-: Rajeshri :-

Why the hell was this happening to me!? Shamrat Rathore, our Pradhan ji wanted to marry me? Me? Why Me? I was very simple girl, and not even that educated. Why was he interested to marry me?

I loved Daud and I wanted to marry him. No one else, no matter how much Shamrat Rathore was powerful.

I was very grateful towards him for saving me. If he wasn't there I would have been raped by Mukhiye ji. I would have thanked him later, but that doesn't meant I was needed to marry him.

No one even asked me whether I wanted to get married to him or not. As if I had no opinions of my own.

"Yes, apply the face pack nicely. My daughter is so lucky that Pradhan Ji had agreed to marry her. She is gonna bring so much happiness and affluence in our house," my mother chided eagerly. I peered up at her in pure shock. How could a person change their behavior so fast?

Truly, money and power could hide every flaw in humans. Just because Pradhan Sahab had agreed to marry me, whatever wrong I did, in the eyes of the villagers, were cleared now.

"Why the sad face didi? Smile, you are going to get married now. That too to one of the most powerful and handsome man in the village." Sakshi, my neighbor and childhood friend beamed at me.

"I don't wa....I can't. I love Daud, Sakshi,"  I whispered. My eyes were welling up in tears but she turned her face away at the mention of Daud's name.

"Forget him, didi. Pradhan Ji is your future now," she said sternly.

I wanted thrash everything and cry out. But I couldn't. Baba was still not talking to me. He wasn't even looking at me. And I tried to call Daud 15 times already since last night. But his phone was switched off.

The girls were applying so many things on my face to enhance my natural beauty, since morning. And now I was tired of all these. I wanted to crawl into my bed, sleep and wake up from this nightmare. But that wouldn't happen. Cause this was my reality.

Suddenly the hustle and bustle of the room seized, and pin-drop silence spred in the room.

What happened?

I looked up from my palm which were getting henna covered and gasped out. Shamrat Rathore was standing at the door of my room in his full dark glory, with a shopping bag in his hand and a blank face. The sleeves of his black shirt were puffing out as his his muscles were straining it too much.

Thank God he was here now. I would clearly tell him that I loved someone else, and he would leave me alone. Who knows, he may even convince my parents for mine and Daud's marriage.

He stalked inside the room with a predatory gleam and his eyes were fixed at me, checking me out from head to toe.

"Everyone out, now." he ordered in his low rough voice and the room was clear in a second.

Seriously!? How was ma even okay with leaving me alone with a male in a room now? Just because I was about to get married to him!?

He clicked his fingers in front of me and my daze broke. He was still standing there, so I stood up. He was way too tall, and was towering over. I didn't want him to look down at me.

His eyes was sharp and I lowered down my eyes unable to match the scrutizing gaze.

"How are you?" he asked, in a gentle but firm tone.

"Good," I uttered and peered up at him. I needed to do what was important, or else both of us would get entangled in a loveless marriage.

His intense gaze was fixed at me. I looked up to speak my heart out, but his intense gaze was making me nervous.

"I want to say something," I whispered, and he nodded his head encouraging me to speak.

Okay, this is it.

"I can't marry you."

Silence boomed in the room. Pin drop silence. Only the tickling of the wall clock was audible. My eyes was still down, but I decided to look up now. But that was my biggest mistake.

As soon as I raised my face up, I gasped out in fear and took a few steps back. His eyes were blazing with rage, and his jaw was clenched. His knuckles had turned white due to the grip he had on the shopping bag and a nerved ticked on his forehead.

"Why?" he whispered in a dangerously low voice.

"I...I belong to some...someone else," I stuttered.

He growled out and pushed me on the wall, capturing me in his arms. I shrieked out in fear and tried to cover my face, expecting a blow. I still remembered how a single punch from him had broken Mukhiye's ji nose.

But that never came.

Exhaling a few shallow breaths and quivering I removed my palm from my face and glanced at him. He was grinding his teeth, but somehow the rage seemed to had subsided a little.

"What is the name?" He asked, in his gravelly rough voice.

"Whose?"

"Your lover's," he spatted.

"Daud Ak...Akhtar."

