HER POV
We got down from the car, standing in front of a house decorated with lights. I stared at it blankly, processing how my life took a u-turn in 24 hours.
I was waiting for my mother to call for me when the priest would ask for the bride, dressed up in bridal attire with my hands covered in henna. A soft smile dangled on my face when I looked at myself sitting in front of a full body mirror. I was getting married to a guy who was chosen by my father.
I was happy to know that my parents were marrying me off to a nice family when they didn't ask for dowry. It was a rare case in my town, to get married without giving dowry but I was lucky enough to be the rare case.
I was getting married at the age of 20 and it wasn't early to me, it was like a blessing that my parents didn't get me child married. It would have been no surprise if they did because that's what happens in a small town like ours, girls never get to study or work and get married at the mere age of 15.
My parents were kind enough to let me study till my graduation and work but it all changed just before I was about to step in the mandap. I heard people, precisely the groom's friend talking about something that shook me to death and I did what I felt was right.
And now, I stand here in front of my house from where I ran from. Inhaling a deep breath I walked in while the guy who became my saviour walked behind me.
Unexpectedly, It was silent. People gathered inside still in their last night's clothes whispering turned towards me hearing the door open. "Agyi apna muh kala kara ke" my aunt said, getting up from the ground and walking towards me with heavy steps.
(You've returned after tarnishing your reputation.)
I stood there waiting to welcome her slap on my cheek when a hand came in front taking the slap on its arm instead, I turned back and saw him hissing in pain when I realized he took the slap on his injured arm for me. My eyes soften at the sight, how long are you going to protect me my dear Saviour?
"Are you okay?" His voice, delicate and soothing like a bandaid to my scars, entered my ears when I realised tears were pooling in my eyes. I shook my head and made him stand behind me.
I turned back towards my aunt, this time with a stern look on my face.
"Muh kala nahi karana tha isliye jaan bacha ke bhagi thi." My voice came out even colder than I expected but it was for good.
She clenched her jaw in front of me when suddenly turned her head back and shouted for my mother.
(I didn't want to ruin myself thats why I ran)
My mother, Divyani Vaidya came running outside in a deselved position.
She stopped at her feets and stared at me with dead eyes before they turned cold. I know she's angry, way more than that but I had no other option than to return to my own house. I did nothing wrong so why would I run away again?
A sharp slap landed on my cheeks, I held his hand behind me stopping him from saving me again. I deserved it. I deserved more than a slap, I could have told mom but nothing came to mind when it happened.
"Maa—" I whispered, teads flowing down my eyes as she stared at me with coldness. "Mar gayi teri maa" her words pierced through my heart but I didn't fight back, I just couldn't.
(She died!)
"Maa— please I'm sorry, I know mene jo kiya galat tha but I had no other options." I sobbed in tears trying to hold my mother's hand explaining her things, "They— they weren't nice people, they were going to sell me off to the brothel. You wouldn't have been able to see that happening to your own daughter right? That's why I ran away, I ran away to save what you cherished for your whole life."
(I know what I did was wrong)
Whispering turned into audible noise as people gasped and talked, of course no one would have imagined such a thing but what I said was true.
I heard the groom's friend talking about using me for the night and then selling me off to the brothel for a good sum of money. I wanted to puke, I wanted to cry and scream but I couldn't so I ran, I ran as far as I could.
"Vahi behtar hota, humari nak toh na kat ti bhare bazar mai." my eyes widened at her words, shattering my heart. Was that easy for you maa? She spit venom at me as if it wouldn't kill me at all.
Jerking my hands off she passed through me grabbing his collar while I stood there frozen, still denying the fact that it was my own mother's word.
(It would have been better, we wouldn't have lost our respect in front of all these people)
"He's the guy you ran away with isn't it? Iske saath apna muh kala kar rahi thi raat bhar?"
Swallowing a lump I turned around, he stood silent letting my mother grab his collar. I stared at his face devoid of any emotions before I turned to my mother and pulled her off him.
(You were with him whole night tarnishing yourself)
I stood in front of him who stood silently, shielding him with my body. "Jisko aap ye sab keh rahi hai usi ne meri jaan bachai hai, agar ye na hote toh kahi mari padi milti mai aapko."
My tears didn't stop no matter how bitter the feeling inside my heart got. She can do anything to me but never to him, it was him who pulled me away from my destruction. I wouldn't let anyone hurt my saviour.
(Whom you are talking about is the one who saved me, if it wasn't him you would have found me dead somewhere)
"Or jis izzat ki baat kar rahi hai aap, uska kya hota jab aapko khabar milti mere mare hone ki?" I asked, ignoring the pain cutting through my throat as I stepped towards her.
