“Humein bhojan ke prabandh hetu jaana hai,”“I need to go to oversee the meal preparations.” I explained, but suddenly, Nandani turned back to us.
“Tum rehne do, Suman. Koi aur sambhaal lenge. Tumhe humaare saath bethkar bhojan karna hai,”“Let it be, Suman. Someone else will look after it. You’re to sit with us for the meal.”
I gritted my teeth at him when he winked at me with a satisfactory smile.
Rolling my eyes, I opened the knot he tied and looked at Nandani.
“Nandani, humein sahaayata ke liye wahaan hona chaahiye,”“Nandani, I should be there to help,” I said, however, she passed Princess Rudraja in my hands and went to seek the elder’s blessings along with Ranaji.
After that, Daadi-sa called Ranaji.“Rudra, do you have a moment?”
He replied with a smile,“Ji, Daadi-sa,” and, with that, both of them walked away from the ceremony hall, leaving my little heart racing with anxiety. I knew what the two of them were going to talk about.
“What happened?” Kunwar Agastya asked, standing behind me.
“Sab aap hi ka to kiya dhara hai,”“It’s all your doing.” I muttered, rolling my eyes internally.
He frowned.
“Abhi to kuch kiya bhi nahi hai aur ye dasha hai, kuch kar denge tumhaare saath to tum to bheegi billi ke bhaanti koodati phirogi,”“I haven’t even done anything yet, and you’re already like this. If I actually did, you’d be skittering around like a drenched kitten.” he said, looking into my eyes.
I, for once, looked at him from head to toe and walked away. Nandani was engaged with the guests, introducing the princess to them.
Quietly, I excused myself to see if lunch was prepared and ready to be served, because I couldn’t help it. It felt like this was my family, and if anything, I had to be more responsible towards it.
At lunchtime, I asked the attendants to bring all the dishes to the dining hall, where guests and their families would gather for a meal.
I was sceptical about even being present there. Everyone knew about him and me. I didn’t know what they thought of me—of us.
I sighed tiredly at my thoughts ambling through the empty hallway. When suddenly,
“Suno,”“Listen.” Kunwar-sa called me from behind.
I instantly turned to look at him, walking toward me, holding Princess in his arms. She had already fallen asleep.
I gulped seeing his towering figure hovering over me, patting her back gently.
“Ji,” I responded.
He kissed Princess and muttered,“She fell asleep. Bhabhi-sa asked if you could lay her on the bed and look after her for some time,” he said, and I nodded.
“Ji,” I replied, taking Princess in my hands. Her lashes fluttered open lazily, and before she could cry, I smiled at her, patting her gently. Once she recognised me, she snuggled into my shoulder and fell asleep again.
I lifted my gaze to Kunwar-sa and asked,“Bhojan nahi kiya aapne?”“You haven’t eaten yet?”
He smiled, shaking his head.“The elders are talking,” he said, folding his hands at the back, taking relaxed steps ahead, and I followed behind.“And I was kind of feeling embarrassed.”
“But why?” I asked.
Looking back at me while raking his fingers through his hair, he replied,“They’re talking about our wedding.”
For a moment, I had to look down to contain my feelings.
“Now you understand what embarrassment means,” I teased timidly.
He chuckled and suddenly held my arm.
I stopped to look at him.
