His Unwilling Bride | COMPLETED ✓

✿ THEIR MARRIAGE ✿

RABYA

I flipped through the pages of local newspaper and found a picture of my marriage imprinted on the first page. I sat near the holy fire next to Adhrit Singh Chauhan who had his eyes fixed on the orange flames while my face was hidden beneath the red veil.

I put aside the newspaper and pressed my eyes shut for a moment. The soft mattress feels comfortable enough for me to take a short nap. But I shouldn't. Afterall this is supposed to be my wedding night. I've to wait for my husband, for him to come and claim my body. The man I barely know anything about is the person I'm bound to spend the rest of my life with.

I looked up at the air conditioner which was turned off. The scorching heat of May that too in states like Uttar Pradesh is not easily bearable. I wish I could find the remote and start the air conditioning. The heavy bridal lehenga and multiple gold jewelleries are making the situation worse.

Sweat beads appeared on my forehead and I wondered if I can put my veil away from my face? Or is it supposed to be the task of my husband?

I breathed out and shifted my eyes to the clock which reads half past eleven in the night. I should be happy at the delay of him entering the room but then that relief won't be for long, no? This is arranged marriage and that too to the man who comes from the patriarchal background, off course he would want to consummate the wedding and even if I say no, it won't be considered marital rape.

But am I in the position to say no to him? The girl who killed her own father.

I pressed my lips into thin line. I didn't even get the time to mourn for him. Nor do I deserve to mourn.

I still remember the smile on his face when I told him that I cracked GATE. The amount of happiness and proud in his eyes for me, I still remember it deep into my bones. Though I couldn't get into PSU's, I was able to secure a seat for myself in IIT BOMBAY. I said to Baba that let me do my masters and then next year, I'll appear once again for GATE and get a job in PSU. A government job, that's it. I was the first girl in my family to reach this high. Baba took education loan for me to get my admission into private college for doing B.TECH.

I didn't take drop to prepare for JEE because I needed to grab a job as fast as I can. I wanted to bring my parents out of the hidden poverty; the one where they could easily afford the two time meals, had a roof over our head, access basic health care facilities and were able to send their children to school but I never saw my parents buying a single piece of clothing for themselves. For any festival, my little sister and I used to make regular food for them and that was enough because they enjoyed the food of our hands. We couldn't even get our mother treated for cancer, she chose not to go to the hospital because that meant emptying the money that they saved for our school fees.

But then after graduating, I got a job. It wasn't anything fancy and the salary wasn't enough but with that money, I was able to send my mother for a treatment. I was able to buy new clothes for my parents on festivals even if it meant purchasing them on EMI. I also admitted my little sister to private school so that she can get better opportunities.

And then Baba and Maa gave me some money that they saved for me to fulfil my wish to take coaching for GATE classes.

After clearing GATE, everything changed for us. I was able to teach in a local institute from where I earned a decent amount of money both to finance myself for higher studies and my family. In the first semester of my masters, I made my parents to quit their job so that now finally they can live peacefully.

We were a happy family. My sister soon got job after completing her BBA. It was finally happening that my parents were able to afford basic things like television and refrigerator. I promised Baba that someday I'm going to make him more proud but instead I ended up being his killer.

In college, I met a boy. He was everything they talked about in books; passionate, charming, dog lover, kind and most of all the guy who took care of me. He promised me moon and stars and all the pretty things in the world. He loved me and I loved him back. Everyday after classes, we went to local tea stall near the beach and talked about anything and everything. He told me that someday he's going to marry me and I knew he was telling the truth.

But then everything ruined. I got pregnant and every single relative of my family came to know about this. My aunty heard Maa yelling at me when she found pregnancy test kit in my bag. And then like a fire the news spread even to our neighbours.

When my father came to know about this, he suffered from heart failure. He died, not bearing the embarrassment I bought upon the family. But It wasn't a natural death, I know deep in my heart that I killed him. He died because of me. The girl who always tried to make her father proud ended up destroying him.

Maa was ashamed to even look at me. My sister despised me.

I aborted the baby at the same time when my father was being cremated.

I don't know what happened next, I sat in the corner of my house for weeks, cursing myself for killing my Baba. I wanted to beg my Maa and sister for forgiveness but I couldn't. I couldn't when they were mourning for him. My relatives looked at me with disgust, telling me that I destroyed everything. They blamed my father for bringing this upon himself by giving me too much of freedom.

My sister started despising me even more when she was caged into the four walls so that she doesn't end up becoming like me. She lost her job.

Then one day, my mother told me to get ready for the marriage. I begged her not to do this but she said that somehow she managed to fix my marriage to a rich man and if I don't do this then I'll remain unmarried. She also told me that it'll be difficult for my sister to get married if I stay in the same house.

I begged her, asking for forgiveness but then she said something which made a knife to pass through my heart. She said that if I'm even little bit of guilty of killing her husband then say yes for the marriage. She didn't even bother to mention Baba as my father, she called him her husband.

And that's how I ended up here in this bed on my wedding night.

Harsh; the boy I loved, tried his best to contact me. He even came to see me at my Baba's funeral but I just couldn't. I couldn't face him. I couldn't love him not after I killed my father.

The door flew open, pulling me out of my thoughts. I cleaned the hem of my lehenga and held my breath.

What if he gets to know that I'm not virgin? Will he hurt me?