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Chapters 35 to 56 are available on Scrollstack and Patreon for early access.

Abhinandan POV

"So?" I managed to breathe, my eyes fixed on her standing a few metres away. Her hands were tied over her stomach, and she briefly glanced towards the couch.

"Food," she muttered, and I nodded, trying to look away from her.

She looked beautiful in white. Her dress was different—something I had seen on Nandani before. I just could not take my eyes off her, making me nervous.

"Yes, food," I muttered, and we both silently walked towards the couch. I could feel my heartbeats turning uneven yet again.

The silence of the midnight and being alone with her was different.

"Take the seat," I said, almost fumbling once we reached closer to the couch. I looked over the table. There were small bowls covered with lids, one plate, two glasses, three jars, and a small basket of fruits.

"Okay," she breathed, pushing the loose strand of her open hair behind her ear.

She sat on the left side, and I turned to take the right one. Our arms touched, and I shifted more to reach the plate closer.

"I am hungry," I managed to say, and she nodded.

"Yes, me too," her voice seemed nervous.

"Um, my plate?" she stared at the table momentarily and then lifted her eyes to me. I gulped and sucked on my plate.

"Only one plate," I said, and she nodded nervously.

"Ohh," she exhaled and immediately lowered her gaze to the table.

"Okay," she added, and I noticed her leaning forward to serve the food on the plate.

"You can eat first. I can eat later," she said, and I could not stop holding her hand. Her bangles tickled, and she quickly looked up at me.

"Umm, let me serve," I suggested, and she slowly pulled her hand back, nodding.

"Okay," she muttered softly. I could sense her timidness.

"And we can eat together," I suggested further, and she looked up at me again.

"Umm, together?" she asked in a slow, almost inaudible voice, and I nodded. "Yes," I said.

"But," her breath hitched. "But, I have not eaten with anyone before," she said, and I looked at her.

I could not help but steal glances at her. She was glowing under the dim candlelight, and her eyes sparkled a little differently. She looked attractive.

"Neither did I," I managed to say and immediately closed my eyes for a moment. "I mean, not like this, with a girl, I mean... with my wife. Obviously, I had never been with a girl before," I muttered all the wrong things, and she just stayed silent, keeping her gaze low.

"Food," I cleared my throat. "We should eat," I said. I leaned forward to open the lids and found mixed vegetables, Kadhi, Gatte, Sarso ka saag, and Kheer. There was milk in one jar, water in another, and juice in the third. Along with that, there was a small bowl with chilli and lemon pickle, along with the jaggery.

As soon as I transferred a little bit of everything to the big plate with six bowls, which were still empty, the aroma of the food spread.

"What do you like to eat?" I asked, looking at her for a moment, and she stared at me confusedly.

"Anything," she muttered, and I smiled a little. "Anything?" I questioned, and she nodded.

"Yes, I pretty much everything," she said, and I nodded.

"So, no favourites?" I asked, and she nodded her head.

"Pitaji said that one must forget the tastes to be a saint," she said, and I nodded.

"Sorry, your plan failed," I said, and she looked up at me.

"And it's all because of you," she said, and I knit my brows.

"Why me? I did not tell your father to find Shantanu for you," I said, placing the chapatis on the plate, and she shook her head.

"You did not say anything, but he did it because you indirectly made him do it," she said, and I immediately looked at her with disbelief.

"But, I did not do anything. I mean, yes, I married you, but it was not my plan to find a husband for you," I said again, tearing a bite.

And, she chuckled. "You made him feel insecure. He thought that you were... seducing his daughter, so he hurried up," she said, and my eyes widened with shock.

"What??" I asked and took a bite. "Come on, eat. Food is good," I said, and she leaned forward to the plate. But I noticed her struggling with her sleeves as they touched against the food.

"Wait," I said, tore another bite, dipped it into the Kadhi, and forwarded my hand towards her mouth. She looked at me with confused eyes and then took the bite from my hand and ate.

"Thank you," she muttered, and I lowered my gaze. I made her uncomfortable.

"So, your father changed your mind because he was insecure about our friendship?" I asked, and she hummed, chewing on it.

"It's tasty," she said, and I smiled.

"It's made by Nandani. I know how she cooks," I said, and she smiled.

"Your sister is so mature," she said in a slow voice and began to roll her sleeves. I noticed her hands were full of bangles, and the red ink on her finger and in the middle of her hand looked beautiful.

"That's okay. You should not ruin your hands; I will help you eat," I said, and she shook her head slowly.

"It's okay. I am not fond of these things," she said, and I did not know why, but my chest ached.

"Why?" I could not stop myself from asking, but she lifted her gaze to me.

"Because only I did it, and you do not," she said, and I knit my brows.

