Disappointment.

No that was an understatement.

What Manoshi did was not just disappointing for her... but it was eye-opening.

How many times, when she was younger, did her Pati Babu try to show her this truth? How many times, when she was younger, did he try to open her eyes to this world?

Yet she never believed.

Not once, did she understand why child marriage was wrong.

As she grew up, she understood the theory behind it... that everyone's husband was not like hers.

Now she was seeing it for real.

Manoshi was a victim. A victim of child marriage.

"Didi," Manoshi cried, trying to grab her ankles again.

"Shut up," Ritesh hissed at her, as she crawled on the ground to try and hold Bondita's legs.

Bondita looked up at Ritesh, her eyes burning more fire. She was livid.

"My ugly wife is begging for this whore's approval," Ritesh hissed at Akhilesh. "Don't you think I should teach her what happens to whores, by giving her a live demonstration of what I do to this one?"

Akhilesh yelled, "You idiot! We won't get paid!"

"We will, now get out!" Ritesh warned him.

Without another word, Akhilesh finally stormed off, not in the mood to argue anymore.

Now it was just Bondita, Manoshi and Ritesh in this room.

Ritesh's hand gripped Bondita's arm tightly, and he glared down at his wife, who was still trying to clutch Bondita's ankles and beg. "Watch and learn, my dear ugly wife."

His hold on Bondita's arm was so tight, that she was sure it would leave red marks. But Bondita didn't care about that.

"I SEE ONLY ONE UGLY PERSON HERE, AND IT'S NOT HER," Bondita bellowed at Ritesh.

Ritesh looked at Bondita, startled, not expecting her to blast at him like that.

"Shut up," he hissed, bringing his face closer to hers, and making chills run through her spine.

An angry Bondita, raised her knee and pushed it against Ritesh's balls, making him scream and let go of her. He grabbed his balls, as Bondita ran to the door, leaving Manoshi gasping with shock.

"YOU - HORRIBLE - GIRL!" Ritesh screamed.

"Have you gotten some sense?" Akhilesh asked, when he heard the door about to get opened.

As soon as he saw Bondita there, and Ritesh screaming on the ground, holding his balls, an angry look appeared on Akhilesh's face.

"We have given you too much special treatment," he snapped, "How could you hurt him?"

Manoshi was stumbling towards Bondita, as Ritesh was still screaming.

"For the one who dares to look at a woman in that way, without her consent, and on top of that forces himself on her... so much worse can be done!" Bondita snarled at Akhilesh. "Move out of my way, or you'll face the same!"

The colour drained from Akhilesh's face.

"DADA ASK HER WHERE WILL SHE GO!" Ritesh was screaming with pain, "IN THAT OUTFIT, SHE WILL BE RAVISHED ON THE STREET BY OTHER MEN!"

Bondita turned to glare at Ritesh, and she yelled, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY WERE DISROBING DRAUPADI? BHAGVAAN KRISHNA PERFORMED A MIRACLE. SHE WAS WRAPPED IN AN ENDLESS CLOTH. THEY COULD TRY TO DISROBE HER FOR ETERNITY, BUT THEY COULDN'T EVER SUCCEED, BECAUSE HER SAREE KEPT ON GETTING LONGER AND LONGER."

"As if you're Draupadi!" Ritesh scoffed, still holding his balls.

"Maybe not, but my faith is the same!" Bondita hissed at him. "You won't be able to touch me. Nobody will! And as for my clothing -- even if I am wearing nothing, I will walk out of here."

She glared at Akhilesh Dada, who exchanged a glance with Ritesh.

"Didi... I will follow you," Manoshi whispered, "You might be mad at me, but I will go wherever you will go."

Before Bondita could respond to her, Akhilesh had suddenly grabbed Bondita's hands, pinning them behind her back, and going behind her so that she wouldn't be able to knee him in the balls too.

"You stupid girl! You won't be able to go anywhere. You're getting sold to the officer today, and that's final!" Akhilesh hissed, and using all his force, he threw her on the ground.

