(Unedited)

"Gudiya kuch bolo warna m ye darwaja tod dunga" (Say something or I will break this door)

I looked at him flabbergasted and pushed him under the bed. He was protesting to hide somehwhere else but I pushed him down and he crawled to hide under the bed again.

As the door breaks and bhai barges into my room, I stood silent with my eyes tightly shut.

"What took you so much time?" Bhai inquires with concern in his eyes.

"I was in the washroom" I smiled to cover up my lie.

"But as far as I know we do not have attached bathroom" Bhai cocked his eyebrow.

"Oh! Is that so?" I chewed my lips and he looked at me like I have grown two horns.

"I mean I just came from there and I was changing my clothes that's why I couldn't open the door" I fake laughed.

"But you are standing in the same clothes" bhai looked at me from head to toe.

"Yeah, I was about to change but before that you started banging the door" I made another excuse.

His eyes held suspicion as he was still not ready to buy my lie. 

"Bhai, teaching is my profession. Why are you busy in question answer session?" I tried to change the topic "See, in your rage you broke the door, now we have to spend money to fix it and that too unnecessarily"

He sighed.

"You could have told me. I got scared when you didn't respond" he said in care dipped voice.

"I am sorry" I mumbled.

"Acha chal ab koi baat nahi aaja beth ja or chai pee (Ok, Let it be. Come on, let's have tea) "

He said and moved towards the bed after bringing the tea into the room. Before I could stop him, he sat on the cot.

"Ahh" we heard a painful groan.

"Gudiya tune kuch suna? (You heard something?" He asked.

"No, bhai you are getting old. Your ears are ringing" I smiled.

Bhai shifted and made himself comfortable on the cot. This must be very hard for Rishi to control his movements. He was not ready to hide under the bed, it was me who forced him.

He is suffering because of me!

"Ab tu kiska intezar kar rahi hai? Aa beth (Now what are you waiting for? Come, sit)"

"Nahi bhaiya, I am fine" I smiled.

"But you were having head ache?" He inquired.

"Yeah! But my legs are working properly" I came back.

"Gudiya!" His voice held warning "Come and sir here, right now"

My feet started to move towards him on their own. As I sat on the cot, it started to move.

"Why is this cot moving so much?" Bhai inquired "Is there anything under it?"

"Yes"

"What?"

'Rishi'

His name was on my tongue. Biting my tongue, I gulped back my words.

"What?" Bhai asked again.

"Umm... bistar .... bistar hai (bedding)" I smirked again to hide my lie.

"Bistar khatiya k neeche rkhte hia? Koi keeda ghus gaya to (Do we put mattress under the bed? What if any insect enters it?)"

"Let it be bhai, I will keep them somewhere else from tomorrow" I requested with puppy eyes and he agreed.

Finally!

The silence surrounded the environment as bhai passed me a cup of tea. With a frown on my face, I try to take a sip from the cup.

"Gudiya, tjhe koi ladka psnd h?  (Do you like anyone?"

Bhai asked all of a sudden and I choked on the tea. Rishi below me stiffed and I started coughing madly. Bhai started caressing my back.

"What happened? Are you fine?" He asked out of concern.

"Yeah! Actually, I am not habitual of drinking tea. That's why" I made another excuse.

"Huh?" Bhai's eyebrows creased.

"I am fine and I don't like anyone" I answered his question, changing the topic.

"Good for you, kyuki tujhe pata hena... (Because you know na...)"

"You are strictly against love marriages. Our elder sister ran away with her lover which disreputed our family's name. Amd after marriage the boy who married our sister left her and she committed suicide"

I completed his words as I am hearing the same story over and over again from the past few years.

"Yes, and I don't want you to go through the same thing. To tu wahi shadi kregi jaha m kahunga (So I will be the one who will fix your marriage)" he told me.

"Ok bhaiya"

"Aur maine tere liye ladka dekh liya hai "And I have already found a suitor for you"

He pinched my cheek, giving me a wide smile.

"What!"

Rishi cried.. bhai's forehead creased at the unknown voice.

"What!"

I screamed louder to cover up and kicked him, asking him to keep his mouth shut.

"Yes! He is a well known professor of one of the biggest university of this state" he took my palms in his "and you know he is ready to marry you.  Now, only you are left to accept the offer. So tell me... will you marry him?"

He paused and shifted a little.

"I am not forcing you. In fact, I will suggest you to meet him first, talk to him, understand him before reaching to any conclusion" he smiled.

