SCARS

Chapter 3- Salty

He watched Aniruddh smiled beamingly at Bondita. He was happy for Aniruddh, really happy for him but...
When Bondita first stepped inside the Roy Chowdhury mansion as Aniruddh's bride, he was very worried for the prestige of the family. He married this girl with no pedigree & no family name. It was astounding for the family of zamindars to be married to someone less in class.
But as time passed... He noticed how similar Bondita was... to HER. The same spunk, the same vigour, the same care, the same charm. Bondita began to remind him too much of the one person he loved the most in this world... His wife.... Shubhra.
Binoy Roy Chowdhury was scared. He was extremely scared of his daughter in law because she with her antics & uncanny resemblance to his dead wife in all of her activities managed to evoke feelings of fatherly care & protectiveness towards her. He was slowly getting attached to her & this attachment is what he feared.
He watched how meticulously Bondita went around the house taking care of everybody. Shubhra did the same.
He was lost in his thoughts as he heard a knock on the door. He turned around to see Bondita standing there with a teacup placed on a saucer in her hands. He didn't say anything but just turned sideways but he kept looking at her through the corner of his eye as she walked very slowly to avoid accidental spillage.

Binoy breathed a silent sigh of relief as the teacup was successfully placed on the table without any accidents.

Bondita went on to say,"Sasurji... Aapki chai. "

Binoy sighed quite audibly & said in a very irritated voice, "Maine dekh liya hai. Ab tum jaa sakti ho."

Bondita looked a bit hurt at his words but anyways turned around to leave when Binoy said, "Aur kal se TUMHE mere kamre mein chai dene aane ki koi zaroorat nahi. Bihari ke haathon bhijwa dena."

Binoy didn't want her to have any kind of inconvenience. He has seen how scared she is while handling hot beverages. He agreed with Aniruddh on one matter, Bondita shouldn't be made to handle household works. What if she burns herself??
What if she hurts herself??

Binoy cleared his throat & said, "Aaj se tumhe mere liye chai banane ki zaroorat nahi. Waise bhi mujhe tumhare haath ki chai nahi pasand."

He heard the sound of soft sobs as Bondita ran away from her father in law's door. Binoy sighed as he heard her going away.

He knew she was perfect. Perfect in every sense, perfect soulmate for his son, the perfect daughter in law for this family. Bondita was in all means very deserving of being the eldest daughter in law because she knew & also fulfilled her responsibilities very well.

Binoy looked at Shubhra smiling at him through the gilded gold frame. She had always wanted a daughter & with that thought Bondita's face flashed before her eyes.

NO. He cannot afford to get attached to Bondita. He cannot afford to soften towards her. The scars which dried up with time, he'll have to continue to be rude & aloof towards her.

After losing Shubhra, he turned cold towards everyone, even detaching or trying to detach himself from his children. He turned his face away from anything & everything that reminded him of his dead wife, but then Bondita happened to the Roy Chowdhury's.

Binoy just wanted to stay away from her. But also wanted to protect her. He knew she was the key to his Aniruddh's happiness. Shubhra would want her Kopal to be happy, she was truly a worthy successor of Shubhra but she was also a constant reminder of the fact that Shubhra wasn't there. Bondita's presence gnawed on his scars of loss.