Arranged Marriage to MR. CRUSH

Chapter 17 : Late-night Conversations

Author's POV

Manisha cried very much during her bidhaai, she is very much attached to her family. Now they are married. Himanshu saw her just today after they met for that day to fix the alliance. Their engagement couldn't happen because of govt. curfew. Now they are sitting in the car to go to Himanshu's house. Himanshu and Manisha are in the back seat while Manisha's brother Ikshit is sitting in the front seat with the driver. It is customary that the bride's brother accompany her when she goes to her in-law's place for the first time after the wedding. Now, Manisha is not crying but her tears are flowing continuously, and her eyes are closed. Himanshu doesn't know what to say to her. Her brother is also here, Himanshu doesn't know what to say to him, they only talked during the ceremony when it was necessary. He is a fine young man, looks very different from Manisha, taller and leaner than her, only their eyes are the same. He is pursuing a Bachelor in Engineering from Mumbai University.

Himanshu offered his handkerchief to her, but her eyes were closed. He thought to call her. No. He touched her arm lightly, she opened her eyes. Her eyes are looking sad, tired from crying. She looked at him questioningly, he offered her handkerchief. She took it silently and started wiping her tears. He looked away. Then She said Thank you, sir, slowly, almost like a whisper and his eyes went to her lips. She was busy wiping her tears and he was busy looking at her lips. Her lipstick is not intact fully and is smudged a little. His eyes lingered particularly on her lower lip, it has a thick mole, but it was not completely on her lip like it's most on the lower lip and a little part on the skin below the lower lip. This thick black mole on her dark pink lips is attracting him a lot. He has never seen this mole before on her. Maybe, he never looked at her lips so closely, every time he looked at her, he could not go beyond her eyes. Oh! those brown eyes filled with liquid honey. and now this mole on her lower lip. He had never paid attention to these little details in any other girl. He doesn't know why but Manisha is affecting him differently and very deeply.

He was lost in all this when the car stopped and now they have reached Kashyap Mansion. Himanshu's mother came to their car and opened the door on Manisha's side. She kept something on her head (a decorated little pot) and instructed her some customs for the new bride. They then got out of the car and were welcomed together. Then they both went to take blessings in the little temple of the mansion. Then all the necessary traditions and rituals were followed and almost 2 hours later, Grandma allowed them to retire to their room to rest. It's almost 11:30 pm now.

When Himanshu entered the room, he saw her sitting on the bed. She is lost in her thoughts and insecurities. She is not looking at him. He thought why. He wanted her to look at him.

He cleared my throat to get her attention. She moved a little, but still not looking at him.

On the other hand, Manisha was playing all sorts of scenarios in her mind. Her mind was thinking of all possible what-ifs. What if he says this, what if he says that about her, what if he thinks this about her, what this, what that... what not? All her insecurities right from her looks to her personality were standing in front of her, in the biggest size plausible. As they have not communicated much about marriage, she was feeling very intimidated by all that is happening around her. She thought about her new role as a daughter-in-law and all the responsibilities that came with it. She also thought about the talks that happened in the office about Himanshu, like the girls (all model-like) he was seen at parties and clubs, and how some interns were used to talk about him and his flings. She was so engrossed in all this when she heard the sound of clearing of throat.

She looked up and realizing it was him, she tried to stand up, got tangled in the lehnga, her feet landed abruptly on her footwear and she was just about to fall when Himanshu quickly held her arm and helped her in stabilizing.