Her eyes growing wide, Bondita's hands found her stomach, and just before she landed, she turned on her side, her hip bone crashing onto the floor, along with her head.

"What are you doing?" Manoshi cried. "Be gentle! She's pregnant!"

That was the last thing Bondita heard before the room went dark.

--

Anirudh was running, frantically. Searching desperately for Bondita, and his... baby!

Tears were in his eyes, his heart hammering fast with fear, and with anguish.

"I n - never accepted you sooner... I never once called you mine!" he sobbed, as he ran through the trees in the forest, trying to find some sign of them. Branches scratched at him and formed wounds, but he didn't care. "I n - never once held my face against you out of love for you. I only wished you n - never happened. I called you a mistake! The biggest mistake."

The words were pouring out of his mouth, the tears out of his eyes. The fresh scratches from the branches caused blood to pour out of his wounds. Despite that all, the love was pouring out of his heart. Love for his baby.

"If something happens... if something happens to you, h - how will I... face myself?" he sobbed, "H - how will I... go on?"

These were words he hadn't spoken for anyone except Bondita, yet somehow, the unborn one had made their way to his soul.

"B - Bondita... take care... of our... baby..." he cried, as he ran, his vision blurry, "And yourself... t -too..."

And his baby... he had already told them to take care of their Maa. They had to take care of each other. They had to be each other's Rakshaks... because he was away, too far away from them.

Anirudh was exhausted. Tired of running. He didn't even sleep last night, nor had he eaten since the lunch at Thakumaa's. His wounds were aching and hurting. Still, he refused to give up. He refused to stop searching.

There was only one option.

To keep going...

... Or to die trying.

https://youtu.be/RSFRIec4CcA

Rooh meri kaanpti hai
Gehre andhiyaron mein,
Main bhi khud hu
Jaise shaamil tere gunehgaaro mein,
Tu woh gudiyaa momm ki
Jo behti hai angaro mein,
Chaahe jo ho nark se main
Ab nikaluga tujhe,
Haan yahi hai
Ab toh lakshaya mera...
Rishta Tera mera, Rishta Tera Mera
Rishta Tera Mera, Rishta Tera Meraaa

My soul trembles
In the deep darkness,
It's like I'm also included
As a part of those who wronged you,
You are that wax doll
Who burns in the embers,
No matter what happens!
I will rescue you from that hell now
Yes this is
This is my goal now...
The bond between You and Me (x4)

--

When she was passed out, the two men had been incredibly pleased to find out that she was pregnant.

"If she has a girl, then we can bill for the price of two," Akhilesh said.

Ritesh was sounding overly happy to make more money.

"Then we can't present her as a virgin," he was saying.

"That's right, but what if the officer doesn't want the child? Then it may cost us," Akhilesh then said.

"Get rid of the child," Ritesh said in response.

"We don't have time."

"How hard must it be? We can just hit her stomach really hard," Ritesh replied.

"Are you nuts? It isn't that easy," Akhilesh hissed.

Manoshi was sitting beside Bondita, sobbing, and prodding her, trying to wake her up.

That was when they heard the sound of a car engine approaching.

"Well the officer is here. Just present her as a virgin. Nobody will know she's pregnant. It's their own responsibility now to get rid of the child," Akhilesh said.

Ritesh nodded and grabbed Manoshi off of the ground, pulling her out of the shack with the two of them.

"Stay right here," he hissed at her, and then went to join Akhilesh Dada to speak with the officer.

Manoshi trembled on her feet for a few moments, and then glanced inside where Bondita was. When nobody was looking, she whispered, "I would never have the courage to go anywhere, but D - Didi, after seeing your courage... I have to try. Try for you. I have to find help for you."

Ritesh would have never imagined Manoshi to get such guts, but she did. 

She mustered up the courage and ran away, to look for help for her Didi, who she now revered as if she were the Goddess herself.  

(This is what the British officer is wearing)

"This way," Akhilesh Dada said proudly to the officer, as if he caught a prize-winning fish when he went fishing.

