Disclaimer: A bit of strong language, and some graphic scene.

Anirudh was mortified seeing Bondita spilling blood from her mouth, was an understatement. He rushed to her and held her shoulders from her side.

"Bondita! What is happening to you?" He asked patting her cheeks, as she started swaying from her sitting position slowly collapsing on the bed.

"Pa-pati babu...." Said Bondita as she looked at him , her eyes hooded, and blood dripping from her chin, and moved her lips as if to say something but nothing came out of her mouth.

"What? What are you saying? I can't understand." He aligned his right ear to her lips.

She hoarsely said, "ca-call m-m..."

"Maa? You want me to call maa?"

Bondita nodded feebly as her head lolled to one side , her shaky hands clutching to his arm, still taking shallow breaths.

"Yes, yes." Anirudhh ran to the door again and pounded on it harshly.
"Maaa!!! Babaaaaa!! Kaka!!! Somebody please open the door Maaaa! Please Maaaa!!! Op-open the door. P-please... Bondita needs you maa..." He cried out loud but was met with silence.

He dashed again towards her , hovering over her face as her eyes continuously poured tears disappearing into her hair. "Bondita! Bondita. Look at me. I.... I won't let anything happen to you. Okay."

He fetched a glass of water and lowered it to her lips, as he lifted her head a bit to make her swallow. After two or threes sips, she shook he head in negation as water was mixing with the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

"Tell me Bondita. I'll help you. Do you need something? What do you want? Feel like vomiting?" He asked as he caressed her forehead, wiping the sweat droplets from it.

She whimpered and held his hand and said almost inaudibly ," It p-pains..."

"Whey-where? Where does it pain? Stomach?" He rubbed her belly slightly to soothe her, but she gripped his hand feebly, and moved it downwards in between his legs. "He-here. .....It pains a lot." She sobbed, " pli-please call maa."

Anirudhh moved his hand back with a jerk, as if burnt. He closed his eyes in dismay and looked up controlling his emotions. He felt himself stuck between her safety and dignity. Protecting one will sabotage the other. And he couldn't risk losing any of them.

"Bondita! Bondita! Listen, the pain will go, okay. Somebody might come soon. Then I'll take you to doctor. Okay." He rubbed her tears with his thumb.

"It- it is not go-going . It hurts a lot." She tried to touch in between her legs but her hand felt jelly. Moving a single muscle felt like a war to her. "Pli-please ma-make this p-pain go, pati babu." She whimpered.

"What do I do? What do I do? This is wrong. I can't do this to her. Yes! Yes! One thing can be done!"

Without wasting a single moment, Anirudh scooped her in his arms and took her to the washroom. He settled her in the already filled bathtub making sure to keep her face above the water level. He rubbed her face gently with cold water , murmuring sweet nothings in her ear.

"Bondita! Does it feel better now?" He asked.

Bondita nodded her head tiredly as the cold water reached her intimate parts soothing the burning sensation.

After a few minutes, she started retching, followed by a projectile bloody vomit, the fresh blood mixing in the water.

Anirudh was fixed on his place saucer eyed, his own blood turning icy blue as she puked more and more blood. His eyes were flooding incessant with tears. He pulled her out to make her seated in sitting position on the bathroom floor and kept rubbing her back until she finally crumpled down limp in his arms.

"Bondita! No! Bondita! Listen! Don't .... Don't." He hugged her head in to his chest and wailed.
"No.. no.. no. This can't happen. I've to do something." He laid her carefully on the floor and again banged the door as loudly as he could and screamed addressing everyone. When nobody responded , he pushed the door with his shoulder in full force, the door rattled a bit but didn't open.

He collapsed on the ground in defeat not understanding what to do. He ran back to the washroom and took Bondita's head in his lap and tried to awake her.

"Bondita! Bondita! Shona!.... Listen to me. Op-Open your eyes..... Please Bondita..... Please.. Talk to me...please please..." He said between his sobs and sprinkled some water on her face. Bondita's eyes fluttered open a bit , but again dropped down close, and her hand fell limp on her floor.

