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Abhinandan POV

"Yes," her voice came out low and shaky. My heartbeat and breaths had turned insane. My fingers trembled, and I collected her oiled hair in my palm.

She would hate me even more. I did not know what came to my mind, so I ended up speaking my mind. I should not have. By doing so, I put everything at stake.

I love her?

No, fuck.

Why the hell did I say that?

She would think that I never saw her friend, but more than all the time, I never told her.

I did not know either.

But there was no lie, though. As much as I loved my family, I loved her too. As much as I wanted them to be happy, I always wanted her to be happy, too.

Still, I should not have said that. She would hate me so much. She never saw me as anything more than a friend. I fucked up everything.

I sighed profoundly, closing my eyes for a moment, and suddenly Trisha said.

"Thank you so much for oiling my hair," her words calmed me a little. She did not seem angry, or irritated or frustrated. She spoke with calmness.

"Anytime," I muttered and began to part her into three sections.

She stayed silent while I moved my fingers slowly to braid her hair. The silence was piercing here, around us, and I could clearly hear our breathing.

The temperature was turning warmer, and it took me quite a while to reach the braid's end.

I looked around to find something to fasten her braid, but there was nothing. So, I pulled the loose and unused string to tie her braid.

"Done?" She asked, and I hummed in response.

I pushed her braid in front for her to see and noticed a few loose strands that did not come into it.

"Yes," I muttered, rubbed my still oily hands together, and asked.

"How is your feet now?"

She turned slowly towards me, and I noticed the slight gloss of oil around her neck. My lips curved into a slight smile as she silently placed her feet before me.

"When will you learn to speak clearly?" she asked, and I lowered my hands to touch her feet so that her skin would soak up the excess oil on my palms.

"I feel scared that you will hate me more," I could not stop myself from saying, and she did not say anything in response. She did not even lift her gaze up, and neither could I dare look at her face.

But I could see how beautiful her feet looked. Red ink and silver toe rings over the almond color was the most alive form of divinity I had seen in my life.

"Raatri bhot ho gayi, so Jana chahiye,"

"It's really late now. We should sleep," she muttered slowly while pulling her feet back. I looked away, nodding a little.

"Of course," I managed to say, but whatever had happened was still making me feel spellbound and shut.

"Thodi Kam hi jagah hai yaha, dikkat hogi,"

"It's only a little space here, and it will cause some discomfort," she said slowly while shifting closer to the wall, and I shifted closer to the partition's wall. There was only one and a half metres of space for both of us.

"Ohh," I managed to say and saw her lying back. My gaze mistakenly fell on her exposed navel, and she might have noticed, and she quickly turned opposite to me.

I closed my eyes with embarrassment.

What the hell was I even doing?

It took me a few moments and a lot of ounces of courage to lay back beside her. The place was congested, but I did not want to sleep alone.

The struggle was a thousand times better than being alone.

My arm touched her back, and I immediately shifted a little away from her. By doing so, my other arm pushed against the partition, and I could not help but sign deeply.

I could not even spread my arms.

A few moments of utter silence followed, and I could sense that she must have been able to feel my discomfort.

And suddenly, she turned straight on her back, and I lay frozen and closed my eyes immediately.

I slept.

I could hear the slight noise of her bangle as she slowly shifted a little. And, my heartbeats stopped when she all of a sudden held my wrist. Taking it off my midriff, she placed it under her head, and the moment she turned towards me and put her head on my chest, I opened my eyes with shock.

"Aapki har baat se grihna thodi karte hai hum. Kuch kuch achi bhi lagti hai,"

"I do not hate all the things about you. Even I like a few of them," she muttered in a slow voice, and my fingers fisted tightly.

Was she speaking to me?

"So, you do not hate me for playing with your...?" I dared to ask in a slow voice, but I could not complete my question. Her lips missed, and she nodded slightly.

I could sense the still nervousness and awkwardness between us.

"No," she muttered, and I inhaled deeply. I closed my eyes while wrapping my arm around her, which was under her head, and gently caressed her arm.

I heard her inhale deeply, shifting her even closer to me. I opened my eyes to fetch the blanket.

I used my legs and bare hand to spread it over us. Moment by moment, the awkwardness and nervousness faded away, and I fell asleep.

