Rudra closed his eyes to sleep, facing the wall. But he felt the bed shaking a bit, so he turned back to look at Sugandha.
Sugandha's body was shivering. She clutched onto her blanket, but it was far from giving any needed warmth.
Rudra watched her state and gulped. He was hesitating to approach first; after all, the earlier incident was embarrassing for both of them.
Rudra sighed and rested his hand on her shoulder gently. Sugandha's breath hitched at his gesture.
"Turn around." Rudra spoke lowly.
Sugandha slowly faced him, but her gaze was not meeting his eyes.
"Are you feeling cold?" Rudra inquired.
Sugandha nodded in return. Rudra hesitantly held her and pulled her closer to him.
Sugandha's heart races very palpably. She didn't resist nor speak a word.
Rudra continued to hold her against his warm chest. And… the warmth he was providing for Sugandha in his embrace was enough to make her feel good and also touch the cloud nine.
They both didn't speak a word and closed their eyes to sleep, but it was becoming hard for Rudra. He never held any woman like this; it was stirring new feelings within him.
Sugandha soon fell asleep with a soft smile imprinted on her face. Sadly, Rudra couldn't.
The next day, Rudra was still awake. Dark circles were prominent under his eyes. He didn't move from his place, afraid that she might wake up.
When the sunrays hit Sugandha's face, she stirred in her sleep and slowly woke up.
When her orbs met Rudra's, her eyes widened at the realization, and she sat up immediately.
"W…woh m…maaf kar dijiye. Maine socha nahi tha ki raat bhar aapke bahon mai hii soti rahungi." Sugandha spoke in a low but audible tone.
(Sorry, I didn't expect that I would be sleeping in your arms the whole night.)
"It's fine…" Rudra said and sat up.
Poor guy was sleep-deprived, and his shoulder was aching a little because he didn't change his position throughout the night.
Sugandha sensed his tiredness and felt guilty. But… her mood also seemed a bit peaceful.
Rudra left the room to clean up and do some exercise. Sugandha also took a shower and started preparing for breakfast with other ladies.
Rudra got habituated to his wife's dishes. He used to opt for Tulasi's cooking, but now… he craves his wife's dishes more.
After having his stomach full meal, he informed about his dispatch to his mother and glanced at Sugandha.
He was about to walk out, but then he heard Sugandha's voice.
"Suniye…" (listen…) she said.
She walked closer to him, and Rudra turned to face her, she was so short compared to him. Sugandha offered him a steel box.
"I packed you some lunch." She said.
Rudra's lips twitched into a non-visible smile, and he took it from her with a hum.
Tulasi and Nalini were containing their giggles, Rudra cleared his throat and walked out with Indra.
Sugandha's pov
I watched him leave. He makes me feel things that I never felt. His mere presence makes my heart flutter for no reason.
"Bohut dekh liye, abh chelo andhar. Bohut kaam hai." Maa ji said.
(You've seen enough. Now let's go inside, there's a lot of work to do.)
I hummed and followed behind her. We reached the hall and she turned to face me.
"You know that we make fresh pickles every six months, this time… i decided to make double of it. Why don't you sit and help us?" Maa ji said.
There's a lot of people in this house, so it makes sense. In my house, we don't make such stuff… Mostly, the owners we work under give some to us when we help them.
"J…ji, maa ji." I said.
I watched her hand me all the mangoes, and I sat down to start working.
"Go on…" she said.
I furrowed my brows in confusion. I thought others would join me, but… there was no one here.
"But maa ji, let's wait for tulasi and nalini." I said.
"They won't come; they're busy with something else. And…. you must finish making it by the evening." she said.
How can I…? It's impossible for a single person to finish all this. How can I do everything on my own? But… I can't even talk back against her wishes. She may start hating me even more.
I took a deep breath and started working. I first started slicing all the mangoes, there are like 2 buckets of them. And it was a very difficult task to do.
Two hours or so have passed, and my hands turned red; they were shaking a little. I hope I don't cut myself because of this. There's still so many to go.
As I continued to do my work, I heard Tulasi's voice.
"Sugandha, let me help yo—" maa ji interrupted her.
"Didn't I give you some work already?? I gave her that task, and she'll finish it on her own. You better not cross my words." Maa ji spoke with hatred.
Tears welled up in my eyes and I spoke lowly. "I…it's fine, i…I can finish it."
It took me almost forever to finish slicing all the mangoes. It even gave me some cuts on my hands; they were stinging me.
"You're not a complete waste after all. Well, you might be habituated anyway. since you used to work at random people's houses as a maid." Maa ji spoke after a scoff.
Her words were so toxic and spiky… They kept staggering at my heart. I might have faced this a thousand times, but… She's my husband's mother and also a sarpanch house lady. If she's like this, what type of example is she portraying for others?
She made me mix everything up, the chili powder hit my wounds, and it was an unimaginable pain. Even if I told her that I don't have any more strength in my hands, she didn't show an ounce of mercy.
The people I worked under were far better than her, at least they would've let me go after some curses. This woman didn't even let me eat my lunch… How can one woman hate another woman to this core?
Each time the pain got to me, I hissed out Krishna's name. He's the only one who kept me alive till now, hoping that he'd also give me a good life.
when Vardhan ji used to beat me every night and leave me behind like a dead mouse…. I thought of committing suicide. I was about to drink some poison, but then… I saw a light from the window. It was too captivating… I dragged my body to that spark and looked out of the window.
Then… I saw a figure in the night sky, I do not know if it was my hallucination or something. My body, which was full of wounds and scars, suddenly felt lighter. Then I heard some otherworldly voice speaking to me… it was telling me to stay strong and live. And then… I lost my consciousness at that exact moment.
Now, I am… standing here, alive. If I had died that day, the dogs (Vardhan and his father) would've won. God knows how many more lives they would've demolished if they didn't die.
So many wars were fought for a woman. So many lives were sacrificed to achieve a woman. And… so many evil people died in the process of getting their desired woman. Everyone who commits an unforgivable sin will face the consequences, by hook or crook.
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