Ritesh was also beaming with happiness, although he was still upset he didn't get a chance to have fun with the girl. He was very sour over what she did to his balls though, and now he didn't even want to try. It was better she go and show that attitude to this British officer now.

The British officer was a man in his fourties. He had frizzy red hair and a wide red moustache, and he was wearing a red Bengal lancer uniform.

"Ye see, we have many women already, but Indian women... mmmm, no, not quite the exotic kind," Robert said in his thick British accent to the two men.

"We have brought one of the best for you," Akhilesh told him.

"She can really work her mouth," Ritesh added on.

When Ritesh said that, the officer stopped, and glanced at Ritesh.

"Ye said she was a virgin!"

"Oh, I meant, she has a sweet... sweet mouth, in terms of talking," Ritesh informed.

Robert nodded, "Err... kay then. Let's go and see her mate."

The two men lead the way to the shack, where Bondita was passed out.

"She's... sleeping. She's a deep sleeper," Akhilesh said, "But you can take her now."

As soon as Robert's eyes landed on Bondita, the adrenaline in his system also pumped up. That outfit on that beauty! He couldn't look away.

"Now? Why the rush? I have time," the officer said in a voice that exuded his desires. "I would like a moment with her... alone."

"Sure," Akhilesh said, but Ritesh grabbed his shirt and whispered in his ear.

"Dada, what if he does something and finds out she isn't a virgin?"

Akhilesh gulped, but the British officer glared at the two of them. "Out now, both of ye. I would like to inspect my prized possession... all alone. Hurry! What are ye two waiting for? Tomorrow?"

The two of them slowly backed off.

"We have no choice," Akhilesh said. "We have to wait for him."

"Let's steal the money from his car then run away -- wait, where's Manoshi?" Ritesh asked, looking around, unable to find her.

Akhilesh raised his brows and said, "Your wife got guts all of a sudden."

"It's the whore inside, who did this!" he said angrily. "We have to find her, before the police find out about this!"

"Or worse, before Barrister Babu does," Akhilesh informed, feeling nervous now too.

The two of them, then set out to search for Manoshi together.

--

As Anirudh was searching, he saw two men there. One of them was the big one that he had seen earlier, who had come and collect the money. The other one was older, and lankier.

He ran over to them and demanded in desperation, eyes pained, "W - where's Bondita?"

Upon seeing Barrister Babu there, Akhilesh looked at him fearfully at first, while Ritesh just groaned. It was like everything that had to go wrong was going wrong!

"W - where is she? Is she okay? I - I won't ask anything of you. I will let you go... just tell me where she is," Anirudh pleaded, sweat and dirt on his forehead. He also had bloody wounds through the ripped fabric of his shirt.

"Dead," Akhilesh Dada finally told him coldly. "Your wife is dead. It's too late now, Anirudh Roy Choudhary. You won't ever be able to get her back."

Ritesh turned to look at Akhilesh with shock, but then he realized that this would be the only way to get this man to stop searching. Otherwise, they would lose the deal with the British officer!

"We are sorry Barrister Babu, but you didn't follow our agreement. You followed us, despite us warning you not to," Ritesh said, sounding like he truly was sympathetic. "So as per our deal, she couldn't be spared alive." 

When Anirudh heard this, his world stopped spinning. He couldn't hear the birds chirping, nor could he feel the heat of the sun anymore. He couldn't feel the earth beneath his feet... nor could he sense the beat of his heart.

He was filled with emptiness.

Death.

Who said that death happened at the end? It happened at this very moment for Anirudh.

The very moment he heard that his Bondita was no more.

It was silent. Eerily silent for a few seconds.

Akhilesh and Ritesh exchanged smirks, believing that they got Barrister Babu off their backs... but...

All of a sudden, a surge of power manifested inside of him. And in a fit of rage, he grabbed both of their necks, with one hand each, choking them, intense, deep-seated anger in his eyes. One wouldn't be able to tell that this was Anirudh Roy Choudhary.