At some time, I fell asleep, too.

I woke up when I heard the slight noise of bangles, and a few drops of water fell on my face.

My lashes battled to give up on such a lovely sleep, but when my sleepy eyes noticed a few flashes of her sitting beside me, I gave up.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw her long, wet hair dripping with water, and she was pushing the bangles in her hand.

She was getting ready.

"You are awake?" I asked, and she immediately turned back to look at me.

"Thank God you woke up. I need your help. I am late," she said in a worried voice, and I closed my eyes for a moment.

"What happened?" I asked, and she turned her head opposite to me again and slowly and nervously pulled her hair to the front.

My gaze noticed her back, her blouse almost wet with the hair and the strings of her blouse half done.

"Please help; Pitaji will be back from his walk in some time," her voice sounded scared, and I slowly woke up.

"Meenakshi is not around; otherwise, I would not have asked you," she added. I silently held the ends of her blouse's string and tied them, taking care not to make it awkward for her.

Once I was done, she breathed, "Thank you." The dark blue colour looked refreshing and beautiful on her.

"And these bangles, too," she said, turning towards me. I looked at her hand, which held only half of the bangles.

"You know I have never worn them. I am scared that I will be late and cannot walk out without all these. The neighbours would think something, and Maasa would not like it," her words made me think my brows, and I silently took her hand in mine.

She handed me the golden bangles, and I began to help her. She looked impatient and helpless.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked suddenly, lifting her gaze to meet mine. "I am sorry, I forgot to ask. This is the first time you came here after our wedding, and I made you wash the utensils with me, and then you slept here without any air or comfort. I am so sorry. Please do not tell anyone," she said, and I did not understand why her words made me smile.

"I mean, you are a Prince. An... And, I did not behave wel—"

"Trisha," I cut her off. "I am okay, calm down," I said, holding her another hand to push the bangles in.

"Are you sure? You would not tell anyone?" She asked again, and I knitted my brows a little.

A wild thought came to my mind.

"I would not. But then you have to kiss me once," I said, and I noticed her eyes widen.

"What?" She asked, and I finished with her bangles and laid back.

"Yes, I could not sleep well here," I said, and she looked away for a moment.

"And who will you tell this to?" she asked, and I was stunned. I did not know who to tell about this.

"Umm, Guruji," I managed to say. "He would ask me about my sleep," I tried to say, and she shook her head.

"You are impossible," she sighed deeply, standing up from here. I noticed her wearing her jewellery back except the choker necklace.

As she leaned forward to pull her dupatta from a tiny hook in the wall, I held her hand, and she turned to look at me.

"What?" She asked, and I smiled a little before shaking my head and leaving her hand.

"Nothing," I muttered, and she tucked her dupatta in the side of her waist and covered her chest before putting another end on her head.

"What do you want to eat?" She asked before stepping away, and I shook my head.

"Anything," I muttered, and she smirked a little.

"Bottleguard then," she muttered, and I sighed deeply.

"Not the bottle guard," I said, closing my eyes and spreading my arms and legs to get comfortable. Her smell made it even better.

"Abhi, Sona hai to idhar so jaeye, uthar garmi ho jaegi ab,"

"Abhi, if you want to sleep, then sleep here; it will get hotter there," she said, and I heard her anklet bells running in the cottage.

"Idhar hi thik hai,"

"It's good here," I said, hearing her wrap the mat and then walk out.

I fell asleep again.

I woke up again when I heard someone call my name.

"Abhinandan,"

I inhaled deeply and opened my eyes to find Agastya standing over me and savouring grapes.

"Get up, brother. Come, let me take you somewhere," he said, and I closed my eyes again.

"I am already somewhere. Leave me," I said, and he held my hand and said.

"Get up, or your wife will get angry. Everyone is done having breakfast, and you are doing her work more," he said, and I opened my eyes.

Oh, I was married now. I remembered all of a sudden.

"Agastya!" I sighed and sat up.

"Come, let's go," he said, and I stood up.

"And, how the hell did you two fit in here?" He asked, and I immediately shot him in the glare.

"Okay, the secret is safe," he muttered. I walked out of the cottage, and the sunlight fell right into my eyes.

"Is it afternoon?" I asked, and Agastya chuckled.

