The night was approaching near and Sameer was reclined on his plush office chair staring the ceiling with his fingers interlinked with each other, lost in thoughts how to let the cat out of the bag. He couldn't think of any other plan to take hold of the situation. In his opinion, revealing their marriage would definitely shut those filthy mouths who were making things up about him and Naina.

When Aarav had shown him a top magazine's article earlier this evening, his anger had no bounds. He just wanted to thrash that person who had dared to write that shit in the magazine. An amateur writer had published an article mentioning about the spicy affair between the CEO of the well known 'Maheshwari Industries' and an employee and apparently, they couldn't even keep themselves away from each other taking their fling to the office too which costed them to lose a massive deal.

He knew media would definitely try to poke its nose in this matter, but couldn't think of any plan earlier to prevent them from doing it. He put on his thinking cap to list out the ways they could disclose their marriage in a prudent way since they were already married. They had come to terms of demuring this relationship, not being ready for it but now they would have to act accordingly. He couldn't let his company's name to be drowned just because of those petty pictures. He sat racking up his brain for about an hour and finally came up with a conclusion. He just needed to inform Naina about it.

In the Maheshwari House, Naina jad just entered in her room after having her dinner. Not having anything to do, she was getting bored in that giant house. Her leg was much better since she had spent most of her time sitting on her bed. When she had come out of her room having enough of getting bored, she had seen Ramdhari bringing out some wooden boxes, taking them towards the porch.

Being curious, she had sauntered over him to ask about them. That's when she came to know about Nanaji's fondness of collecting antiques from all over the places he had travelled. The wooden boxes had some intricate patterns on it lending a look of some ancient entity. Ramdhari told her about every souvenir along with the respective places they had been bought from and she had listened to it very keenly.

While chattering over them, he had told her about how it was a dream for Nanaji to travel all over India instead of abroad owing to his loyalty for the country. He had also told him how Sameer had committed to make his dream come true even if he was busy with his work. He would make him go alone even afters his complains of not accompanying him and sometimes he would himself go with him enjoying with his Nanu. She had picked up their photos which portrayed their surreal bond of affection and love. He really loved his Nanu a lot. The thought itself brought a smile on her face reminiscing how Nanu used to tell her about his grandson with utmost admiration in his eyes.

They had talked for some more time with Ramdhari telling her more of Sameer-Nanu tales which had made her laugh. After cleaning them, he had kept them back to their places and made his way towards the kitchen to prepare the dinner while Naina helped him trying to learn more of it.

*****

It was a bit late when Sameer had reached his home owing to the impromptu visit to the market to bring some things he had listed out. As usual, the lights of the living room had been turned off giving him the notion that Naina had already eaten her dinner. He needed to talk to her but saved it for later since he was starving. After a quick change of clothes and freshening up, he had stridden towards the kitchen to barge on his food.

After satisfying his tummy with the not-so-delicious food cooked by Ramdhari, he decided to finally talk to her. He knew she would be awake. In these few days, he had gotten an idea of her sleeping time even if they stayed in separate rooms. Turning off the lights, he ascended the stairs and stepped towards her room giving the door a gentle knock. He had heard some footsteps coming behind the door before it opened, revealing Naina in a creamy white plain Kurti and pink salwar pairing them with a silk white dupatta.

She was surprised to see him at this hour, "Aap?" Sameer came out of an unknown daze which even he wasn't aware of, "Uhh...tumse kuchh...kuchh baat karni hai...zara chalo..."

She nodded with uncertainty. Aaj kounsa faisla sunana hai inhe?' She mused as she followed him to the balcony. She recalled that night when he had shared his opinion about this betrothal. Wow, what's with them and deja-vus today.

As they reached towards the balcony chairs, he gestured her to take a seat before settling on his. She sat down clutching her dupatta involuntarily, not having any idea what he wanted now. The moon was shining, sprinkling its glimmer everywhere resting on the shady clouds. Her face gleamed from the shimmering dust of moonlight which appeared to be enticing. Before those foreign sensations could trap him, he cut the silence between them, "Umm, Tumhara pair thik hai ab?"

She looked up and replied calmly, "Haan...pehle se thik hai..."

Sameer nodded and without wasting any time, came to the point, "Dekho main baat nahi ghumaunga. Mujhe lagta hai ki ab hume apni shaadi ke baare mein sabko bata dena chahiye."

