“Rote hue bilkul gaay jaisi lagti ho,”“You look like a cow when you cry.”
I immediately smacked his shoulder and hugged him even tighter.
“Waise, Suman, tumhein bhaybheet ki aawashyakta nahi hai. Hum hai na. Yadi wo bhent karne ki iccha rakhte hain to ek baar mil lo. Taatparya ye hai ki, kya pata tab we paristhiti ke kaaran vivash ho?”“Suman, there’s no need for you to be scared. I’m here with you. If they wish to see you, you can meet them once. I mean, who knows, perhaps they were helpless because of the circumstances back then?”
I shook my head, pulling away.
“Unke vyavahaar ko vivashta ka naam mat dijiye Kunwar-sa. Unhone kabhi humein apni putri maana hi nahi. Yun to humaara vivaah—adhikaar se—humse aayu mein bade vyakti se karva diya, kintu jab usne humein chhod diya, to humein punah sweekaar karne se nakaar diya. Jab gaanvwale humaare jeevit deh ko us mrutak ke deh se baandhkar, humaara antim sanskaar karne wale the, tab bhi unhone nahi roka, maano unka humse kabhi koi sambandh hi nahi raha ho. Kintu aaj jab unhe gyaat hua hai ki humaara vivaah ek rajkumar se ho raha hai, to uska laabh uthaane chale aayein. Aap nahi samjhenge, Kunwar-sa.”“Do not tag their behaviour as helplessness, Kunwar-sa. They never truly accepted me as their daughter. They married me off—by right—to a man much older than me, yet when he abandoned me, they refused to accept me back. Even when the villagers bound my living body to that dead man’s, performing my last rites along with his, they did not stop them, as if they had never shared any bond with me at all. And now, when they have learned that I am to marry a prince, they have come to take advantage of it. You would not understand, Kunwar-sa.”I said, and he nodded, smiling weakly.
“Okay, as you say, dear wife,”
I turned away to wear the rest of the jewellery and added,“We’re getting late, Kunwar-sa; let me get ready. And please let them know their Suman is not here, or even better, not alive anymore. They are not the parents of Sumanika, who’s getting married to Agastya Dev Singh.”
His smile grew a little wider. He wrapped his arm around me from behind and placed his chin on my shoulder as I slipped the bangles into my hand.
“Kitni sundar lag rahi hai! Kitna accha bolti ho! Kitni pyaari ho tum! Pehle to nahi lagi kabhi,”“How beautiful you look! How well you speak! How lovely you are! You didn’t seem like this before.” he said, leaving a trail of kisses on my neck.
I shoved my elbow into his stomach to push him away.
“Pehle aap humein dekhte kahaan the?”“When did you ever look at me before?”
He inhaled deeply, and I clicked my tongue in frustration.
“Leave me. I need to get ready; you’re disturbing me.”
As he pushed his nose further into my neck, I tightened my hold on the bangles and looked at him in the mirror.
“If you don’t step back right now, I’ll kill you.”
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36. Agastya
Ichuckled at her fierce little response.
The glow on her face, reflected in the mirror, made her look like perfection. She looked… breathtaking.
“I want to stay here with you,” I said.
She huffed and tried to push my hands away, but when she couldn’t, she sighed deeply and ignored me.
Taking the bangles, she tried slipping them on one by one. Her delicate palms looked beautiful.
“Let me help,” I said, taking the bangles from her hand.
As I pressed her hand slightly to slide one on, she let out a soft sound of discomfort.
My teeth dug into my lower lip.“Bas itne mein hi aah nikal gayi?”“You’re moaning at such a slight inconvenience?”
She blinked at me timidly.
“Your hands are rough, Kunwar-sa,” she murmured.“The force you apply and the force I feel are very different.”
I nodded once.“Then, at every touch, you’ll have to tell me if it’s right for you.”
She blushed at my remark.
Once the bangles were done, I picked the rings and gently slipped them onto her fingers.
