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--

Bondita figured out that this was probably related to a case, but that still didn't stop her from looking at Anirudh with a slight glare for making this personal. 

She knew that he would never do that! 

"Pati Babu, you would never -" Bondita started. 

"If I did?" Anirudh interrupted, looking at her with a serious expression. He had a crinkle on his forehead and he urged, holding her against his lap, "Answer me Bondita." 

She shook her head and retorted, "Fine, but do you think I would say no?"

Anirudh looked at her with a small smile now. He had long come to accept that his innocent Bondita was not as innocent as he believed. 

"And if you are in pain? If you are sick? If you just don't want to one day, and I still force it?" Anirudh pressed on. 

Bondita's glare got harder, and Anirudh winced slightly from under her. She had the upper hand because she was sitting on his legs. 

An amused smile almost appeared on his lips, as the image of Bondita gripping his neck and choking him from this position flooded his mind. He was finding the image quite hot. 

"Pati Babu, there is no question of my will not being there!" she continued. "I trust you fully! I know that if you do it, then somewhere it'll only be for my good!" 

Anirudh looked at Bondita with a serious expression again and he said, "Bondita, what if I lose my way, and it's not for your good? What if I really force it?"

Bondita was getting upset now. 

"Fine, even if it's for my bad, I still trust you fully! If you want to have sex with me, even if I'm dying, I will give you my consent. My body is yours!" 

Anirudh shook his head slowly, not liking her answer. 

He knew how devoted she was to him, and he knew they were one, that there was no question of harming each other, because if they ever tried, it would be no different from hurting their own self.

However, he still wanted her to say she would punish him! Maybe it was his stubbornness, maybe it was his desire. He wanted to hear those words. 

"Pati Babu, I have given full authority to the one who has built me to break me too! My creator can destroy me!" Bondita continued. "Not once will I complain! I will be very happy to live in ruins for you!"

Anirudh looked at her incredulously. 

"And even that's with my consent! So how can you do anything without my consent? It's not possible!" she finished. 

Anirudh smiled at her passion over this subject, her passion over him, and said, "Alright my dear Bondita, I surrender. Replace me and you with another husband and a wife, where the wife does not and should not see her husband as God."

Bondita huffed and she said, "That sounds more like it. Next time don't make things so personal, otherwise I'll give you a lecture again!" 

Anirudh smiled at his Patni Devi. 

"So, what should another woman do to get that other husband punished?"

After a few moments of thought, Bondita said, "Pati Babu, I haven't studied enough law, but from what I have come to know, is that women don't get that many rights." 

"Precisely," Anirudh said with a sigh. "Bondita, my biggest concern is separating her from her husband. I need a divorce to be filed, and her to get custody of her son." 

Bondita looked at Anirudh with concern. For some reason, this was feeling extremely personal, like this was about someone that they knew. 

"Pati Babu... is this..." she started, feeling nervous about the possibility. 

"Manika, yes," Anirudh confirmed. 

Bondita's eyes widened, and Anirudh felt her shake slightly on his lap. He gripped her harder against him and said, "I know you're upset, but I need your help Bondita. I don't think I can do this without you." 

Bondita looked at him, her eyes coating with tears. 

"Against her consent, he...?" she questioned, her heart aching. 

Anirudh nodded sadly, and he felt the fury in her body, the fire burning through her system. 

"How could anyone, without consent?" Bondita asked, tears streaming down her cheeks. "A wife is not a property! A woman isn't a sex object!" 

Anirudh nodded in agreement. 

"She gave him a child! He should be treating her as a Goddess, and instead he did this?!" Bondita bellowed. 

"I am angry too," Anirudh told her softly. 

He wrapped his arms around Bondita's back, one of his hands moving to her head and gently resting it against him. 

"Calm down Bondita, I know you're mad, but we have to think about this rationally." 

-- 

"Are you comfortable?" Vikram asked Manika, as she sat on the bed in the guest room. "Is there anything I can bring for you?"

Manika looked at Vikram, a soft smile on her lips. "You're here by my side and supporting me, Vikram. I don't need anything more from you. It's more than I ever could have asked for."

