"What did she say?"

"The same."

"So now she's asking you to marry her?"

"Sort of."

"And what did you reply?"

Anirudh lazily riffled through the pages of a book, engaging in small talk with his wife. Her last question drew his attention away from the book to her weary face. Bondita was seated on the bed, knees drawn up, staring vacantly at her feet. She looked wan. The past ten days had taken a toll on both of them, and seeing his beloved wife in such a state filled Anirudh's heart with a melancholic ache. He rose from the armchair, set the book aside, and settled beside her on the bed. Bondita didn't meet his gaze.

"Why do you ask such a question, Shona?" Anirudh's voice was gentle as he placed his hand on her cold feet, causing Bondita to tremble at his touch.
"You know what my reply would be, don't you?"

Bondita looked up.
"But what if she's telling the truth? What if she does whatever she's threatening?"

Fear trembled in Bondita's voice as she clasped Anirudh's arm. Anirudh sighed, drawing Bondita closer until her head rested against his chest. She closed her eyes letting a silent drop of emotion seep through her eyelashes.

"If the baby is indeed Batuk's then..."

Anirudh halted her.
"I still don't believe Batuk would do such a foolish deed, Bondita. But given the current circumstances, you never know." He sighed. "And if she's telling the truth then the path ahead won't be smooth for any of us."

Bondita let out a soft whimper.

The wall clock ticked, its sound the only tangible noise in the room. Bondita sat quietly, her head nestled on her husband's chest, while Anirudh caressed her hair, lost in thought. First, the heartless behavior from his younger brother, leaving home and demanding a share of their 100 years old ancestral property, and then there was Candice.

Candice Marietta McKenzie—her name had painted terror in the hearts of the Ray Choudhary couple over the past three days. The terror was evident on Bondita's face, while Anirudh concealed it with his professional demeanor. Mrs. McKenzie had threatened them with just a week's time, intending to expose Anirudh as her former lover who conspired with his brother to impregnate her forcibly, all to retaliate against the British government. It was evident that with this accusation from an influential British lady, the government won't even think twice to execute both the brothers without much botheration on any form of legal trial. And being a prominent practitioner of law, Anirudh knew this truth more than anyone else. He feared for Bondita however, and he feared for his old dear uncle!
But whatever it be, he was determined to face it up front and with truthfulness.

"Barrister Babu?" Bondita's voice broke the silence.
"You think I should ask Nakul to talk to Batuk once?"

Anirudh didn't reply. He felt the dmfear and concern in his wife's heart, and a the heaviness that was weighing inside him started to wear of slowly. His gaze softened as he looked down at his wife, her eyes searching for reassurance amidst the storm of uncertainty. With a tender smile, he cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs gently wiping away the traces of worry etched on her delicate features.

"Bondita," he whispered, his voice a soothing melody, "do what you have to, and remember, no matter what challenges lie ahead, we'll face them together. Alright?"

"Hm" Bondita nodded.

"Us against the entire world, remember?"
Anirudh hushed in reassurance, and Bondita nodded slowly, and when she spoke, her voice had moisture that was dripping down her eyes earlier.

"If it's between your life, and marriage to another woman, I'd want you to chose the latter." Her voice choked.
"It would be difficult to share you, I know, but I can't survive without you." Bondita started to sob.

"You won't have to do either." Anirudh leaned and planted a kiss on her head.

Bondita's eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she leaned into his touch, finding solace in his words. In that moment, the weight of their grief seemed to lift, replaced by an overwhelming surge of love and longing.

"I can't have anyone else in my life tigress." Anirudh continued to caress her face. "Because there is no life without you. YOU are my life!"

Bondita lifted her head and looked at him. Their gazes locked, and without a word, they surrendered to the undeniable pull drawing them closer. Anirudh's lips inched closer and brushed against hers, igniting a fire that had long smoldered beneath the surface of their togetherness.

"I love you." Bondita whispered, and a tear rolled down her eye. Anirudh kissed on that pearl drop before sinking his lips back on hers.
"I love you more." His breathed.

