Page 23

Story: Tainted Bride

"I told the doctor that my mother will be discharged tomorrow, and she (Avishka) will also be discharged in two days because she has repeatedly complained of pain, so the doctor wants to keep her here and get some tests done."

"I don't want any tests done; just get me discharged tomorrow; I don't want to stay here.”

This is the first time he has heard Avishka's direct voice. He looks at Armaan, who shakes his head and immediately tells Padma.

"Okay, so tomorrow you keep all your things ready because there's no special point in going home; we will take your people directly from here to Bundela House."

Padma smiles and shakes her head at him, due to which Armaan also smiles lightly. The smile on this old woman's face seems very relaxing to him, as he has become intimately familiar with the house they live in. Although it is a dilapidated hut, it is a rented house for which they are barely able to pay the rent. Armaan picks up Aashi's belongings, and Prakram takes his daughter away from there very nicely. Both of them comfortably sit in the car, ensuring that Aashi's sleep remains undisturbed. However, as soon as Aashi sits in the car, she places her hand on her father's face, feels his beard, and then speaks in a sleepy voice.

"I didn’t say goodbye to Avu.”

"On your behalf, I said goodbye to her."

In her sleep, Aashi smiles, gives her father a kiss, and then falls asleep, clinging to his chest. He kisses her forehead.

Prakram glances at Armaan. Two days have passed since he received his instructions, and Prakram is keen to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure his daughter's safety before welcoming any strangers into his home. Although he has given him two months to learn everything, he is still very interested in knowing whether he has found anything or not.

"Sir, it's becoming increasingly challenging to uncover certain information. I'm not sure why, but this is indeed the case. I haveheard about Avishka's parents and brother; this entire family suddenly disappeared one and a half years ago, and they have not been found till date.”

"From your words, I feel like you want to convince me that something very bad has happened to this girl.”

"I don't want to convince you at all because I am sure that something really bad has happened to this girl; otherwise, someone's family suddenly disappears and she is found in a river in very bad condition. After that, she doesn't return to her previous life, but instead finds herself in an extremely difficult situation. What I mean to say is that this girl is highly educated and has also been a professor at a university. This makes her standard of living understandable. Maybe she is from the middle class, but it was a very good standard. Instead of returning to that standard, here she is making garlands to earn two meals a day and is very comfortable with these people, so I am forced to think that something really bad has happened there that this girl does not want to return."

Prakram understands this very well; he hugs Aashi tightly to his chest, kisses her forehead, and closes his eyes after looking outside.

*"Meeting like this is just a formality because we have decided that my son and your daughter are made for each other... Now we are just waiting for the marriage to happen as soon as possible."

After listening to Digvijay, everyone starts smiling. Prakram's eyes go towards the front, where Divya silently comes and sits on the coach in front of him with her eyes down. His first focus is on her curly hair, a strand of which hangs from her head to her face.He knows that he is going to marry this girl, and he has seen her many times at parties; this is the first time he is meeting her face-to-face.

"Divya met him, and he is Prakram Bundela, son of Digvijay Bundela."

Divya raises her eyes, looks towards Prakram, and smiles lightly, which forces him to smile towards her. *

The car stops with a jerk, and Prakram opens his eyes and looks towards his house. He immediately takes Aashi in his arms and brings her to his room, and without wasting any time, he lies down with Aashi on his chest. And while caressing her face very lovingly, he kisses her forehead and tells her.

"You are my life... I don’t trust anyone else in this world.”

CHAPTER 15

Prakram is staring at Aashi and has tightly covered his mouth, preventing Aashi from seeing his smile. However, the enthusiasm with which Aashi is getting the work done in the room is worth seeing, and Digvijay is getting very excited about this thing.

"I don't know who the girl is, but whoever she is, she is dear to my sweetheart... Look, how is she decorating the room for her?"

After listening to Digvijay, Prakram glances at him, then shifts his gaze to his daughter. Immediately after escorting him out of the room and heading towards his own room, he begins muttering to himself.

"Try your best that you never see me taking advantage of my daughter's innocence, even by mistake, because I will kill you in the next moment. I am tolerating you; the reason behind that is only because of my Ashu.”

Today, Avishka and Padma-Vishnu are scheduled to arrive shortly, and according to the usual arrangement, the main nanny room is conveniently located close to Aashi's bedroom. Padma and Vishnu will have to stay in the servant quarter at the back of the mansion, which is much better than their old hut. He comes to his room, where Armaan is already present because he was the one who had called Armaan, and as soon as he comes to the room, he sits on his coach and, placing his ankle properly on his knee, starts looking at the list that Arman has brought.

"I have already told you that this is Aashi's third birthday, which is very special for me, so it should be celebrated very well.”

"Sir, we have made all the necessary preparations for the celebration, considering everything like it is a festival. You do not need to worry about anything. The biggest thing is that it was your requirement that Sandhya mam should not have any problem with anything; hence, the most lavish room has been booked for her."

"Hmmm… As I can see, I don't think that girl will be able to walk properly, but Aashi will cause a lot of problems if she leaves without her, so make arrangements for her to go as well."

A slight smile appears on Armaan's face, but he immediately hides his smile by bowing his head because he does not want Prakram to see his smile in any way.”

"Armaan, there is no need to smile unnecessarily. I am not the same Prakram who used to trust people easily when they showedtheir innocence. Now I always have doubts, and I don't need to do much to remove them. I am telling you, and you too should keep this in mind: Whenever I find anything wrong about this girl, the very next moment I should have a gun in my hand so that I can shoot her right between the eyes.”