January, 1950

"Pati Babu, come soon," Bondita said to him, as she adjusted his tie in their bedroom.

Anirudh was looking at her lovingly, a smile on his lips, as she tightened the tie around his neck. She was so close to him. If he had any more time left, he would have enjoyed some romantic moments with his wife before leaving.

Bondita knew what was on his mind, and a small smile appeared on her lips, as she looked up at him through her eyelashes.

"I'll be back very soon," he told her, in a thick, deep voice.

She tried not to giggle, because she knew his intentions, but it was hard. A small giggle escaped her lips anyways as she finished with his tie.

Anirudh immediately said, "If you make sounds like that, it'll be hard to control --"

"Dhatt Pati Babu," she said with a giggle, as she pinched his arm. "Go and do your work. I also have work to do here."

Anirudh pouted and said, "Our kids are keeping you away from me. Before we had our kids, I used to have you to myself, all day long."

Bondita with a smile, said, "Kuch bhi, Pati Babu."

He just chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist gently. "I want to hold you like this, glued to my side for my entire life," he murmured.

"It's been eight years since we got married, that still hasn't changed?" she teased, as she moved her hands down his chest, flattening the creases on his shirt.

"Never," he murmured, glancing down at her lips, The more time that passes, the more I crave you, the more I want you."

"Then what will happen after 70 years?" she asked softly.

It was a random number, a momentary instinctive slip of the tongue. 

He pulled her even closer and whispered, "I'll desire you so much that I won't be able to look away for a moment. I might just kiss you and make you mine faster than I can breathe."

She giggled and she said, "Then do that Pati Babu. I'm already waiting for it."

He leaned towards her and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, almost like he was teasing her.

They were joking around with each other, but little did they know the heavy truth behind these words. 

Just a few months later, their entire world would change right before their eyes. 

-- 

2021

Anirudh entered the party quietly with one of his friends, Neil, short for Indroneil. Neil was the same age as Anirudh, and Neil still worked for Anirudh's family business. 

They were wearing formal, expensive-looking black suits, and they took masks from the entrance before heading inside. 

It was a typical party, and Anirudh didn't understand whether any of these seniors were actually interested in networking. It seemed like most of them were just interested in partying. 

"It might be a waste of time that we came here," Anirudh mumbled to Neil. "They all seem interested in partying only."

"What else would you have been doing?" Neil said back. "It's not like we were doing anything at home. Come on, let's try and meet people at least." 

Anirudh sighed. Neil was right. There was nothing else he would be doing tonight anyways. 

He followed Neil towards a group of students who were off to the side, chit-chatting. 

"Hi," Neil introduced, "I'm Neil, and this is Anirudh Roy Choudhary, we are representatives from the Roy Choudhary's Investment Firm." 

One of the girls, who was holding a drink, gasped, and she said, "Are you here to give us jobs?" 

Anirudh nearly rolled his eyes. 

"That's not how jobs work," he told her, "There's a long process --" 

"But you must be hiring," a boy who was standing there said. 

"Yes, our company is always looking for fresh talent," Anirudh told them. 

The girl who was holding the drink went right over to Anirudh and leaned incredibly close to him, making him feel uncomfortable. 

"I'm a very fresh talent," she told him, sounding quite seductive, "My name is Ruhi!" 

The boy who was with her, rolled his eyes and said, "And I'm Ashutosh. Don't mind her. She's not that great." 

"HEY!" Ruhi said angrily. "Shut up or I'll spill this drink on you!" 

Neil exchanged an awkward glance with Anirudh. 

"You shut up," Ashutosh hissed at Ruhi, "Don't be unprofessional when they're here. You don't know how hard I've worked to be hired by a good company, and there are girls like you who try to seduce their way in!"

"SEDUCE?" Ruhi yelled angrily. "I'm only being POLITE!" 

"I very well can see how you were about to seduce this man," Ashutosh hissed. "I'm not blind! You girls have it so easy! To get something, all you have to do is seduce your way in!" 

Anirudh couldn't help it -- he felt blood rush to his head. 

How could anyone talk down to a woman like this, no matter what her intentions were? It felt wrong. Very, very wrong! 

"Let's go from here," Neil muttered to Anirudh. 

Before Neil could drag Anirudh away, he had gripped Ashutosh's bicep tightly and hissed, "Girls have it easy? Are you serious? Do you know how much they have to struggle in this society? It's 2021, and we preach equality, but do you think it's really equal?" 

Ashutosh looked at Anirudh with shock. Even Ruhi looked at him with shock. 

Neil was the only one who placed his hand on his head. 

He knew this side of Anirudh Roy Choudhary all too well. 