Vikram just looked at Manika, trying hard not to lose himself.

It was like every second he looked at her, he was falling in love all over again. 

He didn't know how this happened. It was magical. 

It was like the moment he saw her, everything in his system just knew, without a doubt that he wanted to get closer to her. He wanted to get to know her more and more. However, he was also aware that there was no possibility of them being together. 

But that was okay! He didn't need to be with her! He was happy just loving her from afar!  

--

"Kaka doesn't know yet," Anirudh murmured, after Bondita calmed down. "He hasn't come home yet. I don't know how to convince him to let her stay here."

Bondita murmured against Anirudh, "I'll talk to him." 

Anirudh didn't know how Kaka had been dancing to Bondita's tunes for the last four months, but he was in awe of this change. 

"This is big, Bondita, do you think he will --" 

That was when he heard Sashwati's cries outside the study. 

"Sounds like he's back," Anirudh said, "Let's go and tell him." 

Bondita nodded, and got off Anirudh's lap.

They both went the hall where Kaka just walked in with a crying Sashwati. Sampoorna came rushing out to see what was wrong, and took Sashwati from Kaka's arms. 

When Sampoorna left with Sashwati, Anirudh approached Kaka and informed him that Manika would be staying with them. 

"Her home isn't safe for her Kaka," Anirudh explained, "So I've told her she can stay with us. She's in the guest room." 

Last time that Anirudh had allowed Manika to stay at the Krishnanagar residence, Kaka was already displeased. There had already been rumors about Anirudh's and Manika's affair, and on top of that, she had lived with them. That time, Kaka didn't make a big deal out of it because Anirudh had bought that property himself. 

However, the Roy Choudhary haveli was not solely Anirudh's. 

"She can't stay here," Kaka said firmly, "This isn't a charity house." 

Bondita stepped forward, beside Anirudh and asked, "Then where would she go Kakasasurji? She's our friend. If we don't open our house to our friends when they need it, where can they go?" 

Trilochan eyed Bondita and said, "I'm not saying you shouldn't help her. If she's your friend, then certainly help her. But not in this residence. She can stay in one of our farmhouses." 

"All by herself?" Bondita gasped. 

Anirudh shook his head firmly and said, "I won't let her stay by herself." 

"Is there a problem with that?" Kaka demanded. 

"Of course there is! She has never lived alone in her life. I'm not saying she won't be able to, but she needs emotional support!" Anirudh argued. "Right now, until I know that her husband is not a threat to her, until I know she's emotionally stable, and until she has a means of passing time -- which means she should do some work, I cannot let her live alone!" 

Bondita agreed with Anirudh, and then said, "Kakasasurji, but if you want Manika Didi to live at the farmhouse, I won't refuse you." 

Trilochan gave a victorious smile. His Bahu was so smart and reasonable! She knew his plight!

"But on one condition," Bondita continued, "And that is, that I'll go and stay at the farmhouse with her." 

Trilochan's smile fell immediately, and even Anirudh turned to look at Bondita with shock. He turned back to Kaka and glared at him. 

"If Bondita goes, then I'm going too!" Anirudh threatened. 

Trilochan felt heartbroken all over again! His Bahu really didn't understand his plight after all!

Kaka sighed heavily and gripped his cane hard. 

"Fine," he finally agreed, "She can stay here!"

Both Anirudh and Bondita looked at each other with smiles. 

"I can't have my Bahu leave this house," Kaka huffed, and then stormed away. 

Anirudh looked at Bondita, and raised his eyebrow asking, "He can't have you leave this house, but he doesn't care if I leave?" 

Bondita giggled and she said lightly, "I'm sure he can't have you leave too Pati Babu. He just knows that you will follow me wherever I go! So if I stay, you will automatically stay!"

Anirudh just looked at her with a smile.  

"Seriously Bondita, what magic have you done to Kaka, where he listens to everything you say?" Anirudh asked. 

Bondita remembered back to that day fondly. 

"Just know that your Barrister Babu Bondita has won Kakasasurji's heart with her tarks!" she said cheerfully. 

