a row. 

It was still like a melody to his ears after hearing of his constant zimmedari rants for years!

"Pati Babu stop screaming please!" Bondita ordered. 

"NO!" Anirudh bellowed. 

"You really will lose your voice!" Bondita said, "And I don't want that!" 

"YOU DON'T LIKE MY VOICE RIGHT? YOU DON'T LIKE IT WHEN I YELL AT YOU? THEN LET ME LOSE IT! THERE SHOULD BE NOBODY HAPPIER THAN YOU! THEN YOU'LL GO AND DO AS YOU PLEASE FREELY!" he continued.

Bondita sighed heavily, wanting to smack her forehead with her hand. 

Even Kaka rolled his eyes now, because Anirudh seemed to have gone crazy! It seemed like his anger had died down and he was only screaming to prove a point. 

"As usual," Kaka muttered. "He's so stubborn."

"Why wouldn't I like your voice?" Bondita asked, "Please don't be stubborn and stop yelling!" 

"FINE!" he just yelled, "THEN I'LL JUST GO OUT!" 

Bondita watched with a frown, as he stormed out of the house quite dramatically. 

"He'll be back Bahu, don't worry. You know he can't stay away from you for long," Kaka said reassuringly. 

Bondita replied, looking at her Kakasasurji sadly, "I know Kakasasurji, but my heart still feels uneasy whenever he's upset. I know he's overreacting, especially just now, but I can't help but wonder whether he's right and I'm wrong."

Kaka sighed and said, "It's not like he will understand! Even when he's wrong, all he does is yell and break things!" 

Bondita smiled and she said, coming to his defense as well, "But I love him like that!" 

Kaka looked at his Bahu with surprise, and then he just said, "Then I wish you could convince him to let go of his self-control, and give you all the pleasures that a wife deserves." 

Bondita looked at her Kakasasurji with a blank expression. 

It was still beyond her head how Kaka didn't understand that they were very passionate about each other physically as well!

Little did she realize just how deeply she and Anirudh had traumatized Kaka in the past regarding this subject!

-- 

That night, Bondita waited for Anirudh in their bedroom, hoping that he had cooled down. She had finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, but she still hadn't changed out of her clothes. 

She had school in the morning, but she just couldn't rest until she saw him. 

Although she didn't believe she was at fault, their relationship was never about trying to prove themselves right by putting the other one down. 

Even if she believed she wasn't wrong, she understood him and why he was reacting this way. Bondita fully understood his perspective, his personality and his reactions, but that didn't mean she agreed. 

And just because she wanted to diffuse the situation, it also didn't mean that she agreed with him. 

When Anirudh walked in the room that night, after having spent the whole day outside, he glanced at Bondita, who was sitting in bed, removing her jewelry. 

He didn't look at her for more than a second and went to his wardrobe, taking his pyjamas before going to the bathroom and locking the door behind him. 

Bondita didn't say anything and finished removing her jewelry. 

When Anirudh came back in his pyjamas, he got in bed without another word to her. 

Neither of them said a word, but Bondita got out of bed and started to strip out of her clothes. 

Anirudh noticed her doing this, and his face flushed.

Bondita caught him looking at her as she removed her clothes, her body suddenly feeling aroused. 

Anirudh wasn't even looking away, knowing full well that she was watching him staring. 

She didn't say anything too as she stripped completely naked in front of him, a blush on her cheeks. 

The way that he was looking at her, was arousing her even more. 

Anirudh pulled the covers over his body to hide his erection, as he just watched her quietly, his heart pounding hard inside his chest. 

He was admiring those legs, those beautiful and smooth legs that he had been dreaming about for days now.

How he wanted to just pull her down on top of him, and make senseless love to her! 

Bondita started to approach him on the bed, and he gulped nervously. 

His anger had cooled down a long time ago, but he still didn't believe that she did the right thing. He was upset with her. He couldn't just succumb so easily. 

When Bondita got in bed, she got under the covers with him, and Anirudh turned his back to her, sleeping on his side. 

"I don't have the choice of sleeping with clothes like you," she finally said, breaking the silence, "You told me not to wear my night saree, so I have nothing to wear." 

Anirudh scoffed, his back still to her, and sarcastically said, "Oh, so you listen to me?"