"It's only the middle of the second prahara," he said, and I rubbed my eyes a little.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, finding it utterly silent around me.

"Guruji is attending to his children, and Jiji is talking to her friend," he said, and I looked around with more open eyes.

"Where?" I asked.

"Um, the cottage's backside," he said, and I nodded.

"Okay," I muttered and stretched my arms.

"So, you tried what I told you?" he asked. And I immediately looked at him. "Are you mad? You only spoke nuisance," I said, and he clicked his tongue with frustration.

"I told you the trick," he said, and I shook my head.

"You are not married yet. I cannot believe you," I said, and he shook his head.

"Go to hell, then," he said and walked down the stairs and said.

"Come, let's go around to the fields and river. What will you do here?" he asked, and I bit my lip a little and nodded.

"Alright," I said, closing the door behind me to walk with him.

The weather was pleasant. Though, I did not like sunlight much. It blinds my vision.

"So, how is it going?" Agastya asked, passing me a bunch of grapes, and I shook my head.

"I need to wash my teeth first. I am looking for a neem tree," I said, and he nodded.

"It's going well. I told her what I felt. I said that I love her as you suggested, and she got shocked because you did not alert me beforehand," I said, running my fingers in my hand. The villagers walking through the way looked at me as if I was different from them.

"She got shocked? As in badly shocked?" he asked, looking at me, and I nodded.

"Terribly shocked. For a moment, I thought she would slap me hard across my face," I declared, and he chuckled.

"I think you must be misreading her expressions. She looked happier today," he said, and I looked at her.

"She did?" I asked, and he nodded.

"What should I do now?" I asked, and he suddenly smiled. Well, I had to take his help. His plan did not really fail altogether. She hugged me yesterday.

Speaking of plans, while we talked earlier, he asked me what was happening between us. I told him the necessary details and how she haunted me with her consummation idea. He also agreed that if she spoke like that, I would be uncomfortable. He also suggested that we should just behave normally and go with the flow.

"Well, keep behaving well with her. Listen to her, and tell her how sorry you are," he said, and I immediately looked up at him.

"What if she does not listen to me and does not believe me?" I asked, and he knit his brows.

"So, what? She is your wife, and you do not have any other options. Clearly, you messed it up big time, and it is you who should be winning her heart," he said. I looked away, sighing with frustration.

First, I hated talking about love or hearts. And, second I hated it even more if I had to discuss it with someone else.

"By any chance, are you scared of intimacy?" he asked suddenly, and I looked at him silently.

"What?" I asked, almost stunned.

"I mean, you do not like speaking about those romantic, intimate things, and you always walk away if we, the group of boys, used to talk about them," he said, and I knit my brows with confusion.

"No, I do not think," I managed to say, and suddenly he stopped walking and looked into my eyes.

"Abhinandan, there is nothing to be ashamed of for being a reserved and shy man," he said and I did not know why, but he was making me even more uncomfortable.

"I am not," I tried to say. "I just feel like Trisha would not like much of physical touches and romance. She is... pure and not lusty," I added, and he sighed.

"Oh, she told you?" he asked, and I lowered my gaze.

"See, she did not tell you. You would not know what she likes if you did not experiment," he said, and I shook my head.

"Experiment? I would end up hurting her," I said, and he knitted his brows.

"Hurt her?" he asked, and I looked away. I did not want to speak about it. This marriage was the most problematic thing I had done. And, it was proving right now.

"I... we tried to consummate, and she cried out," I managed to say in a low voice, and he just stared blankly at me.

A cow herd seemed to approach us, and suddenly, we both began walking innocently.

"No one can know about it," I said in a slow voice, and he nodded.

"Your secret is safe with me," he said, and I inhaled a breath of peace.

"I swear to you, Agastya. If you tell a soul, I will sell you and use that money to kill those mouths," I said once the cowkeeper passed with his herd, and he gulped, looking at me.

"What the hell did you do to hurt her?" he asked all of a sudden in a whisper, and I looked away.

"What happens between a husband and wife, I hope you know," I said, and suddenly, he slapped me on the shoulder and sighed deeply.

"Of course, I know better than you," he said, and my eyes widened with shock.

"How? Are you married? And you did not tell me?" I asked, and he turned silent.

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