-: LEILA :-

No, this wasn't happening … 

My eyes zeroed on the person who was cracking my heart open. Tears pricked the back of my eyes, as I gazed upon my doting husband, kissing the knuckles of the woman who have had an infatuation on him since the moment she had laid her eyes upon him.

Clutching the hem of my skirt, I stumbled back as his gaze turned upon me and the playfulness which was visible in them just a second ago, vanished, his smile dropping.

Was I the reason he had turned so cold and indifferent? His eyes were twinkling when he was openly flirting with Shakshi, but now there wasn't even any minute trace of that glee visible in them.

Why was only I being the subject of his impassiveness? So he was okay philandering with another woman, but can't handle his wife hugging him?

A wave of disgust ran down my entire body as I tried to erase the image from my head, but unfortunately it had happened right in front of me.

How dare he ! How could he!

Gaze blurry, my breaths came out in short pants as I tried to control my tears but they were running down my cheeks relentlessly. Clutching my chest with one hand, I muffled the sob that threatened to break out of my throat.

If someone, a month ago, had said that my Arnav would openly flirt with another woman, I would have laughed at their face. He would have never … I knew him, I trusted him. 

Him forgetting me wasn't a good enough reason to flirt with another woman, when he had a woman waiting for him back at home. 

"Leila ji?" My stomach churned at his voice. What was the use of calling my name with a ji when he couldn't even respect our relationship.

I tried to take hasty steps away from him, not in the right mindset to hear anything. No matter what he said or how he would try to justify that act, it wasn't acceptable.

With the way my heart was clenching painfully in my chest, I didn't want to confront him right now. I would break down in front of him and he wouldn't even help me collect the pieces, let alone glue them back together. All I needed at this moment was to be alone and clear my head.

Arnav grasped my elbow , snapping the thin thread which was holding back my temper . Whirling around, I smacked him, the sound resonating around the empty field.

He stilled and so did I. His face turned sideways and my hand froze mid-air as realisation dawned upon me.

Not the slap, anything but that.

Clenching his jaw, he took a deep breath, his eyes snapping shut, the tendons of his neck stretched taut with tension.

Gasping at my actions, my eyes widened. The back of my neck pricked as I cautiously stepped in his space, instantly regretting the slap.

"I'm sorry, I am so sorry," I panicked cupping his left cheek, tenderly. My throat tightened when he flinched, his fingers curling in. 

"Don't ever do that," he gritted, his voice dropping to a dangerous glint. Eyes tightly shut, his loud exhales became audible to me, as his chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. 

"Aru, we will kiss the pain away," I whispered against his cheek, softly brushing my lips on the tender spot.

His body stilled and his eyes snapped open, a whirlwind of emotions flashing in them. His mother used to call him Aru. 

"How … how do you … ?" I softly glided my fingers through his hair, trying to push the rage and grief in me from his recent actions down for the time being. He needed me to stop the panic attack from surfacing.

"Who will, if not me, Arnav?"  I sniffed, rubbing my tears and dropped my forehead against his chin, softly grazing the back of his head. 

He remained silent, taking deep breaths, my palm gliding through his cheek to the nape of his neck, and I tried to keep my emotions at bay. We stood there silently, mentally fighting our own silent battles.

It felt like hours but were mere minutes when Arnav finally pulled his head up and stepped back from me, looking away from me.

I sniffled and rubbed the base of my nose, massaging the bridge of my nose, the back of my eyes throbbing. Swallowing down the pain from his earlier events, I took a few steps back as well, not knowing how he would react to anything.

I wanted to walk away and never look at him again, but I wouldn't survive not being with him. 

"Who told you about the slaps?" His tone had turned cold as he gazed down at me with a narrowed glare. 

"You did, who else will?" I knew I needed to figure this mess out before addressing the mess he created or else he would push me away again and this time probably miles away. 

He shook his head, his eyes widened in disbelief. But before I could clarify under what circumstances he had opened up to me in the past, he turned away from me.

I stood there silently, the earlier hurt seeping back into my chest at his indifferent behaviour. Biting my inner cheeks, I adjusted the strap of my shoulder bag and was about to turn back to walk away from him when his words halted my steps.

"It didn't mean anything," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, his gaze down and shoulders stiff. Realisation dawned upon me, bringing back the familiar sting in my chest. 

"Then why did you do it?" I cringed at how hurt I sounded. Nevertheless, I didn't want to hide the pain I felt at his behaviour. He should feel guilty for what he did. 

