Enemy Within

Chapter 6

Swara was staring around the room, she had been here before, but everything was different now. Now she wasn't here as the 'would-be' Mrs Swara Laksh Maheshwari, no, she was here as Mrs Swara Sanskar Maheshwari.

It still didn't feel real that it had only been a few hours before that she had entered the Baadi with Sanskar as her husband. To say that her family, and for that matter Sanskar's family, were shocked by this devolvement was a gross understatement. They had been livid. However, Sanskar had expertly convinced all of their situation, going to extra lengths to draw parallel on Laksh's wedding with Ragini. He had claimed that Swara wanted to kill herself, just as Ragini had, for the sake of family reputation. Adding that he had followed his younger brother Laksh's footsteps this time, and tried to replicate the very same good thing that he had done - of marrying the girl in question and saving her life. While his mom had lost her cool, Sanskar's Bade Papa, had announced that Swara was now the bahu of the family. A glance at Sanskar had made it clear to her that he had predicted this very thing.

Her entry into the Maheshwari Mansion had been a somber affair and the dinner that followed quite a tense one. The tension around her sister, Laksh, Bade Papa and Sanskar's Mom was palpable. Sanskar though was cool as cucumber, completely unaffected by the brewing tension around the table. Anyone looking at him could not have made out that the family had been through a plethora of surprises that day. While she knew she should keep some pressure on Ragini by being around, inside her head, she was dying to get away from the table.

And now here she was, in his room or rather their room now. She was filled with another form of tension thinking of being in the same room as Sanskar. It wasn't as though they were best of friends. They barely spoke before and when they did, it wasn't at all pleasant. She glanced at the bed and the sofa in the room, mentally deciding to sleep on the sofa. She was about to make her way there when Sanskar came out of the bathroom. He looked at her once as he made his way to the left side of the bed, near the window.

"You can take the right side; I usually sleep on the left side" He said as he sat down

Swara's eyes widened at this comment "Ummm...I think I will sleep on the sofa"

"Swara" He had taken to calling her name instead of Miss Bose, it would have obviously seemed odd to everyone around if he had continued to call her Miss Bose now "This is not going to go down overnight, despite what you may wish. I have told you before, you will need to have patience and you will need clear mind. Sleeping on the uncomfortable sofa for days to come, isn't the answer" he added will putting in some pillows in the middle creating a wall of separation "Let me make one thing clear, I have no interest in pursuing any form of relationship with you or getting close to you for that matter. Unless you are worried because your intentions are something else. If that is the case, I need to know right now" he stated firmly, looking straight at her.

"No, I have no intention of pursuing anything outside this plan with you"

"Get some rest in that case" he said getting up.

She took a deep breath and sat on the other side of the bed. He passed her a quilt for her to use. She looked at him questioningly since it seemed as though there were already two sheets on the bed, one for him and one apparently for her.

"I like to sleep with the AC turned to fairly low temperature, you might need it" he explained, going back to his side and switching off the lights "Good night"

He had almost been about to fall asleep with he heard her sobs. Unsure of how to react, he had remained quiet for a while. A few minutes later, she had gone to the bathroom, he could imagine why. He understood the need and had drifted off to sleep. When he next woke up again in the middle of the night, it realized it was already 2 AM and Swara wasn't still in the bed. The lights in the bathroom were on. He slowly went there and could hear her sniffing from where he stood. He knocked the door gently. She came out in a few minutes, apologizing for blocking the bathroom, she had clearly washed her face but her eyes were still red. She quickly went back to her side and lay down, looking away from him.