This was one reason that Anirudh left his father's company and decided to do something on his own. While his grandfather and father didn't encourage patriarchy by any means, the people they hired, the environment of the company, and the general vibe just was too male-driven. 

Anirudh had a dream -- one that he hadn't completely understood yet. However, it was one that he was already paving his path towards. 

He wanted to build his own company -- a company where women weren't treated to be inferior. Where they didn't have wage gaps. Where in fact, they were given the positions they deserved. 

"Many times, just out of bias, males are hired over females. They're given more promotions, faster promotions, just because they're a man," Anirudh hissed to Ashutosh. "They're paid more than a woman for doing the same job. Does that make any sense?" 

"Of course it does," Ashutosh said, looking Anirudh squarely in the eyes. "Men are superior in the workforce. Women one day will have children. They will leave the company. They will not be loyal. So they're only being paid what they're worth." 

Anirudh laughed sarcastically. 

"Loyal? Are you kidding me? Do you think you'll be loyal to a company for your whole life? The days of loyalty are gone. Nowadays, people leave their job and go to what pays well. They go to what is a better opportunity for them. And about loyalty, if you say a woman is disloyal because she has a family, then I will say that there is none more loyal than her! The ones who can stand by their family through thick and thin -- that's loyalty!" Anirudh argued. "If they can be so loyal to their children, don't you think that if they are treated well, they will also feel a sense of loyalty for their jobs? Don't you think they will want to come to work?"

Ashutosh gulped nervously now. 

"And we are business owners. Business owners generally have an ego that the employees need to adjust and accommodate. But that's not right. The employees are the ones working for us! We should support them. We should be the ones to make them happy! They aren't our servants. Employee happiness should be our number one responsibility, whether they're males or females... and yes, they should be treated as equals! And you know what, I'd rather hire a female than a male," Anirudh hissed darkly. 

"That's biased," Ashutosh said. 

"Then call me biased, but I'm bringing balance. The rest of the world has skewed it too much. I'll skew it the other way," Anirudh said. 

"But she was clearly seducing you!" Ashutosh complained. 

Ruhi looked down, looking a little guilty. 

"Who are you to decide that?" Anirudh asked, "Who are you to look down on someone else and point fingers?" 

Ashutosh glared at Ruhi and said, "I know her." 

Ruhi just forced a smile and she said, "Excuse me Mr. Roy Choudhary, you are very kind, and very sweet... but please, please don't get upset with him. He's not a bad person at all. He's just... got some agenda that men are superior, and I've been trying to change that!" 

Anirudh furrowed his brows, wondering why this lady was trying to change anything about this man. 

"I have just worked hard for everything, okay? And I don't want some woman to get all my efforts just because of a seduction tactic," Ashutosh said angrily. 

"All I know is that if things are not earned, then it will become a problem later on," Anirudh told the two of them seriously. 

"Yes, Ruhi, so earn it," Ashutosh told her. 

"I am earning it!" Ruhi said. 

Anirudh sighed and he glanced at Neil. 

"Let's go," he told him, and the two of them left Ruhi and Ashutosh to bicker amongst themselves. 

On the other side of the room, Bondita was sitting on a chair to the side, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

What happened between her and Sanjay wasn't good. It didn't feel right, nor did it make her or him happy. 

Rimi rushed over to her, once she realized that her best friend was all alone. 

"What's wrong?" Rimi asked, sitting on the chair beside her and placing her hand on Bondita's back. 

"S - Sanjay he insisted I k - kiss..." Bondita sobbed. 

"WHAT?" Rimi bellowed, and then realizing that there were many people around them, she lowered her voice, and hissed, "What? That asshole!" 

"I told him I didn't want to... that if he really liked me he would w - wait... but I thought I was being s - selfish," she sobbed. 

"Selfish? Bondita it's your lips, your body, you are allowed to be selfish! He is nobody to force you!" Rimi told her seriously. "And it's not called selfish! It's called self-respect if you understand what your body wants!" 

Bondita looked up at Rimi through her mask, tears flowing down her cheeks. 

"Don't tell me... did you...?" Rimi asked. 

Did she kiss him? 

Bondita shuddered as she recalled Sanjay's lips moving closer to hers. She had felt so scared that she couldn't even move. She had frozen and her hands and feet had gotten ice cold. 

She didn't even know how to process how to take back her words. Then his lips had touched hers. It had been the most uncomfortable experience, and she wanted to wipe her mouth over and over again with some harsh cleaning powder. 

"No Bondita," Rimi said, and her own eyes filled with tears. "No!" 

She looked down with guilt and she whispered, "I didn't know how to kiss him. I was just frozen Rimi. He was upset too because I didn't respond, and he just left from there.  I feel so... disgusted. I don't know why. You have kissed many people. But you made it sound... different!" 

