Chapter 10 :
9 June, Sunday, 2024
10:39 a.m.
Anika's POV
I kept staring outside the glass wall of my home office trying to fix the mess inside my head.
After his yesterday's words, I was beyond shocked and shaken. I was taken aback for a moment and after that I didn't speak a single word. I just knew Arnav Rai Mehrotra as Obsidian Exotics's owner. But him being a gangster too was something hard to digest. I never paid attention to underground business news but now I was marrying a gangster.
Even though I kept myself composed, I was scared. I was scared because he was someone who could kill anyone anytime and I wasn't an exception. I won't regret my death but along with me, some other lives would be affected and some might end too.
After we arrived in India, I straight came to my parents' house and he went to his.
After I had freshened up, I talked to Rooh and there she dropped another bomb.
She told me that Arnav was 34 years old and here I was, 25. He was fucking nine years older than me.
It was obvious for him to be that much old because Dhruv was two years older than me and he had another elder brother before Arnav; Rohan, who was 29.
Everything felt so heavier than I expected it to be. I knew I was welcoming another mess but never expected to call myself a 'ganster's wife'. He owned a law firm which was something that was related to legal justice and on the other hand, he ran an illegal business without any fear.
I sighed. I intended to stand here more and keep being lost in my thoughts when someone knocked on the door.
Turning around, I fixed my red kurta and the dupatta over it before voicing out, "Yes come in".
The door opened revealing my mami clad in a golden stone embedded saree with a cream coloured quarter sleeve blouse. Her hair was tied up into a low bun, as white mogra flowers was put around it. She stepped inside with a warm smile. Behind her was Maya di, clad in a set of orange anarkali suit set that she had bought from Sabyasachi a few days ago. Her hair wasn't tied up.
Mami stood in front of me and held onto my right arm softly, "Ani beta, it's getting late. Go and get ready fast. After the Roka it's the engagement party so you don't have much to get ready. Be fast okay?", her voice was so sweet and soft. I nodded with a smile.
Once she left, di pulled me to the deep blue sectional sofa placed at a distance from the main door.
Once we were settled down properly, she spoke, "Are you really sure Ani? He didn't force you right? I didn't get to talk to you about this face-to-face", her voice came out concerned. No matter how much we fought and didn't talk, she was still my both mother and father.
I sighed looking down at my lap.
"Di, I want to ask you a question?", I said, raising up my head to face her. I tried diverting her attention from that question. If I tried to feed her with my made-up answer, she might find me suspicious.
She nodded.
"What will you do when you need to face the consequences of your deed from the past in your present?", I asked without hesitation. A little bit change and she'll find me suspicious. She had studied psychology for a while which is why she was smart at pointing out hidden things.
Her eyes studied my face as I remained calm.
Exhaling sharply she spoke, "Why this question all of a sudden?"
I shook my head, "It's nothing serious. I was reading a book on such a theme so I wanted to ask you since you studied psychology", I replied hoping for her to buy my lie.
She nodded to my relief.
"Actually it depends on what you did. Sometimes the situation forces you to do things that you never thought you'd do. Like, that particular deed can be as heavy as a sin even if you didn't kill anyone. Every deed has their own consequences and it'll return to you anyhow like a— boomerang you say. But if you weren't at fault but still you feel like you're being punished, consider it as a test taken by God to test your enduring or tolerance capacity and the way you handle things. It's a time you can prove that you're strong. You get stronger when you face hard situations. People say that we heal and learn from hardships in our life but there are certain situations where it just hurts and hurts and never heals. We might get over it but the scar, it remains there... forever. But the after results of the situation I talked about previously, it's worth it. It's something God wants to give you because you deserve it. Remember, everything happens for a reason.
You might feel worthless during the hard time and even fall weak but no, you're not worthless. You're strong but still, being a human one can get tired. And getting tired isn't falling weak", she replied. Her words held so much truth about my life that they sucked the air out of me. I felt like being strangled.
I silently stared at the cream coloured wall behind her while my mind processed her words.
That means, did I deserve what was happening? What good ending this had? This marriage would end after one year then what good it had to give me? Me hurting so many innocent lives, what good it had to give me?
I was just so confused and lost.
I looked back at her and smiled lightly, "Okay ma'am I understood. Now please get me ready for the Roka and the engagement. It's gonna be so tiring, woman", I acted like whining to keep her away from getting suspicious at my sudden question.
She chuckled and held my hand before pulling me with her out of my office.
•
"And done", said the makeup artistz after finally putting the bindi on my forehead.
I smiled at her through the mirror before standing up from the vanity stool and turned to face the wall mirror adjacent to the vanity.
I was wearing a set of white lehenga consisting of a deep v-cut quarter sleeve blouse and skirt with the translucent shoulder cloth hanging from my shoulder. The set had mirror embroidery along with several different types of stones embedded in them. It was a beautiful set by Gaurav Gupta. The choker and other jewelleries were matching with my outfit too. My hair had been tied up into a bun with white roses at the right side. Everything was perfect and beautiful except for the missing happiness.
Any other bride would've been happy and nervous in such a day but I was just—I don't know how to explain what I was feeling. I can just say that I was neither happy nor excited.
I was slightly nervous but scared too. I wouldn't have been scared much but now I was because I knew who the real Arnav Rai Mehrotra was. I couldn't even back off from the marriage.
Fvck! I was bound in such a way that I saw no way to escape.
I breathed slowly and turned around to face my dadi, mami and di who were patiently waiting to have a look at me.
All of them awed and smiled before hugging me one after another. Dadi and mami did the typical 'evil-eye off' (nazar utarna) thing.
