Chandini glanced at the clock after he left, it read 11am. Never in her life had she slept beyond 5 o'clock. She quickly stood up just as shilpa entered with the items her husband promised.
She asked Shilpa where her daily necessities were and gathered what she needed before taking them to the washroom.
She stepped out and absently reached behind her neck to unclasp her mangalsutra, when she realised that she was rid of all the jewellery adorning her neck and forehead; which she failed to notice in her anxiety stricken moment a few minutes ago.
She frowned a bit when suddenly the night before flashed in front of her eyes. And the last coherent thought before passing out was her conversation with nani.
"Anything wrong, Bhabhi?" Shilpa enquired worriedly.
"No, just wondering how I ended up in bed." She shook her head sideways trying to figure it out.
"Advay Sir carried and laid you on bed, when I came in the morning to drop your articles off. You should have seen his face; he was sick with worry." Shilpa recollected with a dreamy smile.
Worried my foot!!, he must have been relieved that nani didn't detect anything and take him to task. Chandini thought, removing her bangles and placing them beside her mangalsutra. "Mhmm" Chandini said.
"Yes and he went on to remove your necklace and maangtika with utmost care, like he was handling a precious doll, all the while refusing my help."
The knowledge that he touched her, albeit for a purpose, left her feeling uncomfortable.
"Do you need anything else, Bhabhi?" Shilpa enquired, as she folded the blanket and put it in place.
"No, but I do have a couple of questions for you Shilpa."Chandini stated, as she picked her towel.
"What is it, Bhabhi?"Shilpa asked
"Did you know Advay when you were working for us? And did you have any hand in our marriage?"She asked directly without sugar-coating, curiosity getting the better of her.
"Bhabhi I...I...I don't know how to answer.." She fumbled looking for a response.
"The truth would do, Shilpa."Chandini coaxed and just when Shilpa opened her mouth to reply, nani called out to her.
"Work calls me, Bhabhi. Have to go!" She fled out of the room, confirming Chandini's suspicion of her involvement in her current situation.
She will get to the bottom of it, Chandini assured herself and stepped into the washroom to freshen up.
She scrubbed herself vigorously off her horrific nightmare and stepped out after changing into a normal saree. She applied her bindi and swiftly rushed to the Pooja room to take the lord's blessing.
...
She went in search of nani and found her doing jaap in her room. As she was about to leave the room, she found a wall decorated with old photographs. Her feet unknowingly dragged her there and she touched the frames looking at nani's wedding pictures and images of her small kids.
