Page 122

Story: Tainted Bride

Prakram is well aware of all these things, yet he is not stopping Avishka. Instead, he is doing his best to manage her by holding her gently in his arms. She continues.

“Knowing all this, I could not just get married. I consulted every doctor who could take care of my father. I took him there, buteveryone's answer was the same: It was very difficult for us to bear all this, and my father was adamant that he wanted to see me married. We wanted to keep him happy in whatever little time he had. I accepted defeat and immediately got ready for the marriage. RAJEEV: The day I met him for the first time, after talking to him, I felt that someone was understanding, understood things, and everything was fine. I was so worried because of my father. Due to my father's illness, the marriage was arranged hastily, and I neither talked to Rajeev much nor made any special effort to understand him, because if anything was very important for him at the time, then it was my father, but he always came to our house with a smile. He took care of my father more than us; my father started calling him his third child, and I loved their closeness, laughter, and joking about much more than my father. Rajeev came from a business family, while my father worked as a clerk, which meant that he was responsible for many expenses related to illness. Rajeev said that he wanted a very simple wedding from our side, a few relatives, and a temple wedding, and if he had to show off something, he would. He'd do it on his own at the reception. I liked his words very much. The most important thing was that he took care of my father so much that he did not even ask us and would take him to see any doctor anytime and would complete his treatment. Rajeev was taking things seriously and had created a separate place for himself in our house. In the meantime, I don't know when I got married to him. When I went to his house for the first time after getting married...

CHAPTER 73

PAST STARTED

Although Avishka is looking outside the window in the darkness of the night, she can see that they have left the city, unlikeRajeev's house, which was in the city center. She immediately turns and looks at Rajeev.

“Rajeev, where are we going? Your house is not here.”

"Sweetheart, the house we live in is also our home, and the place we are going is our ancestral home, where we have made all the necessary arrangements to welcome you."

Upon hearing Rajeev's words, Avishka smiles lightly and shifts her gaze towards the front. However, she is troubled by some strange eyes that seem to be bothering her. whether these eyes are of anyone else or she has the illusion that Rajeev's elder brother Sanjeev, who is constantly looking ahead, is trying to see her. While the person sitting on the side is trying to see her, she looks towards his wife, Saloni, sitting on the passenger seat, who is continuously looking at her.

Avishka looks at both of them and starts looking outside without saying anything. Ever since their relationship, Rajeev used to come to their house often and meet them. Avishka hasn't had much interaction with Rajeev's family due to her concern over her father's illness. Her job and frequent trips to the doctor have also prevented her from opening up to them, and nothing significant has happened between them.

Avishka has her eyes set on Saloni, who is younger than her and very beautiful; she looks like a fresh rose. She wants to talk to Saloni many times, but every time she doesn't get a chance, she tells Rajeev softly.

"Soon, Saloni and I will become very good friends.”

Rajeev smiles softly, looking at Saloni sitting on the passenger seat, and then whispers into her ear.

"Friendship will only happen when Sanjeev leaves her with you. Sanjeev does not live even a moment without Saloni, and with great difficulty, he separates her from himself."

Hearing this, Avishka smiles shyly, and Rajeev starts laughing loudly after seeing her red face, which attracts Sanjeev and Saloni's attention too. But both of them do not want to interfere in the conversation between husband and wife, so they concentrate only on driving the car. Soon, Avishka is in front of a very big house that is decorated with lights. With the help of Rajeev, she comes out of the car, and soon her mother-in-law, Rekha, welcomes both of them with a plate of welcome prayer. Avishka smiles as she enters the house, and all the women laugh heartily as they complete the rituals. Then some women immediately told Rekha.

"You are very lucky." Rekha brings a more beautiful bride than the others. Sanjeev's wife, Sonali, is so beautiful that it seems as if Rajeev has kept the entire garden of beauty to himself. Your younger daughter-in-law is very beautiful."

Avishka has been hearing praise for her beauty since childhood, and she is not at all proud of it. But today, after hearing praise for her beauty, her eyes automatically go towards Rajeev, who is just looking at her smile.

After completing all the rituals, Rekha takes her and Sonali to a plainly decorated room, causing Avishka to feel a bit taken aback. However, Rekha glances at her face and responds.

"Look, Avishka, I will not tell you any lies when your and Rajeev's horoscopes are matched. Priest had refused the marriage and had completely refused the marriage, but Rajeev would not listen to anything we said. He was not ready for marriage with anyone else; he said that he wanted to marry onlyyou, so we accepted his words and got you married to him, and I have no problem with this marriage; just the priest has said that both of you should separate. You will have to live separately because this time is not right for both of you, and I want the well-being of both of you. Look, it is only a matter of a few days, and I am saying this only for the well-being of both of you. Your reception is tomorrow. If Priest arrives tomorrow, he will inform you in detail about how long you will have to stay away from Rajeev. I hope you understand what I am saying.”

Avishka is not much amused by Rekha's words because her mother Reema also believes these things very much, so she lightly nods her head, and secondly, everything has happened so fast in this marriage that she does not have any problem staying away from Rajeev. She was not able to force herself to move forward in the relationship, so this is a plus point for her. Rekha smiles softly after seeing her; she can feel Sonali's eyes on her very well. She is smiling at Saloni. She turns to face Saloni, who gives her a faint smile before quickly lowering her gaze. Avishka does not want to stay alone in this room, so she immediately tells Rekha.

"Aunty, I am not used to living alone; it would be fine if Saloni stayed with me."

Rekha immediately looks at Saloni, who was looking at Avishka, and tells her, smilingly.

"Saloni cannot stay with you at all because her husband himself cannot live without her for a moment. Right now, he might not be able to search for her outside. He waits for a few more moments, and in a matter of seconds, her husband will arrive to search for her. If you don't believe it, then take a look after some time."

Avishka smiles lightly at her humorous tone, but Saloni's eyes look at her strangely; she's not smiling at this joke, nor is she reacting in any way; they are just talking. They hear Sanjeev's loud voice.

"Saloni…. Saloni…"

While Rekha starts smiling as soon as she hears Sanjeev's voice, Avishka also looks towards Saloni with a gentle smile, but it seems as if fear has suddenly appeared in Saloni's eyes, due to which Avishka's smile starts disappearing. Before she had a chance to ask or say anything, Sanjeev arrived; his first sight was of Avishka, and in the next moment, his gaze was solely focused on Saloni. As soon as he comes closer, he puts his hand around Saloni's waist and starts talking to his mother.

"There is no work now; I am taking my wife, who also needs rest."

Rekha just smiles and nods her head, and Sanjeev immediately turns and suddenly disappears from there, holding Saloni by her waist. Avishka, still unable to forget the fear in Saloni's eyes, continued to stare at the door even after she left. Rekha immediately told her.

"The girl is an orphan; she doesn't understand much, and my Sanjeev is a bit impatient. As a result, Saloni is a little afraid of him because of how much he loves his wife and cannot bear for her to be apart from him at all. All the men in this family are very impatient; you will know very soon."

Avishka is not able to understand the meaning of any of these things. Rekha immediately helps her and asks her to rest in comfortable clothes. Just then, Rajeev comes there, due to which she points her finger at him.

"Look, Rajeev, I have listened to you; now you should also obey me."