He furrowed his brows and tilted his head slightly, looking at me as if I am the biggest idiot alive, and let out a scoff.

"Forget about him, you are mine now."

My eyes widened at his words and I looked up at him. His eyes were hooded with lust and I tried to push him away. How could he say such a thing!? He wanted to marry a woman, whose heart was in the grasp of another man!?

"Get away from me. Didnt you hear that I can't marry you. I love Dau..." As soon as Daud's name came out of my mouth, he grabbed my jaw roughly and I winced. 

"If you utter his name one more time, I am going to kiss you right here and right now." he threatened and I shivered. He wasn't looking anything like a human. Dark eyes bore into me.

I nodded my head and he let go of my jaw. It was paining so I touched my cheeks. He tipped my chin to raise it up.

Handing me a shopping bag he lowered his face near my ear and his hot breath broke gooseflesh on my skin. He whispered in a husky tone,"I want you to wear this on our wedding day, so that I can open it on our weeding night."

I took a few steps back from him, as soon as the words registered in my brain and gave him a horrific look. My heart froze in my chest and blood ran cold.

How shameless could a person be!? How could the man who saved me from getting raped could say this kind of thing to me. He was such an indecent human.

He was smirking at me, and his eyes were ogling at my small figure.

"Pra-pradhan Ji, I am very gratefu..."

"Shamrat, call me Shamrat," he ordered, and cupped my face with his calloused hands.

I tried to take a step back, but it was the wall again behind me. He was harassing me now.

"Don't try anything stupid Shri." He gave me a last warning and strode out of the room.

I sanked down on the floor, unable to decipher what just happened. Pradhan Ji came in my room like a tornado and destroyed my last hope of getting Daud. My nose stinked and tears welled up in my eyes.

A small knock again rang out in the room and I swiftly darted my eyes up. A middle aged woman was standing there, her face gentle but stoic. Her eyes were blank, and her posture was calm and collected. I quickly blinked away my tears and stood up again, and responded, "Yes?"

She strolled inside the disheveled room, not even bothering to glance at anything but me. Her steps stalled in front of me. She was an inch taller than me but her demeanour was cold.

"Rajershri right?" Her voice was impersonal and joyless. I nodded my decided to keep my mouth shut, cause I didn't know her.

She walked passed me and sat on the bed, throwing me a judgemental look, inspecting me from top to bottom.

"Kaha tak parhai kiya hai?" she asked, out of nowhere and my eyes widened. Okay, who was she to ask this? But I decided not to be rude. (How much did you study?)

"I have finished my intermediate education."

She scoffed at my words and stood up, tilting her head to the side. "You are not efficient enough to stand beside my son."

Okay, now she was getting on my nerves. Who the hell was this woman!? Before I could throw a nasty retort, she walked of the room.

The neighborhood aunties and didis came inside the room, to check the shopping bags, as soon as the lady walked out.

"Oh my god didi, the lehenga is so preety. He is going to treat you as a Queen," they shrieked.

Why don't they understand I didn't want to be treated like a Queen. I didn't want jewels and materialistic things. I wanted someone who would love and respect me, admire me and care for me. And Duad was the only person who did all these for me.

My gaze flew to my phone and I sighed.

Please call me Daud.

*******

The last two  days passed in a daze, everything was happening very fast around me. The decorations, the catterers, the weeding band. Everything was arranged by Pradhan Ji, as I sat on my bed looking at the beautiful collection of jewellery his mother had sent for me.

Daud had still not called, and tonight was my last night as an unmarried woman. Tomorrow I would be married by this time, that too with that monster. A lone tear escaped from my eyes, but I quickly wiped it away. Ma had already slapped me twice for crying on my ill fate.

I had met Adi only twice, in the last 3 days. They didn't allow him to be near me, as if I was carrying some infectious disease. Once, baba brought him in when he was crying and the other time he kind of barged into my room at the middle of night to sleep on my lap.

'Didi, I will protect you from that monster of your husband.' he had said, when he asked me why was I going away, and I had told him that my husband was kidnapping me.

The next morning  Ma had dragged him out of the room, twisting his ears as he wailed his eyes out.

