This chapter was one which took a lot of energy for me to write, and I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. So I would love your thoughts throughout the chapter! 

Enjoy, and remember to press star on the chapters if you're eager for more. 💕

--

The Roy Choudhary haveli was about to witness an emotional catastrophe. 

Inside Batuk's room, he told Surabhi, "It's getting late. Kaka might be here soon."

"What if he's already here?" Surabhi asked, as she headed to the door.

"Just walk past him and pretend you don't exist," Batuk said lightly, as he opened the door for her, and glanced in the hall to make sure the coast was clear. "I would walk with you, but if he sees us together, he'll know for sure. He has hawk eyes!"

"If he's there, I'll just say that I came to look for Bondita, and I'm leaving because I found out she isn't here."

She was about to leave, when she paused and quickly pecked a kiss on Batuk's cheek, causing him to grin at her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered, and started to make her way through the hallway to the staircase.

As she was rushing to the staircase, Somnath was coming out of his room, and he knocked right into Surabhi, nearly toppling over, and making her almost topple over too!

"Oh, sorry Mr. SRC!" Surabhi said immediately, as she caught her balance, and adjusted her mauve coloured knee-length frock. 

Somnath frowned and glanced at the direction Surabhi had come in. Batuk's room. What was his younger brother doing with this girl in his room? 

He had to set Batuk straight. He was worried that Batuk would get incredibly sick at this rate, if he kept allowing foreign objects near him!

"You must be busy! You're always studying your medical textbooks, and I just wasted your valuable time! I'm so sorry!"

"I'm a doctor already. I am not so busy," Somnath said to her, a light flush on his cheeks.

"Oh! Congratulations! Well I have to go. I'm so sorry again!"

Then she ran away from there.

Once she left his line of sight, Somnath touched his chest where she had bumped into him and said, "Oh yeah... germs." And he brushed his shirt with the palm of his hands, as if doing so could cause the germs to fall off!

--

On her way down, Trilochan caught Surabhi there, but he was in too much of a panicked state to say or think of anything right now.

What would happen to his Bahu and his waaris?

Surabhi noticed the tensed expression on everyone's face, and lingered by the front area, a little concerned about what had happened. 

Batuk appeared not long after, and upon seeing the commotion, he looked around with shock. 

"What will happen to Bondita?" Sampoorna was crying, looking tensed.

"What happened to Boudi?" Batuk asked, panicking over Sampoorna's tone, and seeing how out of it his Big D and Kaka looked. He saw that Surabhi was still there, and she joined him as Sampoorna explained how she was missing. 

Batuk's eyes widened, his heart beating fast out of panic, as Surabhi gasped. 

Manika had also appeared at that point in the living room, just as Anirudh got hold of the car keys.

"Anirudh what's wrong?" she asked.

"Bondita... she's lost! Or missing! I don't know," Anirudh said, sounding like he could cry. "I'm going to go and find her."

"Don't go alone. I'll come with you," Manika offered, tension filling her heart, as she too grew worried for Bondita.

"I'll look for her too!" Batuk's voice said, as he rushed to his Dada, Surabhi joining him. 

"Stay put," Anirudh hissed at him. 

"B - But --" 

"No, Batuk. I won't hear anything. I already have Bondita to worry about, don't make me worry about you too. You stay right here."

"Please..." Batuk whimpered, sounding scared. 

"Batuk! What did I say?" Anirudh yelled at him. "I've already lost Bondita, if I lose you too, then do you think I'll be okay?"

Batuk's heart softened when his Dada said those words to him, almost like he was on par with his Boudi in his life.

First baby, he was of his Big D after all! 

"Okay... I'll... stay..." Batuk said nervously, not feeling great about staying back, but not wanting to add to his tensions either. 

Vikram, who had left earlier, returned because he left his textbook behind. As soon as he entered the haveli, he went over to Anirudh, Manika, Batuk, and Surabhi. Manika quickly explained to him that Bondita was missing, and dread appeared on Vikram's face as well. 

Vikram turned to look at Anirudh who only had tension and fear on his face. 

"How can I help?" he asked.

"Vikram, you stay back with Batuk. Make sure he doesn't go out," Anirudh ordered. 

Vikram's eye caught Surabhi's, and then a terrified looking Batuk's. He put aside all feelings of disappointment for his best friend and nodded at Anirudh. 

"Good," Anirudh said, and placed a trembling hand on Vikram's shoulder, as if resting his hand there could cause him comfort. 