He sighed and looked up, clenching his jaw, crossing his arms at his chest. My throat tightened again at his loss of words. 

"This isn't something new to me. I had always been like this. I wasn't answerable to anyone for flirting with random women before."

"But now you can't … "

"I know, shit. I really fucked up , didn't I ?" Hands on his hips as he gazed down at the pebbles on the ground, avoiding looking at me 

I turned my face away, my silence speaking volumes. He needed to realise himself how fucked up his action was. Loyalty can't be taught and it wasn't ever something I had to worry about ever. 

"I am extremely sorry for hurting you. It seriously was a harmless gesture. And I promise not to ever do it again." He grasped my hand and tried to smile down at me. But it didn't feel like he was actually regretting it. If I hadn't caught him red handed, he probably wouldn't have bothered to come clean.

Curling nodding once, my heart still wasn't at ease. I wasn't sure whether Shakhsi was the only person he had flirted with after the incident or there were more?

I trusted him with everything and it was probably that's why I would manage to forgive this one mistake. Because he had been ardently loyal to me since the first day of our marriage, even when I had taken a lot of time before accepting him and opening up to him.

When I refused to say anything else, he broke our tense silence. "What if we give this another try? It was a disaster from the very beginning." He sounded sincere, but a whirlwind of thoughts rummaged through my head.

"You go back to the haveli. I need some time," I sighed and stepped back from him, our proximity messing with my senses.

His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to grasp my palm again, but I pulled back. Touching him wouldn't help me anyway, other than to weaken my resolve.

"Will you be okay, on your own?" 

A wry smile hovered over my lips. He didn't know how I had survived alone. for so long. Even before he had come into my life.

 "I am stronger than I look, Arnav. Go, I will be okay." Saying that, I turned away to walk towards our home when I decided to voice out my thoughts which had been pestering me for a few days now.

"We probably need to stay away from each other for a few days. I have been in your space way too much and you need time." I ambled away, without turning back to check his reaction. Why bother? He probably would be happy now with his personal space. 

*******

-: Arnav :-

I visibly winced at Leila ji's disheartening words, as she walked away, her heart wounded, but chin and shoulders still held high. The strings of my heart tightened, and I took a deep breath to mitigate the pain which was spreading in my chest at her retreating figure. 

Her tears, that wounded expression which looked like I had stabbed her back, and those accusatory words were pricking me, reminding me again and again that I had hurt the woman who had been nothing but patient and kind with me. 

On the other hand, I had been more of a dumbass for denying our relationship internally. I had refused to accept that I was a married man after waking up which had led to this nasty situation.

I knew it was wrong how I flirted with that beautiful woman back there, but it had happened in the spur of a moment. However, the second I had seen Leila ji in front of me it had struck me like a bolt of lightning. 

We were legally married, and I had no excuse for what I did there. It was ethically wrong, even if she felt nothing like a woman I might have loved.

Her ringing words brought my thoughts to a screeching halt. Aru. Did Ma call me Aru in front of her and that's how she knew? But Ma wouldn't tell her about the slaps. It was our secret. 

Did I tell her? How? And most importantly why? Nobody knew that situation and how his slaps had affected me, except Mom.

Exhaling a deep breath and I shook my head. Only if I have had a journey or diary to note down everything, throughout these years, it might have helped me at the present moment.

For the last 3 weeks that woman had been so patient, always looking out for me, cheering me up, taking care of me. Not once had she pushed me or made me feel like baggage. I scoffed at my old fate, I really had fallen in love with a wonderful woman back then.

There was no way I would ever let her go , even if I couldn't remember her. 

Rajeshri was right, I have fallen for Leila ji once, I am sure I could again. The only reason holding me back was my lack of trust. I didn't know her and that's why I had been closed off , not realising I was hurting her rigorously. 

Kicking at the pebbles, I ambled back towards the Haveli, her thoughts keeping my mind engrossed. It wasn't until I was half a kilometre away from the Haveli when the sight of a heaving wheezing woman on her knees caught my gaze. 

"Rajeshri!" Pushing every thought away I sprinted towards her. My blood froze in my veins, deadly situations running through my head. Had someone hurt her?

She wailed out and flinched at my touch, her teary gaze snapping at me.

"Arnav!" she sobbed, her face scrunching up in agony as she rubbed her mouth again and again, her lipstick smearing her face, tears strains blotched on her ruddy face.