I sniffled and looked at my phone, I had sent Daud 45 messages and called him innumerable times. Had he abandoned me? Was I wrong to select him as my life partner?

Sakhshi came into the room with a tray carrying something, beaming at me.

"What is that Sakshi?"

She smiled and sat on her haunches with the tray in her hand. There was foundation, compact, mascara, lipsticks and what not.

"He send all this for you," she giggled and I turned my face away in annoyance. Everyone thoughy he cared for me, but no, he just wanted to buy me. As if by gifting me various things, he would win my consent.

Never!

"Didi, don't be like this. Daud wasn't the right man for you. He could never be a right man for any woman. Accept Pradhan ji didi, he is a wonderful person," Sakshi stated and left the room.

What did she mean by Duad wasn't a right man for any woman? They didn't even know Daud as much as I did.

My phone started vibrating suddenly in the silent room and my eyes snapped towards the caller id.

Daud!

*******

-: SHAMRAT :-

Taking a sip of the scotch, I kept the glass back on the table and rubbed my face. My eyes were burning from the amount of work I did for the last 2 days, but I had to do this. I had taken leave for a few days. I wanted to enjoy my newly married life with Rajeshri, and the first few days were very important in a marriage. Well, that's what Mom said.

Someone knocked at the door, and I told whoever it was, to come in.

"Shamrat, I would be going home now," Arnav said after he kept the files on the table.

I nodded my head and stood up. It was my last day of bachelorhood and I wanted to do something to enjoy it.

"Arnav, whats the hurry? Sit down,and have a drink with me. It's my last night of bachlerhood after all." He smiled at me, and sat down on the sofa.

I poured him bear and prepared a scotch for me. He was not a heavy drinker and the last time I gave him scotch, he splattered and coughed violently.

We sipped our drinks silently, and I looked at him.

"I want you and Leila at the mansion tomorrow early morning, okay Arnav?"

He gave a sheepish smile and said, "Ofcourse. Maaji had already told us. We would be there on time."

After a few minutes, we both stood up as we're ready to head home, when a question popped up in my head.

"Arnav?"

He turned his head towards me and asked, "Yes?"

"You are married for a year now. What is the best way to keep your wife happy?" I asked, genuinely curious. I didn't have much idea about how relationships worked. I never had a girlfriend. The need never occured. But now that I was about to get married, I needed to know what I should do for her happiness, other than taking care of her basic needs.

He looked shocked for a minute, as if he wasn't expecting this question from me. But he was the only person I had close to a friend. Arnab licked his lip and took a deep breath.

"There is no golden rule, but the best way to keep her happy is to respect her wishes and choices. Support her in difficult times, and try to understand her. Trust me, women doesn't want materialistic things and flashy gifts. They just want your time and little attention. Do this, and you won't even know when she will become totally yours," he advised with a wide genuine smile on his face and I nodded with a mischievous smile.

"You sure has a lot of experience, don't you Arnab?" I smirked.

He flashed his teeth and bit his inner cheek.

"Ohh! And the most important thing. Be loyal." Saying this he gulped down the entire drink, and strode out of the room.

My eyes lingered at the retreating figure of Arnav and reverence bloomed in my chest for him. He was also a hot blooded male like me. Before marriage he used to have a lot of flings and God knows how many prostitues he had been with.

But the real problem arrived when he got married. Leila was a very shy girl, and it took her months to open up to him. 3 months after his marriage, I saw how frustrated and irritated he looked all the time. One day he almost snapped at me, when I decided to ask what his problem was.

He kind of just blurted out how his wife was not letting him go near her, and regretted it that very second. Being an asshole I was, I adviced him to use someone for time being. But he didn't. I still remembered the words he uttered that day.

Just because she is taking time to open up, doesn't mean I should go to other women. If I do that, I am disrespecting her.

Leila was standing there behind him that day, cause it had been late night and Arnav hadn't went home. I still remembered the look they shared thay day. Leila's eyes had welled up, for whatever reason I didn't know and Arnav.... Well, he return to his usual mood a few weeks after that incident.

<<~~~~~~~~~~~~∆~~~~~~~~~~~~>>

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