It was a little bit like a blow to her heart when he said that, but she was confident in herself and her decision this time. 

Bondita replied, gently placing her arm around his stomach as she snuggled into his back, "I always listen to you Pati Babu." 

"Don't pretend. You didn't listen to me," he told her, sounding hurt. 

"If you'll listen to what I have to say, then I could explain it," she told him softly, running her hand down to his waistline, making his breath catch in his throat. 

"How can you explain that I told you not to read the novels, and you still did, behind my back?" Anirudh asked her. 

Bondita just simply said, "I didn't feel like it was the wrong thing to do on my breaks, and I did listen to you Pati Babu, because you always told me to use my own judgement. You always told me not to follow you, but to be strong and self-sufficient. You taught me to think for myself Pati Babu. So I did listen to you!" 

Anirudh placed his hand over hers, which was still on his waistline, gently pushing it upwards, back to his stomach, so that she didn't bring it to his dangerous zone and make it difficult for him. 

"There are still limits," he told her simply, his hand still on top of hers, "You can't do as you please. Not yet. Not until you become a barrister. I already told you, that you can do whatever you want after you become a barrister!"

Bondita knew it. His whole gripe was about her being a barrister! It was only and always about that! 

Bondita understood his concerns and fears. Even if she didn't feel the same degree of fear as him, she understood exactly why he was afraid of her getting distracted. 

Bondita replied, grabbing the material of his shirt gently, "Pati Babu, but what's wrong with romance novels? I've learned such good vocabulary from them! Plus, there really is lots to learn from them!"

Anirudh had a list of reasons why he didn't want her to read romance novels. 

One was that he was extremely protective of Bondita, and he didn't want anything to compromise her innocence! Even if she had proven that her innocence wasn't quite what he believed it to be anymore, Anirudh still believed that those things could corrupt his Bondita's mind! 

Another reason was that she chose those books over romancing with him and this was bothering him so much!

Anirudh furrowed his brows and just said, letting go of her hand, "Then why don't you go and romance with them? Why do you have me in your life!" 

It was out of jealousy and he knew it. He wanted her to romance with him. He wanted to be the one to give her all the ideas. 

She had already learned so much from the romance novels, and he had missed out on the opportunity to teach her so much!

Bondita frowned when he said this.

"How can I romance with romance novels?" she asked, "You aren't making sense!" 

"Neither are you! I asked you to study, but you're busy reading romantic things!" he told her, "Until late into the night!" 

And forgetting about me, he thought sadly. 

"I studied! I told you, you can take my test, and even Batuk's test! We both studied extremely hard!" she said defensively, letting go of her grip on his shirt. 

"Were you studying last night until the time you came to bed?" he questioned. 

"N - no," she said, her face flushing, "We started reading after we finished studying!" 

"Then why didn't you just come to the room?" he asked her, pouting slightly. "Why didn't you come to me?"

He was waiting for her. 

"Pati Babu, I'm with you every night! If I come late one night, is it really a big deal?" she asked. "Did you want me to come early? You didn't even tell me that!"  

Anirudh finally turned around to look at her. 

Big mistake. 

She looked too beautiful, that it was hard to maintain his unforgiving attitude. 

He wanted to place his lips on her soft ones, pull her body hard against his, and release all the pent up sexual frustration of the last two days. 

"Well... then... I'll just..." Anirudh mumbled. 

"What?" Bondita asked.

He sat up on the bed, looking away from her. 

He couldn't lose his mind right now -- he had forbidden her from doing something, and she had done it behind his back. 

This was another extremely important thing that was bothering him about her act. 

What lesson would he impart to her if he just caved to his desires right now? 

"Reading romance novels behind my back is not done Bondita," he said firmly, taking a deep breath, "First of all, romance novels aren't something you should be reading. At your age, all you need to do is study. Secondly, you lied to me. I'm not happy about that." 

Bondita looked at him sadly. She did hide it from him. It was true. But, what could she do, when she knew that he would never agree to it? 

If she refrained from reading them, then it would go against what she believed, and if she just listened to him, then it would go against what he believed. 

Anirudh got out of bed, quite reluctantly, not sure if what he was doing was right or not.  

"Where are you going Pati Babu?" she asked, as he looked away from her. 