No! No! No! Bondita! I have to do something. What ? What? Think Anirudhh think! What are the ways to go out?
Door? Locked.
Window? Too high to jump down.
Study? Study? What help will study to? Study door!!!!! Yes!

Anirudhh placed her head back on the floor and rushed to the study. He tried to open the door. But ! Alas! It was also locked from outside.

Anirudh searched for a heavy object here and there and saw his thick hourglass sandclock. He picked it up and smashed the glass on the study door. He inserted his hand in the broken glass gap, getting pierced by glass shards and tried to open the door. Finally the door latch came handy and he opened the door.

He pushed it open and shouted, " Kaka! Baba! Maaa! Come fast."

Without waiting for anyone's response, he ran fast to his room upstairs and opened the door. He rushed into the bathroom and scooped Bondita's wet body in his arms and moved briskly as fast as he could downstairs taking care not to bang her head with anything in way.

" Bihari Babu! Tell the driver to bring the car."

Shubhra and other family members came running to him , and was shocked to see Anirudh carrying an unconscious Bondita downstairs.

"Awni?!! What happened to her?"

"Maa! First we have to take her to hospital. She vomited a lot of blood."

" Blood?? " Her eyes widened in horror as she saw Anirudh's kurta stained with blotches of blood. " Come, come take her fast. Hurry?! "

The ride to the hospital was not an easy one. Bondita didn't show any sign of getting consciousness. Anirudh himself was crying inconsolably , mumbling and pleading her to wake up, hugging her head to his chest all the way. Shubhra's tears weren't stopping as she prayed silent prayers to maa dugga to save her child.

Trilochan was sitting in passenger seat himself praying for Bondita, while Binoy and Batuk followed them in another car.

As soon as they reached hospital, Anirudh almost jumped out of the car with Bondita in his arms and walked inside fast.

***

"The patient has suffered too much blood loss and her blood pressure has dropped to a dangerous level . For now we have stopped the bleeding. But we need to do the blood transfusion as fast as possible. We will have to take your blood samples." Said the doctor in an empathetic voice while coming out of the ward Bondita was admitted in. .

"What happened to her , doctor?" Said Anirudh.

"Her stomach vessels have burst. Who was with patient before she got sick? "

" I... I was there. She will....will be alright. Isn't it? She is fine na." Said Anirudh as his face became ashen listening to her condition.

"We will try our best. Why don't you also get your dressing done? Your hand is bleeding a lot."

"I'm ... I'm fine."

" Awni! Get your hand treated. Bondita will be fine. Yes?" Subhra said to her caressing his head with teary eyes.

" Maa, she will be fine na? Nothing will happen to her right? She lost so much, so much blood. It's all my mistake maa. I should have thought of breaking the study door before. If something happens to her, what will .....what will I do. Please maa, please , tell dugga maa to save her."
She nodded unable to voice her thoughts, and hugged him tightly in her embrace.

"She will be fine, shona. Nothing will happen to her." She consoled caressing the back of his head.

Luckily, Shubhra's blood group matched and she gave her blood to Bondita.

Anirudh was called in doctor's chamber to discuss Bondita's condition.

"What did she do before she started got sick?" The doctor asked.

"She..... She was absolutely fine before that. But suddenly , she started feeling uneasy and said her skin burned and she started crying.... And.... She.... She.... " Anirudh himself started hyperventilating while talking to the doctor.

"Relax , relax young man. Have some water." He gave him a glass of water, which Anirudh drank hastily.

" The way her blood pressure dropped isn't normal. Is she on any medication? Or did she eat anything poisonous?"

" No , she is not on any medication. She just had the mi---milk? She drank kesar milk before getting sick. Ohh dugga ! How did I miss it? Yes, few minutes after drinking the kesar milk, she started feeling uneasy and said that her skin burnt and...." He hesitated.

"And?"

" She.... She... "

" You can tell me. This will remain confidential."

" She said it is paining bet-between her legs. A lot." He said almost mumbling.

The doctor looked at his clothes , as he remembered Bondita was also brought in red saree decked up in heavy jewellery like a bride.

