After finishing his work at the court, Anirudh returned to the Roy Choudhary haveli. 

He was clad in the newly-designed outfit that Bondita had ordered for him. Today, he was wearing a black dress shirt, beige pants and waistcoat, and a brooch designed as a peacock feather over his heart. 

His hair was gelled, and he had even worn glasses. After seeing the eye doctor a few months back, it was confirmed that his vision was getting slightly poorer, and he should wear them particularly for reading. It wasn't so unbearable that he always needed to wear his glasses, but in the last four months, he had gotten accustomed to them. 

Anirudh adjusted his specs as he entered the Roy Choudhary haveli, his barrister robe hung over his forearm. 

He was about to head to the study, when Batuk ran towards him, looking relieved. 

"Dada, you're finally here!" 

Anirudh had never seen Batuk this relieved to see him. He looked at his brother suspiciously. Did he get in trouble again? 

"What's wrong Batuk?" 

"Manika Didi..." Batuk started, and immediately Anirudh's heart jumped out of fear. 

"What happened to her?" he asked urgently. 

"She's in the living room... she doesn't look happy..." Batuk started, and before Batuk could finish, Anirudh rushed towards the living room. 

Batuk watched his Dada go as he finished under his breath, "Please hurry and get her off Vikram! Otherwise Vikram is going to be broken beyond repair and he will die a single man!" 

Who probably would also never have had sex! 

Batuk shuddered at the thought. 

What a sad life! 

--

Anirudh rushed to the living room, where he saw Manika on the floor, hugging Vikram. Vikram was holding her protectively. 

He immediately went to the duo and got on the floor beside them, placing his hand on Manika's shoulder. 

"Manika, I'm here," Anirudh told her, and she lifted her head slowly, looking at him with her puffy eyes. 

"Anirudh..." Manika breathed out. 

Vikram looked at Anirudh, pain still lingering in his eyes over what Manika had told him. Her condition was still hurting him. 

Anirudh reached to Manika's cheeks and wiped her tears away. 

"I'm here, Manika," he told her again reassuringly. 

Manika nodded, and then she just threw her arms around Anirudh, hugging him tightly and crying all over again. 

Vikram watched, his heart sinking.

He wasn't jealous that Bondita's Manika Didi was hugging Bondita's Pati Babu. In fact, he was relieved that Anirudh was here because he would be able to help Manika. 

Vikram was just sad, because he was reminded of his incapability all over again. He was young. In what way could he help Manika? Neither did he have any money, resources, or skill at this age. 

He was just a school-going boy. 

Nevertheless, he found solace in the fact that she was going to get the help she needed, even if he couldn't do anything for her. At least someone could. 

Perhaps he was never meant to be part of her life's equation. 

Batuk entered the living room slowly, and upon seeing Manika crying against his Dada now, he nearly smacked his head. 

First he was worried for Vikram, and now he was worried about Kaka showing up and drowning this entire haveli in Gangajal! 

Couldn't they do this hugging business privately? 

It had only been a month ago when Kaka had seen pictures in Som Dada's textbook. His extremely smart Somnath Dada had decided to bring that particular textbook to the dinner table, and it was wide open, while he was studying a very scandalous subject in public!

Kaka had seen, not just a diagram but a black and white image of a real vagina with a sexually transmitted infection, which happened to be what Somnath Dada was studying! 

He had immediately screamed, "SHIV SHIV SHIV" and gone to get his Gangajal. When Kaka came back, Som Dada, his textbook, Anirudh, Bondita, Sampoorna Maa, Batuk's Baba, Batuk, Bihari and Koeli Didi all got splashed as they regularly did! 

However, this time Sashwati also got a good dosage of the Gangajal! 

The baby was sitting on her high chair and had shivered when she got the splashing, but then she started to giggle, and looked at her Kaka fondly. 

When Sashwati started to laugh, Kaka calmed down. She had smashed her hands against the high chair, demanding with her actions to be sprayed with more Gangajal, and Kaka sprayed her lightly with the Gangajal again. 

Everyone else at the table watched with shock, how Kaka immediately forgot about the incident with Som Dada, just by merely hearing Sashwati's laughter. 

Even Som Dada used his brain for once and closed the textbook after being doused in the holy water! 

It was probably the first time he decided to close his textbook at the dinner table! 

The funniest part was, Kaka got so engrossed with splashing the Gangajal playfully at Sashwati, that he finished his whole bottle! 

Nevertheless, that dinner table was filled with Sashwati's giggles. 

What an introduction to Gangajal for the little one!

Kaka had long ordered a new stash by now, and if Kaka were to see what was happening here, nobody would be spared once again!

"I guess I'll just stand guard by the door and distract Kaka if he comes!" Batuk said to himself dramatically, before leaving the room. "Dada should consider me his hero!" 

"It's okay Manika," Anirudh comforted her, rubbing her back soothingly, on the ground beside her as he hugged her. "I won't let anyone play around with your life anymore. It's okay." 

Vikram watched, not jealous, but rather in awe of Anirudh. He could do so much. He could help people who were seriously struggling. 