Anirudh was curious about what those tarks were, and why she needed to use them, but Bondita had said in a sad tone before he could ask anything more, "But Manika Didi... let me go and see her." 

He just nodded, and let her go to see her Manika Didi. He knew how worried she was about her. 

-- 

In the bedroom, Vikram had pulled a chair beside Manika's bed, and the two of them were talking. 

"Do you remember when you read me books during my pregnancy?" Manika asked him. 

"Yes! Did you like it? I can read you books again," Vikram suggested. 

"I would love that," Manika told him with a smile, "I don't know how to read or write, otherwise I wouldn't bother you so much." 

"Why don't I teach you that?" Vikram asked. "You'll probably be here for some time anyways, so I can teach you how to read and write!" 

"That means you'll come here often?" Manika asked, surprised. 

Vikram smiled, and nodded. 

"I already come here often, but I don't mind coming even more often for you," he admitted. 

Manika just smiled again, wondering what a nice boy he was. 

"You take such good care of me Vikram. You always have," she told him softly, "Why?"

Vikram looked at Manika in wonder, his heart feeling warm. 

If only... if only I could tell you the reason why... he thought. 

"It's because you're so kind, Bondita's Manika Didi," Vikram told her with a grin, "You're so strong, and a very nice person. How can I not care about you?" 

Manika smiled once more at him, feeling touched. 

That was when Bondita entered the room. 

When she entered, she saw the smile on both Manika and Vikram's faces -- they were both smiling as if nothing had happened earlier. 

The heavy feeling in Bondita's chest immediately vanished, seeing her Manika Didi's genuine smile. But then she glanced at Vikram, and the heavy feeling returned again. 

He loved her Manika Didi. 

This must be hurting him a lot. 

Manika and Vikram both turned to look at Bondita. 

"Bondita!" Manika said with a smile, and Bondita went and sat on the bed beside Manika. 

Bondita immediately hugged her Manika Didi tightly, and Manika hugged Bondita back, resting her head against Bondita's shoulder, feeling very loved. 

"Thank you Bondita," Manika just whispered, as Bondita held her dearly. 

"You don't have to say anything Manika Didi, Pati Babu told me everything. And we will get you out of the mess," Bondita told her. 

Vikram stood up and left the room, in order to give the two girls space. 

After Bondita broke the hug, she looked at Manika's face. Her eyes were swollen, as if she had been crying earlier, but she looked better now. 

"Where's Pratul?" Bondita asked. 

"He's at home, with my family..." 

"You mean your husband's family?" Bondita questioned, also with a slight correction. 

"Yes," Manika agreed. 

"How can they be your family when they never gave you any support? They treated you like an outsider, never as family," Bondita said softly. 

Manika just looked down sadly. 

"It's alright," Bondita told her with a smile, "Because you have a family with you." 

She reached for Manika's hand and gripped it firmly. 

Manika smiled again and she said, "You all are my best family. I don't know what I would have done without all of you." 

"Is Pratul safe?" Bondita then asked softly, her heart feeling warm to know that Manika Didi considered them her best family. 

"Yes, they treat him like a Prince," Manika told her. "I know they would never harm him. That's why I was able to leave from there without him. Actually, I did want to bring him with me, but I didn't know what would happen to me so I thought... it's best if I leave him behind... just temporarily, until I figure things out." 

Bondita nodded and she said, "I'm glad that you came here. If you brought Pratul too, maybe they would have harmed you." 

Manika looked down sadly. 

It was ridiculous, in Bondita's eyes, how someone could treat Manika's son like he was royalty, but treat that same son's mother like she was an outsider. 

"Do you have any wounds?" Bondita asked softly. "Does it hurt anywhere?" 

A flash of pain reached Manika's eyes. Other than the wound in her heart, that meant...

"I fell down while running. On my leg," Manika whispered, and she lifted her saree slightly to show Bondita a wound on her leg. 

It was on the lower part of her leg, and the blood had dried up, but Bondita knew that she should get it dressed. 

"Anywhere else?" Bondita asked softly. 

Manika shook her head. 