" Don't take me wrong, Mr Roy Chowdhury , did you or anyone else in your family put aphrodisiac in the milk? Seems like today was your wedding?"

"Huh? " He asked confused.

" Aphrodisiac is a drug that stimulates sexual desire. As I assume today was your wedding , some men take it to increase their sexual appetite. Maybe she drank the wrong beverage! Which would have been meant for you. "

Anirudh remembered Gopal mentioning a herb to increase sexual appetite.

Could he?
How? How could he do that to her?
He won't leave him .
Gopal! I won't spare you today.

"The drug's effect will go away in 3-4 hours. Uptil then she should also gain unconscionsnes. But we will have to monitor her for further bleeding episodes. "

( Note: Maximum aphrodisiacs mainly work by pooling the blood to the dilated vessels of genitalia , so that the person can remain aroused for longer duration while performing sexual activity . Since Bondita took too high dose for her age, the drug showed local action also, on her stomach, dilating the vessels and ultimately bursting them, thus the bloody vomit aka haematemesis. Her blood pressure dropped because maximum blood moved to her other peripheral blood vessels. )

"She will be fine na, doctor." Asked Anirudh dreading the answer.

" It's difficult to predict now. Let her become conscious first, then we'll able to say with confirmation."

Anirudh's hands balled in fists at the thought of her getting drugged that too by an aphrodisiac. But the more disturbing thought was that the milk was meant for him. Would he have drank that, what would have happened? Would be have forced himself on her ? She was feeling pain there? He also would have felt ache there? What would he have done to calm his pain, his desire? Would he? Could he? No! Whoever would have drunk that milk, the consequences would have been dire for her in both ways. The thought rose bile in his throat, making him nauseous.

Was it cruel of him, that he thought that the way things turned out were better than the actual plot schemed? If she comes unscathed today, then only her body would be suffering, but the other way, she would have suffered in so many ways. Permanent damage would have occurred. He would never have forgiven himself. Never ever!!!

He couldn't see beyond the possibile outcomes that could have happened if he would have drunk the milk? He needed answers, right now, in this moment. He called to the Roy Chowdhury haweli.

"Bihari Babu! The... The glass of milk you gave to Bondita for me, who gave that to you."

"Your friend, Gopal. Chhote Malik! .... Malik....How is Bondita bahurani? She is fine right?.... Malik.... Malik.... Can you hear me... "
The telephone hung in air attached to its wire, with Bihari's voice shouting in the receiver.

Red flashed in front of his eyes, as he drove back to Gopal's house in fury.

He rammed the breaks, leading to a screeching sound of tires , as he jumped from his motorcar, in front of his house. He pounded hard on the door as if he would break it. Now , no door could protect him from his wrath.

"Gopal! Open the door. Gopal! Open the door I said." He banged the door hard again.

"Areh! I'm coming. Who is this , at this ungodly hour kno--". Her words stuck in her throat, as Gopal's mother opened the door to see the eldest son of Roy Chowdhurys, standing at her threshold with blood-doused clothes, looking all dishevelled.
His nostrils were flaring, and a vein popped thick on his forehead.

His eyes had a scorching flame in them, hell bent to burn everything in his way. He looked as if he's going to explode with fury.

"Chote Malik!" She lowered her pallu a bit more. " Wha--" Her words hung in air, as he dashed inside without any further invitation.

"GOPAL! GOPAL! COME OUT ! YOU SCOUNDREL!"

"What happened chhote Malik? Did our Gopal made any mistake?"

"Mistake! Not a mistake, he did a crime. A sin. An unforgivable iniquity. He has crossed all his limits and of wickedness today." Anirudh bellowed.
GOPAL! GOPAL! WHERE ARE YOU? COME OUT YOU COWARD! "

" Anirudh , wait for ten minutes. I'm coming. " A panting voice of Gopal came from inside, making him more angry.

Anirudh took a chair from the hall and darted towards the room from where the voice was coming and banged the door with the metal chair , making heavy rattling sounds, and the door unhinged after three blows.

Kashi shrieked at this sudden interruption and scrambled up from the bed , trying
to cover her half naked body with the bedsheet and ran to the bathroom.