Vikram looked at Anirudh with wide eyes. He knew that the situation was serious, but he couldn't help it. His heart was beating so fast and a flushed expression reached his face when the Anirudh Roy Choudhary's hand rested on his shoulder, almost as if he was relying on him. 

"I will not be a cause for your disappointment!" Vikram announced. 

"I know," Anirudh said, and squeezed Vikram's shoulder, causing Vikram's face to turn red. 

Manika noticed the expression on Vikram's face, and she couldn't help the slight smile that formed on her lips. If the situation wasn't so serious right now, she could tease him about this. 

"Bondita's Pati Babu, don't you worry. Bondita is strong. She will be fine," Vikram told him. "I'm sure nothing has happened to her." 

Anirudh forced a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. 

That was when Binoy and Somnath appeared too, along with Bihari and Koeli. Koeli looked alarmed to hear that Bondita had gone missing, and Bihari looked like he could faint, as he burst out crying, "Chhoti Malikin! What has happened to our Chhoti Malikin?"

Somnath's eyes were wide with shock, not expecting this kind of drama to be happening in this household. In his heart, he did feel a sad sensation that Bondita was missing, but he pushed it away. 

"Always making Dada worry," he grumbled underneath his breath. "This is why Dada shouldn't have taught her to drive... nor should he have married her." 

Binoy just announced, "Our Bahu is missing! Da, let's deploy the police!" 

Trilochan nodded, tears in his eyes, and he said, "We will have to, but if word gets out that our Bahu was out of the house all night... let's just look for her first."  

"P - police?" Anirudh said, nodding. Yes that sounded like a good idea. "Let's call them!" 

"Wait, but what if calling the police puts her in more danger? If someone took Bahu, then they won't want the police to catch them," Binoy pressed on. "What if to hide their crime... they..." He couldn't even finish speaking of such a foreboding thought.  

Anirudh's eyes widened with fear at the idea of someone taking Bondita. 

"N - no, who will take Bondita?" Anirudh questioned, his heart beating terrifyingly fast. Even in the depths of his heart he knew... who wouldn't take Bondita? She was perfect, ideal... the material for anyone to fulfill their selfish needs, as long as she was kept quiet, because according to everyone except Anirudh, her voice was her only weakness. 

His system was filled with sudden fear, and he started to shake violently. 

"Anirudh!" Manika gasped as she saw his state. "Calm down." 

Kaka ran up to Anirudh and grabbed his shoulders. "Anirudh, have faith in Durga Maa! Durga Maa won't let anything happen to Bahu or your child!" 

His child? 

Anirudh had been so focused on Bondita, that he hadn't even thought about the possibility of his... child being in danger. What if... his child... no. The thought was filling him with even more dread. He shook his head violently, sweat building on his forehead. 

Durga Maa. Kaka had said Durga Maa. 

Anirudh rushed over to Durga Maa and took a burning diya, picking it up and holding it in front of her. There was fear, but also a deep intensity in his wet eyes, his hair matted with sweat. Everyone was watching from behind with wide eyes. 

"Durga Maa..." Anirudh started, looking at her. 

Somehow, in the time after he married Bondita, he had also formed a connection with the big Durga Maa here... along with the chhoti Durga Maa, who was undoubtedly his Bondita. He remembered when Bondita demanded sindoor in her emotional state, crying like a child as she had a pregnancy mood swing. It was this Durga Maa that had helped him find sindoor for his pregnant wife, so early that morning! 

"You've been there... for Bondita, and for me," he told her, intensity in his eyes. "I cannot comprehend your vast plan. I'm too small of a person, in this big universe to understand. I can only trust you... that you have a great plan for her." His voice was trembling. "You... have brought us together, for a reason... you c - cannot snatch that reason away from us. Maybe we made mistakes along the way, but does that mean that our whole life's purpose will have gone down the drain? I... am nobody to request anything of you, when you are the mother of this entire universe. Nobody can love us, more than you... we are your children. You have created us... but..." 

His voice grew in intensity, "But Bondita... she may be yours Durga Maa, but in this lifetime, she's mine. She may be your child, throughout lifetimes, but in this place, she is my baby." 

"You've brought us both here together, so you would know how deep our bond was going to be. When getting us married through the universe's conspiracy, wouldn't you know what she would mean to me?" He brought his free hand down to his waist, his voice cracking, "W - When she came here she was tiny. This small. A baby. I had to become her mother first, then..." He choked through his emotions, "Then... she became my student, who I sought to empower." Tears flooded his eyes, and he brought his hand up a little more, just above his stomach. "She grew this big, and became my best friend. You trapped her in a place like Hira Mandi... and she was never the same again. But she became mature. My b - baby, she grew, and became my best friend."