Naina was amazed at his sudden declaration, "Kya? Aise... Achanak se?"

He nodded and sighed before continuing, "Yahi sahi hoga. Jo kuchh bhi kal hua, uss wajah se sab baatein bana rahe hai jo sahi nahi hain. Hum unko ab koi galat idea nahi de sakte otherwise the company's reputation would be demolished aur main nahi chahta aisa kuchh ho... Hum unhe sach batayenge... Par, apne tareeke se."

A frown appeared on her face as she pondered over his words. He wanted to reveal their marriage for the sake of a company's reputation and what did he mean by 'apne tareeke se'?

"Kya matlab...?" She asked.
Sameer bent a little towards her joining his fingers, elbows resting on his knees and began to tell her, "Dekho, they think that we are having an affair or something. Unhe bas ek wajah chahiye isey prove karne ki aur hum woh wajah hi khatam kar denge. Hume bas unhe yeh yakeen dilana hoga ki hum dono sach mein saath hain aur married hain. Iske baad unhe koi haq nahi hoga kuchh bhi bolne ka aur sab kuchh normal ho jayega. We just need to pretend."

He quickly got up to and went to his room saying he'll be back in a sec while she just sat there gazing at the wooden table in front of them, contemplating his words. So basically, he just wanted to use their marriage as a sort of duct-tape to shut their mouths. Her thoughts came to halt as she saw him bringing a clothbag with some things in it. He handed it to her and said, "Maine sab intezaam bhi kar diya hai... Dekho isme."

She peeked under the polybag only to be shocked. Holding the bag with one hand, she slowly proceeded to take out the items.
First, a tiny case of Sindoor followed by a light-weighing simple Mangalsutra, and then a box containing some red and golden bangles to be paired with any other which were supposed to be worn by any married woman. She was biwildered at his actions. Didn't he even think once what she would feel? Was it really nothing to him? Although, there marriage was a marriage without any rituals. It was a marriage with compulsion.

Wasn't he the one who said that they would not think about it and just move on with their lives as they were doing before?

And now, he had handed over these things which were aspects of a married woman. They were her 'Suhag ki nishani'. She thought, 'Jab koi suhag hi nahi toh nishani kaha se hui...' How could he disrespect them by including them in his petty game? She felt anger rising over herself.

"Aapko mazaak lag raha hai yeh sab? Maana ki humari Shaadi koi maayne nahi rakhti par iska matlab yeh toh nahi na ki aap isko aise hi kisi chiz ki tarah use kar lenge. Pehle aapne yeh bola ki iss shaadi ko accept nahi karenge, thik hai, maan liya. Par ab ekdum se keh rahe hain ki office mein sabke saamne aise behave karein ki hum normal couple hain. Itna aasan samajhte hain aap inn sabko." She spat over him, taking him by surprise.

He too replied with equal vigour, "Kaisi baatein kar rahi ho tum! Yeh sab faayde ke liye hi kar raha hun main. Aur isme problem hi kya hai? Bas dikhana hi toh hai!"

Her eyes widened and she almost shouted, "Bas dikhana keh rahe hain aap isey! Kya sach batayenge aap sabko, yahi ki Nanaji ke kehne par humne yeh shaadi ki jisey hum dono hi nahi karna chahte the? Boliye! Mujhe nahi pata tha ki aap itne patthar dil hain."

He was getting angrier and angrier with her words. What did she even think of herself?
"Unn sabke baare mein tum toh mat hi socho. Main apne tareeke se samjha dunga unhe. Aur tum kya shaadi-shaadi ki rat laga rahi ho. Maine pehle din hi bol diya tha ki mujhe inn sab mein koi interest nahi hai. Mujhe sirf apne Nanu ki company ki chinta jo mere paaa unki ek aakhri nishani hai."

With this, he shot up from his place and stepped towards his room but halted at his place just before he could reach the balcony-door. He turned back towards her and said pointing his finger towards her, "Aur yeh jo kuchh bhi ho raha hai na, uski zimmedar tum hi ho. Naa tum hoti aur naa hi Nanu meri shaadi karwaate. Main toh khud ko kaise bhi sambhal sakta tha, par jabse tum aayi ho na tabse kuchh na kuchh gadbad hi ho rahi hai. Tumhari marzi hai, tumhe yeh karna hai ya nahi warna main isey apni tarah se handle kar sakta hun."
With that he turned and left for his room.

