Dear Readers,
There is no point in these frequent updates of you won't vote. The last chapter on Mira and Batuk hardly got 100 votes which is really, really sad!!
Before you read this, please go back and vote for the previous chapters!!
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"Talk to me Bondita... If you don't talk to me, how am I to know what's going on inside that mind of yours?"
Anirudh was pacing restlessly inside the cosy hotel room at the Great Eastern, as Bondita sat on the freshly made bed, still in the wine-strained pink saree that she had worn to the court, her legs were hurled up to her chest, her eyes flowing relentlessly.

It had almost been an hour that they came out of the British Community Hall, and throughout the car journey, although they were seated together, Bondita didn't utter a single word.
It was only once when Anirudh had asked for the letters that Batuk had brought for him along with Raimoti's telegram, that Bondita had taken the entire bunch out from her bag, before handing it to him. But not once had she spared a glance at his face.

Even at the lobby of the hotel when Anirudh was busy checking in, Bondita hadn't uttered a word. No preferences, no specifications, and it was indeed unlikely of her characteristics to be this neutral.
Anirudh had tried to hold her hand too, while walking past the manager, with the keys in hand, and Bondita had promptly rejected his touch.

"You have to tell me Bondita... Please!!"
The yellow lamp was glowing inside the room, forming unearthly shadows on the wall, the white curtains drawn to sheath them from the outside overview, and Anirudh let out a restless plea, seeking her response. He was now infront of her, his eyes fixated on her teary orbs, and Bondita continued to sob silently.

"You... you always used to say that you can read my mind even before I myself could... could read it... Why? Then why not now?"
Bondita sobbed the words, without looking up at him, and the hurt was evident in her voice.

What's with her now? Suddenly?

"I thought you'd be happy tonight that I've won the case... But... Come on Shona... Tell me... Tell me why are you crying!"

Anirudh had sank down on his knees on the carpeted floor, as he held Bondita's joined feet and pleaded.
"Tell me Shona... This is killing me."

The restlessness was growing, even the closed ambience of the hotel room reeked of it, and the silence pierced them both, barring the sound of rhythmic sobs coming from Bondita's core, both weighing heavy with a couple of glasses of the red Reanish wine.

"Have I hurt you in anyway?" He pleaded again.

Bondita didn't respond, instead her sobs grew louder, her head heavier, and feeling the growing impatience inside him, Anirudh held her hands and pulled her closer, causing her to lean infront.

"Stop crying right away Bondita, or else I'll kiss you so hard that you won't be able to..."

"I won't be able to what Barrister Babu?"
Bondita blurted the words out, and Anirudh was taken a little aback by this abruptness, as he saw a fresh stream of tears rolling down her flushed cheeks.

"That you won't be able to cry anymore..."
Anirudh's words were a hush, as with a firm grip of his left hand, he pulled Bondita closer by her neck, before his mouth tried to capture her puffy lips for an intensified passionate kiss.

"Did you kiss her like this too?" Bondita however had turned her face aside, making his lips collide with her jawline, as her sharp words sliced his senses with a piercing abruptness.

"Kiss? Who?"
Anirudh pulled away at once and frowned.

"Candice?"

The words came out like a poisoned arrow, a slash of a sword, and Anirudh felt the cut in his heart.

"Who?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Your ex-fiancee, why? Is it difficult to remember her name now!"
Bondita's tears had taken shape of hurtful words, and letting out an exhale Anirudh sat back on the floor by her feet.

"I didn't kiss her like this, if that's what you're asking."
The words came out staggered, yet firm, and it fumed the fuel inside Bondita to the next level.

"So you loved her without kissing her? Or, how did it work? Or, did you chant your mantra of 'sweet responsibility' to her ears as well!"

The words were hot lead to his ears!
"Bondita!" Anirudh was prompt in his objection, "Don't speak of things that you aren't aware of!", his voice was raising a little, yet Bondita continued her verbal assualt on him.

"Aware? What kind of awareness you're taking about? You left her because of me, and I'm grateful for that, but then why did you make her yours? And if you had already given her that place in your heart... in your body... Then why didn't you just let me die that night?" Bondita screamed out, "that death would have been far more respectable than hearing the description of your lovemaking with your ex-lover!"

"What nonsense is all these!"
Anirudh frowned, but composed, her words crushing his heart mercilessly, and yet his chose silence.
It wasn't the right time to react, and he knew when he needed to speak.

"Tell me Barrister Babu... Why did you do it? Play with her? And then lied to me that you had nothing!"
Words were flowing out of her mouth in a stream, she was panting, she was breathing rapidly, and Anirudh felt the stab in his heart.