"I'll get ointment and come," Bondita said softly. 

After Bondita left the room, she went to get the first aid box. On the way back up, she noticed Vikram standing in the hallway. 

"Vikram, are you okay?" Bondita asked him softly. 

"Me? Yeah..." Vikram said with a nod. 

"Being around Manika Didi, is it hurting you?" she asked. 

"No, never!" Vikram said, his eyes wide. "It makes me happy!" 

Bondita smiled at him. 

"Even if she doesn't return your feelings?" Bondita asked. 

"Of course Bondita! I never want to force my feelings on her! And I never ever expected for her to ever like me!" 

That was a lot of nevers and evers in a sentence, but Bondita got his point!

Bondita grinned and she said, "That's the proper way to love! Here you go Vikram, you dress Manika Didi's leg!" 

"Me?" Vikram gasped, eyes wide, "How can I touch her leg? You do it Bondita!" 

"Oh please! She loves you!" Bondita said, "I mean, maybe not in that way, but she adores you a lot! And she isn't so shy that she would rather have me dress her leg. She won't treat you any differently."

"But still Bondita, it's a woman's leg!" 

Batuk happened to just be passing by at this moment, and he rolled his eyes when he overheard Vikram say it was a woman's leg. 

"Have you never seen girl's legs before?" Batuk asked bluntly. "What's the big deal?" 

Bondita turned to face Batuk and said defensively, "The big deal is that Vikram respects my Manika Didi and doesn't want to make her uncomfortable!" 

"Boudi, he's only concerned because he's uncomfortable! Vikram is shy!" Batuk said. "And why should he dress Manika Didi's wound? You do it! Don't put Vikram through such agony!" 

"Please, agony?" Bondita huffed, "He would be the happiest, just being beside her!" 

"He will get his heart broken," Batuk argued. 

"He won't, because he can get rejected a million times, but he will smile just because he can love her!" Bondita argued back. 

"That's ridiculous!" Batuk argued. 

"Just because you don't know what true love is Batuk, doesn't mean that it's ridiculous!" Bondita snapped. 

Batuk furrowed his eyebrows, feeling offended. 

Vikram gulped and looked between Bondita and Batuk.

"Go Vikram, go and take care of Manika Didi. If she does get uncomfortable then call me," Bondita huffed. "But I'm sure she won't be. And I'm sure she will love your positive energy more than my worried one!" 

Vikram replied, "Your energy isn't an anxious energy. You also have positive energy Bondita!" 

"Vikram, I'm your Sakha right?" Batuk demanded, not liking the way this was going, "Then don't go in there, and do not take care of her! Let Dada and Boudi deal with her!" 

Vikram gulped again. 

"Batuk you can't order Vikram around!" Bondita snapped. 

"Neither can you!" Batuk snapped back. 

"I'm not ordering him! I only told him to do what he already wants to do, but is too nervous to do!" Bondita said, "You're trying to force him away from her, and that will make him sad!" 

"That's a hopeless path he's on!" Batuk argued.

Vikram just nervously backed away from the two of them and slipped inside the room with the medical supplies. After all, being in here was better than being in the crossfire of his two best friends!

"Batuk please, I don't want to talk about this matter!" Bondita continued.

"Boudi, stop me if you can, but I won't let my best friend get hurt by loving someone who he should not love under any circumstances!" Batuk fought back, and then stormed away. 

Bondita watched Batuk go, shaking her head slowly. 

"Who are you to decide who someone should and should not love Batuk?!" Bondita yelled out after him, but Batuk had already turned the corner. 

-- 

Inside the room, Vikram sat back down on his chair with the box that he carried inside. 

"Bondita told me about your leg. She asked me to... to..." Vikram gulped nervously, as Manika watched him curiously. 

"To dress it?" she asked. 

"Yes... to... dress it..." Vikram confirmed. 

Manika without even thinking, lifted her saree up slightly, to show Vikram the wound. 

"It's here," she told Vikram, "But I don't want to trouble you. I can dress it myself." 

"No no! Please!" Vikram said. "I would love to --" 

He blushed hard. 