She sat rooted to her spot. His words jabbed her without her knowledge. Her vision blurred with tears which eventually spilt out not being able to hold onto her emotions.
'Yeh sab kuchh tumhari wajah se hua hai...'
His words buzzed in her mind. He was right. She was indeed the reason behind all this. Had it not been her, they would have never fallen in this situation. Was she expecting him to console her for bearing such harsh accusations in the office? Or was she expecting him to say that he is ready to accept this marriage?

She was sinking in self-implication. She couldn't help herself to not think about where she was going wrong. She never wanted to trouble anyone but everytime ends up doing so. Why? Why is it her everytime?

"Saari galti teri hi hai!"

"Tu kabhi kuchh sahi nahi kar sakti!"

"Tu kisi laayak nahi hai!"

The voices she had been trying to evade took over her mind once again, causing her to shut her eyes as tight as possible. Her breathing wasnbecoming ragged. It took her a while to compose herself. Opening her eyes, she picked up the mangalsutra lying on her lap and traced its black and golden beads lightly. The other day, she had silently prayed to god to give back her happiness. She smiled sadly, some more tears glazing her cheeks, 'Yeh sab khushiyan teri kismat mein nahi hai Naina. Apni zindagi ko aise hi apna le.'

He was right at his own place. He had cleared everything on the very first day that Nanu's company was the only thing important for him. May be his plan of faking it wasn't as harmful as she was thinking it to be. It was better than from being total strangers and yet falling into these hardships. At least she would get respite from those quips. Moreover, she had promised Nanaji that she would never leave his side.

She glanced over the pearl white moon gleaming with light, "Sirf aapke liye Nanaji...", she whispered. Keeping the things back in the bag, she wiped her tears and went back to her room in a hope to catch some sleep though she knew she won't be getting any.

The air inside the room across hers too wasn't very pleasant. Sameer was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with one hand resting under his head. His mind was stuck on their not-so-pleasant balcony's conversation. He just wanted to put everything right on their places. Couldn't she understand this simple thing? But what can he do? She was a woman after all and can't do anything about it. As per his knowledge, marriage was a sensitive topic for the women which justified her words. They have a wide sensitivity range as compared to that in men.

She was right. It wasn't easy for him too to just pretend calmly that they were a couple but he couldn't think of any other way than that. He couldn't just let those filthy thoughts of others to mingle up and revolve around the air causally, crushing his Nanu's only entity left with him. But the real question still racked his mind, Was he really doing this just for the company?

When he had overheard those two girls' conversation on the office, judging and criticizing her character, he had just lashed upon them, but in reality, he had felt much angrier than ever. He had somehow resisted himself from firing them right there which even surprised him too. He might not be in good terms with her but she was a woman after all, who didn't deserve her character to be assessed in open at any cost. This was another reason behind his decision but he couldn't just say it in front of her casually. Instead, he had blamed her for all this. It wasn't her fault that they had gotten in this problem. She didn't deliberately approve of this matrimony, rather, she was put into it, just like him. Fate hadn't been favourable to both of them.

He made up his mind to talk to her tomorrow and think of another plan even though it would finish his leftover thinking capacity. God! He had again done the same thing. Speaking without thinking. For how long was it going to continue? He cursed himself before leaning towards the switchboard beside his bed and turned off the lamp for getting much-needed sleep.

Both of them were putting up with their turmoils. They both were feeling guilty for blaming each other, to whip upon each other without any reason. Hoping for the things to get better, the two eventually fell into a deep slumber.

*****

It was normal but breezy morning. As usual, Ramdhari had arrived early and got engaged in doing his daily chores like cleaning the house, dusting the furniture and preparing the breakfast. He had just placed the Tava over the gas stove when he heard Sameer's voice seemed to be sleepy. He had slept late at night, all thanks to his overworking brain. Lack of sleep had rewarded him with weariness, and to get rid of that, coffee was the only solution.

He was adjusting his tie while descending the stairs when he called out Ramdhari, "Naashta ready hai na? Aur ek kaam kar, coffee bana ke le aana pehle.", who too replied with "Ji bhaiya, bas abhi laaye."

