Page 8

Story: Tainted Bride

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“Please… I will come soon.”

She is sitting wrapped in a sheet because she is still feeling cold. But she is insisting that she has to go out. Padma is fully aware that she wants to go out and personally pick flowers for Aashi, so she can make a fresh tiara for her. However, due to her overnight illness, she is reluctant to send her out into the cold. After a while, it will be time for Aashi to arrive. She states it strictly.

“I've made a hotchpotch for you. Eat it, then rest here. If one day you don't meet that girl, nothing will happen. You are not a small girl who has to be explained so much that it is not right for you to go into the cold air. Just stay here and rest.”

She does not want to say anything to Padma at all because she knows that both the husband and wife have taken great care of her throughout the night, and because of them, her fever has gone down a lot, but the yearning to meet Aashi is troubling hera lot. However, she finds herself unable to ignore Padma's words under any circumstances. She sat there disheartened.

Like every time, Aashi's eyes are fixed outside the car, but like every day, Avi is not standing there waiting for her, due to which she starts looking at her grandmother. Sandhya says this to her granddaughter, smiling at her innocent eyes.

“Maybe she will be standing somewhere else; we will go out and see now.”

Hearing this, Aashi smiles, and her grandmother hugs her because she is about to go out in her lap. Both of them go out, and like every day, Padma and Vishnu are standing with lots of flowers and garlands, but Avi is not seen there.

“Avi is not here today.”

“She had a very high fever throughout the night; she wanted to come but I prevented her because of weakness with great difficulty.”

As soon as Aashi hears that Avi could not come to meet her because she had a fever throughout the night, she immediately starts grizzling to get off her grandmother's lap.

“Aashi…”

“I must go to Avu."

"No, princess, we cannot do this; I will be too late for the prayer just leave your desire to meet her today.”

“No, I want to meet her.”

“Aashi, this stubbornness is not right.”

Aashi knows very well how to get any of her wishes fulfilled; that's why she starts crying loudly. Sandhya starts looking around because she is crying very loudly, and even she can't see her crying like this.

"Okay, okay, let's go to your Avu."

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Hotchpotch is kept in front of Avi, but she does not want to eat it at all because she is missing Aashi. She is sitting silently with disappointment when suddenly she starts hearing Ashi's voice loudly.

"Avu…"

Avi smiles and immediately looks towards the door, where she sees her standing and smiling. As soon as she sees her, she spreads her arms, and Aashi runs into them. Both of them are hugging each other as if they are meeting after many years. Sandhya gives a gentle smile to both of them before turning her gaze to the bodyguards and saying,

“I have to go to the temple, so send some bodyguards with me; everyone else should stay here to take care of Aashi, and neither Digvijay nor Prakram should know about this... Got it.”

They silently nod without any other option, looking towards Aashi, who is very happy after coming to her favorite person, and immediately feeding hotchpotch to Avi with her small hands, seeing that everyone is forced to smile because she still doesn't eat food with her own hands. Usually Sandhya or Nanny feeds her, and here she herself is feeding Avi with her small hands.

CHAPTER 6

*He enters with slow steps, and his eyes are only on his little baby lying in the hospital cradle. His baby had come into this world only a few hours ago, and for the first time after seeing her, there had been such a sparkle in his eyes. Which no one has ever seen. He approaches her with great affection, attempting to caress her cottony cheeks, but his fear of hurting her with his rough pores prevents him from doing so. He is unable to control himself, so he touches her cheek out of fear, and as soon as he touches her cheek, the little girl smiles softly with her tiny, close eyes, and seeing her smiling, he too is smiling immediately.

But within a few moments, his smile turns into anger, and he looks towards the woman lying nearby who is sleeping very comfortably. With so much anger and hate, he moves towards her, immediately grabs her neck, and starts pressing her tightly. She opens her eyes and looks at him. She grabs both of his hands, attempting to break free from his grip, but her efforts are futile. She is suffering a lot, but his blood-filled eyes are not ready to feel her pain at all.*

Prakram 's eyes suddenly open, and he immediately starts looking at the rising sun outside the window. God knows how many times, even today, he remembers all these past events and wakes up like this every time. He immediately grabs his mobile, glances at the beautiful photo of his daughter, and gives her a kiss.