"Because I had nothing."
He sighed.
"What did Candice tell you?"
He asked, grimly, and Bondita burst out into another bout of tears.

"Everything... How intimate you were... How she waited for you... how she's still waits... Even now, and she blamed me for ruining her life."
Uncontrollable tears rolled down her red cheeks.

"Indeed! I should've known", was all Anirudh hushed, before he got up from the ground and moved away. He opened the cupboard and took out a night robe, as his free hand busied in unbuttoning the shirt that he had worn.

"Known what?" Bondita screamed amidst tears, and Anirudh quietly changed his clothes, wrapping the night robe around his body.

"Known that my wife is naive enough to believe whatever anyone random would tell her."

"Wha... what do you... mean?" Bondita sobbed out the words, glaring at him with hurtful eyes, and Anirudh slowly sank down on the velvet couch opposite to the king sized bed.

"I... I wasn't involved in any kind of physical relationship with Candice, if that what you want to know." He chuckled, but that smile of his was laced with sadness and heartbreak.
"Let alone physical, I never had any mental intimacy with her as well."

"Then... Then why were you engaged?"
Bondita roared the question, unable to comprehend the depth of truth that was coming from the buried crevices of his memories.

"Because... " Anirudh swallowed, "because she had tricked me into it, she had lied about us getting intimate under inebriation, which later was proved to be false." He paused, as his hands moved up to his temples pressing them to ease the discomfort that he felt, his entire body aching in agony and his head throbbing in dispair.

"Then? Did she lie?"
Bondita widened her swollen eyes, yet her voice reflected the lack of trust in his words.

Anirudh didn't reply, instead he just sighed deeply and closed his red eyes, leaning back on the headrest of the couch.

"Tell me... Tell me Barrister Babu, did she lie then? About her wedding dress? About everything? Even that mole on your shoulder?"
The words came out as flooded screams, and Anirudh realised his wife was in no mood for a truce.

"Can we talk about this in the morning please?" He breathed out the words, and Bondita glared at him spitting fire.

"Morning? Ofcourse..." She picked a pillow from aside and threw it at him.
"Or, we can never talk about it, because everything is upto your whims and fancies Barrister Babu..." she huffed the words and stood up from the bed.
"You married me, your wish. You left me in Dehradun, your wish, then you came back, your wish... What about me? What about my wish?"

Anirudh couldn't take it anymore. He was ready to swallow all of her angst, but not this.

"What do you mean by I never thought about your wish! How could you even accuse me of this?"

"I'm stating facts!" Bondita raised her voice.
"I need answers Barrister Babu, and till the time I don't get it, don't bother coming near me."
She screamed, and Anirudh flinched his face, his temples throbbing in pain, still he tried his best to not lose the temper, which was now hanging by a thin thread.

"Fine, I won't come near you... I've never forced my wish on you." He sighed out the words, picking up the pillow from the floor, "you need facts, well, you wanted to hide my identity as your husband in your college, and although I'm absolutely against this stupid idea of yours, I still respected your wish."

"Really now? You're really going there now?" Bondita placed her hands on her waist and glared at her husband, now seated with his head buried in his hands.
"I hid it from my lady friends in college because I can't take another Kshitija incident! And on that same note Barrister Babu, I can't take this Candice either... Now you decide what you want to do!"

"As in?"

"As in either you tell her infront of me to stay away from you, or you just send me away, anywhere... Far...!"

"Are you out of your mind Bondita!" Anirudh now yelled at the top of his voice, and it startled her for a moment, as tears started flowing down her puffy eyes with renewed vigour.

"Yes... Yes barrister babu, I'm out of my mind. All my life in lived in fear of losing you... But not anymore... I won't live with such threats anymore."

"Such insecurities! Why?" Anirudh flinched his face, the hurt evident in his tone, and Bondita started to weep out loud.
"Where did I go wrong Bondita? What did I do to birth these insecurities in you? I've never denied you anything... anything at all!"

Bondita was quite for a moment, her gaze casted down with emotions rolling down her checks relentlessly, and then she slowly lifted her reddened eyes to look at him.

"Then why... why did you trick me into believing that you're ready for us to have a baby?" Bondita's voice was hoarse, hurtful, yet more than him it was hurting her to a point of breakdown.
"You knew about safe days, didn't you? Isn't that's why you kept a track of my bleeding days... And... And I'm such a fool that I believed you!"

Enough was enough!
The thin thread holding the heavy bar of patience was severed brutally by her last accusation, and Anirudh lost it completely.
He paced towards her with firey eyes and grabbed her arm forcefully.