"Hey, what's wrong? Look at me." Keeping my hands slights away from her face, I tried to match her gaze with mine, but she was lost in her own dilemma, her baby hairs flying away in every direction, gaze wild and glazed.

Eyes bloodshot red, she hauled her body away from me and heaved over, vomiting the contents of our breakfast out on the pavement.

"Easy, easy." I slowly rubbed her back, trying to keep my touch minimal, fearing her reaction. What had happened that she was behaving like this? 

The soles of my feet pricked, as numerous thoughts invaded my mind. Shamrat would have my head if he discovers his wife in this state. Neither do I think I would ever look at myself in the mirror if something had happened to her.

It was my responsibility to take her back home. How could I lose my head in a moment of weakness ? When had she walked away?

After puking her guts out, she turned away from it, and flopped on the ground, scratching her throat. 

"Stop there. Here, have some water," I instructed sternly, her behaviour scaring me, when she tried to turn away her face from the water bottle. 

"What happened? Has someone threatened you?" I asked, when she calmed down a bit after chugging half the water from the bottle and washing her face with the rest of it.

Sniffling slowly, she shook her head and pressed her fist strongly against her mouth, a vein in her forehead visibly pulsing.

I sat there beside her on the ground silently for several seconds, letting her breathe and come to her senses.  

After several minutes she peered up at me from beneath her lashes, and uttered only one word, throwing me in a pit of bafflement.

"Da … Da … Daud."

******

-: Rajeshri :-

My knees shook and Arnav tightened his grasp on my shoulders, slowly dragging me back to the haveli, both of us mumb. 

Daud's dark grey eyes flashed in my head, making me shudder as goosebumps spread out on my skin 

Those swoon worthy eyes which once had the power to melt my heart , were making me feel disgusted at even imaging them.

All I wanted to do was take a dip into holy Ganges to clean away every trace of his vile touches from my body. 

"Where will I find that bastard?" Arnav gritted, his tone dark, brimming with silent malice. 

Only if I knew.

My right palm stinged at the memory of the slap I had smacked upon his face as soon as I had pushed the bastard away.

"I don't know Arnav, he had come and vanished like a wave of tsunami, only leaving havoc behind it." I exhaled shakily, my knees buckling as the memory hit me again and again.

"Don't worry. Shamrat and I will … "

"No!" Our feet halted at my booming voice, his eyes rounding at my outburst.

"No? Why n … "

I shook my head, panic clawing at my chest . Shamrat ji wouldn't understand . He had always despised Daud and we had a past. Yes, I had loved him in the past  so much that I hadn't even analysed before eloping with him a night before the wedding. 

If it hadn't been for Shamrat ji, God knew in which hellhole I would have been pushed into. He had saved both me and my father, our honour and dignity as well. 

If the people from our village had discovered that I had tried to elope with another man they wouldn't have thought twice to question my character or throw tar at my dignity. And even then, Shamrat ji still married me, even though he could have refused.

I don't think I would have agreed to marry a man if I had seen him with another woman the night before our wedding in a hotel.

I still remembered how he had cut off Daud's finger and  had choked him with his shoes. His behaviour had scared me back then, but now that I think about it, Daud truly deserved it for playing with my emotions and for threatening my father. He deserved worse.

But I can't tell him that Daud had harassed me today. God forbid, what if he blames me for it?  What if he abandons me? What if he thinks I still feel something for him and haf allowed him to touch me?

Daud was a spineless con, who only wanted me for the sake of his so-called leader, Chauhan. No matter how many times he has tried to assure me that he truly loves me today, I wasn't falling for his words.

"Please. Shamrat wouldn't know about this . You can't tell him," I requested Arnav, clamping his arm to pull him sideways.

"Why not? He's your husband and the most powerful man in our village. He will chop him down to pieces and feed him to the dogs, trust me." Arnav wasn't understanding the gravity of the situation. 

I knew Shamrat ji would protect me but what if he refuses to believe me? I had never told him till this day the reason why I had slept with him for the first time. It was to forget the pain of Daud's betrayal.

Daud's existence, and every feeling I have had for him as well as his betrayal had slowly erased from my heart. Shamrat ji has slowly taken over that space, but I still wasn't sure whether what I felt for him was love or I was just too comfortable and felt safe with him. I trusted him with everything and I knew he wouldn't ever hurt me, cause I had seen how much he adored me.

I was definitely beginning to fall for him.

