Arranged Marriage ✓

Chapter - Thirty-one.

I would request you to listen to this song, while you read this! ♥

Nishita.

The sunlight hit my face, as I opened the door of Bhaiya’s study room. The room looked clean yet messed up. No one had touched the room for six months straight. As bhaiya left it six months ago. I looked over the room and saw his photos, hung on the walls.

I gulped hard when I saw his pictures, he was smiling. My brother always had a small smile smeared on his lips. I always told him that it suited him. At one point, I felt like his loud laughs echoed in the room.

The room smelled somewhat like Bhaiya. Even though, this room was untouched for six months now, it felt like only a day before yesterday or so, Bhaiya was in this room, sipping his tea. He loved tea.

I ran my fingers through some dusty books on the shelves, as I passed by. This abandoned room must have so many uncomfortable memories of him. I envied this room, because Bhai spent most of his time in this room and not with us.

I slumped over a chair and shut my eyes tightly. This room, his memories made me feel his presence. I thought, how he would react if he had seen me here.

From the nearest table, I found a picture of him and me, hugging. We usually never hugged. But I realized that photo was clicked before I was a teen. And he was maybe ten to twelve years old, back then.

“Why?”, I asked. “You really had to leave us, behind. Why?”. I scoffed because I was talking to a picture taken twenty years ago. “Why?”.

I looked around the room, my eyes jumping from here to there. I wondered, if we would reunite again. If I will ever get to meet him, again. Snorting a small laugh, I told myself that I was only wondering. What else could I do but that? Could I bring him back?

I just wanted to hug him. Caress his cheek. Make fun of him. Spend some time with him. Travel to somewhere, with him. Had I been asking too much?

I wiped off the tears that streamed down my eyes and fell on my lap. “No”, I told myself, “I’ll be strong”. Suddenly, my eyes fell on a diary. I never knew Bhaiya wrote in diaries.

I took it in my hand and started flipping through pages. I jumped on the last page which was empty. I flipped few pages from the last, but they turned out to be empty, too. So, I gave up and started reading from the first page. His writings read:

‘Dear Nitya,

Now that you are here and reading this diary I guess, I am dead. But you don’t worry. I will always support you. I know, you must be hating me now. You should.

I mean, I have never given you anything. Not that you had let me to. You never even let me touch you, huh! You never let me name ‘your and Avinash’s’ daughter.

Yes, I knew. I knew all about you since the day before our wedding. I knew about your affair with Avinash Patel, you having an illegitimate relation with him, bearing his child and then making me the father of it.

Remember the time when we told everyone you were pregnant? Yeah, a year after our marriage. I wanted to call of our wedding, that day but seeing the light in my family’s eyes, I decided to stay quiet.

And then years passed away, I only visited you guys twice a year. And eventually you got more and more bored with me. Let’s not talk about it. I mean come on, I’m dead now.

Now that you and are no longer a married couple, you are free walk out of my family’s life along with your daughter. And please do tell them, that I loved them. Until the last breath of mine, I will pray for them to be safe. And you too.

I’m not that bad. So, if possible remember me in your prayers.

I was never yours, truly.
— Nishant M. ’

My eyes widened as I read the five page long letter to Bhabi— Nitya. So many questions came in my mind, how Bhai never told us about his relationship. Most probably, it was all because of our parents.

I sighed. “I love you and I promise you that I will get that bitch out of here”, I swore.

·

After finishing Bhaiya’s last rites, everyone was home. For some reasons, Darshan’s parents had to take the flight to Ahmedabad this morning and they couldn’t attend bhaiya’s funeral. And I’m guessing, they won’t come back.

I told everything about Bhaiya and Nitya and everyone was shocked. Nitya — who had not denied a word false written in the diary by Bhai — was now not with us. And she was where nobody knew. She along with her daughter left her house, perhaps out of guilt.

Nitya wasn’t my concern. But my family were. My parents were already devastated. Then they heard the news about Bhai and Nitya. Maa couldn’t stop crying after seeing her son’s dead body for two hours straight. The same went for I, Dii and papa. Darshan and Jiju being the son-in-laws of my family handled everyone.

Somehow, Jiju was able to convince his parents who were in Chandigarh that he and my sister along with their little daughter, will not be present at Chandigarh for at least a week. Because, Dii wanted to stay with Ma-Papa.

I too wanted to stay but everyone said that I only got married two days ago. I should stay with Darshan and leave things to Nishtha Didi. I did as I was told.

I — who was broken into million little pieces — was now sitting on my husband and my shared bedroom. So many emotions mixed up in my and Darshan’s mind. And we knew, it wasn’t going to be off our minds for a good long time.

Sorry, for the delay in posting this chapter. I had literally no idea how should I write this one but then I finally did, hehe. If you liked it please vote. And tell me, your opinion about this chapter in the comment section. Love ya! ♥