(What would you have done about the respect you are talking about when you would have gotten the news of me dead?)
"Wouldn't have it been better? Aren't you used anyways?" I hear my father walking in with his hands tucked in his pocket, acting like nothing happened just yet. I couldn't stop myself from scoffing at his words, I ignored it throughout my life that he wasn't caring for me as a daughter but a product, he was cherishing me as a doll who would be sold for a good price.
I ignored it all, for god sakes how many times just to satisfy my heart with the lie that he actually cared for me, actually loved me. "You still have the audacity to scoff? Seems like he satisfied you very well" disgust wrapped around my head hearing his words for his own daughter in front of all the people around.
Clenching my hands I stood there, trying to calm my heart and not fail me when I needed it the most. My eyes roamed around looking at people with judgemental eyes on me.
Disgust and disbelief vividly displayed on their faces and they didn't even try to hide it from me.
" How much did he pay you huh? Good enough that you decided to lose your shame in front of him." My aunt stepped in trying to help my father a little as if it was enough.
"Kya mila tujhe ye karke? Kya nahi kiya tha humne tere liye?" My mother's words made me surprised, an urge to laugh at myself built inside of me.
They clearly ignored the fact that I ran away to save myself from being sold out, afterall their reputation mattered more than anything, even my respect and dignity.
(What did you get from doing such a thing? What didn't we do for you?)
Were they always like this? Yes. Did I ignore it? Also yes. Just because I craved love, I craved to be loved and cared for so I did everything possible for it. But alas I was the one tarnishing their reputation.
"Hume nahi pata tha aap logo ke liye reputation meri izzat se zada matter karti hai varna mahadev ki kassam mai khud ko maar deti, tab aap logo ki naak nahi kat ti na?" I choked on my words but still didn't stop, I couldn't. My aunt's expression turned sour before she walked in the kitchen and came back with a knife in her hand and a grin on her face.
( I didn't know your reputation was more valuable than my respect for you all or else I would have just killed myself that way you wouldn't have been shamed by others isn't it?)
Don't stoop so low my dear aunt, I might just grant your wish after all whatever just happened, I can't imagine taking the next breath without pain inside of me.
"Loh," she said, forwarding the knife towards me with a nod as she stared down at the knife then me with a smirk plastered on her lips. I scoffed again looking at my mother who said nothing and turned her face away, this is what you want maa? Then let me grant your wish.
(Take)
I took the knife from her hand but before I could do anything it was snatched from me, he who stood behind me came beside me and looked at me with rage filled eyes.
The pain, the regret. Everything left my body when I looked at his face. What was even going to do? I was going to kill myself in front of the person who risked his own life to save mine. I was going to make his efforts go in vain, how could I be so selfish?
"I didn't take a bullet for you just to see you kill youself." His words were harsher than those of my parents, he was right. He didn't save me just to see me die. I bit my lower lip in guilt and vulnerability. How disgusting of you Kaisha Vaidya.
My eyes stared at the ground, tears pooling inside again when I noticed a drop of blood getting kissed by the ground. My eyes shook up when I saw him sliding his thumb on my forehead, my eyes widening in surprise and shock as his blood flowed down to my bridge of nose.
"She's used, isn't she? She's used by me." He spoke turning towards my parents who stood shocked just like me. I rubbed my nose and saw my finger tip covered in blood. What did he just do?
"And now I have the full right to have her, now she isn't your daughter whom you were so eager to sell." He said in a cold and angry voice, "She's my wife now, and I dare you to say another disgusting word about her. One more insult, and you'll find your tongue on the floor." Continuing with a threat and a claim.
I felt his hand wrapping around mine as he dragged me out without wasting another minute in there. He walked in rage, his eyes turned dark and his jaw clenched.
My mind went blank the minute he rubbed his blood in my hair partition and announced me as his wife, even threatening them with losing their words forever. Why did he do that?
Wasn't saving me enough that he even became the protector of my honor in the most primal way possible? My heart raced,
confusion swirling in my chest like a storm.
His words echoed in the silence that followed, each one more possessive and final than the last.
I glanced at him, his face hard as stone, his eyes daring anyone to challenge him. The room was steeped in shock, no one willing to meet his gaze or utter a word. Why me? Why now? Questions clawed at my mind, but his grip on my wrist tightened, pulling me closer, grounding me in the moment.
"Let's go," he said, his voice low, but it carried the weight of a thousand unspoken promises. Without waiting for my response, he led me away, leaving the stunned silence behind. My feet moved mechanically, but my heart was in chaos.
What did this mean for me, for us? Had he really meant what he did, or was it just another desperate act of control?