Could Vikram ever be like him? 

"Anirudh... I'm scared..." Manika whispered. "What if I get... pregnant?"

"Pregnant?" Anirudh asked, furrowing his brows. 

Manika then tearfully explained to him what she told Vikram. 

Anirudh's whole body filled with so much anger when Manika narrated her experience, and Vikram shuddered as he heard her go through it again. 

"If I get pregnant, I might die," Manika cried. 

As angry as Anirudh was at her husband, he knew that the woman in front of him was extremely scared. 

"When was your last period?" Anirudh asked her directly. 

"H - huh?" she asked, looking up at him with shock. 

Vikram didn't know whether he should be here or not. What if he made Manika uncomfortable? 

He was about to leave, when Manika felt a strange feeling in her heart and she said, "Vikram, I would like it if you stay with me... too." 

Vikram stopped in his tracks and looked at her, shocked, but his heart feeling warm. 

"O - okay," he just said and sat back down on the ground beside them. 

Anirudh focused his attention on Manika and asked her again, "Just tell me Manika. When was your last period?" 

Manika gulped nervously. It was such a direct question, and she wasn't expecting it. Nevertheless, she trusted Anirudh. 

"I got it around a week and a half ago," she told him. 

Anirudh calculated in his mind. 

A week and a half. 

This meant that she was approximately 10 or 11 days into her cycle. She was heading into her fertile window, if she had a 28 day cycle. 

"Don't worry Manika," Anirudh said softly. "Nothing will happen to you. It's not that likely that you will be pregnant."

However, the fact that her husband dared to do such a heinous act was boiling Anirudh's blood! 

Manika looked down, shivering again.

"I don't know if I'm relieved or not, Anirudh," she confessed. "I feel so... hurt."  

Anirudh sighed and hugged Manika again, holding her head against his chest. 

"Manika, what that... that..." his voice cracked, his eyes getting wet now, "That monster did, was... rape." 

Tears escaped Manika's eyes as she whispered, "How Anirudh? He's my husband. Even if I was begging him not to, even if I didn't like it, w - where else would h - he go... t - to r - relieve those pleasures?" 

Vikram squeezed his eyes shut with pain when he heard this, and Anirudh just grew angry. 

"Husband? Manika, it doesn't matter who he is! Your body does not belong to him. You do not belong to him. You aren't his property, that he can use and abuse at his heart's content. You are an individual, and you deserve to be respected," Anirudh told her loudly. 

She trembled in his arms fearfully, and Anirudh softened. 

"Sorry for being loud," he apologized, "But it's the truth. I know that the law doesn't recognize marital rape as that, but that's the society's problem, and the legal system's problem. It doesn't change the fact that what is wrong is wrong!" 

"B - but Anirudh, d - don't you think... that... he didn't touch me for a long time... t - that his d - desires must have b - built... and o - only when he couldn't handle it..." Manika sobbed. 

Anirudh tried hard not to get angry again, but he couldn't. He just couldn't hold back. Ge found himself yelling again.

"Can't handle it? Manika do you even hear what you're saying? Forget sexual relations, but if I even get angry, am I allowed to go and hit Bondita, just because she's my wife?" Anirudh yelled -- he himself shuddered at such a thought. "If I hold myself back for years, is it right for me to burst in that way?" 

Manika shook her head and said, "No Anirudh." 

"Sexual desire can be suppressed, and can increase over time, yes! But that doesn't give anyone the right to take it out on anyone!" Anirudh yelled, extremely angrily, "I don't care if he's married. He has a hand, he can do what he needs to on his own!" 

Manika moved her body back and looked at Anirudh, her eyes widening at the explicit details over what he said. 

"Anirudh..." Manika just said. 

"What?!" Anirudh bellowed. 

She was hurt. She was extremely hurt by what happened at home. However, a smile appeared on her lips. 

His anger, his bold words, had given her such clarity, that she couldn't even begin to explain to him how grateful she was to him. 

She was reminded of something Bondita told her some time ago. 

"You're smiling?!" Anirudh screamed. 

"I am smiling because I'm truly blessed," Manika told him softly. 

"What?" Anirudh bellowed again. 

"For one, Vikram..." she said, her heart warming, as she glanced at the boy next to her. "In my darkest hour, he was here to comfort me immediately when I needed him." 

Vikram looked at Manika, pain still in his eyes. 

"Secondly, you... are such a character," Manika said, still smiling through her wet eyes. 

"A character?" Anirudh asked, his mouth nearly falling open. 

Was she seriously roasting him again? At a time like this? 

"You made me forget, temporarily, when you asked me about my period. You shocked me out of sadness," she told him, smiling softly. "And now, you boldly said that he has a hand, showing me that there is more than what meets the eye about subjects like rape. How easily you explain concepts, without any barriers, Anirudh. Even in a way that I can understand. Of course, I feel blessed, that I've met such an enlightening person." 

Anirudh still couldn't tell if she was roasting him or praising him. 

"But... the trauma? Aren't you... traumatized?" he asked her, his tone soft again. 

Manika nodded. 