Taking a bit of the kajal both of them had applied, they put it behind my left ear.
I chuckled.
After everything was done, I walked outside with them to get in the car waiting for us outside which will take to the venue.
Every ceremony of my marriage will be held at the marriage hall owned by his family.
I couldn't even recognise my parents' mansion which was owned by my mama and mami now. It was decorated so glamorously that it looked no less than a royal palace. Everything had been decorated in red, orange, yellow and pink. It really seemed like a marriage house. But the main part was missing.
My parents. They weren't there to attend my marriage. They wanted to attend it so bad. Maa and papa used to talk about my marriage when I was young and maa used to tell me how she would get me ready and do the nazar utarna and all and how papa used to say that he'd stop himself from crying while handing me over to my husband and while biding me farewell. My heart clenched. My eyes were stinging already.
Without coming in di's notice, who was seated beside me in the car, I wiped off the tears and stared outside.
Everyone's here—bade papa, badi maa, their son Avyansh and daughter Naina, chacha and chachi with their sons Ranvijay and Devansh. Everyone was kind and sweet except for my chachi and chachu. They didn't like me at all. They still believed that I was the reason behind my parents' death.
Maybe I was.
Many more relatives will arrive soon.
My chote mama and mami along with their sons Dhyan and Shuv were also there. So there were 6-8 cars going towards the marriage hall which included all the family members along with gifts and bodyguards.
"Are you nervous?", dii asked tilting her head towards me.
Now what should I answer? I was nervous but there were two reasons and I don't want to lie.
•
Arnav's POV
Fixing my hair properly, I took in my look.
I was wearing a cream coloured suit and pant along with a waist coat over a white shirt and a red tie. The golden chain brooch with an off-white diamond in the middle shone under the daylight.
I was getting ready for something I wasn't even interested in. The fire of rage and hatred inside me was getting fueled by my urge to get revenge from her right now. My chest was burning and the pain in my throat seemed to be tightening every second.
Turning back I faced my brother, Dhruv, who was lying with his eyes open.
The machines were beeping and that was the only sound in the room except for my heavy breaths. He used to be so healthy and playful but look at him now, half dead.
I hated myself for failing in protecting him. My heart ached.
Slowly walking towards him, I sat beside him on the bed before staring at his stoic face.
He can just listen according to what doctors had said. I wondered if he still remembered us or not. I didn't even know if he'll show any improvements.
My grip on the bedsheet tightened as I clenched my jaws. I hated her even more.
My eyes and heart were blank but that didn't mean I didn't love him. I loved him and it hurt to see him like that. It had been over four years and I didn't know for how long it'd be like this.
Holding onto his right hand wrist, I tried feeling the pulse. It was still beating but it was slow unlike his bright smile which used to increase girls' heartbeat at his college. It was slow unlike when he used to tell me how his heart used to beat fast when he used to see his love of life—Anika. It was so cold now.
I sighed looking down at his pale skin.
"I promise brother, I promise to break her till she can't be broken anymore. She has to know what sin she has committed. And now she's totally in my control", I smirked remembering the contract.
In our bloodline, men have always been known for respecting the women in their families. Once disrespected, they were punished in a way as if in hell. Women have high values in the Rai Mehrotra bloodline. But my wife, she was someone beyond shameless and undeserving. She was cunning and a woman like her deserved what she was getting.
I could've called her a gold digger but shez herself was a self-made multi-millionaire. How could she stoop so low?
I felt disgusted thinking about her.
Sighing for the last time prior to glancing at him, I walked out of the room.
•
"Beta", maa called me out. We both were in the same car and rest of the family members were in different cars.
Closing the laptop, I looked up at maa, "Yes maa?".
She faced me. The smile on her face hid the pain she always carried in her heart. She was so strong just like her mother. She had endured a lot. How badly I wish to take away her pain.
"Beta, can you promise me something?", she asked taking my right hand in hers. I nodded with a small smile.
"We all know that your marriage was fixed with Arshi but when you told us that you wanted to marry Anika, we all were really surprised. But as I had said long ago, I'll be with you after whatever you decide and I believe that you'll choose the best for yourself. Anika is a nice girl and I hope that you're going to respect her and her decisions. Be with her always and never hurt her. Try to understand her every action and word whenever possible and talk it out when there are misunderstandings. Misunderstandings lead to fights and you're well known to the after results. Did you understand what I want to say?", she muttered softly, looking at me all the time while I kept staring down at our joined hands.
I knew she thought of Anika as a soft, sweet and kind girl who was very matured and understanding. Despite the urge to tell her the truth, I couldn't hurt her. After one year she'd eventually come to know about the reality of this marriage but it was much better than knowing about it now.
This pretending shit was getting on my nerves.
I just nodded and replied, "Yes maa I did. Just trust me and know that whatever I did and will be doing, it had and will have a reason", I too kept my point.
She nodded back with a smile before retreating her hands and sat back straight.
I looked outside the window.
I can understand Dhruv's pain because I knew the pain of love. In the past, so many things happened that now, I was no more giving them another chance to repeat. Many lives have been ruined and—one was lost too.
I don't love anyone and Arshi was just my bestfriend. She was going to be my wife because my parents wanted me married and she seemed compatible enough for me, according to everyone in my family.
She belonged to a well known family— father being a businessman and mother an engineer, brought her up into a fine lady who was a well known model today.
She was beautiful and talented despite being just one year younger than me. She was the inspiration of many new models. That's why I admired her as an independent lady if not as my wife.
I don't have any expectations from my married life.
And about that woman, Anika was nothing but my replaced bride—the bride I replaced for vengeance.