"Ahh... You're hurting me!" Bondita shrieked, yet Anirudh's grip tightened further.

"I didn't impregnate you yet as I wished you to succeed in life, be someone important, but clearly you're more interested in my past life melodramas  which ironically doesn't interest me in anyway." He spat out the words, making Bondita shudder with each syllable.
"So let's do it Bondita, let's get you pregnant... It all started from there, isn't it..." He pushed her roughly on the soft bed, and Bondita whimpered at the fall.
"Let's end it tonight... All your insecurities, your mistrust, your accusations!"
He growled the words and started to untie the tussles of his white dress-robe, as Bondita tried to get up and move away from the bed.

"You dare move!" Anirudh roared, pushing her down further, as he tossed his robe away on the floor, before pinning Bondita to the bed with both hands.

"Leave me... You're hurting!"
Bondita screamed, yet Anirudh hovered over her body, pushing her thighs apart with his knees.
"Are you out of your mind Barrister Babu, stop it... Leave me!"
Bondita continued to struggle, but even all of her concentrated strength was not a match to Anirudh's hold on her.
He had pinned both her arms with one hand, pulling them over her head, as with his free hand he started to untie the strings of his pajama.

"Why stop Bondita? Isn't this what you want? Isn't this the reason of all your insecurities?" He growled the words, pulling his pants down and with widened eyes Bondita saw how stiff his erection was!

Jets of tears streamed down in fear, and Bondita struggled and whimpered with all her might to free herself from him.

Anirudh grabbed the hem of her saree and tugged at it roughly.

"Please Anirudh... Please..." Bondita begged, wailing the words, and Anirudh pressed his eyes shut and stayed still for a moment.
"If this is fulfillment according to you, then I'm prepared to give it to you tonight, right now!" He chewed the words, breathing rapidly, yet Bondita could tell how desparately he was fighting to control his rage.

"I don't want this... Please... I... I just want you..." Bondita was breathing hard too, but instead of screaming, she sobbed the words in a whisper, and Anirudh's grip lightened on her arms at once.

"I didn't do anything with Candice, Bondita! I didn't do anything with anyone! You have to trust me... You can't just question my loyalty everytime a random Kshitija comes in our life."
He whispered the words coldly, his gaze piercing her glistening orbs, and Bondita swallowed her tears in attempts of calming herself down... in attempts of calming him down!

Anirudh left her and sat upright.
"The day I left England, eleven years ago, I had kissed a goodbye to Candice... On her forehead if I recall." He pressed his temples once again, the throb had taken shape of a sharp hammering now, and his muscular naked frame appeared weak, defeated under the yellow shade of the electric light.
"My father had promised the engagement, I complied... Because you weren't there in my life then Bondita, but tonight, I can vouch on my everything and tell you that I've never loved any woman in anyway other than you... Heart, mind, body..."

Bondita too had sat up on the bed, wiping the tears from her eyes, as she saw droplets of pearls glistening on Anirudh's dark ocean deep orbs.

"You crying?" She murmured, sniffing back a tear, as she slowly raised her hand to touch his cheek, but Anirudh moved away at once.

"You don't have a single ounce of trust on me Bondita! Anybody... Just any random stray can rock everything... whatever I've built for the last eleven years!"
He got up slowly, picking up the robe and the pajama from the heap on the ground, and Bondita sat quietly, looking down.

"But Candice said you loved her."
Her faint rebuttal somehow sounded vague to her own ears, and Anirudh chuckled absent-mindedly at her words, his face expressionless, yet his eyes bloodshot.

"That's the problem Mrs Bondita Roy Chowdhury, you trust others more than you trust your own husband." He tied the robe around and wore the house slippers slowly.
"And that can't get us long..."

"What do you mean?" Bondita murmured the question, her voice cracking once again, and Anirudh opened the door of their hotel room and prepared to leave.

"Any relationship, let alone marriage can't survive without mutual trust, which you clearly lack as of now... So, think Bondita... You had the option of leaving me back at Dehradun, and you still have it today... Think what you want to do, and I would respect your decision, as always." He hushed the words, slowly, his forehead rested against the frame of the curved wooden door, before he walked away, fading into the dimly lit corridor of the hotel lobby.

Bondita sat inside, dumbfounded, her chest palpitation in an unknown fear, her head dizzy, and suddenly she pressed the pillow to her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Nooo... Please.... Not again!"
Her voice was muffled, before it got trapped inside the room with a sharp clicking sound of the door closing back, leaving her isolated inside the room.

"Barrister Babu... Come back..." She cried out loud.

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How many of you can relate to this kind of fights?

Who do you think is right?