Chronicles Of My Darling Husband | ✓

106. Vigama (Part 1)

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Panic flared in Nishita's eyes. Had they been too loud? Had her father heard something? A heavy silence hung in the air before her father's voice, laced with a hint of impatience, boomed through the door.

"Beta... Open up, what's taking you so long?"

Nishita corrected her dress and snatched the forgotten dupatta from the floor. She bit her lip nervously as she stared at Jagdish, then hurried to unlock the door. With a hesitant hand, she opened it to reveal her father's worried face.

"Papa, is everything al...alright?" she stammered.

"Your mother's driving me crazy with questions," Neelesh grumbled. "She wants to make breakfast but has no idea what Damadji likes. She keeps pestering me to talk to him and find out." He leaned in conspiratorially. "Do you by any chance know what he prefers?"

Papa, seriously!?

Nishita felt heat rise to her cheeks. "How would I know what he likes for breakfast?" she sputtered, blinking rapidly. Inhaling, she tried to calm herself and stepped aside, gesturing for her father to enter the room. "Why don't you just ask him yourself?"

"Right, of course," Neelesh mumbled, shuffling past her. He stopped short at the sight of Jagdish, who looked like he might faint anytime, his bright face was painted crimson. Panicking, Neelesh rushed to Jagdish, "Damadji, is everything fine?"

Jagdish choked on his own spit, erupting in a coughing fit that resembled a rabid dog's bark. Neelesh bolted out of the room to fetch water, leaving Nishita stifling a giggle behind her hand. It was bad enough witnessing Jagdish blush from embarrassment, but watching her father fuss over him like a mother hen was just too much!

Neelesh burst back into the room with a glass of water, shoving it into Jagdish's hand. "Here, Damadji, drink some of this."

Jagdish gulped down some water, managing a breathless, "Thanks, Neeleshji." He handed the glass back and ran a hand through his hair, trying to tame the fluster. "So, what were you saying earlier?"

"I... Umm..." Neelesh scratched his head, momentarily forgetting the previous topic. "Ah yes, breakfast! What would you like to have?"

"Don't worry about it," Jagdish dismissed. "I'll grab something on the way, no need for a fuss."

"Huh?" Neelesh's brow furrowed. "Oh, nonsense! It's no trouble. Indira's making aloo parathas, and she just wanted to know if that's alright with you or if you prefer something else."

Jagdish sighed. "Neeleshji, please, I'm not a prince of some lost kingdom, stop treating me like royalty and stressing over it."

Neelesh chuckled. "For us, you are greater than any prince! You're our son-in-law, after all." He patted Jagdish on the back with a playful jab. "Not everyone gets treated like a prince by my wife, so consider yourself a lucky guy."

Jagdish could only manage a wry smile, "As you say." as they exited the room.

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Indira asked in a hopeful tone, looking at Jagdish as he ate the aloo parathas she had prepared. "I hope the food is good?"

Maa, seriously!?

Nishita, unable to contain herself, blurted out, "Maa, it looks like you added salt." She feigned shock and continued, "Didn't you know your Damadji skips salt every Sunday?"

Indira's eyes widened in alarm. "Hey Kanha! Is it so?" she exclaimed, quickly reaching for a plate. "I'll make some fresh chapattis wi—" But before she could finish, Nishita's mischievous grin stopped her short. "Nishi!"

Jagdish, stifling a smile, watched the exchange unfold.

"What?" Nishita snickered. "Damadji this, Damadji that!" she teased, shaking her head. "You're smothering him! Let him breathe, Maa. You're making it hard for him to even sit calmly. Maybe that's why he wanted to run away yesterday," she turned to face Jagdish. "Am I right, Jagdish?"

"Nishita, that's no way to speak!" Indira interjected. "He is your husband, show some respect, address him properly."

Jagdish started to politely reply, "Indiraji, it's—"

Nishita cut him off, "Well, my husband, my problem," she said with a mock-innocent smile, batting her eyelashes. "I'm sure he won't mind what I call him—Jagdish, Jaggy, Jaggu, Laddu, Darling..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed Jagdish turning a charming shade of pink. "I mean... I mean," she stammered, "whichever name suits my fancy."

Neelesh, watching the exchange with amusement, laughed aloud. "I hope Nishita hasn't annoyed you too much in the past two days," he said, taking a bite of his paratha. "She has a habit of getting on one's nerves if they argue with her."

Jagdish stared at Nishita, a smirk playing on his lips as his eyes lingered on hers. "Well, there weren't many arguments," he admitted in a low, husky voice that sent a shiver down her spine. "And the ones we had... let's just say they were settled on her terms."

Nishita coughed, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson. She shot a heated glare at her husband, her eyes narrowing in a mix of embarrassment and defiance.

Stupid, stupid Jagdish.

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A/N

The way sons-in-law get treated at their in-laws' house is downright excessive. Luckily, my mom couldn't care less about pampering her son-in-law. It's not because I had a love marriage (yes, there's a partiality for that too); it's just who she is. My mom has never liked the idea of men being treated like rare unicorns, and she even had a showdown with one of her sisters over this nonsense. Personally, I think the whole royal treatment thing is overrated for anyone, man or woman, yes, I am my mother's daughter.

It's hilarious to watch such drama, but the stress it causes really sucks the fun out of everything. I would say Neelesh is quite the character, someone I'd appreciate more in this setup. He doesn't treat Jagdish in an over-the-top manner; instead, he carries the relationship with a respectful grace. The little insights he shares with Jagdish about his daughter show that he has the right sense of mind. If you've read Indira-Neelesh's book, you'll see him as a sensible, down-to-earth "Papa" type, unlike Mukesh, who's similar yet quite different than him, like he's the most adorable "Baba" out there.

Every father has his own unique personality, whether it's Neelesh, Veer, Mukesh, Devinathan, or even Ashok, and I appreciate the complexities they bring to the table. Of course, I'm not including Joseph in this; he's easily the worst and shittiest character I've ever written, as I like to write about all shades of men and women. This reminds me about Farhan who's been bothering me for the last two days and I guess it's high time I write another chapter in his story XD

Also, no relation to why I wanted to add "Ali More Angana" to this chapter, it was playing while I edited this chapter and I thought why not add a nostalgic track to it ;)

P.S. Vigama means departure or separation (it does have another meaning as 'death' and there's gonna be more drama suited to the name) as it is about a tiny separation between my leads.

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