His voice was hoarse, as he continued. "This tall she had been," he indicated to his chest and then his shoulder, "When she became my wife. Even though we were married long ago, she was never my wife. I n - never allowed it... nor w - was she ready." His voice trembled like a little child's who was in great emotional distress, "But you knew right? From the day you brought me to her, you knew that this would happen." 

Tears flooded his eyes furthermore and he asked, "How wouldn't you know? When Bondita and my connection is beyond this lifetime. We are like pearls from your eyes, who manifested from you... for you... and will immerse back into you. But Durga Maa... I'm not ready to let her go... I w-won't be. Just like your consort is empty without you, her consort is empty without her too."

He took a deep breath, the intensity increasing, the flame from the diya scalding his palm, surely leaving a red mark. 

"THEREFORE IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO MY BONDITA, NOBODY WILL BE SPARED! RIVERS OF BLOOD WILL FLOW THROUGH THE STREETS OF TULSIPUR, DROWNING ALL THOSE WHO REMAIN STANDING!" there was high intensity in his deep voice, as it echoed across the walls of the haveli. 

Everyone was shivering from behind, not expecting to see this fiery side of Anirudh. 

"NOT ONLY WILL I DIE, BUT I WILL BRING DESTRUCTION ALL AROUND ME BEFORE I GO!" his voice was sending chills to everyone's spine. "SHE IS MY CLARITY. WITHOUT BONDITA, ANIRUDH IS MUDDLED. I WILL BE A HEART WITHOUT A BEAT, A BODY WITHOUT A SOUL. AN EMPTY SHELL. SO LET EVERYONE HEAR THIS, THIS ULTIMATUM OF MINE." 

"NOT OF ANIRUDH ROY CHOUDHARY, BUT OF ANIRUDH BONDITA ROY CHOUDHARY. YES, MY NAME IS LINKED AND CONNECTED TO HERS. MY IDENTITY IS HER. IF YOU TAKE BONDITA AWAY FROM ANIRUDH, THEN THIS IDENTITY WILL CEASE TO EXIST TOO."

"IF YOU TAKE THAT PRECIOUS CHILD OF YOURS AWAY FROM ME, THEN THIS CHILD OF YOURS WILL DISAPPEAR TOO, DURGA MAA. FOR I CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT HER. IT'S AGAINST THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE. ANIRUDH AND BONDITA EXIST AS A PAIR... AND WE WILL FOREVER EXIST IN A PAIR." 

He could wait for her. Forever. But a world she wouldn't return to, he wouldn't be a part of. He would exist, only to become the torch that lit her flame. She was the light, the one that was everlastingly lit, and he was just the torch that contained the sheer brightness of her. 

What purpose did the torch have without the flame? 

He lowered the flame in his hands, placing it in front of Durga Maa, and then turned around to glare at everyone. 

Sampoorna was shaking the most, as she watched this side of Anirudh, as if he was possessed. 

As he was walking past Sampoorna, Anirudh glared at her and said, "This was a warning to everyone who tries to form a distance between me and Bondita!"

Then he went to Manika and said darkly, "Let's go." 

Manika nodded, gulping slightly, as Vikram watched in awe as Anirudh went. 

What a lover! What a man! What a barrister! What an inspiration!

Trilochan left, taking another set of car keys, as Binoy decided to stay home in case they received any phone calls.

Batuk was shaking, as Surabhi and Vikram stayed with him to comfort him. 

Somnath was nervously pacing back and forth, a feeling of dread in his chest as well. As much as he thought his Dada could have done better, Bondita was his Boudi after all. And after witnessing what just happened to his Dada, he was quite afraid of what would happen to his older brother, if anything happened to her. 

Sampoorna was shaking and shivering, still in chills after witnessing that act in front of Durga Maa.

--

Bondita had laid Manoshi down on the floor, after the girl had fallen asleep, and then she stood up, feeling her way around the shack, to see if there was any other way they could escape. 

As she was feeling around, she heard the lock rustle, and the door open again, as the two men arrived. 

"We've spoken to your family," Akhilesh Dada said to her, his gaze darkening. "And we decided to sell you to the English officer instead." 

Bondita glared at the two men, intensity in her eyes. 

"Who did you speak to?" she demanded. 