The clock kept ticking, but it's sound wasn't prominent anymore.
The room faded into insignificance as Anirudh and Bondita lost themselves in each other's eyes, their arms entwined as if never to let go. No one spoke, not that words were needed, but each heard the heartbeat of the other. Anirudh and Bondita dissolved into each other's embrace, their lips melding in a fervent kiss that sent shivers down their spines. With gentle hands, Anirudh guided Bondita down onto the soft expanse of the bed, their bodies moving together in perfect alignment. No one could wait any longer, nor that they needed to, and as their clothes fell away one by one, they uncovered layers of vulnerability and desire, Bondita's bashful innocence melting beneath Anirudh's tender touch. Yet, in the depths of their passion, a wild fire burned in their eyes, consuming them with an unbridled intensity, helping them to forget the peripheral vicinity around. Nothing mattered, just them, and this moment of their love.
Bondita raised her head and wrapped her arms around Anirudh's neck, pulling him closer, and he did exactly what she had wished for, taking her lips in a sweet assault. Their bodies rubbed against each other, until they surrendered to the primal rhythm of their entwined limbs, lost in the ecstatic sensation and euphoria. And as they lay tangled in each other's embrace, drenched in sweat and content, they found solace in the sacred sanctuary of their love.

Bondita had fallen asleep, and Anirudh kept staring at her face.
What if he really had to part from her? What if...
The thought made his heart skip a few beats, and not in a good way.

"I'll have to find a way... I'll have to... " He sighed to himself.

.............................................

"O Bhargavi Didi, where are you getting all this money from?" Nakul took two large twenty-rupee notes from her and tucked them happily inside his chest pocket.
"Batuk Da was asking me last time," he added.

"And what did you tell him?" Bhargavi smiled at the innocence of the boy.

"Well, I told him you won a mathematics quiz and that you got prize money."

"And he believed you?" Bhargavi asked, raising an eyebrow quizically, and Nakul pursed his lips at her question.

"What's not to believe? We all know how brilliant you are! He always keeps saying that himself."

Bhargavi blushed at this unexpected flattery. She looked away and pushed the glasses up her nose bridge with her index finger.

"What else does he say, Nakul Da?"
She asked without looking up, and Nakul scratched his head cluelessly for a few seconds. Bhargavi saw his reaction and, embarrassed by her own silly question, she simply pulled the sling bag from his shoulder and looked inside in order to find a necessary distraction.

"What is it that you keep carrying in this dirty old bag of yours?" She murmured, intending to divert the topic, but her words made Nakul fondly laugh.

"It's Batuk Da's old school bag, passed on to me like most of his other belongings, clothes, books, shoes. This one I like the most." He pointed out a few faded ink scribbles on the jute cloth of the bag.
"You see this, Bhargavi Didi? It's where he taught me how to subtract."

Bhargavi smiled brightly at his words.

"Accha, Nakul Da, why do you call me Didi? You are older than me, aren't you?"
Bhargavi suddenly asked, and Nakul blushed profusely. Biting his tongue, he held his ear in one hand.

"Everyone from the Zamindar house is senior to me in position and respect. You might be younger, but in respect, you are senior," he smiled. "You know, Bhargavi Didi, when my father died, I was only three years old, and Batuk Da picked me up from the streets, literally, me and my mother, and he gave us everything that we have today, most importantly a reason to live."

Bhargavi saw glints of emotion sparkling in Nakul's eyes, and she tenderly held his hand, pulling him to a side under a huge maple tree outside the school campus. This part of the campus was more secluded, as her intention was to avoid onlookers.

"Nakul Da, would you give this letter to Choto Babu?" She handed him two envelopes. "And the other one to Boro Zamindar Babu."
Nakul nodded happily.
"Nakul Da, these Ray Choudharys are wonderful people, aren't they?" She  reciprocated his thoughts. "Who am I to them? Nobody. And yet, how tenderly Boro Zamindar Babu calls me a daughter, how they are helping me in my life. Else, what do you think happens to poor ugly girls like me?"
Bhargavi sighed deeply, and Nakul looked up at her face.

