Sindoor | The Devotion Duet Book 1

꧁Chapter 4: Hidden Truths꧂

Chapter 4

ARYAN

I stared at the digital clock. The navy blue colour of the digits glowed silently in the darkness of my room.

11:46 pm, it showed. Under the time was the day.

Saturday, it glowed.

Fourteen more minutes, and finally, the day when everything would return to normal would arrive. A few days back when that awful lunch had dropped the first domino towards the destruction of my life, would, finally, be stopped in the middle.

The past few days had been entertaining, to say the least.

I had made it a point to avoid my father as much as possible. Since that day, every morning, every lunch, and every dinner had a serving of Tara Maa's delicious food and a serving of hot wrath of my father. That made being in his vicinity a lot harder than I would have liked.

No words were exchanged since that day. But a lot was said. Mostly, 'Say yes!'.

I knew Dad cared for me. I understood there was a reason behind him being adamant about his decision. And for once, I did not care for it. In the past, all of his demands had been met, and if there was any reluctance, I made sure to understand his perspective and more often than not, he had a plan. And that plan would gain us more power. And I was game for anything that screamed more power.

But not this. Marrying Kethaki might buy me all the power in the world, and yet, I would give up all that I currently have to stop this nonsense.

The table was silent as ever. I looked up and sure enough, Tara Maa was sulking. I reached over to grab the salt shaker when she grabbed it and placed it on her side of the table.

"What are your plans for the day, Tara Maa?"

She looked up. "Oh. I have to finish some final touches on Mrs Malhotra's living room," she started and placed her spoon back on the plate. "Her son got married and she wanted to gift them their apartment."

"So, Rahul has finally tied the knot," Dad spoke picking up his morning shake and twirling the glass in his hand.

"He did!" She leaned in closer to us, and said, "And that too, arranged! Can you believe it?"

Dad smiled. "Yes, I can. It is always in the child's best interest to sometimes trust their parent's wishes and marry the girl they ask him to, even if he hates her because hate can easily be converted to love under the right circumstances, and if he and the girl have been walking and treading the line of hate and love for so long, all it would take is a little push and the nudge in the right direction for the miracle to happen."

At first, I believed that our marriage was the worst possible thought that could ever cross his mind. But listening to this, had me questioning my intelligence.

My ears roared as my mind went blank at his words.

The silence on the table was deafening, and yet, the noise that my chair made when I stood up, echoed in the hall, and I left.

That was two days ago.

I reached for the salt on the table. Every time Tara Maa tried to control my salt intake, I would add more to my food. Yes, it was unhealthy, yes, I shouldn't have it, and yes, despite knowing it, I was still going to add more. The food would have tasted far better, had it not been for the glares that were directed at me.

I looked up to see Tara Maa glaring at me. She looked at my food, pointedly, and then at the salt. That action was highly unnecessary, considering this was our daily routine. Maybe, adding more salt to my food had become a habit, because annoying her first thing in the morning was something I looked forward to.