"What?" I asked.

"Yes, you married me but did not do any Haldi or Mehndi. It was only me who suffered for the whole week," she said, and I gulped silently and looked away from the food.

"Do men do that too?" I asked, and she nodded. "Of course, go and watch Shantanu's hands," she said, and I immediately felt a burn in my chest.

"Stop taking his name in front of me," I said, and she knitted her brows and questioned, "Why?"

And I inhaled deeply. "Because a husband does not like her wife to take anyone else's name," I said, tearing another bite. She also pushed her hand to the plate and shook her head.

"But why? It is not like you have feelings for me. How does it bother you? And, you can worry not because I will be loyal, and you know that," she said, and I dipped the torn chapati into Saag and forwarded my hand to her.

She looked at me momentarily and then opened her mouth for me. "Still, I will never like you talking about any other man except me," I clarified, and she lowered her gaze, nodding slowly.

"I also do not talk about any other girl. Do I?" I asked, and she lifted her gaze to me and shook her head. "Because you are stubborn. You could marry the wealthiest, most beautiful and powerful Princess, but you only paid attention to avenging me," she said, and I tore another bite.
Meanwhile, she leaned forward and picked up a chilli pickle and a chapati. She placed it in her left hand and the pickle over it. I felt slightly disgusted.

"You eat like this?" I asked, and she looked at me for a moment and nodded.

"Yes, and there is one more way to enhance the taste of food," she said, and I knit my brows.

"We do not pick up things from the plate. We only eat like this," I said, and she gulped nervously and asked. "Can I eat like this only?"

I stared at her blankly for a moment and then nodded. "Of course," I breathed, " but only when you are alone or with me," I added.

She smiled weakly and leaned forward to take Kadhi's bowl. She began tearing the chapati into many pieces, and the moment she dipped her fingers into it, my eyes widened with shock.

"Trisha, what are you doing?" I asked, wondering if her hands would burn.

"I wanted to eat like this," she said, making small portions from whatever she had prepared and then forwarded her hand to me.

"This way, you can eat more vegetables and curries than chapatis," she said, and I opened my mouth for her. Her fingers brushed against my lips and tongue, and I could not help but suck a little. "I noticed you are eating more of the chapatis than vegetables," she said, and I noticed.

The spices and the taste melted into my mouth, and I nodded. "It's delicious," I could not help saying, but it did not feel good initially. I could not taste the wheat.

She made another portion and had it. "Umm, your sister cooks so well," she said, and the way a few drops of yellow Kadhi brushed against her lips before she licked, I felt dry at my throat.

"She does," I said, and she nodded, making another one for me. I hope you do not mind eating my half-eaten food," she said, and I leaned closer to take that bite from her hand. "Of course not," I muttered.

"It's getting yummier with bites," I said, and she smiled widely.

"Do you want to try something different?" she asked, and I nodded.

I saw her licking her fingers clean and placing the bowl on the table before picking up the mixed vegetables and taking out a little bit on the plate.

"What are you doing?" I asked, getting hungrier moment by moment.

"Shhh," she hushed me down, and I looked at her, taking that mix of kadhi and chapati over mixed vegetables and mixing them a little.

I felt ugly in my throat.

"Now, taste this. This is delicious," she said, and the moment she turned to look at me, I planted a slight smile on my face.

"Yes," I said and looked at her holding the bite for me.

I leaned in closer and had it. The carrots, beans, and cauliflower melted into my mouth, and the slightly sour kadhi tasted awful. I nodded, chewing them.

"Umm, delicious," I said, and she smiled.

"I said it," she said and ate it too.

"Ummm, it keeps getting better. And, with chilli pickle, it will be even more delicious." She ate a whole chilli with it, and I just kept staring at her. She looked even more beautiful while eating—her fingers half into the food, her hair open, spreading all across her back, and the way her bangles were tickling.

And suddenly, she lifted her feet and crossed her legs on the couch, and I chuckled a little.

"Your father is not that bad," she spoke suddenly, and I lifted my brow.

"Oh really?" I asked, taking the bowl mix of chapati and Kadhi and ruining my fingers, too.

"Hmmm, he is just ill, and I feel that he is scared of the future because he feels that..." She stopped eating. "He feels that he will not be with us," she finished, and I inhaled deeply, nodding.

"Make sense," I said, chewing, and she looked at me.

"Can you do something for me?" I asked, and I looked at her, nodding.

"Do not be harsh with him. Let him be happy. It will help him heal, and seeing everyone supporting him, he will start feeling better," she said in a slow voice, and I just nodded silently.

"I am not angry, but it cannot go like before, only in a few days," I tried to say, and she lowered her gaze and nodded.