"Ugly? Batuk Da says you are extremely intelligent, and intelligence has it's prettiness in your own way," he mentioned, and Bhargavi's face turned a shade crimson at once.

"What else does he say?" She asked, immediately realizing the blunder as Nakul had already started to scratch his head with a vacant expression once again.

"Accha. Alright. I'll go now, tell Mira didi I remember her, and to be good, and give the money to Choto Babu. Tell him I won something again. And tell him I'm good and i remember him if he asks." She paused, "Well, don't say the last part."

Nakul nodded and smiled as he saw Bhargavi almost sprinting inside the school campus like a young doe.
Nakul folded the letters and tried to keep them inside the sling bag.

"Stop... Stop you... Stop right there!"

Heavy footsteps of two British policemen reverberated through the deserted street outside the school campus, casting long, ominous shadows in the fading light of dusk. They were hidden behind the extended shrubs along the border of the high school walls all this time, listening to the conversations, hiding and buying time.
"Stop you bloody..."

Nakul had heard their orders, and although initially a little baffled, he stood defiantly before the officers, his chin held high despite the fear coursing through his veins. He clutched tightly in his trembling hands the two personal letters that Bhargavi had handed him just a while ago.

"What... What did I do, Sir?" Nakul asked, his voice confident enough for the two men to frown their brows. They eyed him from top to bottom and smirked cruelly.

"What's this, lad?" sneered one of the policemen, snatching the letters from Nakul's grasp with a rough tug. His companion peered over his shoulder, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Dear Choto Babu, the colors of spring...bla bla bla, hope you both are blessed... Shit and stuff." The man let out a vile laughter.
"It's just some nonsense, sir," he muttered, tossing the letters aside with a careless flick of his hand. "Some stupid love letter!"

Nakul's heart sank as he watched the pieces of the envelopes fall to the ground, trampled beneath the officers' callous indifference. Before he could protest, a brutal blow sent him stumbling backward, pain exploding across his cheek.

"Rebel scum!" spat the other policeman, his voice dripping with disdain. "You think you can defy the might of the Empire, do you?"

"But... I... " Nakul couldn't complete as another blow landed on his stomach.

"You what, you bloody native scum! Do you have any idea how day and night we've been trailing you? Stalking that bloody doctor!" He grabbed Nakul's hair and thrashed him hard on his face, making his lips bleed at once.

The red-necked British policeman looked at his brown-skinned companion.
"We hand this filth to that mad Peregrine, and let him play with this toy, at least we'll get a little peace for a few days, what's say?"
The brown-skinned police just nodded his head in agreement, nor that he ever had anything to say, as the very fact that he was teamed with a superior race white-skinned man was already overcompensation for his rank. He agreed at once.

"Yeah... Something better than nothing!" He pulled out a pair of metal handcuffs and glared at Nakul with blazing eyes.
"Up... Up with krantikari scoundrel..." He spat at him cruelly.

Nakul's jaw clenched in silent defiance, refusing to give his tormentors the satisfaction of seeing him broken. His eyes blazed with righteous anger, his unwavering patriotism a beacon of resistance in the face of tyranny.

"What proof do you have against me?" He asked in a calm voice, in contrast to how he had been speaking with Bhargavi all this while.

"Proof? You bloody scum! How dare you question us?" The Indian police pulled out his thick ruler and thrashed hard on Nakul's ribs. Nakul's face ached in pain.

"You'll regret this, boy," growled the first policeman, his voice laced with menace. "We'll make you regret that you woke up today, just wait and watch!"

But Nakul remained silent this time, his resolve unshakable despite the pain coursing through his battered body, fresh blood dripping from his bruised jaws and fractured lips. The onlookers, cowed into submission by the officers' authority, dared not intervene as the brutality unfolded before them.

With cruel efficiency, the policemen dragged Nakul away, his pleas for justice drowned out by the echoes of their cruelty. As they disappeared into the darkness of the bright daylight, the spirit of defiance burned bright within Nakul's heart, as he knew his Batuk Da would come and save him, no matter what!