"No Anrav, you don't understand. I can't explain everything to you now, but please don't disclose his name to Shamrat . He would lose it and I don't want him to focus on anything else other than the elections. It's in a week." I rebuffed him and  resumed walking towards the Haveli,, which was in my line of vision now,

His eyes rounded as if my words were incredulous. "Rajeshri! Your ex lover had tried to physically assault you ! And you want us to sit quietly and wait for the elections to end before taking any action against him!?" he sneered, his words making my stomach churn.

"It's not that bad Anrav," I mewled, taking slow steps when he came in front of me, blocking my way, his eyebrows in a deep angry furrow and face scrunched into a scowl.

"It's not!? Did he or did he not touch you without your consent?"

I palmed my face, words getting stuck in my throat.

"Arnav … "

"Answer me Rajeshri." There was a tone of finality in his words and probably for the first time, I was seeing this raging side of Arnav.

"Yes he did. I agree, and we will tell Shamrat , but after the elections, please. I don't think Daud would have the guts to approach me again. I will make sure that I am never alone from today onwards. He won't get the chance to come anywhere near me. Please Arnav,"I requested turning back to pass him a pleading look, backtracking inside the main door.

A clanking of utensils ricchocceted in the Haveli, stilled our movements. Passing each other a look, we hurried towards the kitchen only to come to a screeching halt at the scene in front of us.

Mini and a woman, who was perched up on the kitchen counter, were engaged in a fierce lip lock, their smooching noises echoing off the walls in the kitchen. 

Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. My eyes widened and I grabbed Arnav's palm, silently asking him whether he was encountering the same scene as me.

He sucked his lips inside his mouth and closed his eyes, turning  his face away. Blood flowed into his cheeks.

They were so engrossed into each other and hadn't realised our entrance, Arnav licked the insides of his cheek and loudly cleared his throat. 

Both of their heads whirled around, panic and distress visible in their gaze. The woman gasped, turning away from us, jumping down the counter. Mini grasped her hand when she tried to sprint out of the kitchen. 

"What is going on here, Mini?" Probably for the first time ever my tone was this stern while asking her something.

Mini, whose gaze was clearly wide in panic, was taking in short puffs of breath, shaking her head. 

"Pl … please shut the door Bhabi, Arnav bhai," she whispered, glancing at our main door which was wide open. Arnav, who was looking for a chance to disappear, took the opportunity and dashed away from the scene.

Scrunching my eyebrows I eyed both the women as they glanced at each other. Mini was silently trying to assure her, tightening her grasp on her hand repetitively. The other woman, frail and shorter than Mini, her amber eyes were widened, unshed tears sparkling in them.

Pulling the chairs of the dining table out, I gestured to both of them to have a seat when Arnav arrived back after a minute. Mini sat in front of the visibly shaking woman, hiding her from us behind her frame .

"Mini, you have a lot of explaining to do. So start before … " 

"Uh, before you say something, I think I know who she is, Rajeshi," Arnav intervened, making me glance at him. He knew her? Who was she and why the hell was she kissing Mini? 

Mini licked her lips before blinking at Arnav and nodding her head. The woman beside her was also looking at Arnav and there was familiarity in her gaze . So she knew him?

"Yes, this is Nikita," Mini whispered, gazing at Arnav and then back at me.

"I don't give a shit about her name ! Why were you … " I was on the verge of snapping, a second away from calling Shamrat ji , asking him to come back home to the disaster Mini has created.

"Rajeshr, calm down. I want you to listen to me with an open heart, without any judgement." When Arnav saw I was losing my shit, he grasped my shoulder and pulled me out of the kitchen and made me sit down on the couch in our living room.

"Arnav, I … "

"One minute please. Let me speak." The way he requested , it seemed like he knew more than he was saying and he was willing to share it with me. 

I nodded, to which he sat beside me and interpreted their love tale. Mini and Nikita walked out of the kitchen in the middle of his demonstration, sitting across from me, fingers interlocked.
 
My eyes flew to the woman, Nikita, who had withstand so much pain and suffering in life only because no one in this village was open minded enough to accept their love.

What made it worse was that Shamrat ji and Ma both had a hand in their separation 3 years ago. They had been manipulated and exploited by their family members to believe that they had given up upon each other.

By the time  Arnav had finished I felt nothing except pity and empathy for Nikita for how she fought her abusive partner in marriage for 3 years silently shedding tears everyday. A sense of pride swelled in my chest for the way Mini didn't give up on her even after these many years. They truly deserved each other.