"Also, I am doing everything I can to make him happy," I added, and she lifted her gaze and thinned her sight.

"Yes, and it began by marrying me," she teased me, and I just smiled.

"Well, I asked you to marry me even before I got to know about his death. So,"

"So, you only wanted to hurt me," she cut me off, and I looked at her and nodded calculatingly.

"Kind of," I muttered.

"Kind of?" she asked with a soft chuckle.

"Alright. I did," I accepted, and she nodded.

"Glad you accepted it," she said, and I looked into her eyes.

"But you only needed the reason to say 'yes'. If you had just said' yes, ' I would have done everything from talking to my own parents to your father and taking every responsibility," I said, and she immediately asked.

"But why? Why were you so desperate to marry me? You did not want to marry after what happened in the past few months. You hated marriage, and all of a sudden, you wanted to marry. All out of the blue," she asked, and I lowered my gaze, sucking on my lips.

"I do not know," I said. "I just did not want to lose you," I added, and she sighed deeply.

"You would not have lost me. I would be near you as Shantanu's wife and your friend," she said, and I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes.

"And, what if he had touched you on your wedding night? What if he wished to do things you would not like?" I asked, and she turned silent and lowered her gaze.

"Things I would not like?" she asked, and I looked away.

"You tell me, did you love Shantanu?" I asked, immediately turning to look at her, and she shook her head.

"No, it would have at least made my father feel good," she said, and I shook my head.

"Your father only thought about himself," I said, and she immediately looked at me.

"Everyone only thinks about themselves. Did you not?" Her words made me sigh deeply, and I lowered my gaze.

After a few moments of silence, I said, "Trisha, we will end up fighting again," and she nodded.

"Yes, we should stop," she muttered, inhaling deeply. "This will not end. We will keep circling the same things," she added, and I nodded.

We both looked at each other and nodded.

"Food," I said, and she nodded.

"Food," she replied.

And, we both turned our sights to it. And we continued eating in silence.

We both were hungry and finished everything before she suddenly said, "The sweet dish is remaining," taking off the lid of its bowl.

"I am full," I said, shaking my head. She poured it into a bowl and said,

"You should at least taste it," she said, bringing a spoonful near my mouth. I stared into her eyes and leaned into her to have it.

"It's good," I said, and suddenly she shivered when it thundered.

"Oh My God!" she placed the bowl down, and I smiled.

"I think it's going to rain," I said, and she nodded.

"Rain," she muttered softly, and I could not help but remember the night I went to meet her.

"There is milk, too," she said, and I stood up from the couch.

"Maybe later," I said, walking to the washing bowl to wash my hands. I noticed she had a few spoons of Kheer.

"Shall I keep it near the bed?" she asked, and I hummed.

"Umm-hmmm," she had a few spoons of it and walked towards me to wash her hands, too.

I saw her gently rubbing her Mahavar-inked hands together. They looked beautiful.

"Um, I will have to sleep here tonight," I said slowly, and she nodded without lifting her gaze.

"I hope you do not mind sharing the bed," I said, and she shook her head.

"You did not mind sharing your Kingdom; why would I mind sharing your bed?" she said, and I noticed her falling forward, almost dipping into the vessel. She struggled to push them back. I could not stop myself from walking closer and gently pushing the strand away.

She had wavy and curly hair. And the way they were reaching beyond her hips was maddening.

For a moment, it ached to touch them, from her ear to the end.

"You should lay down. I am bringing the milk," she said, stepping away a little, and I nodded.

"Which side do you want to sleep on?" I asked, gulping nervously, and she shook her head.

"I do not know. I know nothing about the bedsides," she said, and I nodded.

"So, we can figure it out. Though I sleep in the absolute middle, you know," I tried to say, and she nodded.

"Yes," she spoke softly. "You are big," she added, and I felt even more nervous.

"Curtains drawn covered or not?" I asked further while she walked towards the table to pour a glass of milk for me.

"I do not know that either," she said slowly, and I nodded.

"Um, do you like sleeping in dark or dim lighting?" I asked, and she turned around and looked around.

The chamber was mediocrely lit and she gulped before saying. "Darkness is good,"

I nodded and walked towards the bed before killing a few light lamps.

It turned dim and thundered again. The flashes of the lightening lit the chamber through the windows and I could notice that she was feeling nervous. Same as me.

I parted the curtains covering the bed and heard her light footsteps approaching closer.

She walked past me silently and kept the milk on the table to the left side. She stared at the bed for a moments. There were any rose petals today. And, suddenly she lifted her gaze.

"Only one comforter," she said and I noticed it too.

"Umm, should I call for another? It must be around in some trunk," I said and she looked at me for a moment and shook her head.

"We will... manage," she said and lowered her gaze.

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