THE BRIDES - meek, curt and silly

13. The Grooms

9th December, 9:30pm

Bhairav sat facing his glass walls with Scotch in his hand. Lost in his thoughts he did not notice he was swirling his glass.

"Anna! Stop doing that.. It's not wine," Dhruv, his youngest brother said.

"What are you thinking about?" Pranav asked as he made himself comfortable on the Ottoman next to the glass wall.

His wedding! He was thinking of his wedding. He was thinking of Eesha. Having Kirti, who was strong independent, around meant his responsibilities were shared. He was used to a confident person as his wife. Now.. life had taken away the person he loved sharing life with, and thrust upon someone else. And he was not ready for it. Not ready to replace Kirti with someone else. If it were upto him, he would never agree to this.

But.. Kirti had left their daughter motherless. He could see that Kriya was starting to associate Eesha with a mother figure. He had noticed her looking around for someone everytime she cried. Whenever Eesha was around, Kriya clung to her. He felt like an intruder when he was around them. Kriya needed Eesha, and most importantly Eesha adored Kriya. Her love for Kriya was visible. He was bound. He had to marry Eesha for Kriya. That was a given.

"I remember the first time I saw her. Eesha I mean.." Bhairav told his brothers. He was still swirling the glass of scotch, knowing that it would not be as strong as he usually liked. But.. he was not in a mood to drink anyways.

"She is a beauty alright! The one that made heads turn".

Since the beginning, Eesha had never looked him in the eye. Her eyes always cast down, always! Growing up with strong independent women, and married to one,he found her fidgeting extremely annoying. But they did not cross paths or rather she avoided all the men, so it didn't matter as much. But now! Now was a different story. He could not imagine his life with a woman was so unsure of herself. Was he being judgemental? He asked himself. May be!

It's not that he did not understand her. He did. He understood the verbal and physical abuse. He understood the effect that has on one's psyche. He was willing to help her in any which way that was possible. But marrying her? That thought was giving him nightmares.

"I know her, you know? Kirti always talked about her. She always talked of making Eesha's life secure and happy. But I am not sure if I am that happiness," he continued as he looked at his brothers.

"Then take some time, Anna. Date each other. Why rush into it?" Dhruv replied. He firmly believed in following his own heart. Never has he ever done anything which made him uncomfortable.

Date? Eesha? He would have thought about it if the damn woman talked to him without stuttering. Hell! He was not even sure if Eesha wanted to marry him!

"Not possible! We have already signed a three way contract," he said looking glum.

The contract. The damned contract! Which said that their child, will not have any share in his property. He was very angry when he read the contents of the contract. Which was only escalated after her saw Eesha and Karthik's signatures. How can someone else decide about his property and his child?

He soon realised that Eesha's family was securing Kriya's future. In the process they were setting up Eesha for a fail. It didn't matter to them. He had to think of a way around it. He could not elope like Pranav suggested, nor could he woo her like Dhruv wanted. She was too meek for that. The only way to marry Eesha is via her family. And the only way to convince the family is with the contract. What a mess!

He thought about a kid with Eesha. That was an uncertain event. The one which may not happen. May not happen? Then it hit him. He had to change the terms in the contract.