It was like he was possessed. No... he really was possessed. 

Possessed in his love... possessed in his pain... possessed by the soul who wasn't Anirudh Roy Choudhary. Because if Bondita wasn't here, then Anirudh couldn't be too.

"YOUR... END... HAS... ARRIVED..." were the words that escaped his mouth, as the two of them used both of their hands to try and get him off, but they couldn't. Not even Ritesh, the man who was so strong.

Even he couldn't match Anirudh's adrenaline.

They had gone red in the face, suffocating for air, and Anirudh wasn't stopping.

But then... he heard...

He heard the beat of his heart.

His heart was beating, and he could hear it so clearly.

Bondita... was alive.

And she was... calling out to him.

Their soulful connection told him the truth. The truth that nobody on this earth could hide, or lie about. The bond between him and Bondita. 

With shock, he forcefully threw the two of them onto the ground, horrified tears in his eyes. "How could you lie?" he yelled at them, "Where is my Bondita? WHERE IS SHE? TELL ME NOW."

That was when he heard a young girl's voice say, "A - are you... h - her Pati Babu?"

Anirudh frantically turned to face the thirteen year old, who emerged from between the trees, and he nodded with desperation.

"F - follow me," she squeaked, "S - she needs you... she's in danger."

Panic filled his system, and he ran after the girl towards the shack, where the British officer was with Bondita.

Akhilesh and Ritesh watched with wide eyes, and deciding that they had to try and make the sale at any cost, ran after them as well.

--

"Oh, ye look so scrumptious," the British officer was saying, as he hovered over Bondita, touching her cheek gently. "But why these red marks on yer cheek and neck? Did those two men hurt ye...hmm? Don't worry lovely, I will treat ye like a Queen."

Bondita was still unconscious, her hand resting protectively over her belly.

Robert leaned closer to her, moving his lips closer to her neck. The neck that looked so soft and appealing.

THUD!

That was when the door flew open and Anirudh Roy Choudhary appeared, a frightened looking Manoshi behind him.

He had kicked the door so hard, that it had flown right off, landing on the ground.

The British officer looked up, startled, and when he saw a man he didn't recognize there, along with a young girl, he was confused. Was that young girl also part of the deal?

Before he could process anything, Anirudh had made his way to him with urgency, and grabbed his red Bengal lancer uniform shirt. Then he threw him with full force at the wall, which he hit, feeling like his spine was cracked, but it was probably just a broken shoulder.

"AAH," Robert screamed in pain.

Anirudh bent towards Bondita, hovering over her himself now, tears in his eyes. He didn't even notice what she was wearing. All he saw was her through the blurred vision of his tears.

"B - Bondita," he whispered, bringing his hand to her hair and caressing it gently. "It's me Bondita. Your Rakshak Babu is here. He's here to wipe away all of the bad touch from these men, just like he always has been."

His hand travelled down to her neck, where the British officer's mouth had nearly landed, and he gently ran his fingers across it, as if he was healing her.

That was when he noticed it.

The red handprint on her neck, as if she had been choked. Then the subtle red print on her cheek was noticed by him too, confirming that she had been slapped too.

His gaze travelling down further, he saw what she was wearing. A corset. She was being sold... sold to the officer. 

His fingers closed around Bondita's neck gently, and he swung his head up and around, his eyes landing on the two men who were nervously standing by the doorway, like a predator had finally found its prey after being hungry for a month.

--

Precap:

Mai Ladunga Tere Khaatir...Dhishoom Dhishoom! An action sequence! 

And then... AniDita go back to the Haveli, which leads to the next track. 

The next track involves Maa-Baba's bonding with each other and their baby. I am thinking of releasing a promo. ❤

--

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 

Did you notice anything/did anything stand out to you? 

Was there anything you enjoyed the most? 

Were there any moments that made you emotional?

Are you excited for the bonding track?

Anything else you are looking forward to? (I haven't forgotten most of your requests, but I would love to hear from you what you want.) 😊

Press star and leave your comments if you would like more frequent updates. 💕