"What the fuck, Anirudh? Are you ma-? "Said Gopal as he saw
his friend covering the distance between them in few angry strides and pushed him on the bed. Before he could complete his sentence , his jaw was hit by a heavy blow, followed by a few more, until he started seeing colourful spots in front of his vision.

" Chhote Malik! What are you doing to my son?" His mother screamed and came running to his room, but turned as she saw her son naked on the bed. "Chhote Malik! Please , please leave him. I beg you." She joined her hands turning her back towards them. But her pleads fell on blind ears.

"Ogoooooo...... Shunchooooo.... See what chhote Malik is doing? Our son! Save him! Come fast! Gopal ke baba!!!!" She cried a the top of her voice.

" Yes, yes. I am mad. I am so mad that I can't see anything else beside my wife's blood filled mouth and your ugly face which I'm going to beat into pulp soon." Anirudh yelled as he was almost sitting on his chest, landing his fists aimlessly wherever he could find his skin and bone, his knuckles burst open bleeding ,but that was least of his interest . The room was filled with cries of Gopal's mother and whimpers of pain of the man writhing under him.

Gopal's father dashed into the room and pulled Anirudh from his son's chest. "Chhote Malik! Chhote Malik! Stop . Please what did he do? Will you kill him?"

Gopal coughed out blood, and tried to sit , but before he could, Anirudh jerked his father's hand, and pushed Gopal on the floor and landed kicks on his right flank, making him howl in pain.

"Yes,"

Kick

"Yes, I am going to"

Kick

"Kill"

Kick

" him. This scoundrel has not right to live. You bastard! how dare you , poison my wife?"

" Poison? I ... I.... Didn't do.... Anything....." Gopal said between bloody coughs trying to catch his breath.

"You didn't do anything?" One more kick. "You didn't do anything?" On more. "My wife is swinging between life and death because of you. And you are saying you didn't do anything." Gopal was trying to remove himself from under him, but Anirudh kept his foot on his abdomen keeping him in place.

"What did he do Malik? Please ! Leave him? My son!" His father cried.

"You son! Your filthy son! He mixed a deadly herb in my milk, so as to ensure my wife gets raped tonight by her own husband whom she trust with her life.
And my.....my wife , my .....my....Bondita... had it...." He wiped his tears angrily ".....and now she is throwing up blood. See this!" He pinched the cloth of his kurta and showed them. "You are seeing this red kurta, it was white in color. I'm bathed in my own wife's blood , because of this bloody excuse of your son.I will kill him today."

" No, no. ... Anirudh. I....I....was just trying to help you. She wasn't supposed.... to ....to...drink it." He said catching his breath as now, even breathing was painful.

Anirudh picked a brass vase from the table and was about to hit Gopal, but his wife Kashi comes in between and falls on her husband's body, making him groan in pain.

"Chhote Malik, chhote Malik. Please don't . Please. I'll become a widow, Malik. " She joined her hands and pleaded with tears flooding her cheeks.

Anirudh left the brass vase , making it fall in a sound and pushed Kashi from his body not so harshly from her husband's body. He lowered his face coming in alignment with his prey and clenched his already broken jaw with one hand tightly ,making him shriek in pain , " You think you become a man by hitting and mauling your woman who is right now begging for your life, then I would be proud not to be called a man."

Anirudh clenched his now softened member with his other hand and whispered dangerously ,
" If I ever see you , even in one kilometre radar of my wife, you won't feel like a man anymore. Understood?" When he didn't respond," Understood? " he spoke with gritted teeth as he tightened his grip around him, almost cutting his blood circulation. Gopal let out a death curdling scream and nodded his head in agreement.

Anirudh stood up and took a jar of water from the nightstand and washed his hand on Gopal's body and throws the jug on his abdomen, making him cry in pain, before he walked out of the house.

He reached the hospital back and saw everyone's face was gloomy. Shubhra was crying while hugging Batuk in her embrace.

"Maa, maa, what happened?" He ran to her and shook her shoulders.

"Ani.... Bon-bondita.... she...." She cried and hugged Anirudhh.

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