"Bondita, that's because I wanted to!" Rimi told her, crying herself now, "It's different when you want to!" 

"I just froze... I didn't know how to stop it anymore after I told him okay... my insides were writhing and I just... don't know. It felt so bad Rimi," Bondita sobbed, sounding like she was in a shock, "I want to get his touch off me... I didn't know how to step back. I didn't know how to say no at the last moment. I just... I felt like I did the wrong thing by even making him wait two years! I thought that I'm the bad person for not giving in... that he had the right..." 

Rimi looked at her best friend with pity, and she just engulfed her in a tight hug. 

"You know what Bondita, we are going to fix this." 

"H - How?" she sobbed against her best friend's shoulder. 

Rimi got up and took Bondita's wrist, pulling her up as well. Then she dragged her across the room towards Sanjay. 

"Break up with him right now," Rimi ordered. 

Bondita turned to look at Rimi with shock. 

"W - What? After what happened... just now...?" she asked, sounding afraid. 

"It was only a kiss! You didn't sign a contract to give your life to him!" Rimi said, "And you didn't even kiss him. He kissed you, without your consent!" 

Bondita was about to say something, when Rimi cut her off before she could speak. 

"Don't say it was with your consent. He forced you into saying okay. Or emotionally blackmailed you at least. It was very obvious that you didn't want it," Rimi hissed. "If you gave your consent, then you wouldn't be crying right now. You would be happy. You would be blushing!" 

Bondita sobbed again, and Rimi just pulled her all the way to Sanjay, who was eating some snacks by the food counter. 

"Sanjay you fucking asshole," Rimi hissed at the man. 

Sanjay turned to look at both Bondita and Rimi with shock. 

"Excuse me?" Sanjay asked. 

"How dare you do that to my best friend?" Rimi asked angrily. "How dare you do that without her happiness, without her comfort?" 

"Please, you're one to speak Rimi. It's no secret what you do in your free time. All the people you've slept with," Sanjay said, rolling his eyes. "When you're such a whore, who are you to preach for her?"

Rimi wasn't even upset. She didn't get hurt, because she knew that people made comments like that all the time. Their only job was to speak. 

Bondita looked at Sanjay with such fury when he said this though. Before Rimi could give him a good response, Bondita raised her hand and slapped Sanjay's cheek hard. 

The sound of the slap was so loud, that Anirudh Roy Choudhary, who was standing only a few feet away with Neil had heard. 

The two of them stopped their chatter and looked at the two girls and the man with utter shock. 

"HOW DARE YOU?" Bondita screamed, anger in her eyes, as Sanjay glared at her, rubbing his pained cheek.

Rimi just smiled. 

She wanted to thank Sanjay for insulting her right now, because it was the only way that Bondita would show this side of her -- Bondita could tolerate many things, but she couldn't tolerate when someone pointed a finger at her best friend. 

"WHO A GIRL SLEEPS WITH, WHAT SHE DOES WITH HER LIFE, WHETHER SHE SLEEPS WITH ONE MAN OR ONE HUNDRED, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO COMMENT?" Bondita screamed. "AND IF YOU THINK THE WORD WHORE IS AN INSULT THEN LET ME TELL YOU, IT'S NOT. HOW CAN YOU JUDGE SOMEONE BASED ON HOW THEY CHOOSE TO LIVE THEIR LIFE? IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING TO BE ABLE TO LIVE ACCORDING TO HOW YOU FEEL INSIDE... RIMI HAS ONLY DONE WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO, BUT I FAILED AT FOLLOWING THAT! SO I'M THE ONE WHO IS UNWORTHY. MY BEST FRIEND IS VERY WORTHY. AND IF YOU INSULT HER AGAIN, THEN THERE WILL BE NOBODY WORSE THAN ME!"

Now many people around them had turned to look at the commotion. 

"Bondita, keep your voice low," Sanjay said to her darkly, "You've never spoken to me in this tone before." 

"That was my mistake!" Bondita told him angrily, "It was my mistake that I gave you the benefit of the doubt. It was my mistake that I held on to you for two years, because I felt bad!" 

"What?" Sanjay spluttered, completely angrily. 

Anirudh looked at the girl whose back was to him with keen interest. The way she stood up for her friend was admirable -- the fact that she stood up for her respect made him want to applaud her. Her points were amazing. 

She was absolutely fabulous. 

Who was this girl? 

He wanted to get closer. There was a strange pull. What was this feeling? 

Anirudh began to take steps towards her, almost like he was in a daze. 

"Yes, it was my fault! I saw these shades of yours -- these borderline misogynistic tendencies, and I always thought that I was overthinking. I always thought that it was my fault! I thought you liked me a lot, and that's why you kept on pressuring me!" Bondita told him, and then she laughed sarcastically. "But it truly is my fault. It's my fault, that I stayed with you! The truth is, I should have left you a long time ago!"   