"Binoy Roy Choudhary. He is willing to meet our demands, but..." Ritesh walked towards her, making Bondita stumble a few steps back. His hand crawled on the skin of her arm, making Bondita feel repulsed. "You're such a beauty, that we can demand more from the officer, who can make a fortune off you." 

Bondita tried to pull her hand off his grip, but Ritesh held on more tightly, as Akhilesh Dada came to stand next to him. 

She felt Ritesh's finger on her hairline, as he tried to rub her sindoor off. "We will present you as an unmarried virgin," Ritesh said. As soon as his finger touched her sindoor, Bondita raised her hands to his chest and pushed him back as hard as she could, causing him to stumble back with her sheer force.

She was quite a strong one! 

"HOW DARE YOU?" she screamed, waking up a sleeping Manoshi and startling her. "HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY SINDOOR?"

"THIS GIRL!" Ritesh hissed, and he tried to stumble forward to grab her, but Bondita dove down, under his arm, emerging on the other side of him, his hand missing her. 

A sarcastic laugh escaped Bondita's lips as she looked at the two men, while standing tall in front of them now.

"My Pati Babu will come," she said, looking at the men with rage in her eyes. "You don't know what he can do for me. If you know what's good for you then let me go... otherwise he won't spare you! I'm warning you out of compassion... don't cry later!"

Akhilesh Dada raised his hand and slapped Bondita across the cheek, causing her skin to sting. She brought her hand to her cheek, as she looked at him through the messy strands of her hair, her eyes red with anger.

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU WRETCHED GIRL?" Akhilesh Dada screamed. "DON'T YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE IN THE DEN OF LIONS, AND WE CAN DO ANYTHING WE WANT TO YOU? YOU ARE AN UNARMED YOUNG GIRL, WHO IS IN OUR DEN. AND YOU'RE GIVING US THREATS!"

A cold, chilling, laugh escaped Bondita's lips again, as she glared at the men with her fiery eyes, "And don't you know that you're speaking to the Queen of Lions right now? Just because you can't see this unarmed, young girl's weapons, doesn't mean that she doesn't have any. If she so chooses, she can kill you right this instant. Such is the power of the one who rides a Lion as her vehicle! Such is the power of the great Durga Maa!" 

Ritesh stepped towards her in a threatening manner, grabbing her hair and pulling it back, as Manoshi screamed beside her. 

"That's it. Dada don't stop me today," Ritesh yelled at Akhilesh Dada. "Women like this are given too much freedom. They're pampered too much. They need to be shown their place. Let me show her where she belongs today." 

Manoshi cried, as Bondita glared at Ritesh, her red, intense eyes not leaving his. 

"PLEASE L - LET DIDI GO," Manoshi screamed through her tears, as she tried to grab on to Ritesh's arm, but Ritesh raised a hand and slapped Manoshi hard, causing her to fall to the ground. 

He glared at an angry Bondita, who had grown even more angry after witnessing him hit the young girl. 

"Today, you will see what it means to be a woman. Today, you will be shown your true, and rightful place. Today, you will lose what is most important to you," his angry eyes pierced through her, but not deep enough through the protective barrier of Bondita's mind. 

What was most important to her? 

Bondita felt her breath hitch, as her mind went to the one in her stomach. 

And for the first time in this encounter, fear loomed in her heart. 

"What can you do, to save that which is most important to you?" Ritesh questioned, his voice dark and frightening. "To what length will you go to save that? I would like to see it... and maybe I will even spare you." 

Her heart was beating rapidly with fear, as one of her hands found her stomach, holding it protectively. 

What could she do to save... that which was most important to her? 

What could she do to save... the one growing in her womb?

What could a mother do... for her child? 

What could Bondita do... for her baby? 

Her baby. 

Tears flooded her eyes, as she pressed her hand on her stomach desperately, as for the first time, she thought of her baby. 

"Plead... beg me... Bondita Roy Choudhary, otherwise, you won't be spared today," Ritesh hissed at her, as tears streamed down Bondita's cheeks, her fingers clutching her belly with desperation.

-- 

This was an intense, intense chapter for me to write! I was shivering through many parts of it myself. 

What did you think of the conversation between Anirudh and Durga Maa? 

The scene with Bondita and the men? 

Anything that stood out to you/that you enjoyed?

Any predictions for the upcoming parts?

How excited are you for the next chapter?

Do share your thoughts!

Please press star on the parts from 331 (please check to ensure you didn't skip any parts, as I see some of you may have missed some)! 

Love you all! 💕