"I mean, it would be my honour to take care of you." 

Manika smiled at Vikram, and he moved to the bed, sitting in front of her leg, his hands shaking.

How was he going to do this? 

"So Vikram, I was thinking --" Manika started, as Vikram put some solution on a small sterile cloth and gently dabbed at Manika's wound, cleaning it up. Her leg shook. 

"Sorry, does that hurt?" Vikram asked, looking up at her nervously. 

"It's okay," Manika said, taking a deep breath. It did burn, but she knew that this was the process.

Vikram nodded and finished dabbing the wound. 

"What were you thinking?" he asked her, as his shaking hands removed the cloth and then reached for some ointment. "You said you were thinking something?"

"I would love to learn how to read and write from you, of course, but you're probably very busy. You go to school, so you have so much homework to do too," Manika said, "I don't want to come in between you and your studies." 

Vikram dabbed some ointment on the wound, his heart beating fast as the skin of finger grazed against her bare leg. 

"It's - it's not any issue," Vikram gulped, "I - I have plenty of free time." 

Manika wondered why he was stammering, so she asked, "Are you sure?" 

Vikram nodded, as he got the bandage, and started to wrap it around her leg gently. 

"I'm completely sure," he told her softly. 

"Okay," Manika just said, and she looked at how hard Vikram focused on dressing her leg. It was like he was trying to do everything perfectly. 

A smile appeared on her lips, and she couldn't stop herself from admiring him, as he wrapped her leg with the bandage. 

Not only was he caring, not only did he make her feel like she was alive, but today, she was really noticing that he was handsome. 

She had known Bondita since she was 13, and had seen her as she grew up. So she always thought that Bondita's friends, were young like her. 

However, now that she looked hard, not only had Bondita grown up into a physically and mentally beautiful woman, Vikram also looked like a man. He was also good-looking, and also mentally mature. 

"Your wife will be so lucky," Manika just said, in a daze, a small smile on her lips. 

"Huh?" Vikram asked, looking up at her, as he finished with her bandage. 

"I just said your wife is going to be so lucky," Manika said. 

Vikram looked at her with a forced smile and said, "I don't think I'll ever get married." 

"What? Why?" Manika gasped. 

"I don't want to," Vikram just said, looking down. 

He finished in his head, If it isn't with you, I don't want to. 

"What about after a few years?" Manika asked, "Maybe you'll change your mind." 

"I don't think so," Vikram murmured. 

"There must be a reason?" Manika questioned. 

"Yes... there is..." Vikram confirmed. 

"And?" 

"The reason is... you." 

Manika looked at him, her eyes wide. 

-- 

Precap: 

Anirudh agrees to Vikram teaching Manika how to read and write. While he's working on the divorce proceedings in the background, he gets Bondita started on cases with him. 

The promo scene happens where she reads a property dispute case, and instead, glances at his barrister robe, wondering when she would get to make love to her Barrister Babu!

As the lessons on how to read and write continue, Vikram and Manika get closer. 

Batuk on the other hand, is getting increasingly worried about his best friend, and at school, Surabhi notices his tension. 

One day, Batuk and Surabhi are alone... 

-- 

That precap was half a promo. 😂 Did you enjoy this chapter?

Vikram told Manika that the reason he didn't want to get married is her. What will happen now? How will she react? 

What did you think about Batuk and Bondita's fight?  

Did you like the beginning scene where Bondita explains to Anirudh about their relationship and her faith in him, and her response to Manika's situation? 

Bondita is about to fantasize about her Barrister Babu while she works on cases with him, are you excited for this? 🤭

A Suratuk scene is coming up. Will they break their months long silence? Will Batuk's *cough* ahem dream come true? 🤭

Are you excited for Vikram/Manika's lessons? 

How about Anirudh/Bondita's lessons? 🤭

Do you want the next chapter soon? 

I'm thinking of writing another promo for this track, because believe it or not, there are some interesting revelations in here. There are two important things that will be revealed, and they're both related to Anidita. Can you guess what will be revealed and to who? 🤭

Do remember to press star and comment for faster updates. 

Love you all very much. ❤️