Sanjay glared hard at Bondita and he angrily hissed, "I've always let you roam free, this is why you have the guts to speak like this. I should have tied you down from before. I waited two years to get a kiss from you. Which man does that? Who the hell does that? You should be grateful to me for sticking around despite your rigidity!" 

Bondita looked at Sanjay so angrily, that she thought that she could burst into flames. There was another part of her that wanted to cry, as she recalled what had happened earlier. 

"Kiss? You f - forced me for that too!" Bondita said, her voice cracking. "You knew I d - didn't want to, but you guilt-tripped me..." 

"You agreed," Sanjay hissed darkly, noticing that many eyes were on them now. 

"I did, and that was my biggest mistake," she spat angrily. 

"BONDITA, HOW DARE YOU MESS AROUND WITH ME RIGHT NOW?" Sanjay said angrily. "You should feel lucky that I didn't go and sleep with any girls while being in a relationship with you! I never even looked at another girl. I wasn't lacking anyone either! I could have had someone else, but I stayed faithful to you! You are lucky to have someone like me!"  

He darkly glared at Bondita and he added on, grabbing her wrist and trying to pull her out, "Come out with me right now. Instead of making a scene, I'll show you what I'm capable of." 

Bondita looked at him, fearfully now. 

Rimi was about to kick him in the nuts, but Anirudh got there first and he grabbed Sanjay's arm, twisting it around. 

Bondita turned to look at her saviour with shock. 

When her gaze landed on him, her eyes filled with tears and her heart felt like it was satisfied, just by having him in front of her eyes. 

"SHE SHOULD BE LUCKY THAT YOU DIDN'T SLEEP WITH ANYONE? THAT'S NOT LUCK, THAT'S HER RIGHT," Anirudh screamed at Sanjay, blood rushing to his head. "YOU LET HER ROAM FREE? WHO ARE YOU TO LET HER DO ANYTHING? SHE'S A LADY, NOT YOUR OBJECT." 

Anirudh darkly glared at Sanjay and continued screaming, "WHICH MAN WAITS TWO YEARS? A TRUE MAN, A TRUE HUMAN BEING WILL WAIT LIFETIMES." 

Lifetimes. 

Bondita looked at Anirudh, an overwhelming sense of emotions running through her. Why did she want to lift his mask off his face and see who he really was? 

It was almost like she knew him. It was almost like she was craving for him all this while. 

Why did she want to touch him and feel him...his essence, his soul? 

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Sanjay hissed, trying to free his arm from Anirudh's grip. 

"IF YOU DARE DO ANYTHING TO THIS GIRL AGAIN, THEN I CAN EVEN KILL YOU," Anirudh threatened darkly. 

Neil went to Sanjay from behind and whispered to him, "You want to listen to him. He's Anirudh Roy Choudhary. He can have you behind bars even if you don't do anything." 

Sanjay gulped fearfully. 

"Coward," Anirudh hissed darkly at the man, and let go of his hand with such force that Sanjay stumbled back. "And you -- how could you let any man --" He started, turning to look at Bondita, and as soon as his eyes met hers, he went quiet. 

He blinked a few times, not understanding what swept over him. 

Did he know her? 

"How... how could I let any man... what?" Bondita asked him breathlessly, wanting to hear him scold her. 

Why did she crave his scolding? 

Anirudh toughened up and he angrily yelled, "How could you let this man use you like that? How could you not recognize people?" 

Bondita looked at him with tears in her eyes and a small smile reached her lips, as she whispered back, "What if I have recognized someone correctly... for the first time?" 

Anirudh looked at her with shock, and she looked at him with nothing but adoration. 

-- 

Precap: 

Anirudh and Bondita were outside, in the garden of the hotel, in the cold night breeze. 

"I'm so disgusted with myself," Bondita sobbed beside him. "His kiss... it is still on my lips... I just..." 

"Don't call it a kiss," Anirudh said darkly. 

"T - Then?" she asked him, turning to look at him. 

"Call it cruelty. It's a crime against your body. A kiss is something that happens from the soul," he told her, feeling like crying. 

She looked at him, and he looked back at her, their hearts beating faster under the night sky. 

"My body s - still feels disgusted," she whispered. 

"I... I can fix it," he told her, his voice cracking. 

Anirudh moved towards her, slowly closing the space between their lips. 

-- 

Oh my God, we are finally here. 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 

This story is getting so interesting. 

If you want the next part faster, then I will do my best to write it quickly for you all -- so show me you want it quickly by pressing the star button and leaving your comments! 

Love you all! ❤️