"I was. When it happened, I was. It was scary, and painful. At one point I felt like I would rather die. However, I thought about my son. About Pratul. And when I thought about him, I felt like I could survive," she explained. "He is my greatest happiness Anirudh. It does hurt me, but I'm trying to be strong... and to be honest, I have learned from two people how to find the positive things even in dark times." 

Anirudh looked at Manika incredulously. 

"Two people?" he asked her. 

Manika nodded. 

"Yes," she said softly, "Two people. Bondita is one of them of course. No matter how tough the times are, she knows how to keep a positive mindset. And the other one is Vikram." 

Vikram looked shocked, and Anirudh turned to look at him incredulously. 

His wife and her best friend were who taught Manika how to have a positive attitude despite the dark times? 

"But this is a very severe..." Anirudh started. 

"It is severe," Manika agreed. 

Then she continued, "I told you. I'm very hurt. If I think about it, I'll be more hurt. But I learned from Bondita that ones mind is like a flashlight. You have a large room of things happening in it, and you can shine the light wherever you choose. So I have a choice. I can shine the light on the experience of what happened at home, on the pain... in return, just hurting myself more... or I can shine the light on this experience. Where I feel such love from all of you." 

Bondita was the one who taught her in Krishanagar, that when she separated from her Pati Babu, she was sad, but she was also able to find the bliss in the sadness. She had explained to her back then that bliss existed in every state of being, no matter the situation, no matter the circumstance. 

It was from this lesson of hers, that Manika had realized for the first time that Anirudh had really created a Goddess, and she had even praised her for the same. 

Anirudh looked at Manika, his heart warming. Even Vikram started to get teary-eyed as he heard her words. 

"I choose this experience, Anirudh," Manika said softly. "I choose to shine my light on all of you... my real family." 

Anirudh couldn't help but smile. 

"I'm still angry," he told her, "I won't spare your husband." 

Manika smiled and she said, "I'm admiring that too now. I'll shine my flashlight on your anger, and I'll smile now."

"Why? Because you're making fun of me?" he asked her softly, joking slightly now. 

"No, because Anirudh Roy Choudhary may be able to change his looks, but no matter how hard he tries, it seems that his anger is going to remain constant," Manika said with a small laugh. 

Vikram smiled, and Anirudh also couldn't help but smile at her insult this time. 

"Oh Manika..." Anirudh just said, his heart melting. "I admire you very, very much. And I mean that." 

"Me too, Bondita's Manika Didi," Vikram piped in. "I also mean it very much!" 

Manika turned to smile at Vikram, getting lost in his warm personality. 

"How about this? I will allow you to roast me for your entire life, if you leave your husband," Anirudh told her, bringing her focus back to him. 

A pained look reached Manika's eyes, but she took a deep breath, and nodded. 

"Last time, I was scared of what everyone would say. I was afraid for the future of my child. I also somewhere thought that he deserved one more chance," Manika explained, "But this time, I know... that I don't have it in me to give him another chance. This time, I'm ready to do as you say Anirudh."

Anirudh reached for her hands and squeezed them gently. 

"Good Manika. I'm very proud of you for this. I will make arrangements for you to stay here. And we will begin a divorce case," Anirudh told her firmly. 

At the mention of divorce, Manika's heart ached, but she pushed a smile on her face again, shining her mind's flashlight on the family in front of her. 

Vikram looked at Manika sympathetically, and Manika turned to catch his eye. Her eyes stopped on his face for a moment... a moment longer than was normal. 

She really wanted to keep her flashlight fixed right here. 

This just felt so right, for a reason she just couldn't understand. 

-- 

Precap: 

Bondita comes home, and sees Anirudh in the study. He is sitting in his chair, and has his eyes squeezed shut, looking restless and tensed. 

She approaches him and begins to give him a head massage. 

On the other hand, Vikram is staying at the Roy Choudhary haveli longer, to make sure Manika is okay. 

-- 

I really enjoyed writing this part. Did you enjoy this chapter?

What did you think of Batuk's narration of the scene with Kaka's Gangajal moment with Sashwati? Finally, Somnath initiated the Gangajal too. 

I always enjoy writing Batuk's narrations because he makes everything so funny with his commentary. For example, his dramatic commentary over the Gangajal incident. Do you like it too? 🤭

Did you enjoy the Anirudh/Manika moment? 

Anirudh's look transformation?

Manika's roasting session? 🤭

The flashlight explanation? This is extremely true. How our minds work at the moment is that the flashlight is not in our control. It shines everywhere, flickering in random places as our mind wishes. We are not our mind, but rather our mind is an extension of us, a tool just like our body! So we hold the flashlight and choose to point it where we want our awareness to go, not where our mind flickers it uncontrollably. Once we get a grip on this flashlight, our outlook towards life changes, and so does life itself. I thought that it would be a nice lesson to share with you all. ❤️

The flashlight explanation is an extension of what Bondita explained to Manika in chapter 151. 

Are you excited for the next part?

Remember to vote and comment! ❤️

Love you all so much! ❤️❤️❤️