Placing his suit jacket on the arm of the sofa, he stood beside the table picking up a newspaper. Ramdhari handed him the cup of hot spiked coffee just the way he liked. The headlines of the newspaper kept him so busy that he didn't bother to see someone descending down the stairs. It was when he heard the clinking of bangles, his eyes averted from the newspaper to see the source of the sound. Taking a sip from the cup, he turned only to be choked at the sight. Ramdhari, who had come hurriedly to give him some water, himself was tongue-tied when he followed his sight.

Clad in a maroon silk saree with golden and black zari work at the borders, Naina was descending down the steps carefully, afraid of being stumbled. She had paired up her saree with a matching black blouse which covered till her elbows. Her brown leather handbag hung on her shoulder. As he took in her sight clearly, he saw her hairline filled with red Sindoor and her slender neck adorned the delicate Mangalsutra. Her hair were open and flowing due to the breeze flowing in through the open windows. The silver earrings jingled as she finally reached the last step. She still hadn't seen him as she was busy fixing the strap of her wristwatch. It was then when he noticed the set of bangles which he had brought on her wrists.

She looked elegant. He felt jittery with the warmth which had engulfed him unaware to him. Before he could immerse deeper in it, his mind questioned, 'But why was she dressed up like this? And that too, after what happened last night.' He was in desperate need of answers from her. As if on any indication, her kohl-lined eyes lifted and locked with his. For a moment, they both had almost lost into another world if only Ramdhari hadn't intervened, "Waah Bhabhi! Aaj aap sach mein humari Bhabhi lag rahi hain. Kisi ki nazar na lage aapko."

Her daze broke on hearing his words. She turned to him giving a shy smile. Sameer was still looking at her. The half-emptied cup of coffee laid forgotten in his hands. She grew conscious of his gaze and cleared her throat to break his reverie.

Sameer took a deep breath and gave the cup to Ramdhari to take it back to kitchen and asked him to prepare the breakfast.
He turned towards her and tried to say, "Tum... Yeh..."

He was unable to frame suitable words to say. She looked down and fidgeted with the ring adorning her ring finger. Wait, he hadn't given a ring to her, he thought. As if on listening to his query, she replied, "Woh... Aapne ring dena bhul gaye the... Jiske bina sabko puri tarah yakeen nahi hota..."

Did she just conformed to his plan? But what compelled her to do so? He wanted to know and asked her, "Tum aise taiyar kyun hui ho? Kal toh tum..." He left his sentence incomplete as he knew she would catch on it. "Maine bohot sochne ke baad hi yeh faisla liya hai. Main yeh sirf Nanaji ke liye kar rahi hun...'

A frown emerged on his face. He would often think about what Nanu had ever done for her that she respected him to this extent and treated him as her own. Without saying much, he nodded and said, "Chalo, breakfast karke nikalte hain..."

She obliged and settled on one of the chairs while Sameer took the one in front of her. Ramdhari served the Paneer and Pyaaz Paranthas, hot and crispy along with a cup of tea for Naina. The breakfast went smoothly without any exchange of words between both. After being done with it, they both got up to wash their hands.

Sameer asked her to wait as he had forgotten to bring some files from his room. Ramdhari came towards Naina and remarked, "Bhabhi, aap dono bilkul asli ke woh kya kehte hain angrezi mein... Haan...coupal lag rahe hain."

This made her shy and laugh at the same time while he was confused. She politely corrected his error, "Coupal nahi couple... Couple." Ramdhari rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Haanji, wohi."

This exchange didn't go unnotice by Sameer as he was already on the staircase when Ramdhari had made that comment, but chose to ignore it. He gestured Naina, indicating her to come outside. She waved towards Ramdhari with a smile and followed Sameer out.

Ramdhari smiled on seeing his Bhaiya-Bhabhi like that. But the next moment, sadness engulfed him. He knew this wasn't real but for just a show but let it be. At least they would interact with each other. He gazed at them as they both got settled in his car. Keeping a hand on his heart and closing his eyes, Ramdhari silently prayed to god to bless them with the happiness and support they deserved. He looked above and faintly smiled as if he could see Nanaji looking down at them, a proud smile on his face.

Aapne bilkul sahi faisla liya Nanaji.

_____________________________________________

As promised, here is the next update. I had wanted to add a bit more but it would have gotten too lengthy. Hope you liked it.

What do you think about Sameer's plan?
These two really need to improvise their communication with each other, isn't it?
Well, let's see what happens;)

Looking forward to your views and opinions. Do vote if you liked it :)

Lots of Love, Sim❣