Pushing myself on my feet, I walked up to them and kneel down infront of them, taking both of their hands in my grasp. 

Passing them a genuine smile, I kissed their heads and silently prayed for their love to bloom more. Nikita choked on a sob and Mini grabbed her head to put it upon her shoulder, gently patting her head. 

"So you have hidden her for 5 days here? How did you manage?" I asked genuinely curious. It wasn't easy to sneak somebody in let alone keep that person hidden in a room for almost a week.

"Honestly it wasn't that difficult. Ma isn't here to inspect my activities, You and Shamrat bhai stay  lost in each other. Arnav bhai and Leila bhabi have their own problems. I simply had to stay locked in my room most of the time, and my exams are next month so, I had enough reason to." 

The way she said it, all of it sounded so easy but I knew better. Nikita, whose darkshow-ridden eyes were slowly drooping, pushed herself down on the couch, her head coming to rest on Mini's lap.

"But Mini, what about her husband ? Sooner or later he would come looking for her? Who knows he might be already searching for her? If not for anything else, but for the sake of his ego?" From the way Nikita described her husband, it was obvious he was a narcissist and they knew no bounds. 

"Yeah, about that . I know we can't stay here longer, so we might be leaving tomorrow for Delhi. He won't be able to hurt her there or take her away. "

"I don't think it's a good idea, Mini. You will be all alone there,"  Arnav pointed out after being silent for a long time. True to his words, she was safer here than all alone in a big city. 

"No Arnav bhai, I'm the head of The Student's Body Union. There are more than 700 students in my support. Also, lgbt community is more acceptable there. They will support us and Arun doesn't have the potentiality to harm me or her there. They would fry him alive if he tried to separate us" 

"But she's his legal wife, He can demand that she go back to him." That was the only thing bothering me. The ball was in his court. 

"Yeah, about that, there's something."

"What?" Arnav, who had left for a minute to grab a bottle of water, came to sit beside me, his penetrative gaze fixed on Mini.

Mini turned her eyes down to look at Nikita who had fallen asleep on her lap. She gently ran her fingers through her hair, spreading warmth through my heart at the tender gesture..

"When she got married, it happened in an abandoned temple, because her family was in a hurry. There wasn't any document involved. So they aren't legally married. Also the witnesses were her parents, the priest, and that rascal's mother, who is already dead and so is Niki's mother. The only person remaining is her father, and the priest who is half paralysed due to cardiac arrest since last year, so he can't speak." 

"What are you suggesting, Mini?" I asked. When and from where had she gathered so much information? 

"If we manage to gain Niki's father's favour, we can prove in the court that Niki and Arun were never really married. So under that, he can't claim her to go back to him and  as an adult she has the freedom and right to stay anywhere she wants." 

But would it be that easy? Why would her father testify against the marriage when he himself forced Nikita into it?

I took a deep breath, my head pounding with every bit of new information. It sounds effective  but we can't assume that Arun wouldn't do anything and wouldn't take any steps to get Nikita back. And he was a violent man. God knew how dangerous he was.

I looked back at Arnav whose face was also scrunched in a deep frown, analysing Mini's points.. 

"I think you shouldn't leave the safety of your house right now and leave for Delhi." After a long pause of pin drop silence Arnav broke it.

"Yes, we might need Shamrat ji's help and he would be able to … " 

"Noi! Not him, please. He wouldn't help  rather he would send Niki away like he did  3 years back. I wouldn't risk it. I don't need his help, please," Mini jeered, her rage for her brother clearly visible on her face and in her tone. 

"But Mini …. "

"No bhabi, I'm begging you. Please don't inform him or Ma. And you too Arnav bhai. You didn't do anything for me back then, please don't ruin our chance together like last time."

Arnav and I shared a look, silently conveying to each other from our gaze, that we would discuss this whole scenario with Shamrat Ji, but only after the elections. And it was our duty to convince him and Ma to accept their relationship.

~*~♡~*~

Sorry for this long wait, but this chapter and the few upcoming ones would be a bit difficult for me to write so please bear with me. 🥺

Please share your thoughts on -

•Whose slap do you think Anrav and Leila were talking about?

• How do you think Shamrar will react when he would come to know about Daud's acts?

•Should Rajeshri disclose to him about Daud?

•What would  Mini and Nikita do now?

•Will everything be okay between Arnav and Leila?

I

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Will be back with another by the end of this week so till then, stay safe, healthy and happy ❤🌸

Babye 🙋‍♀️💗

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