Tying The Knot With Ex's Brother

ENTERING A NEW FAMILY

Ragini entered the bedroom to find it decorated with red roses everywhere. Unlike her multihued room in her parents' house, this room was painted white and grey. She looked around to find nothing which matched her taste.

Indian marriages tend to be exhausting and wearing heavy clothes and jewellery for a long time gave Ragini a desire to get rid of all that weight as soon as possible so she straight away went to the bathroom to set herself free.

She took a cold water shower and came out wearing a new cherry red satin nightie when she saw Sparsh seated on the bed, still in his wedding outfit.

The way he looked at her made her fidget with the fabric of her nightie which she had purchased for her first night. She quickly grabbed the outer robe of the gown and tied it tightly.

"You must have been tired. Take some rest," said Sparsh while she was fixing her night dress and after taking out a towel from his cupboard, he went for a shower.

"He was there, that day!" Ragini thought to herself. It made sense now that instead of Sid, Sparsh came to her house that day.

She looked at herself in the mirror and spoke to herself, "Even if my decision brings me lifetime misery, I'm ready to take it all. But I promise to make you regret your decision, I'll make you question the credibility of the fucking decision you made, Sid!"

After about twenty minutes Sparsh stepped out of the bathroom , only to find his wife sleeping like a baby on their first night. He chuckled looking at her, she seemed worn out from the multiple marriage functions and finally looked relaxed and at peace. He picked up his phone from the nightstand and clicked a picture of her while his smiling face screamed out 'love'.

He laid beside her on the bed, under the same sheet. He had just found a new hobby- gazing at her. He couldn't manage to keep his eyes off her so he decided not to force himself to do so and instead enjoy the warmth her presence gave to him at that moment.

He felt something heavy on his legs, he opened his eyes to see her two long legs resting on his legs. His smile was enough to tell that he was in love.

He covered her with the sheet, checked the time and since it was still 2 a.m. he went back to sleep after kissing his wife's forehead.

"Ragini. Ragini. Get up, it's morning."

Sparsh had been trying to wake her up since 7 in the morning but she didn't even move. It was already 8 now and she was still sleeping. Sparsh had already bathed himself.

He went to her and whispered in her ear, "You need to get up now, Ragini."  But she still didn't move. Of course, Sparsh's dulcet tones would work as a lullaby for her. All he could do was smile at her cuteness, he had already fallen hard for her.

Suddenly Ragini's alarm went off and she got up with such a speed that she scared the hell out of Sparsh, he almost shouted out of fear.

She quickly turned it off.

"Good morning!" said Sparsh.

"Morning!" She wiped her face with her palms as if to get rid of the excess oil and the boogers in her eyes. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier? It's past 8 already. I forgot to set up an alarm."

She ran to the corner of the room where her luggage was kept, took some clothes out of there and rushed to the bathroom.

"Towel?" she asked on her way.

"Hung inside," replied he with a lovely smile showcasing his left cheek dimple.

Ragini showed up downstairs wearing a multi-colored organza saree with illusion neck blouse in half an hour.

"I slept in because I was tired. Sorry, aunty!" said she to her mother-in-law who was downstairs in the kitchen.

"Just call me Ma. What's up with Aunty? I don't like it," her mother-in-law replied with a warm smile.

"Do you want me to help in the kitchen? Shall I prepare the breakfast?"

"Did you pray to God yet?"

Ragini shook her head and said, "Not yet, I thought you wanted me in the kitchen."

"Go and pray first."

Ragini looked around, searching for the temple when Sparsh approached her from the back and pointed toward the room.

"Cover your head, child" said her mother-in-law who had arrived there.

She was having troubles with the saree so Sparsh helped her covering her head with a corner of her saree and this brought smiles to all the faces in the house. And while she was praying to God, he stared lovingly at her.

She touched the feet of her mother-in-law and took blessings from her.

"Ragini, I'll introduce you to everyone. Touch their feet and take their blessings too."

And she was introduced to all the relatives who were still at their house. Everyone complimented her looks and expressed how lovely Sparsh and she looked together.

Sparsh's sister, Jeevika, said, "Bhabhi, let me show you pictures from last night. You looked gorgeous and Bhaiya couldn't stop looking at you," She smiled and continued, "He's already head over heels for you. Isn't he?" She looked at others for their response and giggled when they nodded their heads.

Jeevika was married with a two years old son. She was three years younger than Sparsh and three years older than Sid. Ragini knew all this because Sid had told her everything about his family.

"Where's Sid, Ma? I haven't seen him since morning," said Sparsh later.

"Gym. Gone since 5 o'clock. I don't know what's wrong with him. He has been acting strange lately."

Ragini wondered where Sid was. She had seen him a few times last night and he didn't look good. Of course, the woman he loved was getting married to someone else and that someone else was his own older brother who loved him a lot.

"Speak of the devil and the devil comes!" said Jeevika, smiling.

Ragini turned to see Sid, looking pale and sick. She kind of worried about him but soon after realised that she had no right to be.

"Can you cook something sweet today? Your first day at our home should be celebrated with a sweet dish cooked by you."

"Okay, Ma."

And Ragini left with Jeevika and her mother-in-law for the kitchen while two pairs of eyes followed her movement.