"I'm going to the study," he told her. 

Bondita looked at him, shocked and sad. 

"Are you that mad at me Pati Babu?" she asked, her heart aching, "That you'll leave me here alone at night?"

"Isn't that what you've been doing Bondita? Leaving me alone at night, while you enjoyed your romance novel?" he asked sharply, still not looking at her. 

Why was he so upset that she came late to the bedroom last night? He kept on emphasizing this point!

It seemed like there was a deeper reason, but what could it be? 

"The fact that you did it behind my back..." was all he said, and he walked towards the door sadly. 

Jhooth tera uljha dhaga
Sira na haath mei aaye,
Ek bharosa hai khafa saa
Koi isse samjhaye,
Koi aasha momb si hai
Jo dhoop seh na paaye,
Tujhko ambar naapna tha
Aa gayi tu zameen par,
Tune toda kyu bharosa mera...
Rishta tera mera (x4)

Bondita watched him go, tears appearing in her eyes now. 

"Pati Babu, I won't come to the study to get you," she told him, her voice cracking as he stopped by the doorway. "Just like I chose to read the romance novel because you taught me to think for myself. You've also taught me self-respect. I... I won't chase you." 

Anirudh felt a pang in his heart when she said that, but also a feeling of pride. 

His Bondita was great. She knew the importance of self-respect and that made him happier than anything. He wanted to just ran back to her and tell her how proud he was of her! But alas, this time, he was adamant to not give in so easily.  

"And respecting myself... is respecting you..." she told him, tears sliding down her cheeks, "It's respecting your morals, your values, the knowledge you have imparted to me. You have... given me... myself. You have shown me who I am. How can I not r - respect the gift from my God?" 

Anirudh felt his heart ache, as he heard her confession, her take on the self-respect for which he had pushed the two of them to extreme circumstances so that she could build. His heart hurt when she referred to him as her God again. 

More than anything, Anirudh wanted to run back to his Bondita, and tell her to forget all about it, that they could move on.

But what conclusion would their clash of opinions have if he did this? 

Many fought out of anger, with venomous intentions, but Anirudh and Bondita weren't fighting because they were mad at each other or trying to prove themselves right. 

Rather, they were quarreling in a way where their love wasn't suffocating in the fire of their disagreements.

They were arguing in a healthy way, a way which wasn't toxic or demeaning to each other. 

Bondita took a deep breath and added on softly, "I hope you understand now why I chose to read the novels against what you said." 

He needed time to think about it. To understand what he should do, and how he should take this forward.

Anirudh would never do something that was harmful to his Bondita and her growth.

This was why, he needed space that night, because he couldn't trust himself and the way he was reacting anymore. 

Even the best of people needed to go away for clarity sometimes, and that was perfectly okay. 

Respecting myself is respecting you. I hope you understand now why I chose to read the novels against what you said.

Her words played in his ears, almost like a haunting melody as he walked out of the room. 

--

Precap: 

"Bahurani, Barrister Babu has asked for two sets of files," Bihari explains the next day to Bondita, right after school. "One set is in your bedroom, and one is in the study." 

"I'll get it Bhaari Babu," Bondita says, in her school uniform. 

Bondita recalls the time that her Pati Babu informed her of some confidential files in the secret drawer of his desk, and she decides to try to open it, in case the file he is looking for is in there. 

She uses keys one by one until the drawer finally opens. 

When she sees what's inside, her eyes widen with shock. 

-- 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 

Sometimes, the way people behave don't make sense, especially when their minds are clouded by many things, and hence you might be confused by Anirudh (I hope I explained it well though). Human emotions can be complicated, but I tried to keep it realistic. 

Anirudh's arousal for Bondita from many days, his overprotective nature regarding her, the way she hid this from him, and didn't listen to him... it's a lot to take in for someone, and hence he's reacting this way. He's just feeling a lot of things inside, and needs some space so he collects himself and his thoughts. 

I promise the next 2-3 parts are going to be super interesting and I'm so excited for it! 

So please do vote and comment on the chapter, and if this gets a good response, I'll try to get the next part to you ASAP as well!

Also I've updated Soham: Born To Love You Chapter 6 (Her Rakshak Babu), so do check that out from my profile too. 

Love you all so, so much! ❤️