Love Deal

13. Worth

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"Anvi..." Someone shook a sleeping Anvi. Anvi didn't move a bit.

"Love...please get up" but there was no response from her. 

"Anvi ... .get up darling " this time Anvi was shaken more violently. This forced Anvi to stare in her sleep.

"Little one...you need to get up" Rudra's usual soothing voice reached her ears. But it was irritating her at this moment.

"Why?" Anvi whined in a hoarse voice. She sat up straight but her eyes were still closed. "What's the time?" She asked.

"It's four in the morning" Rudra replied while lifting her in his arms and walking towards the bathroom. Anvi was too sleepy to protest. Instead she rested her head on his chest to catch up with mere seconds of precious, sweet sleep. 

Rudra gently placed her on the bathroom counter while he prepared her toothbrush.

"Little one...open your eyes sunshine" He cooed his princess who was leaning on to his chest and refusing to let go of her sleep.

"Two minutes please" Anvi requested, showing two fingers. 

"OK, Two minutes" Rudra agreed, caressing her hair. She relaxed her body

Rudra held her in his embrace to keep her in place. After about 15 minutes Rudra lifted her sleepy face. He showered her with kisses urging her to wake up. After a few moments Anvi gave up and opened her eyes, trying to adjust to the light.

"Why are we up so early?" She complained while taking the brush from Rudra.

"Because I need to make sure that you are prepared for the day" He said while shoving his own tooth brush in his mouth. 

Anvi Was still brushing her teeth when she felt Rudra's fingers fumbling with the button of her night suit. Her eyes widened in shock. She looked up with her brushed still in her mouth. What she saw made her regret her decision to look up. Rudra was only in his boxers while he was struggling with the last few buttons of her shirt. 

Although Anvi had imagined this in her head quite a few times, she never pictured Rudra in such a fit body. The curves defining his muscles were too precise to be true. The veins lining his abdomen and arms were not helping either. 

"Little one, it's all yours...you can have a peek anytime you want" Rudra winked at her. "But right now we have to hurry. I have cooked food for you. It will get cold."

Anvi felt cold fingers touching her bare back. She was so engrossed in admiring Rudra that she did not realize that she was only in her undergarments now. 

"Let us take a quick shower, shall we?" Rudra said while picking her up again. For a few seconds she caught their image on the mirror over the counter. She looked frail to the point of ugliness in his arms. Her small smile dropped. How on Earth would she ever match up to him?

Rudra made her stand under the shower and leaned over her. He was like a gentle giant covering up a frail damsel. He started the shower. The water dripped down on his back. He adjusted the temperature of the water for a few seconds. When he was satisfied with the temperature he stepped back so that the water would shower over Anvi. She flinched a bit on contact but the warm water was soothing her skin. 

"Little one....is the temperature all right?" He asked while wiping water from her face.

"Yeah..it..it's perfect" She replied 

"Good"

After the short shower which was basically Rudra cleaning and rinsing her up, both of them sat on the bed with plates in their hands.

"What's this?" Anvi asked...almost whined.

"Dal chawal" He replied while mixing the rice with dal.

"But who has dal chawal at five in the morning?" She complained. 

"You Mrs Chaturvedi. You will have it. Today you will be busy with the rituals and sending off the relatives." He looked up "I trust you to the point of betting my life on it that you will skip meals" He took a spoon full of rice from his plate and nudged her lips "So birdie...you need to finish this now" 

In the next half an hour they finished their early breakfast followed by fruits. Anvi thoroughly made a fuss about it but Rudra was not having any of it. At one point Rudra had to threaten her into finishing the papaya bowl.

"Rudraji...can I ask you something?" Anvi asked while adjusting her saree pleats. 

"Anything baby," Rudra replied. He was lying on the well made bed. He was wearing a blue kurta pajama. 

"Why are you...I mean...why do you love me? Her question startled Rudra.

"That is a tough question, but I will answer it with time. If I answer right now, you will not be able to understand anyways " He said with a smile. Anvi sat down in front of her dressing table.

"May I ask one more then?" She asked while combing her short hair.

"You don't need my permission, love. You can ask me anything anywhere anytime." Rudra said.

"If I had not topped my Uni all these years" She paused with a sigh "would you still marry me?"

Rudra sat up straight. He looked into her eyes through the mirror. She was now fidgeting with the heavy gold necklace on her neck.

"No" He answered clearly. Hurt flashed through Anvi's face. Her eyes drooped down while she tugged on the necklace. 

"So I was not worthy of you?" It was more of a statement for Anvi. Her voice was broken. Rudra prayed her finger from the necklace and held her hand.

"Sweet.....It was never about what I thought. It was always about what you thought." Rudra pulled up her chin gently to look into her eyes. "If you thought you were good enough for me, you would have never proposed the deal. You would have never put your health at risk to achieve it. And yet I had always seen you as a kind little girl who took care of me like a mother. Who would make samosas for me when I came home. Who would wait outside my room for hours together. Who would make sure that my socks were restocked every summer. And many other things.....Baby it never occurred to me to measure your worth. I was not in love with you back then, but you were a part of my life, sweet." He finished with a sweet tender kiss.

"You..you..knew?" A very red Anvi asked in astonishment.

"What? That I was your first crush?" He smirked, turning her redder by the second. "Now let me kiss you before you put on that lipstick." He pulled her into a soul satisfying kiss. 

As Rudra said, the couple was busy throughout the day. Anvi was constantly on her toes whereas Rudra was busy arranging for the departure of their relatives, running errands or just simply helping Anvi with things.

"Looks like you have already become "joru ka gulam" baiya." Karan teased Rudra. Anvi had a look of horror in her face as she looked at the elders for their reaction.

"No, you are wrong. I am a "proud joru ka gulam" Karan." Rudra replied. Everyone in the house burst into laughter. Anvi had a small smile on her face. Her eyes held affection and love for her husband. At that moment she knew that she was always worth it.