One questions was crossing my thought again and again. So I asked him straightforwardly.

"Bhaiya, he will not stop me from teaching or doing any other job after wedding na?" I asked with hopeful eyes.

"Gudiya, he earns so much that there is no need for you to stress about anything. You will be the Queen" his smile widened.

"Bhaiya, you asked me to stay away from boys, I did. I don't even talk to anyone sweetly. You said that you will choose my partner, I agreed on that too. " I took my hand back

"The only condition I put forward was that whomsoever I will marry, you will make sure, he will not stop me from continuing my passion unless and until I don't want to continued it by my own"

"Ok, I will talk to him and I am sure that he won't have any problem with your work. Dulhan banne k liye tayyar ho ja gudiya (Get ready to become a bride)" he caressed my head before standing up.

"I am going to my room. It is getting late, you should also sleep"

I nodded and he left.

The painful moans from Rishi reminded me that he is still under the bed.

Oh my God!

I stood up and rushed towards the door to lock it. As I turned back I found him lying flat on the floor with his hands and legs peeping out of all the four directions of the cot.

"Oye hoye, deathy ho gayi"

I rushed towards him and lifted the cot up for him to crawl out. He comes out and tried to straighten his back but failed miserably.

"Lagta hai meri haddi toot gayi hai (I guess I have got a fracture)" he collapsed on the cot.

Oh my God!

I sat beside him.

"Is it hurting too much?" I asked placing my right palm over his back.

He nodded with pout on his lips and pain in his eyes.

"I am sorry!" I apologized.

"Sorry to appke wo saand (That bull should apol..)"

I glared at him and he retracted his words.

"Mera matlab hai aap mujhe soory bolkr sharminda mat kijiye, mai aapko peeth par kya sar pr bhi betha sakta hu par aapka bhai thoda jyada ho gaya (I mean, don't make me embrace by apologizing. I can lift you on my shoulders too, but your brother's weight was too much)"

He again tried to straighten his back but end up groaning in pain. I looked down in guilt.

Stretching out he picks up the cup of tea and takes a sip from it.

"Wo meri jhoothi hai (I have already tasted that)" I tried to stop him but I was too late.

"Tabhi to or bhi meethi hai (That's why it is sweeter)" he winked

I slapped him.

"Ahhhh.... tmhare bhaiya to waqai mai bahut achi chai banate hai. Chai ki dukan kyu nahi khol lete? Bahut scope hai ( Hmm.. the tea is just perfect. Why don't your brother opens a tea stall? It will be successful for sure)"

I gave him a deathly glare and he gulped down all the tea in a go.

"Maza aa gaya. Ye acha tareeka hai khatirdari krne ka. Saara drd chala gaya (Hmm... this is a nice way to show hospitality. The pain is now subsiding)" he wiped his lips from the back of his palm and placed the empty cup on the table.

"Now, you should leave. If bhai came to know about this then he will actually break your bone"

"Yeah, you are right. I think, I should leave not only this place but your life too"

My eyes snapped at him and my breath hitched in my throat. His words pricked me heart.

"Especially when your brother has fixed your marriage" he added.

I looked down. My heartbeats have suddenly slowed down at the thought of him leaving me and I don't know why I am feeling like this.

"Will you marry him?"

I looked up to find rarest and unexpected thing in his eyes i.e. seriousness.

"Are you ready to marry a person whom you don't even know?"

I was suddenly feeling out of words.

"Even if he promise your brother still there is no gaurantee that he will let you pursue your dreams. You can not know the reality of a person by his profile or profession. One meeting is not enough to understand someone fully, especially the one with whom you are going to spend your entire life" he said in a deep voice.

For the first time in life he is sounding sensible.

"But I don't have any other option as I can't go against my brother's will. I have to marry the one whom he will select for me" I fiddled with my fingers as I am helpless in this matter.

"Are you sure about this?" He inquired.

"Yes" I nodded

"Ok then" he stood up with determination.

"What are you going to do?" I asked following his movement.

He tilted his head towards me with a playful smirk plastered on his face. Seriousness was long gone.

"Dulhan banne k liye tayyar ho jaiye Masterniji (Get ready for becoming a bride)"

"Huh?"

Before I can ask anything, he jumped out of the window!

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Hope you enjoyed the chappy 🤗🤗

Nothing to say as I am highly disappointed with the response on the previous chapters 🥺

Still, I will do my part and end the story soon but can't guarantee early updates...

Thank you ❤